Defender's contract is cancelled by mutual consent
Last Updated: January 28, 2012 5:47pm
SSN
Congolese defender Herita Ilunga has been released from his contract at West
Ham with immediate effect after the player came to a mutual agreement with
club.
The 29-year-old - who first made his debut for the Hammers in 2008 on loan
from Toulouse - played his last game for Sam Allardyce's team in the 2-1
Carling Cup defeat to Aldershot back in August and has been playing on loan
at Championship rivals Doncaster since October. Ilunga moved to the Boleyn
Ground on a permanent basis for a fee of £3million in the summer of 2009 -
and leaves having played 73 games for the club, netting three goals. A
statement on the Hammers' official website said: "The club would like to
thank Herita for his service and wish him well for the future."
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The Positive Psychological Aspect of Transfers
January 29th, 2012 - 12:01 am by S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
Naturally, all fans are anxious to see the club bring in quality players,
improve the team and drive up performance. This anxiety has intensified
since the two transfer windows were introduced, especially in the PL. At
least in the Championship, there is still the loan system to fall back on
for a period, after the window closes. This window has been incredibly
frustrating for everyone and I really do believe that the club have not
exactly helped themselves by under bidding for players, going in low and
losing the early initiative. I accept that January is a difficult time to
do deals and that you generally have to pay over the odds, but we know that
from previous seasons. Surely, there are two interconnected points here.
Firstly, get the majority of your business done in the summer and, secondly,
only fall back on the January window if forced to by results or if a
particularly good player becomes available.
Anyone who has read my blog posts will know that I am not a 'Gollivan'
basher. I try to give a fair and even handed assessment, recognising when
they do well (i.e. like in last January's transfer window) and
constructively criticising where I thnk it is merited (i.e. the fact that
they needed to 'pull it out of the bag' last January, because they failed to
do the business necessary the previous summer!). While maintaining that
their approach to transfer business has hitherto not particularly helped us
in this window, I also fully accept they have worked hard on the transfer
front, but perhaps we might have had better results if they had worked
differently. Of course, I do not exactly know, aside from the usual
speculation, what our transfer budget actually is or what financial
pressures they face. Is it £10M as has been stated? Although what many fans
tend to forget is that most transfer deals are not straight cash up front,
but an initial payment, followed by structured instalments over a specified
period. So, £10m can stretch further than one would suppose if the deals
are structured appropriately. Perhaps one of the problems with the Jelavic
deal is that Rangers need the majority of the fee up front, which does not
suit present West Ham's purposes. Personally, I would have tried to tempt
them with another player in part-exchange. Why not try to include both
Piquionne and Faubert in the deal, especially if we can sign Snodgrass from
Leeds Utd to play on the right-hand side of midfield?
The other alleged fact, which is admirable if true, is that the co-owners
are putting up the transfer funds themselves, to avoid more debt being
loaded on the club, that's if the banks would even allow it to happen in the
first place. In all probablity the club's owners are neither 'Gollivan' nor
the totally selfless 'white knight' saviours of the club. The truth is
probably lies somewhere in the middle and that requires even handed
analysis, not crude polemics and extreme black and white contrary views,
which attempt to portray them as either 'altrustic saviours' or 'pantomine
villans.' In my view, there is no doubt they do have the best interests of
the club at heart, that is why they bought the controlling stake in a club
that even Tony Fernandes admitted was tottering on the brink of insolvency.
However, although the short-term financial prospects were not great, there
was no doubt that there were also real opportunities inherent in the
commercial activities and expanded revenue potentially available via the OS
move; as well as the receipts from the sale of Upton Park. Although reports
would seem to indicate that the new OS procurement process renders those
self same commercial opportunities far less attractive to the club, which is
undoubtedly a problem for the owners and, potentially, the long-term
development of the club. It remains to be seen whether the club and Newham
Council can win key concessions that render the contract more attractive.
Anyway, I am also keen to see a couple of good quality additions, or even
one excellent signing, because of the psychological lift it can give the
playing staff and, indeed, the whole club. The current squad are doing the
business. We are where we should be at this stage of the season, although we
could realistically have been in a much stronger position but for a few
unfortunate results. But I feel that the squad and the fans could do with a
psychological lift to power us over the promotion finishing line in
April/May. One of the best ways of doing that is bringing in new blood,
fresh players and application. And the better the quality of the player(s)
the better. It lifts he squad, increases competition and gives out clear a
message about ambition. Do you remember the lift that Kevin Nolan's signing
gave everyone in the summer, do you remember the buzz that Dean Ashton's
signing created in January 2006 and older fans will recall the fanastic
boost that the capture of Phil Parkes from QPR, gave us all, in 1979?
Although the classic psychological boost was probably Ted Fenton's signing
of Vic Keeble from Newcastle Utd in 1957-58, a player who was the final
peice in a jig saw that saw West Ham transformed from a very good team in to
an excellent promotion winning side that also finished sixth in the old
First Division the following season.
I would love to see us land a quality player to create something like the
same psychological boost and, of course, improved quality in the squad.
Belief is an important factors in sports psychology and I have the feeling
that we may have suffered a little in that department this season, probably
a residual hangover from last season's struggles? Although we are exactly
where we need to be in the league, you cannot escape the conclusion that
this squad, man for man, is the strongest in the Championship and we rightly
should be in more comfortable position at the top of the league, regardless
of how surprising well Southampton have played. In terms of timing, this
stage of the season is the perfect juncture to move up the gears and put the
gas peddle to the floor. An excellent transfer deal or two might be just
the way to help bring that about.
ps. I originally drafted this blog post early on Saturday, before I was
aware that Braderz had broke the Tevez loan deal story. That would
perfectly illustrate the positive transfer effect, and be a huge
psychological boost for all connected with the club, in the crucial run-in
to the season. A 75% match fit Tevez, initially, playing 45 minutes a game
would be enough to have a massive positive impact in this league! Lets pray
it happens. If it does not, lets hope that they have another transfer card
concealed up their sleeve?
SJ. Chandos.
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Carlitos Coming Home?
January 28th, 2012 - 2:16 pm by Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die
Well, I suggested it in the post below, and if Bradley's recent tweets have
some substance, we could soon be some very happy Hammers… Here is what he
has just tweeted. Perhaps if some people on this site hadn't been so vile to
Bradley he might have written it here instead. Some people should think on
that…
Ladies and Gentlemen and West Ham fans, I promised big news by the weekend
which was being kept quiet by my source…well here it is.. WHU are extremely,
and I mean extremely, close to a short term loan deal for Mr. Carlos Tevez.
The newspapers seem to have got to this first and I had to ask for obvious
reasons of pure excitement. This has all occurred after Tevez realised
earlier on in the week his permanent move away was not going to be on the
cards and City didn't want to loan the player abroad. WHU have now revised
and jumped at a chance of a short term loan deal and has stated on many
occasions that he would jump at the chance of a short term return to WHU.
The stumbling block at the moment is his wage package and WHU are currently
negotiating a deal that suits all parties. This has legs guys and there is a
chance that we may see Tevez return to our claret and blue. Wow!! I'm still
staggered by it all myself. For those interested if this effects the Jelavic
deal, I can confirm that it won't as Jelavic is part of our long term plans
whereas Tevez would be short term to get WHU back where we belong. Rangers
are likely to announce at some stage today or tomorrow wether our new offer
has been successful or not. Madness at WHU Camp!!
Well, if Gold and Sullivan pull this one off, even AussieGraham might have
to revise his opinion of them.
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Transfer Gossip – Saturday 27 January
January 28th, 2012 - 11:52 am by Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die
* So, Mr Jelavic is 'ill' and won't be turning out for Rangers today. Yeah,
and Harry Redknapp can't write. Well, if I read that correctly he might be
on his way to East London for a medical. Let's hope we have some good news
later on. Two days ago the club website said they expected to report a
significant signing in the next 48 hours. Time up! Presumably if we sign
Jelavic that will put the kybosh on the Jordan Rhodes transfer. It seems
impossible that we'd be able to finance both without offloading Carlton
Cole. And Cole, to his credit, has made clear he wishes to stay. I only hope
that if we do sign Jelavic that M. Piquionne is thrown in as part of the
deal. I imagine we'd still have to pay part of his wages, but anything to
get him off the books.
* Now this next bit of speculation is, I admit, pretty far fetched, but have
any of you thought of the possibity of Carlos Tevez coming back to us for
the rest of the season in a last minute loan agreement? Inter Milan say his
transfer deal is 'dead'. I haven't seen any other suitors after him. I
wonder, I just wonder… I've now woken up…
* In other speculation we are rumoured to be interested in former Arsenal
and Birmingham midfielder Alexander Hleb. I can't think why. He's at
Wolfsburg on loan at the moment but has only played 4 games, according to
Wikipedia. What would he give us that we don't have already?
* Many of you have already celebrated the departure of Herita Ilunga. What
short memories we have. When he first joined us he was brilliant, but it
seems to me that Grant and Allardyce managed to shoot his confidence to
pieces. I, for one, wish him well.
* Liam Ridgewell is a player many of you fancy seeing in a West Ham shirt.
He can play in defence and midfield and is a solid performer. If we can get
him for a reasonable sum, I'd say he would be worth trying for. He will be
well know to Messers Gold, Sullivan and Brady so if we don't go for him,
presumably they have got a good reason. He was rumoured to be going to Wigan
or WBA but it never happened.
* Former West Ham goalkeeper Roy Carroll has joined Olympiakos. Which is
nice.
* QPR are said to be interested in Wigan's Victor Moses. Shouldn't we be?
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The Independent's Obituary of Ernie Gregory
January 28th, 2012 - 10:28 am by Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die
From The Independent
There can hardly be any footballer, from any era, who gave more loyal
service to one club than did Ernie Gregory to West Ham United. As a big,
dominant, charismatic goalkeeper he was a linchpin of the Upton Park side
for a dozen seasons in the middle years of the 20th century, a reassuring
and often inspirational influence as the Hammers won the Second Division
title in 1958.
Later he served West Ham as a coach, offering sage guidance to fine keepers
such as Phil Parkes and Mervyn Day, and even after his 1987 retirement
brought an end to his remarkable 51-year official tenure at the club, he was
a regular visitor at the Chadwell Heath training ground, keeping an eye on
the new generation of young keepers and delivering typically shrewd scouting
assessments.
Though necessarily athletic, Gregory wasn't an overtly spectacular
performer; rather he specialised in canny positioning and safe, unshowy
handling. He was unfailingly courageous, too, in an era when referees
offered goalkeepers scant protection from fearsomely brawny centre-forwards,
the likes of Trevor Ford, Derek Dooley and Nat Lofthouse, who seemed to
bounce off him like lightweights when they encountered his muscular frame.
As a boy Gregory was a promising boxer, and on the football field he was a
defender, but one day his goalkeeper brother Bob broke his leg and Ernie
took his place between the sticks. Thereafter he progressed to the West Ham
Boys side, for whom he was playing in the English Schools Trophy final in
1936 when he was spotted by the Hammers manager Charlie Paynter.
He was approached, too, by Arsenal and Sunderland, but he was an east
Londoner to his boots and never contemplated joining anyone but West Ham,
which he did that year. While still unpaid he helped local amateurs
Leytonstone to win the Isthmian League title in 1938, then turned
professional with the Hammers in 1939.
Aged only 18 at the outbreak of the Second World War, Gregory served in the
Essex Regiment, also finding time to make half a century of appearances for
the Hammers in unofficial emergency competition. Having lost the first half
of his twenties to the conflict, he made his senior debut in a 4-1 Second
Division victory over Plymouth Argyle in December 1946, and by season's end
he was the club's first-choice goalkeeper, a position he retained, injuries
permitting, until 1959.
For much of that period West Ham, managed from 1950 onwards byTed Fenton,
were a moderate Second Division side, despite the presencein their rearguard
of such luminaries as Malcolm Allison, Noel Cantwelland John Bond, and they
owedplenty to Gregory's heroics for keeping them buoyant.
There was no shortage of observers, especially in the East End, who
maintained that he should be rewardedby full caps. But he was unable to oust
such formidable rivals as Manchester City's Frank Swift, Bert Williamsof
Wolves and the Birmingham City man Gil Merrick, though he was granted one
outing for England 'B', against France in 1952.
In 1957-58, during which he entered his 37th year, Gregory was still at the
top of his game as the Hammers lifted their divisional title, and he
remained a major force as Fenton's side performed wonders by finishing sixth
in the First Division. However, that spring he lost his place to the
talented young Irishman Noel Dwyer and he made the last of his 406 senior
appearances in a 2-1 home defeat by Leeds United in September 1959.
At that point, extraordinarily, Gregory was less than halfway through his
tenure with the Hammers, whom he served as a coach for the next 28 years,
through the managerial regimes of Ron Greenwood and John Lyall, helping with
the development of, for example, the club's trio of World Cup heroes, Bobby
Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. He offered experience, continuity and
wisdom to wave after wave of Upton Park hopefuls, while setting a peerless
example of integrity and simple dignity – and, frequently, entertaining them
with his infectious brand of humour. He was summed up admirably by one of
his star pupils, the England goalkeeper Phil Parkes, who described his
mentor as the greatest servant West Ham have ever had.
Ernest Gregory, footballer and coach: born Stratford, London 10 November
1921; played for West Ham United 1946-60; married (wife deceased, and one
daughter, deceased); died 21 January 2012.
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EXCLUSIVE: Tomkins has no regrets staying with Hammers
Published 22:20 28/01/12 By Paul Smith
The Mirror
James Tomkins has no regrets about turning his back on an early return to
Premier League football. At least three clubs, QPR, Newcastle and
Tottenham, were in the hunt to sign the talented youngster during the
current transfer window. But Tomkins, 22, decided to stay put and claimed
he could still fulfill his top flight ambitions by remaining at West Ham.
The subsequent reward for his loyalty was a lucrative new four-year contract
at Upton Park and the defender said: "It is extremely flattering to attract
the interest of other clubs but leaving West Ham is not something I have
ever seriously considered. "Naturally I want to play at the highest level
and the Premier League is arguably the best in the world. "But I want to do
that in a West Ham shirt not playing for another club. "I'm a local boy and
have come through the ranks at the club and loyalty is a far bigger currency
to me than money. "I'm extremely ambitious and striving to be the best
player that I can. "I love it at West Ham and feel under manager Sam
Allardyce I'm continuing to improve as a player. "If I keep working hard
hopefully I will continue to improve." Another reason Tomkins was
determined to stay was out a sense of responsibility after the Hammers were
shocked to be relegated last season. He explained: "It was a massive
culture shock to drop down into the Championship following relegation last
season. "I was absolutely devastated but there was no denying we were bad
last season. "The league table doesn't lie, does it? "Naturally I felt a
sense of responsibility to ensure we got back up at the first attempt and,
in fairness to the other lads, they felt the same. "So there was another
reason I couldn't consider leaving. "It wouldn't have been right with me
joining another club when we were sitting at the top of the Championship and
have a collective responsibility to get the club promoted. "I was committed
to doing that at the start of the season so I wasn't going to complete half
a job and then consider leaving."
Tomkins feels the Hammers, who recently took over from a wobbly Southampton
on top of the Championship after a solid first half of the season, are
heading in the right direction under boss Allardyce. "I enjoy working for
the manager," he added. "He's very meticulous. He takes an active interest
in everything you do on and off the pitch. "I think there have been
occasions when he's taken some unfair stick over the way we have played.
But it's all well and good playing pretty attractive football but where did
that get us last season? "The Championship is very physical and there are
times when the football isn't pretty and you have to grind out results
against sides that are happy to sit 11 men behind the ball and defend for
their lives. "Every game we play is like a cup final for our opponents, we
are the one team everyone wants to beat. "You have to adapt your game for
any given circumstances and the manager is very good at doing that. "We are
on a hiding to nothing in this league. Everyone expects us to get promoted
this season so it's a no win situation for us."
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WEST HAM BOSS SAM ALLARDYCE BACK FOR JORDAN RHODES
29th January 2012 By Daily Star reporter
SAM ALLARDYCE has made a THIRD bid of £5million for Huddersfield striker
Jordan Rhodes. Allardyce has stepped up his attempts to sign the Scotland
international and offered £4million plus a guaranteed £1m if the Hammers are
promoted. Rhodes, 21, is the top scorer in the country after firing in 26
goals for the Terriers and has been Allardyce's No.1 target in this transfer
window. Allardyce is trying again for Rhodes after a £6m bid for Rangers'
Croatian star Nikica Jelavic was rejected.
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GOLD SET TO DITCH WEST HAM OLYMPIC SWITCH
29th January 2012 By Carl Eldridge
Daily Star
WEST HAM are considering dumping plans to move to the Olympic Stadium by
STAYING at Upton Park. Hammers chiefs are said to be weighing up the merits
of raising their current home's capacity to 40,000. Co-chairman David Gold
is now believed to be keen on extending the famous old ground's East Stand
to boost home gates. Championship club West Ham were named as the preferred
bidders for the 60,000-capacity ground last year but the deal collapsed amid
concerns over delays caused by a legal dispute with Spurs. New bidders are
being invited to tender for the venue (below) which will now remain in
public ownership after the Games and be leased out with the Olympic Park
Legacy Company (OPLC) paying for its transformation. But Hammers chiefs are
said to be considering pulling out of the second round of bidding,
preferring to remain in the East End – a move that would delight their
followers. "We're hopeful Sam Allardyce can take the club back to the
Premier League and if we can stay at the Boleyn as well it'd be brilliant,"
said a source. "No way would West Ham fans want to move to a 60,000 stadium.
It'd be a third empty most home games. Upping our present capacity to 40,000
would be just right."
West Ham have until March 23 to tender again with the deadline for a
decision set for May 21.
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Exclusive - Joorabchian: Tevez moving to West Ham is not possible
By Michael Wade
Saturday, January 28, 2012
TalkSport
Kia Joorabchian has told talkSPORT that there is no possibility of Carlos
Tevez joining West Ham on loan. The 27-year-old Argentine striker is
currently the subject of intense speculation about his future, with AC
Milan, Inter Milan and Paris Saint-Germain all linked. But his agent has
revealed that a move to the Championship leaders is not on the agenda
despite rumours suggesting a return to Upton Park could be close. "He is a
West Ham fanatic", Joorabchian said. "That is one club that is very close to
his heart but I think that would not be possible. "First of all Carlos is in
a different position at the moment. West Ham are top of the league in the
Championship, they have a good squad, they have a different objective.
They're in a division that is fighting for promotion. "It would be very
difficult for Man City to want to loan him out because they would have to
end up compensating a lot of the salary and why would they do that?"
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Carlito's Way?
28 January, 2012 - 19:58 — Neville Nixon
WestHamFans.org
Despite that young rogue Kia Joorabchiam stating a move for the Argentinian
striker, Carlos Tevez, from Manchester City to West Ham on loan was highly
unlikely, it seems that there is a gathering momentum to a situation that
could eventually suit all parties.
The two Davids, Gold and Sullivan, must be licking their lips at the free
publicity their club is receiving, even if self proclaimed Hammer Tevez
doesn't end up on loan at the Boleyn until the end of the season, talk about
such a high profile player's potential arrival can only be good when it
comes to attracting future signings.
Has the deal any legs on it? Well, yes and no, Messrs Gold and Sullivan will
feel that West Ham should get a bit of pay back from a player who has
indirectly cost them £24 Million, but Carlito's massive wages are the
obvious stumbling block. Fitness is not really an issue, because the 27 year
old could play a game in hob nail boots after a night on the tiles and still
out perform the Piq Man and Carew!
Tevez would only be a short term fix, but what a high it would be! -Ed
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