WHUFC.com
Scratch golfer Gary O'Neil gives his lowdown on the 2011 Masters Tournament
07.04.2011
While winning at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday is Gary O'Neil's number-one
priority, West Ham United's No32 will have one eye on proceedings at the
Augusta National this weekend. When he is not training, preparing or playing
in the big game at the Reebok Stadium O'Neil, a talented golfer himself who
plays off a scratch handicap, will be glued to the live television coverage
of the Masters Tournament. Later this year, in June, O'Neil will join
hundreds of hopefuls trying to qualify for the 2011 Open Golf Championship.
While he rates his chances of even getting through the regional qualifying
round as unlikely, the professional footballer is eager to do his best when
he takes to the first tee at his home course, the London Golf Club in Kent.
"I'm going to go home this afternoon and watch it on Sky and when we get to
the hotel tomorrow I'll obviously have it on!" the 27-year-old told West Ham
TV. "I play a little bit. I've been playing about seven years properly and I
play off scratch. I am going to do the British Open qualifying because it
falls in the time that we have off and it's at the golf club where I'm a
member. It's a bit of fun and we'll get some good golfers along there. It's
a bit of fun in the summer and will keep my competitive juices flowing. "I
really, really enjoy watching the majors and the Masters is the best so I'll
be watching it."
While his big golfing moment is still a couple of months away, O'Neil has
already received some hints and tips from World No2 Lee Westwood during a
summer holiday in Portugal last year. "Lee Westwood was at my golf club in
Portugal last summer, just before the US Open, and he was doing some
practice while on holiday.
"He was on the range and we just got chatting about football and golf. I've
got a little App on my iPhone that lets me look at swings so I thought I
would get one of Lee Westwood's on there and then I can have a look at what
I'm doing wrong."
While he would love to see Westwood, Par 3 Contest winner Luke Donald or
another British golfer win the Masters, O'Neil's money has gone on defending
champion Phil Mickelson and big-hitting American Bubba Watson. "It's a tough
one, I think. Mickelson will be tough to beat around there because
left-handers always seem to do well. An outside tip who I've gone for is
Bubba Watson, again because he is left-handed, he hits it a long way and
he's got a decent touch around the greens. I think that's the main thing
around there, having a decent short game. "I'd like to see Tiger Woods do
well because he is the best in the world when he gets it going and I'd like
to see him return to some of the highs he used to have."
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Loan star Lee
WHUFC.com
On-loan Olly Lee is determined to help Dagenham and Redbridge to beat the
drop from League Two
07.04.2011
It is not just at West Ham United that players, coaching staff and
supporters are battling relegation. Just five miles down the road, on-loan
Hammers youngster Olly Lee is doing everything he can to save Dagenham &
Redbridge from dropping out of League One. The 19-year-old has swapped the
relative-serenity of the Barclays Premier Reserve League for the
cut-and-thrust of life at Victoria Road. The central midfielder has immersed
himself fully at the club, making his full league debut in a 2-1 defeat at
Exeter City on Saturday before starting again in Tuesday's 2-0 home defeat
by promotion-chasing Peterborough United. "Obviously we were very
disappointed with the result, but I was delighted to make my league debut
[at Exeter]. I think I've played fairly well in both of my appearances so
far so, on a personal level I've been very happy. "I've played in a
three-man midfield with Peter Gain and Abu Ogogo and both of them are good
players and comfortable on the ball. It's been good. "Playing in front of
decent-sized crowds full of fans willing their team on and desperate for the
three points makes such a big difference as a player. Against Exeter, there
were more than 4,500 supporters there so that was great for my debut. We
went in front but then we had ten bad minutes at the end and lost 2-1. "It
was my first game and it took me a while to work out how to help the team to
close a game out. We made a couple of mistakes and weren't able to do that,
so I'll take the experience and try to make sure the same thing doesn't
happen next time we are in that situation. "On Tuesday night against
Peterborough, we had another bad ten minutes, but this time it was at the
start of the game. We went 2-0 down but after that Peterborough didn't have
a shot all game. If you start that badly, you will always be up against it.
"Peterborough have got some decent players - I was up against the former
West Ham player Grant McCann - but we dominated the game for 80 minutes. It
was just a shame we couldn't get one goal back because that could have
really changed the course of the game. "We're in the relegation zone now,
but we play at home to Notts County, who are one place above us, on
Saturday. If we can win that and our other home games then I think we'll be
OK. There's definitely enough quality here to stay up."
With home matches against bottom side Plymouth Argyle and mid-table Carlisle
United to come, as well as a trip to struggling Tranmere Rovers, Lee is
confident that John Still's squad has what it takes to survive the drop.
Should he do so, the loan star will be filled with both personal and
collective pride. "I am desperate to keep Dagenham & Redbridge up, to be
honest. I have really enjoyed being part of everything at the club. The lads
have been great and it's a great experience for me to be fighting to save a
club from relegation at this stage of my career. "If I could help to keep
the club in League One and get eight to ten games under my belt during my
time here, then that would really help me to push on for next season."
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Liars exposed
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 7th April 2011
By: Staff Writer
Charges against a West Ham supporter accused of violent disorder have been
dropped following a lengthy campaign. At Inner London Crown Court today, the
Crown Prosecution Service offered no evidence against Hammers fan Robert
Mortimer who had been charged following a large scale disturbance on the
evening of a West Ham v Millwall Carling Cup tie back in August 2009.
Mortimer was charged in October 2009, yet the case was dropped less than one
week before his trial was due to start. In the incident that followed the
match, he was batoned to the head by a police officer. Pictures of Mortimer
lying on the ground bleeding profusely were included in the nationwide
coverage of the incident.
Speaking in reaction to the news, his solicitor - David Sonn - said: "It
took the police and CPS 18 months from the date on which my client was
charged to acknowledge that the police footage of the incident contradicted
the witness statements of four police officers. "Our client should never
have been prosecuted in the first place."
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Di Canio To Be Grant's Successor? – and Other Assorted Musings!
April 7th, 2011 - 1:02 pm by S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
It is interesting to note that the Avram Grant to Chelski stories have
started circulating once again. I am not sure how much credibility this
rumour actually has, but I am pretty certain that the collateral rumour that
Di Canio will succeed him is wide of the mark! Of course the story in
question relates to current Lecce boss, Luigi Di Canio, not Hammers great
Paulo. Luigi Di Canio is managing a Lecce side struggling in Serie A, who
have still had some good results against the larger Italian clubs this
seasons. He is also the same Luigi Di Canio who had a brief stint in charge
at QPR a couple of seasons ago. I do not feel that the story has much
validity, but I can honestly say that I would much rather give Paulo the
opportunity to take charge.
Well, the FA were true to form and duly fined and banned Avram Grant from
the touchline for the sin of making some very reasonable post-match cmments
after the FA Cup Quarter-Final against Stoke City. Football must be one of
the few societal spheres in which conclusive evidence, in support of
statements made, means nothing and people are punished for speaking the
truth. No, referees must obviously be defended at all costs, even when
their poor decisions affect match results. But, of course, we all know that
the FA deal with poorly performing officials in their own peculiar way.
They defend them to the hilt publicly, at the time, and then later quietly
demote them from the PL list when they think that no one will notice. In
any other sphere that would rightly be condemned as hypocrisy and double
standards, but not in the alternative dimension inhabited by the FA, god
bless them! Equally shocking is the implication that a club can apparently
employ the most abject cheating to win a match, which is ignored or missed
by the officials, and the FA have sweet FA to say about it. As someone once
said, its a funny old game!
I see that Man Utd's appeal against Wayne Rooney's two match ban was
rejected earlier today. We all know that some clubs have more clout than
others with the FA, but I suspect that they were in a corner and had to
reaffirm their judgement in this instance. They could have seen the appeal
as frivolous and increased the ban, but they stopped short of taking that
step. That was probably seen as a step too far in displeasing Sir Alex and
the Man Utd hierarchy.
Oh well, it could be that Spurs' 15 minutes of CL fame is over! The 4-0
humiliation against Real Madrid was not exactly surprising after failing to
beat woeful Wigan at the weekend. Yes, I know that they will claim that it
was all down to Crouch's dismissal, but the likelihood is that they would
have been well beaten anyway. Perhaps Arry will inspire his team to another
CL comeback at WHL, but it is asking a hell of a lot. All it needs is for
Spurs to fail to finish in the top four and that will be their lot in the
competition for a while. I am usually less antagonistic towards Spurs than
most Hammers fans, but after declaring their possible intent to seek
judicial review of the OS procurement process, I have no sympathy for them
whatsoever. One can only speculate whether the Spurs hierarchy have some
sort of death wish, to pursue this in the face of vocal and united
opposition from their own fans, Haringey politicians (on the Council and
the local MPs) and the Olympic/national political nexus (past and current)
who are mightily thankful that West Ham's bid helped them out of the'
athletics legacy' hole that they had dug for themselves via their previous
lack of vision, poor planning and flawed decision-making. They are not
likely to take kindly to Spurs trying to up set the OS apple cart at this
stage.
There is another rumour doing the rounds that both Villa and Newcastle are
interested in our England U-21 International, Jordan Spence. Perhaps his
recent performances for Bristol City, and elevation to the U-21 squad, has
drawn their attention to his potential. Spence is 20 years of age now and,
if the club really rate him, he needs more exposure to first team football
at West Ham. Perhaps the fact is that he not doing enough in training, and
the reserves, to merit inclusion at first team level? Alternatively, maybe
the loan to Bristol City is designed to sharpen his game ahead of being
called in to first team action next season? Whatever, we must be sure that
we do not lose a player who could go on to make the grade for another PL
club and go on to further international honours. Personally, I would secure
him on a new contract and gradually introduce him to first team football
next season. After all, it is the only certain way of testing Spence's PL
potential.
The question pre-occupying most Hammers fans currently is: can we break the
Bolton Wanderers hoodoo this weekend? They really are our bogey team, but
that has to change at some point. This team has what it takes to secure a
victory at the Reebok. In these type of games it is just as much about
mental and physical strength, as it is about playing quality football. We
need to approach the game in the same frame of mind that we did the PL game,
at Upton Park, against Stoke City. To do that we must deal with Kevin
Davies, for once, and win the vital midfield battle. We have much more
quality than them, but we need the application to bring that quality to bare
and make it tell. I am travelling up there with the expectation of seeing a
crucial Hammers victory. Lets see what transpires?
Finally, I see that Torres' goal draught continues at Chelski. However, he
must be mightily encouraged that West Ham provide the opposition to Chelski
shortly. Torres has a great record against West Ham and, if his drought
continues this coming weekend, what are the odds of him getting his first
Chelski goal against us? As a matter of principle, I would never bet
against my team, but if I was a neutral I might be tempted to get on that
bet! Alternatively, perhaps Matt Upson will have him in his pocket for the
whole match? Well, we can live in hope can't we?
SJ. Chandos.
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Keane aims to nail down Hammers starting spot
Published 23:01 07/04/11 By MirrorFootball
The Mirror
Robbie Keane is desperate to get his career back on track with West Ham and
is pleading with Avram Grant to give him a starting place against Bolton
tomorrow.
Keane has endured a nightmare season after failing to secure a first-team
place at Tottenham and then got injured in just his second game for West Ham
following his loan move back in January. The Republic of Ireland
international was ruled out for a month with an ankle injury, but has now
made a full recovery and scored the winner for his country in their recent
European Championship Qualifier over Macedonia. With West Ham throwing away
a two-goal lead against Manchester United last weekend, Grant could change
his forward line and Keane is ready to help the club retain their top flight
status. Keane said: "It's been frustrating for me because I played in my
first game at Blackpool, then got injured in my second game against
Birmingham and was out after that. I just want to get back and start playing
again and the international game can only have done me the world of good. "I
just want to get on the pitch and play football. It is a short career so the
last thing I want to be doing is sitting on the bench. "At my age, I need to
be playing regular football and hopefully we can stay in the Premier League.
If that's the case, then I will obviously be here next year. "I would prefer
to be criticised for going (to a new club) to play football than be
criticised for sitting on the bench and collecting my money. I'm not one of
those players who picks my money up for not doing anything."
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Grant riddle adds to Chelsea questions
April 7, 2011
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By Harry Harris, Football Correspondent
West Ham United have made a 'check call' to Chelsea to seek clarification
over whether Avram Grant is part of Roman Abramovich's plans to overhaul the
management of the club for next season. Chelsea have denied interest in a
return for the Israeli manager. Yet, speculation is intensifying over the
soon-to-be vacant role of director of football at Stamford Bridge, and
further to that, the manager's role too with Carlo Ancelotti's hold on his
job looking weak. Ancelotti's position has been under review for some time,
which is hardly a secret at Stamford Bridge, while director of football
Frank Arnesen has already announced his departure at the end of the season.
Grant is more likely to be under consideration as director of football, a
post he originally held under Jose Mourinho, before stepping up as manager
and coming within a goalpost's width of landing the Champions League in May
2008. However, ESPNsoccernet has learned that Chelsea told the
relegation-threatened Hammers that no talks have taken place to bring Grant
back to the Bridge. Whether those are the thoughts of Abramovich remain to
be seen, but if Grant has been counted out, then that will heighten
speculation that Guus Hiddink is destined for a return to West London. The
highly popular Hiddink has made it clear he has had enough of full-on club
management, and is currently national coach of Turkey. While he would
welcome a return to the Bridge, it would be in a more stable role as
sporting director. However, Abramovich might want him back as manager for an
interim period, to reprise the role in which he served for the second half
of a 2008-09 season that saw Chelsea lift the FA Cup after the sacking of
Luiz Felipe Scolari. Abramovich would use Hiddink's interregnum as a time
period to assesses who best to take control for the longer term.
The likelihood of Ancelotti staying for the rest of this season largely
depends on the outcome of the second leg of the Champions League
quarter-final at Old Trafford. Failure to win the elusive European crown
will likely result in the Italian's departure. That would not be immediate
as Chelsea are still battling to cement their place in the top four to
guarantee Champions League football next season. The signs are not good for
the Italian with ESPNsoccernet learning of renewed disquiet emanating from
Abramovich himself.
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West Ham want Swiss keeper to challenge Green for No.1 spot
By talkSPORT
Thursday, April 7
West Ham are tracking Young Boys' goalkeeper Marco Wolfli, according to
reports in Switzerland. Scouts from across Europe have been keeping tabs on
the highly-rated 28-year-old all season and it is understood that West Ham
and Serie A side Palermo are currently leading the chase. No formal offers
have yet been made but Young Boys have slapped a £3m price tag on the
Switzerland international, whose contract expires in 2015. The Hammers might
be in the market for a new goalkeeper to provide competition for No.1 Rob
Green, 31, with only the unproven Ruud Boffin and Marek Stech currently in
reserve.
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