Daily WHUFC News - 28th June 2012

Hall aiming for England double
WHUFC.com
Rob Hall is looking to add a EURO Under-19 winner's medal to the Under-17
gong he won in 2010
27.06.2012

Rob Hall is aiming to complete a rare win double when he represents England
at the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in Georgia next month. The
West Ham United forward was part of the Young Lions squad that won the
Under-17 version of the same competition in the summer of 2010. Two years
later, Hall and his team-mates will travel to eastern Europe confident of
repeating that achievement. With England being given a bye until the final
Elite Round of qualifiers, Hall was not involved, but he did prove his
pedigree at Under-19 level by scoring the winner in a 1-0 international
victory over Denmark in November. Having made his Hammers first-team debut
last term, the 18-year-old is also eager to catch the eye of Sam Allardyce
while on England duty in the hope of earning playing time now West Ham are
back in the Barclays Premier League.

The promising forward spoke to whufc.com ahead of what promises to be an
exciting 2012/13 season.

How do you feel to have been selected for the UEFA European Under-19
Championship this summer?

RH - I am looking forward to it. We have got a strong squad and players with
a lot of experience. It should be a very competitive tournament because
we're in a harder group than when we won it as Under-17s. I believe we can
do well, though.

What are your expectations ahead of the tournament?

RH - We will take every game as it comes, game-by-game, like we did when we
won it as Under-17s. We will not get too excited if we win and will try to
do exactly what we did two years ago. Obviously we will all be there to try
to impress, both our England coach and our club managers. I want to go back
to West Ham feeling fit and sharp because I'm determined to do well. It will
be difficult to win the tournament but hopefully we can play well
individually and as a team and do the country proud.

Do you expect it to be a battle to get into the starting line-up or do you
see yourself being utilised as an impact substitute?

RH - I was not involved in the final round of qualifiers, but I had had a
phone call and was told I would be involved in the final tournament if we
got through. I have played one game before at Under-19 level against Denmark
back in November and I scored the winner, so I know I can play at this level
and do well. I have only recently returned from holiday and I did feel a bit
leggy when I started training again, but that has quickly disappeared and
I'm feeling fit and sharp again. When we won the Under-17 tournament I
started one game and was used as a substitute in all the others, so I had a
big part to play. Everyone goes to the tournament with a point to prove and
wanting to be involved and whatever part I have to play, I'll be doing my
best.

Which other England players should viewers watch out for at the European
Under-19 Championship finals?

RH - My friend Nathaniel Chalobah is a year younger than us, but he is a
fantastic and versatile player. We played against his Chelsea team in the FA
Youth Cup when he scored a last-minute equaliser and they beat us on
penalties, so hopefully he can cheer me up rather than breaking my heart
this time around! We've got lots of good players. George Thorne from West
Brom and Conor Coady from Liverpool are real prospects and Nathan Redmond
played loads of games for Birmingham's first team last season.

How would you rate the season you have just had? What are your targets for
next season with West Ham now back in the Barclays Premier League?

RH - It was definitely more of an 'up' season than a 'down' one. Hopefully
this coming year I can do even more. I would like to think that I am not too
far away from taking the next step, but we have not been back in at West Ham
yet this summer, so I don't know exactly what that means for me yet. This
will be my first season as a professional age-wise so it's an exciting time
for me. I cannot sit on last season's achievements any longer, because every
year you are starting from scratch. If I get the call to play for West Ham,
I feel I have got the ability and the confidence to play and not look out of
place. It's up to me to show the manager that. I feel that, when I have been
used in the past, I have done well and he can have the confidence to use me
again. There are always rumours about the club signing new playersbut if I
can get the chance to show what I can do, then the manager will not need to
buy anybody or bring anyone in on loan.

Will you look to go out on loan again next season?

RH - I cannot thank Oxford United enough for the confidence they gave me
last season. The manager Chris Wilder and Andy Melville there took me under
their wing and said 'You have got great ability so go out there and show
what you can do'. I was playing week-in, week-out and it meant I was not
afraid to try things. I was 17 and they gave me the confidence to show them
that I could play and I was scoring goals and setting things up. Because of
them, I was making headlines that maybe a 17-year-old doesn't normally make.
If the manager feels that I could benefit from going out on loan then I
would be happy to do so. I spent a bit of time at MK Dons and got a little
taste of League One and I would obviously love to play regularly at a higher
level than I have done before, but the main thing is that I just want to be
playing football.

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Jack goes back to his roots
WHUFC.com
Jack Collison has attended a ground-breaking ceremony at the club he played
for as an Under-9
27.06.2012

Jack Collison went back to his roots as the club he represented as a boy
started work on their new home this week. The West Ham United midfielder was
the special guest as he saw work getting started on the new £1.3 million
ground for Shefford Saints Youth FC in the Bedfordshire town of Shefford.
Collison joined representatives from Warden Developments and the Football
Foundation as work began on the 11-acre site on Tuesday. "It was great to
come back here and see this work being done, which I know will mean lots of
facilities being available for more youngsters and the club as a whole,"
said the No10, who donned a hard hat and hi-visibility jacket for his visit
before hopping on to a digger for a photocall. "The club still means a lot
to me, I played here as child and my family are still local. I had a great
time playing here and so it is important that these clubs are given the
support in this way to try and improve and be able to offer the chance for
youngsters to play."

Collison won the Shefford Saints Player of the Year award as an Under-9 and
the club now has a special award named in his honour that is presented
annually to a player with the greatest potential. "It is a great place and I
am sure many youngsters will get a lot from being here," smiled the Wales
international. The ground will also be used by Bedfordshire County League
side Shefford Town and Campton and representatives from both clubs joined
Collison at the ground-breaking ceremony.
When complete, the clubs will have use of a full-size pitch, four
mini-pitches and a pavilion clubhouse. Shefford Saints chairman Graham Earl
added: "This is an incredibly exciting new phase in the club's evolution.We
are delighted the ground works are now starting and that the process of
creating a major new outstanding home ground and training facility should be
complete by the start of 2013."

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Hammers set for SC Braga test
WHUFC.com
West Ham United will take on Portuguese side SC Braga in their final
pre-season fixture
27.06.2012

West Ham United are delighted to announce that the first team will take on
UEFA Champions League qualifiers SC Braga in their final pre-season fixture.
Sam Allardyce's side will travel to Portugal to take on the 2011 UEFA Europa
League runners-up at the iconic Estadio AXA on Friday 10 August. The
kick-off time and ticket details will be published on whufc.com as soon as
they are confirmed. The match will see the Hammers complete their
preparations for the 2012/13 Barclays Premier League season against a strong
side which has risen to the top of the European game in recent seasons. The
fixture will give West Ham supporters the opportunity to visit one of world
football's most unique stadia. The Estadio AXA was built in 2003 ahead of
the 2004 UEFA European Championship finals, having been carved into the face
of the Monte Castro granite quarry.

Assistant manager Neil McDonald said the fixture was a perfect finish to
West Ham's pre-season schedule. "It's a nice game to finish to our
pre-season," said Macca. "Braga came third in the Portuguese league and it
will be a fantastic game for us. It will give us a good idea of where we are
at a week before the start of the season. "We will have been in training for
six or seven weeks leading up to this game, so it will be the most important
match of our pre-season and the perfect preparation for welcoming Aston
Villa on 18 August. "They have got two players at the EUROs and have some
very good players, so it will be a great experience for us against a
fantastic team. "The stadium brings back memories of EURO 2004 with the
rocks behind the goal, so that will be something special. Portugal is a
lovely country, so we'll have a good three or four days away to set us up to
be ready for the start of the Premier League season."

Founded in 1919, SC Braga reached the Portuguese top-flight for the first
time in 1947 and won the Portuguese Cup in 1966. It is in recent years,
however, that the club has become widely-known through its achievements at
home and abroad. Braga have finished outside the top five in the Portuguese
Primeira Liga just once in the previous nine seasons, qualifying for
European football on each occasion. After finishing second in 2009/10, the
Archbishops ended Celtic and Sevilla's UEFA Champions League hopes in the
qualifying rounds before beating Arsenal at home in the group stage. After
finishing third in their group, Braga moved into the UEFA Europa League,
going all the way to the final before being defeated 1-0 by FC Porto. Last
season, Jose Peseiro's men finished third in the table to again qualify for
this season's UEFA Champions League.

Player-wise, Braga have become well-known for importing Brazilian players
and their first-team squad contains more than a dozen players from the South
American country. Of their Portuguese contingent, West Ham fans will know
midfielder Hugo Viana from his spell at Newcastle United, while striker Nuno
Gomes earned 79 caps and scored 29 goals for his country. Meanwhile,
defender Migel Lopes and midfielder Custodio were both part of Portugal's
2012 UEFA European Championship finals squad. With pre-season fixtures
already organised against 23-times Austrian Bundesliga champions FK Austria
Wien, German sides SG Dynamo Dresden, Rot-Weiss Erfurt and Energie Cottbus
and visits to Borehamwood, Southend United, Oxford United, Colchester United
and Ipswich Town scheduled, Big Sam's players will be fully prepared for the
big kick-off at home to Aston Villa on Saturday 18 August.

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Guest Post: In Praise of Jack Collison
By Iain Dale About 10 hours ago 11 comments
West Ham Till I Die

By Keith Holland

We get used to a certain image of young footballers portrayed by the
tabloids. Invariably this involves scandal, innuendo and disrepute. I doubt
there will be much coverage of Jack Collison's activity this morning in
tomorrow's papers.

He took the time to cut the first turf of a football club development at
Shefford in Bedfordshire, where his family lives. Jack grew up in the town,
and, as the Chairman mentioned today, was Shefford Saints Under-9 Player of
the Year in 1997. He is still highly thought of by many people in the town.

Watching him operating an excavator [pic] at this farmland site, brought a
whole new meaning to the term "midfield general" but he performed his duties
in the same organised way which we have come to appreciate on the pitch.

Jack deserves a lot of credit for maintaining links to his home community,
and representing WHUFC in such a positive and mature way. We should be very
proud of him.

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Pog's Royal appointment
The Sun
Last Updated: 28th June 2012

READING have won the fight for Pavel Pogrebnyak. The Russia striker, 28, has
agreed a four-year deal with the Royals and is waiting on a work permit to
complete a switch from Stuggart on a free. Reading beat off interest from
Fulham, where Pogrebnyak was on loan last season, Aston Villa and West Ham
to get their man.

Ex-West Ham midfield ace JULIEN FAUBERT, 28, is set to join Elazigspor in
Turkey.

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Barnet sign West Ham United youngster
11:05pm Wednesday 27th June 2012 in Sport

Barnet have completed their second signing of the summer with defender
Jordan Brown joining from West Ham United. The left-back had loan spells at
Crewe Alexandra and Aldershot Town last season, making 11 appearances in
League Two. Commenting on the 20-year-old's signing, Bees Head Coach Mark
Robson told the club's official website: "Jordan is a player I've known
about for a while now. He's had a good upbringing at West Ham - both on and
off the pitch. He continued: "He is a very promising player and he was
unfortunate not to feature more in the West Ham First Team as he played a
few times in their pre- season last year.
"With all the players they brought in he never really got an opportunity.
But that can only be a good thing for us as I really want to help him
develop and prosper as a Bee and I believe he will do that here. "I'm very
excited to finally get Jordan here as I know there were a few clubs chasing
him. I'm glad he chose to come here."

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West Ham raise the stakes in Holt chase as Allardyce offers £6m for Norwich
striker
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 23:02, 27 June 2012 | UPDATED: 23:02, 27 June 2012
Daily Mail

West Ham have upped their bid for striker Grant Holt to £6million and hope a
£4m payment up front will convince Norwich to sell. The 31-year-old former
Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale, Nottingham Forest and Shrewsbury frontman is
desperate to quit Carrow Road this summer despite the arrival of new manager
Chris Hughton. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has already seen bids of £3.5m and
£5.5m rejected for the forward, who scored 17 goals last season. Allardyce,
whose newly-promoted side open their Premier League season against Holt's
former manager Paul Lambert and Aston Villa in August, is keen to add
firepower to his squad ahead of the new term. West Ham already have an
abundance of strikers in their squad with Carlton Cole, Ricardo Vaz Te,
Nicky Maynard, Sam Baldock and Frederic Piquionne all in the mix.

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West Ham Looking to Sign Sunderland Duo by End of the Month
Sportsvibe.co.uk

West Ham could soon be completing the signing of two new players as they
close in on Sunderland duo Ahmed Elmohamady and George McCartney. Left-back
McCartney was sent to West Ham on-loan last season and it seems Sam
Allardyce is keen to tie him down to a permanent deal as the Hammers prepare
for life back in the Premier League. According to the Shields Gazette, the
two clubs have a 'gentleman's agreement' in place that should West Ham earn
promotion back to the top flight then a permanent deal would be arranged for
the defender. However, they have also learnt that Sunderland are now keen to
try and sell Egyptian international Elmohamady to the east London club after
deciding that he is now surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light.
Sunderland are keen to trim their squad, while West Ham are working hard to
bring in players that can further strengthen their side for a campaign back
in the Premier League. The paper has reported how Elmohamady has been given
permission to speak with West Ham, but it is unconfirmed as to whether it
will be a permanent deal or a loan.

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Former West Ham defender makes Turkey switch
By talkSPORT | Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Former West Ham midfielder Julien Faubert has agreed to join Turkish club
Elazigspor. Faubert, 28, is a free agent after he was released by West Ham
during the summer and was strongly linked with a move to Lazio. The French
winger started 28 league games last season and was a key member of the squad
under Sam Allardyce, but he was not offered a new deal to stay at Upton
Park. Reports in Turkey suggest Faubert is on the verge of completing a move
to Elazigspor and hopes to finalise his transfer in the near future.

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