Daily WHUFC News - 13th October 2012

Internationals in action
WHUFC.com
A number of West Ham United players young and old will be in action over the
next few days
12.10.2012

A host of West Ham United players are set to take to the international stage
over the next few days. Andy Carroll continued his comeback from injury,
coming on as a second-half substitute in England's 5-0 win against San
Marino at Wembley on Friday night. The Three Lions were looking to bounce
back from a disappointing 1-1 draw with Ukraine and they did just that as
captain Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck both scored twice before Carroll was
introduced. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain added a fifth late on. England next play
in Poland on Tuesday night.

Mohamed Diame and Guy Demel are set to face-off in Dakar on Saturday 13
October when Senegal host the Ivory Coast. Demel's Ivorians hold a 4-2
advantage going into the vital CAN 2013 qualifier second leg so Diame's side
have it all to do.

Summer signing Modibo Maiga will also be in CAN 2013 qualifying action as
Mali visit Botswana on Saturday night. A safe passage through to the finals
should be a formality for the striker and his Mali team-mates as they hold a
3-0 advantage going into the second leg.

Winston Reid has landed in New Zealand after recovering from the back spasms
he suffered against Arsenal. The All-White international will miss
Saturday's game in Tahiti but will be in contention for Tuesday's re-match
in Christchurch.

A few West Ham United youngsters have already been in action with Kieran
Sadlier featuring in the pick of the games. The Republic of Ireland Under-19
international started in his side's 5-2 win over Luxembourg.

The forward was unable to get on the scoresheet but proved to be a great
foil for Aston Villa's Mikey Drennan, who bagged a hat-trick. Ireland now
have two more games in their UEFA Under-19 qualifying mini-group - against
Macedonia on Saturday and Germany on Tuesday.

Raphael Spiegel's Switzerland Under-20 side were also in action, securing a
2-2 friendly draw against Poland.

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'West Ham will have a very good season'
WHUFC.com
Former West Ham United midfielder Marc Keller has high hopes for his old
club this season
12.10.2012

Former West Ham United midfielder Marc Keller was a welcome visitor to the
Boleyn Ground for last Saturday's game with Arsenal. Keller, who made over
40 appearances for the Hammers, is still working within the world of
football as a pundit and as Chairman of French side Racing Club de
Strasbourg. While his main priority at the moment is to ensure that his club
make a return to the top tier of French football, the opportunity to come
back and support the club he spent three years at from 1998 was too good to
turn down. "For me it is very special to come back. I also attended the game
at Newcastle against Manchester United but Upton Park is very special
because I had a very good time here. "During my two years we finished fifth
and ninth. I really enjoyed my time in London and I got to play with a lot
of very good players like Paolo Di Canio and Frank Lampard."

Keller was working for French media company Canal+ at the match and despite
the Hammers eventually falling short, he feels he saw enough from Sam
Allardyce's side to suggest they will have nothing to worry about this
season. Keller was particularly impressed by Hammers' tireless running,
adding that kind of work ethic will stand them in good stead for the rest of
the season. "It was a very good game and I was impressed with the quality of
play from West Ham United against Arsenal, who are a very good team. "They
have worked very hard so far this season and with Andy Carroll up front they
have a very powerful player who can keep the ball and score goals. "There is
a lot of character in the team and I am very optimistic for West Ham United
in this season and the future."

Substitute Theo Walcott came off the bench to score the winning goal after
78 minutes and Keller admitted it will always be hard to compete with the
strength in depth of the teams at the top. "When you see players like Theo
Walcott coming off the bench it demonstrates the great strength of their
squad. "I believe that Arsenal probably deserved to win but have no doubts
that West Ham United will have a very good season in the Barclays Premier
League."

Switching back to his current club, Strasbourg play in the fifth tier of
French football, the Championnat de France, after being excluded from the
Championnat National following financial liquidation. Keller now hopes he
can restore the club to its previous status. "I am now Chairman of
Strasbourg, I bought the club two or three months ago with some friends
because the club has been having some financial difficulties. "We are
currently in the fourth division but we are trying everything to ensure that
in the next few years we return to professional football in France."

After Keller left West Ham United, he joined Blackburn Rovers before
retiring from professional football and returning to Strasbourg as a coach,
where he enjoyed great success. "When I left West Ham United I went back to
Strasbourg as junior manager for five years and during that time we won the
Coupe de France and the Coupe de la Ligue. "Since then the club have had
some financial difficulties so I have now returned and hope to help them
back to Ligue 2."
All at West Ham United wish Marc the best of luck with his new venture.

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Academy staff cycle for Africa
WHUFC.com
A group of West Ham United Academy staff have raised nearly 1,000 pounds for
a charity in Malawi
12.10.2012

A group of West Ham United Academy staff have raised nearly £1,000 for a
charity that provides schools, water, power and other services to people in
the African country of Malawi. Led by Assistant Academy Director Paul
Heffer, whose family sponsor a Malawian child, a group of ten cyclists rode
30 miles up and down Southend seafront to raise funds for the Fisherman's
Rest Community Trust. Academy driver Dennis Lepine, Academy administrator
Trevor Lewin, Under-18s coach Nick Haycock, development co-ordinator Jim
Hampshire, foundation phase goalkeeper coach Billy Lepine, lead foundation
phase coach Danny Searle, assistant Under-10s coach Allan King, Academy kit
manager Tony Falco and assistant youth development phase coach Mark Phillips
and friends hopped into the saddle.

Heffer said: "On speaking to the Trust, we have been told the money that has
been raised will help to fund the building of two new classrooms in a new
infants' school that will save the children a 40-minute walk each way to and
from school every day.
"Two members of the Academy staff are hoping to visit the project at their
own expense next summer to see how things are coming along."
Fisherman's Rest has participated in a number of schemes, providing millions
of litres of fresh water to a neighbouring village. Other local villages
have been assisted with the provision of fresh water.

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West Ham United's Gary O'Neil forced to consider life after football
BBC.co.uk

West Ham midfielder Gary O'Neil says spending time on the sidelines made him
think about where his future lies once he retires. The 29-year-old missed
eight months of last year after suffering a serious ankle injury. "While I
was injured I started my coaching badges, just in case," he told BBC London
94.9. "It was hard to make myself do it because you are preparing for
something you don't want to happen." The former Portsmouth and Middlesbrough
player had to undergo surgery on an osteochondral defect after sustaining
damage to his cartilage in April 2011. He suffered the injury after a tackle
from Aston Villa midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker. O'Neil continued: "When you're
a footballer, you say 'I'll stop when I'm 35'. "When you're only 29 you
think you're miles away from stopping. "One minute you're running around
freely and playing in the Premier League and a second later you can't to it
any more. "There was a spell after five months when I was trying to run and
it was too painful. It was that point when I thought I might not get back."

O'Neil says his ankle problem was the most serious injury he has had since
making his debut for Pompey in January 2000. "It was quite painful and I
couldn't walk on it," he said. "But I thought it was bad ligament damage or
I might have cracked it. "I didn't ever think my career might be threatened
by it. "The guy who did the surgery had only done about two before and he's
been operating about 15 or 20 years. "It was a big shock and took me a while
to come to terms with it. "It was really rare. I've been lucky it's all
moved on so well and I've managed to get back out there. "I know a few boys
who have had to retire though injuries. It must be very tough to deal with
not making it back."

Despite starting his coaching badges while out of the first-team picture at
Upton Park, O'Neil also harboured ambitions of playing golf professionally.
He plays off scratch and attempted to qualify for The Open earlier this
summer.

Gary O'Neil career factfile
Portsmouth (trainee-August 2007): 192 appearances, 17 goals
Walsall (loan spell Sept-Oct 03): seven games, no goals
Cardiff City (loan spell Sept-Nov 04): nine games, one goal
Middlesbrough (Aug 07-Jan 2011): 120 games, nine goals
West Ham (Jan 11-present): 31 games, two goals

"I didn't do great," he said. "I played ok but I went to enjoy it and it was
good experience. "Being realistic, I'd go down the coaching role [after
retiring] as I love football. "I'd like to try and help people improve and
stay in the game as long as I can." O'Neil has made two appearances for the
Hammers this season in the League Cup and says he occasionally feels the
effects of the injury. "The ankle still needs some managing so I still have
to stay on top of it with the physios," he said. "When I get a knock on the
ankle it gets sore for a couple of weeks. You panic and think I don't want
to go through all that again. "All the little knocks have repaired
themselves and I've been able to carry on."

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Newcastle United target Boubacar Sanogo happy at Energie Cottbus
By Giscard Gourizro. Last Updated: October 12, 2012 5:10pm
SSN

Energie Cottbus striker Boubacar Sanogo is flattered to be linked with a
move to West Ham United, but insists that he is happy at his current club.
The 29-year-old joined the 2. Bundesliga club in the summer after being
released by St Etienne and is the top scorer in the German second division
with five goals so far this season. Sanogo, who has struggled with injuries
over the past two years, is delighted at regaining his confidence and wants
to play for the Ivory Coast at the 2014 World Cup finals. "I thank God for
blessing me, I now have the joy of playing football again and of scoring
goals," he told skysports.com. "I went through a lot over the past two
years, nothing worked for me. It has been difficult. "Now all that is in the
past. Being linked with a move to West Ham or any club is good, but I am
very happy with my club. However, you never know in football. "My ambition
is to be part of the Ivory Coast team and play at the 2014 World Cup finals.
That is my dream. I need to score more goals to get back into the squad."

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Karren Brady's football diary
By KARREN BRADY
Published: 8 hrs ago
The Sun
Saturday, October 6

DESPITE the indisputable fact that we are beaten by two goals, I leave Upton
Park fairly happy. Arsenal remain the most creative team in the league and
something to aim for in the longer term. But Sam Allardyce has brought grit,
discipline and strong leadership to West Ham and all of those are evident in
the way we stand up to Arsenal. Not so long ago in such a situation, we'd
have tried to be as good looking as our opponents — and succeeded only in
the sense of a pig's ear alongside a silk purse. A promising evening in
front of the TV cameras... if not the result that the Hammers wanted.

Sunday, October 7
AS a confirmed shoe addict, a fellow Premier League director tells me over
brunch why he thinks that Martin O'Neill is a spoilsport for bemoaning the
modern fashion for coloured boots. Sunderland manager Martin wants players
to go back to the plain old black variety. I'm with Martin on this. White
boots only succeed in making a players feet look the size of canoes and
frankly, if you dare to wear lime green and bright pink — you had better be
world class.
I'm told to shut up. And I'm told Martin has no fashion sense as he 'wears
socks under his sandals'. Never mind the girls... men can be so bitchy!

Monday, October 8
A FRIEND in the Midlands rings to tell me of the looming extinction of
Kettering Town, once the Man U of non-league football. Great names have
managed the seventh-tier club, including Arsenal's George Swindin and Tommy
Lawton, one of England's greatest forwards. Later came Ron Atkinson and, for
a week or two, Paul Gascoigne. This year was the club's 140th and possibly
last birthday. The collapse is sudden and brutal. On Saturday, they could
find just 10 players and a number were in tears after a 7-0 loss at Bashley.
A week ago, their crowd was 34. Kettering are believed to owe £1.2million,
five times John Terry's WEEKLY wage. How revealing of football. How sad.

Tuesday, October 9

WITH the opening of St George's Park centre at Burton, at last the FA have
put the coaches before the horses. The facilities are state of the art at
the £105m football development complex, with equipment from plunge pools to
underwater treadmills. As England captain Steven Gerrard says, there will be
no excuses for international failure now — we have the league, the stadium
and the potential coaching structure fit for world champions. Post-Olympics,
it's time to catch up with brilliantly coached minority sports like rowing
and cycling in winning gold medals and titles.

Wednesday, October 10
LORD SUGAR tells of his meeting with former Villa chairman Sir Doug Ellis at
Tottenham's match with the West Midlands club on Saturday. Ellis, now 88,
says: "I'm very friendly with that secretary of yours." Lord Sugar was
puzzled: "Secretary? What secretary?" Then realisation struck. Doug meant
me! At least in Doug's mind I'm going up in the world of business. First
time I met him, 20 years ago, I told him I was from Birmingham City and he
replied: "The council?"
He obviously thought I was from City Hall and had come to talk about the
Villa Park drainage! But 20 years on I've been promoted to secretary. Who
knows, by the time he's 90 I might be deputy kit man!

Thursday, October 11
A FRIEND at Swansea tells me the players are meeting chairman Huw Jenkins to
express their unease about new manager Michael Laudrup. The players' basic
complaint appears to be that Laudrup isn't Brendan Rodgers. He doesn't
motivate them as well or train them as hard. If true, this reminds me of the
Chelsea revolt against AVB last season. A dressing-room brew of treachery.
I'm told that Jenkins has no plans to sack the Dane who will continue to
manage in the Rodgers style. Liverpool, Rodgers' new club, have six points,
Swansea eight. Just a fact worth pointing out at this stage of the season.

Friday, October 12
WHEN New Zealand heard West Ham defender Winston Reid would be unable to
travel to Papeete for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Tahiti because
of a back injury, their FA insisted he fly out for a fitness test all of
their own. I suppose you might say there's no harm in trying, but a
three-day journey for a medical check-up to confirm an injury seems a trifle
extreme to us. That is even though the Kiwis' need for a strong defender is
explained by their ranking which, to my surprise, is 92nd. They quote the
rule book, stating if he doesn't fly the 24 hours to fail a medical, they'll
invoke the five-day rule. Rules before well-being. Don't you love
international football?

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