WHUFC.com
He may be used to banging in the goals himself but the captain is focused on
the team doing the business
04.08.2011
Kevin Nolan has revealed he is setting no personal targets for the season
other than the collective ambition of achieving promotion with the team.
Much has been made of Sam Allardyce's new skipper's goalscoring prowess in
the last two campaigns at Newcastle United. He scored 12 Premier League
goals last season and before that hit 17 in the Magpies' successful npower
Championship promotion campaign. He said: "[I am setting] no targets, well
none I am going to make public anyway, I will keep that to myself! - but
hopefully I can get into good goal figures and help the likes of Piq
[Freddie Piquionne], Coley [Carlton Cole] and the other lads. "If I can chip
in great, but first and foremost, we have got to make sure we are winning
games, that is the key, that the winning mentality comes back and hope that
this starts on Sunday against Cardiff."
Nolan has yet to register in the claret and blue, but said the main thing
has been to see the squad on a high after the disappointment of last season.
Confidence was boosted by last Saturday's 2-0 win against Real Zaragoza. "We
were delighted with the win and the clean sheet - two very good goals, job
done really so hopefully we can take this into this week's training and it
enables us to be ready for Cardiff. "I think that obviously when you go
down, it is tough on everyone at the club and players - people don't realise
but they do find that tough, it does live with you. So I think when we came
in on the first day it was all about doing things the right way, everybody
enjoying being here and everyone having a smile on their face coming to work
every day, ready to work hard and enjoy what we are all doing. "I think that
is something that Sam does bring in abundance, making sure you are happy
with everyday life as well as on the training pitch and games. "The lads
seem to have responded very well to that - it is a good group. You know I
was a bit surprised, I was half expecting maybe to find it hard, you know
teams go down, everyone is low, there may be a few cliques here and there,
but there is none of that there. "The lads are really up for it all and
there's a lot for us to prove and I think although this is positive, we must
remain grounded, we work hard and get to where we want to be and that is the
Premier League again at the end of the season."
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Championship title betting preview
Bwinbetting.com looks at the main contenders in the Championship title
betting market.
While West Ham and Leicester are strong favourites to finish first in bwin's
Championship title betting market, the competitive nature of the league
means they are unlikely to be the only sides in the mix. With Nottingham
Forest, Brighton and Middlesbrough expected to mount the most credible
challenges, bwinbetting.com takes a look at the cases for each of the main
contenders.
Team: West Ham
Title odds: 4/1
West Ham's title chances were expected to be hit by the loss of several key
players in the wake of their relegation from the Premier League last season.
However, not only are the likes of Scott Parker, Carlton Cole and Robert
Green still at the club, but they have added some impressive names to their
squad. With the arrivals of Kevin Nolan, Joey O'Brien, Matthew Taylor,
Abdoulaye Faye and new manager Sam Allardyce, West Ham are arguably as
strong now as they were this time last season. Although Parker could still
move on before the end of the transfer window, the decision of West Ham's
owners to invest in order to ensure the club returns to the Premier League
as soon as possible looks set to pay dividends. Expect former Newcastle star
Nolan to have a second Championship winners' medal in three years around his
neck come May.
Team: Leicester
Title odds: 4/1
Like West Ham, Leicester's owners have provided their manager with
significant funds to give him the best opportunity of winning promotion.
Foxes boss Sven-Goran Eriksson is no stranger to splashing the cash and has
invested big money in Sean St Ledger, Paul Konchesky, Matthew Mills, Kasper
Schmeichel and Lee Peltier while bringing in Michael Johnson on loan and
John Pantsil, David Nugent and Neil Danns on frees. Ordinarily, a note of
caution should be sounded about how you can't buy success, but the Swede
showed his aptitude for quickly gelling a new group of players during his
time at Manchester City. Should he do the same at the King Power Stadium
then Leicester certainly have the quality to derail West Ham's title push,
although an automatic promotion spot might be the more likely outcome.
Team: Nottm Forest
Title odds: 11/1
Forest's second successive failure in the play-offs brought an end to Billy
Davies' tenure at the club, with former England boss Steve McClaren brought
in with the brief of getting the two-time European Cup winners back into the
top flight. Although they lost Robert Earnshaw to Cardiff and Nathan Tyson
to Derby, McClaren has brought quality in the shape of Andy Reid, George
Boateng and Jonathan Greening to the Forest ranks. However, he says he is
"frustrated" in his ability to add more bodies to his squad, suggesting
another play-off spot could be the best Forest fans can hope for.
Team: Brighton
Title odds: 14/1
Norwich, Leeds and Millwall all showed it is possible to push for promotion
to the Premier League in the year after escaping from League One, with the
Canaries sealing second spot in the table last season and both Leeds and
Millwall challenging for a play-off place until late on. With this in mind,
Gus Poyet's Brighton could be the surprise Championship packages this year
after storming to the 2011 League One title playing an attractive brand of
football. They might have lost Elliott Bennett to Norwich, but the capture
of Craig Mackail-Smith shows the Seagulls' ambition, and with a new stadium
to play in Brighton could upset the established order in their first season
Championship season since 2006.
Team: Middlesbrough
Title odds: 14/1
Middlesbrough have not even come close to winning promotion back to the
Premier League following relegation in 2009, finishing 11th and 12th in
their two seasons in the Championship since then. However, four straight
wins at the end of the last campaign suggested manager Tony Mowbray was
starting to have a positive impact, and despite continued budgetary
constraints Boro are expected to continue this form into the new season.
That said, a title challenge might be beyond them and Boro fans might have
to content themselves with a place in the top six.
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Sven fears Long is Prem bound
Leicester chief thinks Reading striker will go top-flight
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @skygraemebailey. Last Updated:
August 4, 2011 9:12am
SSN
Sven Goran Eriksson fears striking target Shane Long is destined for the
Premier League. Skysports.com revealed that the Foxes had launched a bid for
the Irish international, who has also been targeted by Championship rivals
West Ham. But with the likes of West Brom, Sunderland, Everton and Newcastle
also linked, Eriksson fears the lure of the top-flight will see the Reading
man reject their advances. "Long is one on the list but he may end up in the
Premier League," said Eriksson. "We are working on one or two more and if we
do then it's going to be a big name."
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West Ham's Big Gamble
Alex V 11:09 Wed Aug 3
West Ham Online
I can't be the only fan who wanted relegation to signal a clear-out and a
return to basics. I wanted a clear re-engagement with the process of
promoting a home-grown team with long-term progress based on our well-known
high standard of technical coaching of young players. I wanted less churn of
players, and I wanted less reliance on short-term impact signings on high
wages. The only major investment I wanted was in training facilities, to
give us a better chance of training up a better class of player for the
future.
Clearly Gold, Sullivan and the other owners have different ideas, and who
could really blame them. With a huge investment in a football club, and with
the prospect of a big stadium to fill on the horizon, the priority is simply
promotion. At all costs. Sod the future, this is now.
It's hard to fully assess the scale of our gamble on immediate promotion,
but I think at this level it is pretty much unprecedented. Rather than just
shifting high earners off the wage bill, we are replacing them with
Premier-league players who are probably on Premiership wages. Of course a
lot of high-earners have left, but some high-earners have come in. I can't
remember any relegated team in recent memory taking such an aggressive
transfer policy. The likes of Nolan, Faye and Taylor look like fantastic
players for this level, but they need to be - if their ability fails to
materialise or injury hampers their progress, they could end up just as
fatal a drain on the club's resources as Dyer or McCarthy. Even the familiar
relegation fire-sale has simply not occured as yet - only Da Costa and Kovac
have left the club for fairly meagre fees. Compare that to our last
relegation when nearly twenty million had been recouped on player sales
before a ball had been kicked in the Championship.
This gamble scares me. It should worry any West Ham fan. If you think 'money
matters' don't concern us fans, ask the supporters of Portsmouth, Preston,
Sheffield Wednesday, Southampton or Leeds, or any of the huge number of
clubs who have slipped into administration in recent years. Remember our own
very recent financial problems. I have to ask whether any club in the
championship could ever really hope to survive paying out £40-50k per week
to one player - we probably have 4 or 5 on that figure or more. Our wage
bill must be totally unsustainable at this level - Indeed I doubt our
current spending on wages would even be allowed under UEFA wage restraint
rules coming in next season.
On one hand I feel like we're a horrible example of what's gone wrong in the
modern game - unsustainable spending chasing unsustainable goals, totally at
odds with what made the sport great in the first place. It's categorically
not what I personally wanted the club to do, and I think it's a cul-de-sac
in terms of genuinely setting up the club for success.
On the other hand I want us to win the league. We have the squad to do it
right now. It could be an incredibly exciting season.
But the championship is undoubtedly a lot tougher as a league than five
years ago when we struggled to a fortuitous promotion under Pardew. Most of
us surely remember the uncertainties of facing tough organised sides week
after week, playing their biggest match of the season against West Ham, and
often raising their game for it. It's all very well being up for the season
right now, but when the fixtures pile up in Winter there will be no
feel-good factor whatsoever.
The biggest problem in terms of our prospects is the problem of having to
assemble a fair old chunk of our squad almost from scratch in the space of a
few weeks. No championship club has seen as many changes as we have. We will
be the least familiar set of players in the league next Sunday, the least
integrated team, a group with a new manager and a new pattern of play and
with no record of succeeding at it. That's a hell of a lot of question
marks. Add to that the uncertainties of who will leave and who will come in
before the transfer window ends. It's been indicated that any player who
leaves the club will have to be replaced, with at least a couple more
signings promised even before that happens. If we don't get promoted, this
incredible churn of players will be a prime reason for the failure.
Yet we still find ourselves favourites for promotion. We have clearly the
best squad in the division, almost whatever happens in the next few weeks.
No other championship team would even consider the prospect of buying a
player like Kevin Nolan. We still have three recent England Internationals
at the club. I think we already have a first team that would be considered
good enough to survive in the Premiership. If we close the window with
anything like what we've got at the moment, we cannot fail to be a force at
this level. If we hit the ground running we have the quality to run away
with the division, definitely.
But if Christmas comes and we're only hovering in and around the play-off
places, I fear for our future - I think the house of cards might collapse.
There's only so long you can hang on to Premiership-quality players without
a genuine guarantee of success. And six months of treading water in the
championship is hardly likely to inflate any player's value in the transfer
market. It will be a whole new rebuilding process all over again, and how
many at the club have the stomach for that sort of process? Financially
overstretched, we will be stuck in a position that many clubs have totally
failed to recover from in the past.
One day I want to see the club in the position where it isn't one wrong turn
away from relative oblivion, administration or worse. At the moment we are
one broken promise away from disaster, clinging on desperately to the hope
that our 'benefactors' can bail us out of the relegation black hole, which
will only get deeper and wider the more we cling on to this big-spending
policy. It's absolutely nothing to be proud of, but fingers-and-toes-crossed
I hope it works this season.
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Andy Johnson, John Carew or David Ngog?
August 4th, 2011 - 8:20 am by S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
Reports yesterday suggested that West Ham have abandoned the attempt to sign
Reading's Shane Long. Instead, Sam Allardyce's attention seems to have
shifted to Fulham's Andy Johnson. Johnson is in the final year of his
contract at Fulham and West Ham have allegedly submitted an initial £2m bid.
However, it has been reported that WBA are also interested in acquiring
Johnson, if they cannot manage to strike a deal for Long. Will Johnson
return to the West Midlands (he is a former Birmingham City player?) or can
Sam Allardyce persuade him to drop down to the Championship to give West
Ham's promotion push the extra cutting edge that it needs?
Other reports have suggested that West Ham retain an interest in landing
former Villa centre forward John Carew on a free transfer. If so, it is
currently unclear whether this will mean an exit for Cole or Piquionne?
Within this context, Stoke City are supposedly still interested in striking
a deal for Cole, while Sunderland have apparently made an enquiry about
Piquionne's availability. It seems that any real prospect of a deal with
Stoke City, for Cole's services, are gone; and I would not be at all
surprised if he remains at the club next season. However, perhaps the club
might be tempted to cash in on Piquionne if the transfer fee, offered by
Sunderland, was substantial enough?
An intriguing third possibility mooted yesterday in the media, was a £3.5m
move for Liverpool striker David Ngog. Ngog is way down the Liverpool
striking pecking order and could be a realistic Hammers target, perhaps in
tandem with Andy Johnson?
Sam Allardyce has stated that reinforcing his attack is his number one
priority. He appears to be reasonably happy with the rest of his squad, but
needs to boost the strike force. Are Johnson, Carew and Ngog the right
calibre of potential target? Can they be instrumental in firing West Ham
back to the PL? Or are there better alternatives out there?
SJ. Chandos.
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Faye set to make West Ham comeback against Grays tonight
London 24
Nathaniel John
Thursday, August 4, 2011
11:18 AM
Abdoulaye Faye is set to return from his hamstring injury tonight to make
only his second appearance in a Hammers shirt, as Ian Hendon takes a West
Ham XI to play Grays Athletic. Defender Faye, who joined the Hammers from
Stoke City this summer, has been out of action since the first game of West
Ham's Switzerland pre-season tour against BSC Young Boys, when the
32-year-old was withdrawn at half time. However, having made a full recovery
from the hamstring complaint, Faye returned to full training on Monday and
is hoping to prove his fitness tonight, in time for Sunday's Championship
opener against Cardiff City at Upton Park. Hendon could have a number of
other players with first-team experience at his disposal for the game in
south Essex, including Junior Stanislas, Zavon Hines and Frank Nouble.
Cristian Montano – one of only two players to have played every first-team
pre-season game so far – is also included in the squad alongside youngsters
Olly Lee, George Moncur and Sebastien Lletget. However, Mikael Forssell, who
is currently on trial with the Hammers, is unlikely to make his debut
tonight at the game being played at East Thurrock FC, kicking off at 7.45pm.
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Scott Parker not in West Ham's plans as Spurs and Arsenal bids 'expected'
Metro.co.uk
Scott Parker looks set to leave West Ham as Sam Allardyce is expecting an
offer to come that will match the club's valuation of the midfielder. There
is a great deal of interest in the England midfielder, but so far the offers
made have not matched the value the club's owners have put on Parker. North
London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are rumoured to be leading the race to
secure the 30-year-old's services next season. The West Ham boss said if the
club's valuation is met, and the player wants to leave, he will go, so he is
currently planning for life without the talismanic midfielder. An indication
of the likelihood of Parker's departure is the fact that Allardyce has
overlooked him for the position of captain, preferring to offer Kevin Nolan,
who he bought from Newcastle for £4.5 million this summer, the honour of
leading the Hammers.
It is thought that Parker may need to move to a Premier League club in order
to secure his spot in Fabio Capello's England squad for upcoming qualifiers.
However, West Ham fans were given some hope in recent days, as the
midfielder said he was committed to helping the club regain its Premier
League status by securing promotion from the Championship
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Football Hero Sir Geoff To Play Agent In Film
3Comments
12:18pm UK, Thursday August 04, 2011
Sky News
Sir Geoff Hurst is set to become a star on the screen as well as on the
pitch after landing a role in a movie. The 69-year-old sporting hero has
been cast in Payback Season as a football agent called Adam Avely. The film
follows Jerome Davies, played by Kidulthood star Adam Deacon, who struggles
when he swaps his council estate upbringing for a career as a professional
footballer. Writer and Director Danny Donnelly said: "As an avid football
fan and lifelong West Ham Supporter, working with Geoff Hurst is an amazing
development. "I can't wait to see him on our set and have the opportunity to
work with him." Producer Justin King added: "Sir Geoff Hurst is one of this
country's true footballing heroes and to include him in the Payback Season
is an honour for all involved on the feature."
The film also stars Donkey Punch actress Nichola Burley and The Chronicles
of Narnia's Anna Popplewell. Sir Geoff made history in 1966 as the only
player to have scored a hat-trick in a World Cup final, helping England win
against Germany 4-2. He is not the first footballer to make the move onto
the big screen - Vinnie Jones has carved out a career as an actor in films
including Snatch and Mean Machine. Eric Cantona starred in the 2009 film
Looking for Eric, playing a version of himself offering philosophical advice
to a postman.
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Stoke City move for Scott Parker could help West Ham sign Joey Barton
Stoke make inquiry about 30-year-old midfielder Parker
Fee could be used to fund free-transfer signing of Barton
Jamie Jackson
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 4 August 2011 12.31 BST
Stoke City have inquired about Scott Parker, who is valued no lower than £8m
by West Ham United, with any move for the 30-year-old likely to free up the
Hammers to explore signing Joey Barton on a free transfer from Newcastle
United. Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal all retain an interest in
Parker. But the interest from Aston Villa – who offered £7m this summer –
and from Chelsea – who considered a bid, or a loan deal for Parker – appears
to have cooled. Stoke nearly signed the West Ham striker Carlton Cole this
summer only for the player to decide against the move, and Parker may be
reluctant to move to the Potteries.
West Ham will not accept any less than £8m for Parker, who has three years
remaining on his contract at Upton Park, due to the £40m hole in their
finances that relegation has caused. By the end of August West Ham will have
injected around £18m for cash flow and wages purposes. If Parker were to
depart, Barton would cost West Ham nothing after the controversial
midfielder was told he can leave for free due to his dispute with the
hierarchy on Tyneside. This follows a bust-up with management and series of
tweets in which he has criticised the board.
Were he to join West Ham, he would be reunited with his former Newcastle
team-mate Kevin Nolan and the manager, Sam Allardyce, who signed Barton from
Manchester City. Nolan, the new West Ham captain, wants to continue his
goalscoring form of the previous two seasons. Last season the attacking
midfielder managed 12 in the Premier League for Newcastle, having collected
17 when the club was promoted two years ago. He told the West Ham website:
"[I am setting] no targets, well none I am going to make public anyway, but
hopefully I can get into good goal figures and help the likes of Piq
[Freddie Piquionne], Coley [Carlton Cole] and the other lads. "If I can chip
in great but first and foremost we have got to make sure we are winning
games. That is the key, that the winning mentality comes back and hope that
this starts on Sunday against Cardiff [in their first Championship
fixture]."
Nolan praised the spirit at the club since joining this summer. "Obviously
when you go down, it is tough on everyone at the club and players – people
don't realise but they do find that tough, it does live with you. So I think
when we came in on the first day it was all about doing things the right
way, everybody enjoying being here and everyone having a smile on their face
coming to work every day, ready to work hard and enjoy what we are all
doing.
"That is something that Sam [Allardyce, the manager] does bring in
abundance, making sure you are happy with everyday life as well as on the
training pitch and games. The lads seem to have responded very well to that
– it is a good group. You know I was a bit surprised, I was half expecting
maybe to find it hard. You know teams go down, everyone is low, there may be
a few cliques here and there, but there is none of that there. "There's a
lot for us to prove and although this is positive, we must remain grounded,
we work hard and get to where we want to be and that is the Premier League
again at the end of the season."
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West Ham's Cole to Fulham?
London24
Dave Evans, West Ham Correspondent
Thursday, August 4, 2011
12:34 PM
Hammers striker Carlton Cole has been linked with a move to Craven Cottage,
with Andy Johnson coming in the other direction. Rumours that Carlton Cole
may be heading back to the Premier League with Fulham have been dismissed by
both Cottagers boss Martin Jol and insiders at West Ham. The 27-year-old
England striker turned down a move to Stoke City last month after a fee had
been agreed between the two clubs, but now Fulham are said to be interested
in bolstrering their forward line with Cole, who scored 11 goals for the
relegated Hammers last season. Fulham striker Andy Johnson is said to be a
makeweight in any deal between the two clubs, but Jol insisted that despite
the stories, he was not looking at the striker. "We haven't made a bid for
him," insisted the Fulham boss. "I hope this won't sound harsh, but we are
not interested in him at the moment." A West Ham source also suggested that
the move was a non-starter. Part of the reason that Cole turned down a
possible move to the Britannia Stadium was his desire to remain in London,
but though a move to Fulham would do that, allowing him to team up once
again with former Hammers striker Bobby Zamora, his pledge to stay with West
Ham is likely to keep him at Upton Park, at least until January.
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West Ham United rival Bolton Wanderers for Liverpool striker Ngog
by Jack Failsworth. Published Thu 04 Aug 2011 13:53, Last updated:
2011-08-04
ClickLancashire.com
According to reports Bolton Wanderers target David Ngog is interesting West
Ham United. Wanderers boss is understood to be eyeing the out-of-favour
Liverpool striker. The Sun claims Hammers boss Sam Allardyce is also
interested and is ready to make a move. However, it seems the Championship
outfit have told Liverpool they will need to lower their £5.5million
valuation of the French star. And they are also trying to persuade the
player to drop his £45k-per-week wage demands.
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West Ham talk to police over 'unlawful' Spurs conduct
ESPN staff
August 4, 2011
Tottenham could find themselves in a fierce legal battle with West Ham after
the Hammers confirmed they are in talks with police regarding the
possibility of Spurs employing a private investigator during the two clubs'
battle for the Olympic Stadium. West Ham won the right to move into the
Olympic Stadium, but there is belief by the east London club that Spurs may
have "acted unlawfully". A statement released by the Hammers served warning
to Tottenham that legal action could follow. "West Ham remain in contact
with police with regard to the serious matter of a private investigator
acting unlawfully, reportedly under instruction by Tottenham Hotspur," read
a statement. "This matter is being treated with the utmost seriousness by
the club, especially given the methods claimed to have been used to obtain
this personal information in relation to reported breaches of the Data
Protection Act - as a result of the unlawful acquisition of bank and
telephone records belonging to senior executives at the club and the Olympic
Park Legacy Company. "This activity, if proven, can attract custodial
sentences for the perpetrators."
West Ham also announced that "independent" legal experts have advised the
club that nothing should stop them taking over the Olympic Stadium, despite
challenges from Spurs and Leyton Orient and allegations of insider dealings.
The Hammers hired "external counsel" from prestigious barristers Blackstone
Chambers to conduct the in-depth legal evaluation, with the club releasing a
statement on Wednesday outlining its findings. "An independent barrister's
investigation has found nothing that compromises the integrity of the
decision to make West Ham United the preferred bidder for the Olympic
Stadium," the statement read. "The findings - which completely exonerate the
club over the matter and showed it acted lawfully at all times - came after
the consideration of all relevant correspondence and documentation, along
with statements from all relevant officials. The barrister had total and
unfettered access to all emails and other documents sent and received, along
with any information required. "The report found no confidential information
was passed by the OPLC [Olympic Park Legacy Committee] to West Ham United
through Ms [Dionne] Knight (an OPLC employee who was paid for consultancy
work by West Ham). Similarly, it found that no person at the club has at any
point considered themselves to have an improper source of information or
influence within the OPLC. "With regard to Ms Knight, by far the bulk of the
invoiced work took place after the decision of the OPLC to confer preferred
bidder status and consisted of the transparent preparation of extensive
procurement-related documentation."
The West Ham statement added: "It concluded firmly that Ms Knight's work had
in no way affected the integrity of the joint West Ham United-London Borough
of Newham bid which was approved by the Olympic Park Legacy Company."
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