WHUFC.com
Legendary West Ham United goalkeeper Ernie Gregory has passed away at the
age of 90
21.01.2012
West Ham United would like to express their sincere condolences to the
family of Ernie Gregory - the legendary Hammers goalkeeper and coach who has
passed away at the age of 90. Gregory was quite simply one of the finest
servants the club has ever known, playing for the first team for 20 years
before embarking on a coaching career that only ended with his retirement in
May 1987 at the age of 65. In all, his association with West Ham totalled an
amazing 51 years. Even in retirement, Gregory was a regular visitor to
Chadwell Heath, where he passed on his immense experience to the club's
young players and coaching staff. He will be sorely missed by everybody
connected with the club. Joint-Chairman David Gold remembers watching
Gregory in action during his own time as a schoolboy player in the 1940s.
"I'm really saddened to hear about the death of Ernie Gregory, who was one
of the all-time great servants of West Ham United. I remember watching him
as a ten or eleven year-old boy and he became my goalkeeping hero growing
up. He represented us for 20 years as a player and a further 30 years as a
coach, which is something that is almost unheard of in today's game. "On
behalf of all of us at West Ham United I would like to send my condolences
to those closest to Ernie and assure them that our thoughts are with them at
this sad time."
Academy Director Tony Carr worked alongside Gregory for more than a decade.
"I worked with Ernie for a long time and it is sad news to hear of his
passing. He was a magnificent servant to the club for more than 50 years as
a player and coach. "He was always someone you could talk to about the game
and he will be missed."
Born in Stratford on 10 November 1921, Gregory played for West Ham Boys and
was noticed by manager Charlie Paynter while playing in an English Trophy
Final against Preston North End at Upton Park, joining the club in 1936.
After spending time with Leytonstone as an amateur player, winning the
Isthmian League in 1938, Gregory made his first Hammers appearance for the
'A' team in 1938. While serving with the Essex Regiment and the Royal Air
Force during World War II, Gregory made more than 50 war-time appearances
for the club before making his Football League debut in a 4-1 home win over
Plymouth Argyle on 28 December 1946. In all, Gregory played for West Ham for
two decades, making a total of 481 appearances. He was an ever-present
during the 1947/48, 1949/50 and 1952/53 seasons and also totalled 37 league
appearances during the Division Two title-winning season of 1957/58.
Gregory's goalkeeping prowess also saw him produce an outstanding England B
performance against France in 1952. After hanging up his gloves in 1959, he
was awarded a testimonial game the following year against LD Alajuelense of
Costa Rica The loyal east Londoner stayed with the club and went on to coach
the reserves and later the first team. He finally retired in May 1987 after
a 51-year association with the Irons.
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Goodbye - and good luck
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd January 2012
By: Staff Writer
KUMB.com would like to wish West Ham United's former Head of Media, Greg
Demetriou, the very best of luck in his new role. Demetriou, who was at West
Ham for several years prior to leaving the club last week is set to embark
on a new role as the Head of Corporate Communications for the Football
Association, where part of his remit will be to work alongside former Hammer
Sir Trevor Brooking.
A loyal and long-term West Ham supporter who was a season ticket holder
prior to landing his job at the Boleyn Ground, Demetriou was always on hand
to help out fans with their many and varied requests - yet reticent to be
recognised for going above and beyond the call of duty, which he often did.
KUMB.com's co-editor, Gordon Thrower said: "Over the years Greg has dealt
with us at KUMB with patience and good humour without once letting on that
we were driving him up the wall. "I just hope that the unplanned ice bath (a
farewell present from the players) on Saturday didn't ruin his suit too
much! "
Sam Allardyce - who has worked with Demetriou on a daily basis since
arriving at West Ham last summer and was party to the aforementioned dousing
- added: "We're sad to lose him but he has decided to go and work for the
F.A - so good luck to him."
The FA's Adrian Bevington said: "We're delighted Greg will be joining us. He
brings excellent football and media experience to the Communications
Division."
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Ernie Gregory: goodbye to a legend
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd January 2012
By: Staff Writer
KUMB.com is saddened to learn of the passing of former player and coach,
Ernie Gregory. Gregory, who was 90, passed away in hospital close to the
nursing home in Essex where he spent the last months of his life, this
weekend. Ernie joined West Ham United's ground staff in 1936, two years
before signing as a player in 1938.
However he was forced to wait another seven years, due to the onset of World
War II, before becoming a regular between the sticks - a position he held
until 1960, when he called time on his career following the Irons'
long-awaited return to (the old) Division One. During that period, which
spanned four decades, Gregory made 408 league and cup appearances for the
club - a goalkeeping record that was only superseded in the late 1980s by
Phil Parkes (who went on to make 436 appearances). His sole international
appearance was for an England 'B' side in a 1952 friendly against France.
Following his playing retirement at the age of 39, Gregory took up coaching
and became involved with both the reserves and first team before taking up
an admin role at West Ham. He eventually retired at the age of 66, having
given an incredible 51 years' service to the club, in 1987. Despite having
retired, Gregory remained a regular visitor at the Chadwell Heath training
ground for many years after. He regularly popped in to chat with Academy
director Tony Carr and other club staff until he was taken ill in 2010.
After suffered a stroke at his Goodmayes home, Gregory spent time recovering
at a rest home in Dagenham before moving to his most recent home in
Basildon.
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James Tomkins and the ginger Harry Secombe
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd January 2012
By: Staff Writer
On Saturday afternoon, prior to West Ham United's 2-1 nPower Championship
win over Nottingham Forest that took Sam Allardyce's side to the top of the
table for the first time this season, it was confirmed that James Tomkins
had signed a lucrative four-year contract with an option for a further year.
The young centre half, a home-grown player who graduated from Tony Carr's
world-famous Academy before becoming one of the club's most valuable assets,
was the beneficiary of a new deal estimated to be worth around £7million
over the course of those four years. Good news all round, it seems.
However the circumstances surrounding Tomkins' new deal - and a contract
that catapults the former England under-21 from being one of the first team
squad's lowest-paid members to one of its highest - raises questions over
the increasing influence of one particular football agent at the club.
Until recently Tomkins was represented by a local football agent called Tony
Giess who, along with Kevin Giess runs Skillequal Ltd, a Gidea Park-based
agency. Their client list includes players such as Lee Bowyer, Joe Cole,
Michael Carrick and current Hammers favourite Mark Noble.
However KUMB.com has learned that prior to the start of the January transfer
window and the award of his new contract, Tomkins dropped Giess and
Skillequal in favour of alternative representation - an agent called Mark
Curtis.
Curtis, a FIFA-accredited agent has been a business associate of Sam
Allardyce, the current manager of West Ham United, for a number of years.
He is also the agent of current West Ham captain Kevin Nolan, who signed an
even more lucrative (five-year) contract at the Boleyn Ground last summer
when moving from Newcastle United - one of the clubs strongly linked with
Tomkins prior to him penning his new deal last week.
However Curtis' past is one that is steeped in controversy - a past that
involves FA fines, FIFA investigations and charges of improper behaviour.
Curtis' charge sheet extends back to 1999, when he was the subject of a
Premier League enquiry that investigated the sale of Jermaine Pennant to
Arsenal from Notts County. Pennant, who was on the books of Sky Andrew at
the time was sold to the north London club on the recommendation of Curtis -
who denied knowing that Andrew was the player's representative. Curtis was
subsequently fined £7,500 by the FA for improper conduct.
In 2004 he was under investigation - this time by FIFA - for his role in the
transfer of Robert Earnshaw from Cardiff City to West Bromwich Albion. Then,
in 2007, he was one of six agents charged by the FA for breaching rules on
the disclosure of payments in relation to transfers arranged for Luton Town.
Later, in 2010, he was accused by fellow agent Peter Harrison of unlawfully
brokering Andy Carroll's final contract at Newcastle - another
highly-lucrative five-year deal. Harrison claimed that Carroll, a close
friend of Kevin Nolan's who Harrison had represented since the age of 16 was
contracted to him until March 2011, although an FA Tribunal failed to uphold
his complaint in February of last year.
Harrison was therefore not involved in Carroll's record-breaking £35million
move to Liverpool a year ago this month. The English international was
instead represented by a solicitor, whilst Liverpool - whose Sporting
Director Damien Comolli usually dealt with transfers - were also represented
by a third party.
That third party was David Bromley, another FIFA-accredited and
FA-authorised football agent who is listed at fifa.com as the owner of a
company called Centurion Sports Management Limited, who are based in
Sevenoaks. Bromley and Curtis are long term business associates; both were
previously named as directors of the now defunct companies Property Hunter
and Sports Player Management.
According to mannyroad.com, a website run by Bolton Wanderers supporters who
have extensively investigated the agent's dealings in the past, "Curtis and
controversy are never far apart. Suffice to say that he has the uncanny
knack of being on hand when a player on the move dumps his agent, leaving
him or one of his associates to act on behalf of the buying club, thus
obtaining a hefty commission."
This is exactly what happened, according to the website, when Jlloyd Samuel
- who was on trial at West Ham earlier this season - moved to Bolton from
Aston Villa on a free transfer in 2007. Samuel's representatives prior to
the move were a company called Base Soccer who number Tottenham players Tom
Huddlestone and Aaron Lennon - plus former Hammer Bobby Zamora - amongst
their clientele.
"A couple of days before Bolton did his [the agent's] deal, he got a call
from Mark Curtis to say, "let me do the deal" – because he'll get more
commission from Bolton," fellow football agent, Tony McGill, told
mannyroad.com. "So this other agency allowed Mark Curtis to do the deal on
behalf of Bolton Wanderers for Jlloyd Samuel because [Phil] Gartside [the
chairman of Bolton Wanderers] was paying him a bigger commission - and
that's fact."
The website claims that Curtis - who they refer to as 'the Ginger Harry
Secombe' - was also involved in the transfer that took Radhi Jaidi from
Birmingham to Bolton when Jesse Learoyd-Hill, Jaidi's agent at the time
found himself similarly cut out of the deal. Curtis later protested his
innocence, stating that, "he [Jaidi] said he didn't want to take him
[Learoyd-Hill] along. If he had wanted to be represented by him he would
have brought him along."
According to Peter Harrison - who, for the reasons previously mentioned has
a fairly large axe to grind (and has been at odds with Curtis since a 2006
Panorama documentary secretly filmed Harrison alleging that he made secret
payments to Craig Allardyce, then an employee of Curtis' firm Sports Player
Management) - Curtis was, "more or less chairman" at Bolton during Sam
Allardyce's reign as manager: the inference being that Curtis had control of
the club's transfer policy.
Curtis' stealth-like arrival at West Ham - he is mentioned nowhere on the
club's website at whufc.com - is therefore likely to be of great interest to
supporters concerned about the influence of preferred football agents at the
club.
Co-chairman David Sullivan was extensively criticised last season for his
insistence on dealing regularly with the greyhound-loving Barry Silkman, who
played a key role in bringing players such as Thomas Hitzlsperger and Demba
Ba to the Boleyn Ground.
With James Tomkins already on board and sorted out with a new, lucrative
contract, the question is this: could some of West Ham's fellow young stars
be tempted to follow suit and sign up with Curtis? And could Tomkins' former
representatives, the Gidea Park-based Skillequal now look to cash in on Mark
Noble, to avoid the possibility of losing him to Curtis' clutches too?
Sadly, nobody from Skillequal was willing to talk with KUMB.com about the
Tomkins situation on either occasion that we contacted them. However we
would still very much like to hear what they have to say about the
situation, should they change their minds.
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Ernie Gregory remembered
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd January 2012
By: Paul Walker
They really don't make them like Ernie Gregory any more. Gone are the days
when a man stays with his first club for over 50 years. My euphoria at the
current squad finally getting to the Championship summit this weekend was
wrecked by the sad news of Ernie's passing. He was the first goalkeeper I
knew as a boy watching the Irons in the late '50s and early '60s, and there
is a serious discussion to be had as to whether he was the greatest servant
ever to turn out for the club, despite the glory and honours achieved by the
Moore, Hurst, Peters era. The next time we are all assembled at the Boleyn,
and that's for the Millwall game, I pray the club have mark the passing of a
great servant properly, and that our 'friends' from across the water can
manage to take part in a fitting memorial. I'm sure they will.
It is also good that we have as owners now two men who remember the great
days of our past and the players that made it possible. David Gold has
already expressed his sympathies, I'm sure David Sullivan feels the same.
Articles elsewhere have recorded his history with the club, quite amazing.
For me, I can only recall standing next to my dad and him telling me Ernie
was the best goalkeeper he'd ever seen. He was part of the side that took
us back into the top flight in 1958, and had a genuine impact on young men
coming through the ranks for many years after. I was amazed to read a few
years back when Ernie was taken ill, that he did not believe people would
remember him. The deluge of good wishes that followed hopefully made him
realise just how much he was held in our affections. RIP Ernie. There are
very few left now of that '50s side, and you will always stay in my memory
and I'm sure many thousands of others.
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More Clungetastic Gossip on the Transfer Front
January 22nd, 2012 - 5:34 pm by Iain Dale
West Ham Online
In her Sun column yesterday, Karren Brady alluded to two West Ham players
who had refused to move to other clubs because of the amount of money they
were earning at West Ham. Adzman89 has just cleared up the identity of one
of them in one his reports from his club insider, Clunge. Apparently Freddie
Piquionne refused to move to Wolves as it would have entailed a pay cut from
£38k a week to £25k a week. That just about sums up all you need to know
about the lazy good for nothing.
Clunge also reports that both Rob Green and Julien Faubert are refusing to
sign new contracts because they want to leave on free transfers in the
summer when their current contracts are up. That's not the first time it's
been reported, but after James Tonkins yesterday signing a four year deal,
it is very disappointing. If this really is the case, then I'd put them on
the market now and try to offload them over the next week. That may sound
like madness, as they have been two of our best players this season, but the
club shouldn't be held to ransom like this by players who ought to know
better. I am really disappointed in Rob Green. Yes, I know he hasn't been
happy at his treatment and the fact that his pay doesn't equal others, but
if he was going to find a better club, it would have happened last summer.
And it didn't.
Clunge also reports that Freddie Sears has been offered to Bournemouth on
loan, but they weren't interested. Matt Taylor will be back for Ipswich and
Papa Bouba Diop should also have recovered by then. He also thinks that Guy
Demel is 2 to 3 weeks away from fitness. Negotiations are ongoing with
Robert Hall for a new long term deal and Sam will reportedly have £35
million made available to him if we win promotion. He's got £10 million to
play with over the next ten days.
Slaven Bilic has apparently recommended West Ham to Jelavic and he is keen
to join. West Ham are trying to send Piquionne in the other direction. One
can but hope.
Well, enough for you to debate there!
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New deal for JT
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 21st January 2012
By: Staff Writer
James Tomkins has signed a new contract with West Ham that keeps him tied to
the club until 2016. The popular central defender, who recently changed
agents has committed himself to the club until 2016, with an option for a
further year included. News of Tomkins' new deal, whilst unofficially
revealed on the KUMB.com forums on Friday, was announced ahead of this
afternoon's 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest in which the 21-year-old
played a starring role. "I'm really pleased that I've signed a new contract
at the club," he told whufc.com. "It's nice to end the speculation about
what people have been saying in the papers and commit my future to the club
and concentrate on my football. "By signing this deal, I'm showing my
commitment to the club as they've been brilliant to me this year with all
the support they have given to me and the rest of the players. If they
continue doing that then together we can return the club back to the Premier
League, where we believe we belong. "Sam Allardyce has been brilliant this
year as well and has shown what he can do on and off the pitch as a
motivational manager."
Tomkins, who was formerly represented by football agency Skillequal recently
became part of the Mark Curtis stable. Curtis, who also represents Kevin
Nolan, has been a close associate of Sam Allardyce's since he was manager of
Bolton.
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Allardyce on... Nottingham Forest
KUMb.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd January 2012
By: Staff Writer
Big Sam reflects on a win that takes his West Ham United side to the top of
the Championship for the first time this season...
Sam: Not a lot of chances in the first half but once again Mark Noble, ever
reliable, from the penalty spot?
Yes - and I think quite a fortunate penalty that we got too. But you've got
to be fully professional and dispose of it when you get the opportunity. It
settled us down a bit because we all know it wasn't our best of days today.
When you can dig one out, like we've done today, when it's not your best day
and you're not on your best form it shows the resilience and the commitment
of the players. All good teams at the top have to win a game when they don't
play at their best - and we've done that today.
We're disappointed in our performance but we're delighted that we've won
another very valuable three points. Of course it brings us three wins on the
trot again and we're back on a winning streak, as it were. Lots more players
are coming back from injury who are available for selection and it's ten
days before we play our next game now so it's important that we did win this
one.
As hard as we made it for ourselves we won it, tomorrow it's three points.
When we look at the table we're three points ahead of Southampton which is
what we wanted to be at the end of today's game. We haven't done it how we
wanted to, but we've done it.
You did create quite a few chances in the second half?
We did in the second half - but so did Forest. It's clear what their
problems are; the team can create chances but they just can't finish in the
games that they've played recently. I saw them have two super chances on
Tuesday against Leicester, one at 1-0 and one when they were 2-0 down. They
missed both of them and they missed some good chances today.
So perhaps we were slightly fortunate playing a team like Forest who have
struggled to finish chances when created.
In the end we've got a very valuable three points that takes us to the top
of the league for the first time. Like I said, it's ten days before the next
game and we'll keep searching for somebody new if we can, but I'm really
pleased that your Matt Taylors are back and Guy Demel will be back. Bit of
an injury to Papa [Bouba Diop] today, a bit of a thigh, but there's ten days
for him to recover.
We saw Robert Hall come on for 20 minutes or so; we saw him at Sheffield
Wednesday so we know we've got a good young player in our midst with plenty
of ability. I hope we can develop him as well as Pottsy - and [it's] great
that Tonks has decided to sign a new contract with us. He's been really good
for us and really consistent this season.
Has there been a bid for [Nikica] Jelavic?
I don't know. We've enquired in terms of what his availability is as far as
I'm concerned but in terms of bidding, it's not my department.
We hear there was a big incident in the dressing room; we hear Greg
[Demetriou]* might have got a bit wet today?
He did get a bit wet; he went into the ice bath as a farewell present from
the lads! Along with a very funny video which I'm sure he'll cherish for the
rest of his life when we give it to him.
We're sad to lose him but he has decided to go and work for the F.A. - so
good luck to him.
* Greg Demetriou - referred to in yesterday's programme as the 'Second in
Command' - was West Ham United's Head of Media.
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Cotterill on... West Ham United
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 22nd January 2012
By: Staff Writer
Steve Cotterill unsurprisingly felt that his struggling Nottingham Forest
side were hard done by at the Boleyn...
Steve: you must have been gutted at half time: a). the penalty and b). the
chances you had in the first half?
That probably sums up how it's been a little bit since I've been here. We
have had those chances, we haven't stuck them away. We could have been two
or three up by the time the penalty had been given - or the alleged penalty
anyway.
Penalty decisions... It's not a penalty is it; it's blatantly not a penalty.
The second one, I can see perhaps why he's given the second one because
[Chris] Gunter's arm is up. But the ball doesn't deviate.
I've just watched the pair of them just before I've come in here, because
I'd like to think that most of the time I'm honest about my opinion on
things. The first one isn't a penalty and the second one must have hit the
hairs on his arm! The linesman's done well to see that one, for sure.
But you had chances to win the game anyway?
We're not going to take every chance, are we? We haven't been prolific all
season, we're not all of a sudden going to tap someone on the shoulder and
make them a 20-goal-a-season striker.
Today was better for us; we had round pegs in round holes. The last two
games we've had we've been poor but this [today] was what it was like
beforehand. Since December 10th we've had no centre backs. Since December
10th.
We've had [Joel] Lynch injured, [Luke] Chambers suspended, Wes Morgan out
for two months and [Brendan] Maloney's done his knee ligaments. We had Greg
Cunningham out the other week with a hamstring; today he has to come off
after 20 minutes with a bit of a hamstring.
All of a sudden there you're taking arguably your most energetic midfield
player out of the core of the battle, in Guy Mousse, and you're putting him
back in central defence. It just doesn't stack up that, you know. That's on
top of losing Chris Cohen; if Guy Mousse's our most energetic midfield
player he only is because Chris Cohen's out for the year.
So we've just got to get through this year, really.
Despite the result, there were some good things going forward?
For sure. The last two games we had a lot to sort out and after today's
performance we keep our lads fit and we can start putting people in their
rightful positions and that will in turn give us a better performance.
It won't necessarily make us free-scoring all of a sudden but it'll
certainly give us a better platform from which to build, anyway.
You said you've just got to get through this year, this season.
Yeah.
Have you seen any evidence that you can?
I think we need to strengthen in a couple of areas. Whether we can do that
or not, I don't quite know the answer. It'll be about being reactive as
opposed to being proactive but I've said that to everyone since December,
before the January {transfer] window opened.
I know you can't take every chance that comes but you had some today?
How many times have you seen us [this season]?
I've seen you a couple of times.
Yeah. Then you would have seen a few more of them, wouldn't you?
Yes.
That's what happens. They don't come any better than six yards out. We've
just got to be positive and keep getting them in there. We've got to keep
getting balls whizzing across people's boxes.
There was a great move for us over on the far side and [Paul] Anderson
doesn't quite make contact at the end. We can't work any harder; we are
trying to do what we're trying to do. You can only do so much in training
and we're doing that all the time, every week.
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Round-Up: Allardyce keeps feet on ground after Hammers hit the heights
JACK PITT-BROOKE, MICHAEL BUTLER MONDAY 23 JANUARY 2012
The Independent
Sam Allardyce was pleased to see his West Ham United go to the top of the
Championship on Saturday, although the performance provided little grounds
for triumphalism. West Ham needed two generous penalty decisions, after both
of which Mark Noble scored, to overcome Nottingham Forest 2-1 at a rather
unimpressed Boleyn Ground. "I think the players looked a bit nervous,
personally," Allardyce said afterwards. "The fans get anxious and then we
get a little bit more anxious and then passes went astray. It wasn't our
usual fluent performance that we've shown at home."
Before the first penalty decision, which came in first-half stoppage time,
West Ham had barely threatened Lee Camp's goal. Forest had been playing the
better football, and Lewis McGugan, who scored a late consolation goal, and
Marcus Tudgay had missed chances better than anything West Ham created.
"That has been typical of us," said Forest's manager, Steve Cotterill. "We
haven't had a lot of luck, we haven't taken a chance. But our performances
haven't warranted where we are in the league."
Allardyce was in no mood for crowing, knowing that Southampton can overtake
them at the top when they play Leicester City this evening. "It's one of
those days when we've overcome the nerves and we've got the victory," he
said. "We're top of the league for the first time, after 27 games. We might
not stay there that long, but we've shown we can get there."
Indeed, only a win for Southampton over Leicester tonight will return them
to the top, with their manager, Nigel Adkins, "relishing" the battle for
promotion. "As you get closer to the winning line the expectation levels
grow," he said. "I have high confidence about ourselves because our focus,
desire is to win this division." Both Southampton and Leicester look set to
hand debuts to their January signings, with loanee Yago Falque set to start
for the Saints and Danny Drinkwater making a permanent switch to Leicester
from Manchester United. Leicester have won just once in the league since
November, but will be buoyed by Southampton's top scorer Rickie Lambert
serving the final game of his three-match ban.
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West Ham United defender James Tomkins signs new deal as club reach
Championship summit
By Arindam Rej at Upton Park8:20PM GMT 22 Jan 2012
James Tomkins says he turned down a move to the Premier League because he is
confident West Ham will be promoted this season, and added that the pressure
is back on Southampton now that they have been overtaken. Southampton, who
host on Monday night, are down to second place after West Ham leapfrogged
them to the top spot for the first time this season. The buoyant east London
club are looking to conclude the signing of Rangers' prolific Nikica Jelavic
but the extension of centre-back Tomkins' contract until summer 2016 – in
the face of interest from Newcastle and Tottenham – is a key deal. "It is a
compliment really when Premier League teams are interested in you," said
Tomkins, who, fittingly, was playing his 100th game for the club and was man
of the match against a Nottingham Forest side who dominated long spells but
could not turn pressure into goals. "I was just gaining confidence from that
but I was always committed to West Ham. I am confident of getting into the
Premier League this season with West Ham." Discussing the league table, he
added: "Now the pressure is back on Southampton."
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said: "For us, it's important
psychologically. It might only be a short time that we're top because
Southampton have a fantastic home record." Contentious handball decisions
against Guy Moussi and Chris Gunter allowed Mark Noble to score West Ham's
two penalties. Lewis McGugan's late, long-range strike came too late as
Forest's alarming slide continued. The Forest camp denied stories that there
had been a fight in the dressing room after their midweek defeat against
Leicester. Striker Dexter Blackstock said: "If you lose a game then everyone
is angry. I didn't feel any punches. Just people want to win and that is the
bottom line. The squad is desperate to get out of this situation."
Match details
West Ham (4-4-2): Green; Faubert, Tomkins, Reid, McCartney; Diop (Lansbury
44), Noble, Collison, Nolan; Cole (Piquionne 86), Baldock (Hall 79).
Subs: Carew, Faye.
Booked: Cole.
Nottingham Forest (4-4-2): Camp; Gunter, Morgan, Lynch, Cunningham (Anderson
23); McCleary, Moussi, Greening (Blackstock 55), McGugan; Tudgay, Harewood
(Miller 72).
Subs: Darlow, Reid.
Referee: Tony Bates (Staffordshire).
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