Daily WHUFC News - 16th November 2012

Man of the Mo-ment
WHUFC.com
All-action West Ham United midfielder Mo Diame is quickly becoming a fans'
favourite at the Boleyn Ground
15.11.2012

Mohamed Diame believes West Ham United's strong start to the Barclays
Premier League season has vindicated his decision to join the club. The
Senegal midfielder turned down a number of approaches to move to east
London, including the opportunity to play in the UEFA Champions League for
an unnamed club.
However, with the Hammers sixth in the Barclays Premier League ahead of
Monday's visit of Stoke City to the Boleyn Ground, Diame is feeling positive
about his choice. "People did say 'Why are you going to West Ham when you
can play in the Champions League?' but they can see why I did now," the
athletic 25-year-old told West Ham TV. "It is a very big club in England and
I am very happy to be here, now I am hoping that our good performances will
continue."

The No21 linked up with West Ham on a free transfer following his departure
from Wigan Athletic, citing his desire not to be involved in a relegation
battle as a reason to move south. With the likes of Andy Carroll, Matt
Jarvis and Alou Diarra also joining Sam Allardyce's squad, the Hammers have
so far thrived in the Barclays Premier League. "That is why I came here.
When I spoke to the club I knew they were trying to build a very good team.
We are working very hard every day on the training ground and you can see it
is paying off."

Diame hailed last Sunday's 1-0 win over Newcastle United at St James' Park
as the best result of his Hammers career to date. The midfielder, who
travelled to Niger for a 1-1 international friendly draw in midweek,
produced another outstanding all-action display on Tyneside to upset his
Senegal squad-mates Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse. "It was a fantastic result
against Newcastle, probably the best since I joined the club, and we worked
very hard for the three points. The manager gave me a lot of confidence
going into the game so I tried to give it back on the pitch and I think I
did a good job."

Diame ended by taking time to praise his midfield partners Kevin Nolan and
Mark Noble as the three continue to enjoy a blossoming relationship in the
West Ham engine room. "Kevin and Mark work very hard on the pitch. They
allow me a lot of freedom and make my job a lot easier, so it is very
enjoyable playing with them."

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Hammers ready for Baggies test
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Development Squad welcome West Bromwich Albion to Rush
Green on Friday evening
15.11.2012

The Development Squad are looking forward to Friday evening's Barclays U21
Premier League Group 1 clash with West Bromwich Albion at Rush Green.
Kick-off at Rush Green is at 7pm, with admission just £3 for Adults, £1 for
Under-16s and free for Season Ticket Holders. West Ham United are going
great guns in the Barclays U21 Premier League, having won eight of their
eleven league matches, while they drew 1-1 with the Baggies in the reverse
fixture in September.
Striker Paul McCallum (pictured) netted a vital 87th-minute winner to secure
a 2-1 victory at Arsenal last time out to all but ensure the Hammers'
qualification for the post-Christmas Elite Group Stage. The result put Ian
Hendon's side five points clear at the top of the Group 1 table and leaves
them knowing a win over the Baggies would seal their qualification. "It was
great to win against Arsenal at their home ground because they had the
majority of possession," said McCallum, who has netted five goals in ten
appearances for the leaders. "That said, we took our chances and were more
creative so I think we deserved the win. "We worked very hard and we limited
them to very few chances so credit to our two lines of four because they
were very hard to break down."

McCallum also believes bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat to Reading to beat
the Gunners was of paramount importance to the squad's belief. "Confidence
would have been low if we had not won against Arsenal because none of us
turned up against Reading and it was a very poor performance. To win against
one of the best teams in the country is great and it says a lot about the
level of our Academy and Under-21s."

McCallum also believes the close bond built up within the side over a number
of years will stand them in good stead in the future. "Some of the boys have
been at the club since they were seven, so for over a decade, and they know
each others' games like the back of their hands. It provides a massive boost
and hopefully it can continue to help us against West Brom and beyond."

Having been included in Sam Allardyce's squad for the Capital One Cup ties
with Crewe Alexandra and Wigan Athletic, McCallum also revealed that he
hopes to break into the first-team set-up on a regular basis. "Hopefully I
can break into the first-team but there are Andy Carroll and Carlton Cole in
front of me and I still have a lot to learn until I get to their level. When
I go and watch the first team and train with them, I always keep an eye on
what they do and how they do it because I know it can help me improve."

Concentrating on his Development Squad role, McCallum wants to make his mark
in the Elite Group stage against the best Under-21 sides in the country.
"Hopefully we can win our league and progress into the Elite Group Stage,
but as long as the first team are playing well, which is the important
thing, I cannot really argue about not getting a chance. All I can do I keep
scoring goals for the Development Squad and, if I continue to perform,
hopefully my chance will come."

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It's better to travel
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 15th November 2012
By: Kit Robinson

Newcastle United Football Club have an arrangement with local transport to
get all fans to the ground for £10 a season. What would be the chances of
such a system being implemented between West Ham United and Transport for
London or maybe TFL and other or all London clubs?

When you consider how much TFL make from football match travel for a Premier
League weekend, it makes your eyes water. An Off-Peak zone 1-4 Oyster Travel
Card is £7.70. Approximately 216,000 Londoners will go to watch West Ham,
Spurs, Chelsea, Arsenal, Fulham and QPR. You are looking at potentially
£1million a weekend from fans of just Premier League London clubs (excluding
a large number of home fans who live close by). The Newcastle transport
agreement makes around £500k a year in comparison.

I don't know the exact percentage of West Hams fans who are local, but being
as we only have 500 left for Stoke on Monday night when it is being
televised (although i know there is also a ticket offer for members etc),
that would suggest that the majority of fans are from east London or west
Essex. But it is certainly no longer the case that fans all live locally any
more. For instance, you only have to look at the cultural demographic for
the likes of Upton Park and East Ham to know that only a small number of
Asian fans attend matches but they are over 50 per cent of the population of
Newham.

A TFL football travel season ticket would be a great idea but would cut out
half of our fan base because many are from Essex, so it would also have to
work in conjunction with the club and the Essex train companies. But of
course, as soon as it was implemented then transport police would be all
over Upton Park or Stratford on match days which not only would cause delays
but could possibly lead to confrontation.

I know I would not react kindly to being held up before a match, and it
would also probably annoy people by holding them up after the long queue at
Upton Park when leaving. With regard to Stratford, maybe part of the deal to
become hosts at the Olympic Stadium would have to involve a dedicated West
Ham entrance/exit to facilitate fans only on match days? Certainly Stratford
is far more accessible than Upton Park for transport though, what with the
District line often having problems and then of course there is weekend
engineering works across the tube network.

I am surprised that the club have not sued TFL for such a poor service to
the ground on so many match days over the years. Personally, I travel about
32 miles from one side of London to the other and frankly, there are so many
problems, delays and closures that it puts me off going to Upton Park. It's
regularly a 4-5 hour round trip. I am sure there are others like me
elsewhere in and out of London, with a similar experience, on a regular
basis and so the club are losing potential revenue.

This is maybe not so much of a big deal if Upton Park is sold out but it
will be a big deal to the club if we move to Stratford and there are still
travel problems. In particular, Sundays when it's likely we would have more
matches televised but half of the tube network tends to be shut down.

If 500 people like me choose not to go because it's frankly too much hassle
and on TV, that's an emptier stadium and £20,000 lost on one match,
£380,000+ a season. 500 people seems a small number to a stadium we hope to
fill with 60k home and away fans but that figure could be much larger. We
also have to make sure that away fans have an easier journey or they may
also be put off coming in the future, so again there is potentially more
lost revenue and a stadium looking emptier than it should. As said, this is
less apparent at Upton Park but would be more acutely apparent at Stratford
should the move go ahead.

I used to have a season ticket, then i started going to about half of the
home matches a season, now i tend to go to more away matches and only four
or five home fixtures a season, because it is frankly easier and often
cheaper to go to other clubs. It didn't used to bother me about attending
televised matches but now I don't go because it takes out most of my day
travelling if kick off is not in the evening. I'm happy to dedicate up to
three hours maximum travelling a round trip to Upton Park. The problem is
that is rarely the case.

I know this may sound like whinging and it is nothing in comparison to the
experience of the fans who attended the recently cancelled England away
match in Poland or a home match I remember being rained off versus Newcastle
where they had travelled down for nothing and must have spent a fortune.

Sometimes as a fan you have to take unpredictable events on the chin
(although I certainly think the England fans in Warsaw should have been
heavily compensated for the Polish FA's stupidity) but this is a transport
problem, it's not down to the elements and it is regularly happening. I feel
that at least the club should be compensated if they are let down by the
transport franchises, but then of course, they will only be reclaiming any
payout to the club from us through their fares, set to rise again in the New
Year.

As I write, Premier League Clubs are today discussing salary wage caps for
players. It would be nice to think that with such forward thinking and
potential radical change, not only should clubs be able to manage their
finances and find an easier way to meet the costs of running a club, but
similar idea's such as cheaper transport costs for London fans also be
discussed. Ultimately, all of this money comes from us, whether it is
Tickets, Merchandise, TV subscriptions etc.

It is a sad fact that I would rather it were easier to get to see West Ham
but it could be that only a move to Stratford will facilitate that
happening, helped by its better transport links and also Crossrail opening
in 2017. But whether the move to the Olympic Stadium happens or not, the
club needs to be more proactive about travel problems and travel costs,
because ultimately it will cost them lost revenue.

However, from Crossrail to the Olympic Stadium, it is also a sad fact that
we know how slow anything takes to organise or for anyone to come to an
agreement, in London. Everyone wants a slice of the pie and of course, who
will be providing the pie? The fans of course. It would be nice if just for
a change, a great agreement could be met similar to that up at Newcastle,
which benefits the club, fans and TFL. Unfortunately you just know that if
it does ever happen, it will take years to be implemented, the fans will end
up being fleeced even more than they are already and it will still be a
pretty useless and unpredictable service from TFL.

In a similar way to how the club have stated that their attitude towards the
Olympic Stadium would be more seats at a cheaper cost but filling the
stadium, TFL need a serious think about revenue lost or gained. What would
be better, fans not using London Transport at all by not going to matches or
more fans using their services at a cheaper rate? I am sure that fans and
the clubs would agree to such a scheme but sadly I feel that TFL would be
the problem and like Boris' bike hire scheme, promises will be made about
keeping the cost low, only for them to be broken.

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West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame is happy with life at Upton Park
Last Updated: November 15, 2012 10:57pm
SSN

West Ham midfielder Mohamed Diame is happy with life at Upton Park and
believes he made the right choice to join the club in the summer. Diame
arrived on a free transfer in the summer after seeing out his contract at
Wigan. The Senegal international is believed to have rejected several other
offers to move to West Ham and the all-action midfielder has impressed in
east London. The 25-year-old has been instrumental in helping West Ham climb
up to sixth spot in the table in their first season back in the Premier
League and he feels his decision to join the Hammers has been vindicated.
"People did say 'Why are you going to West Ham when you can play in the
Champions League?' but they can see why I did now," he told West Ham TV. "It
is a very big club in England and I am very happy to be here, now I am
hoping that our good performances will continue. "That is why I came here.
When I spoke to the club I knew they were trying to build a very good team.
"We are working very hard every day on the training ground and you can see
it is paying off."

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Diame's Choice of Move Vindicated!
By S J Chandos
West Ham till I Die

The West Ham official website has published an interview with Mo Diame, in
which he has stated that the Hammers strong PL showing has vindicated his
decision to move to the club. In making the move, Diame apparently rejected
the chance to join a club who had qualified for this season's Champions
League. In the interview, the power house midfelder goes on to talk about
how the squad's hard work in training is paying off on the pitch; as well as
praising the contribution of his midfield partners, Mark Noble and Kevin
Nolan.

The article is timely, hot on the heels of the recent Sports Mail story
about Diame's alleged £7m release clause in his contract. No doubt it was
designed to counter that story's inference that Diame might exit in the
January window. At present, we do not know if the £7m clause exists or not,
but hopefully this interview is a strong indication that Diame is happy at
the club and prepared to stay. We certainly do not want to see the break up
of the excellent Diame-Noble-Nolan midfield partnership if at all possible.
And certainly not in the difficult January transfer window. We shall just
have to wait until the window opens to see exactly what transpires?

Elsewhere, it has been reported that Norwich City are considering bidding
for Carlton Cole in January. Cole tends to sharply divide opinion amongst
Hammers fans. Some will urge the club to cash-in and secure a replacement;
while others will argue for the retention of Cole. My own view is that Cole
will probably stay for the remainder of this season, but beyond that, who
knows? Much depends on Cole's ability to take his first team chances and
start scoring goals. In terms of incoming deals, we are reported to be
interested in Derby County's young right-back, John Brayford, Arsenal's
Andrei Arshavin and St Patrick's promising attacking midfielder, Chris
Forrester. Is there any truth in it, who knows at this stage? But it is
interesting speculation, even if it needs to be taken with a pinch of salt.
A more verifiable report is that West Ham are likely to pursue their
interest in signing Chelsea youngster, Walter Figueira. Figueira is
currently on trial at West Ham and scored in the U-21 team's recent victory
over their Arsenal counter-parts. The player is out of contract this summer,
so West Ham will be looking to secure a deal for an appropriately nominal
fee.

Finally, it appears that West Ham's Chief Executive, Karren Brady, intends
to investigate the circumstances surrounding the £9m acquisition, and rapid
sale, of Savio Nsereko. While it has been reported that charges have been
made, arising from West Ham and Olympic Authority's complaints, concerning
alleged practices that supposedly took place during the original Olympic
Stadium tendering process. These are two stories that we may need to keep an
eye on in future.

SJ. Chandos.

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Eastern promise: West Ham chief ready to sell to a new Roman Abramovich
The Mirror
15 Nov 2012 22:31

West Ham co-owner David Gold has admitted he'd sell some of his stake in the
club if he can find an Upton Park sugar-daddy. But Gold insisted he and
partner David Sullivan will not make the mistake they did at Birmingham -
and put the future of the Hammers at risk. Gold believes the only way West
Ham can realise their ambitions of becoming a top four club is by combining
significant outside investment and their planned move to the Olympic
Stadium. That would mean handing over at least a partial share in the club
to a cash-laden investor, although Gold maintains he and Sullivan do not
want to sell lock, stock and barrel.

And while Gold accepts he could not get something for nothing from a new
income source, he pointed to the repercussions of his previous club sale to
promise there will be no repeat. Gold and Sullivan took over the Hammers in
a £105million deal in January 2010, just four months after selling their
stake in the St Andrews outfit to Hong Kong-based Carson Yeung for £80m.
"When we sold Birmingham to the Chinese owners we thought that, under those
people, within a few years, Birmingham would probably win the Premier
League," said Gold. "From what we were hearing and seeing, and what they
were spending, that was possible. "But it all turned out a bit unfortunate.
"In football, there is no certain answer - no, 'This is the plan; this will
work, that won't'. Life is not as clear-cut as that. "There's also the
danger that when you think you're passing a club to a super-wealthy person
that it can all evaporate, as happened at Birmingham and other clubs.
There's that great danger here as well. We have plenty of experience."

Gold added that the sort of money required to turn the Hammers into a
genuine force - even with the move to the Olympic Stadium, now unlikely
before 2016 - rarely exists. He said: "You have to be a billionaire to make
a major difference and there aren't many of them about. "How many Roman
Abramovichs are there? "One Roman Abramovich came along. We've seen that and
he's changed the face of Chelsea and done a remarkable job. "There isn't a
Chelsea fan who hasn't applauded what's happened to their football club
after Ken Bates. "But at the same time there are other clubs, like United
and Blackburn, where you have fans who are disenchanted with the Glazers and
Venkys. "Of course, I'd welcome a Father Christmas. But then you look and
discover that it might not be the real Father Christmas. "And you know why?
Because there isn't a real Father Christmas. He doesn't exist. "In an ideal
world, though, if you ask what I'd like to see happen, I would like a very
wealthy person to come and join us. "David and myself are wealthy by normal
standards but not by football standards.
"We would be reluctant to sell the whole football club because we feel part
of it. It's taken us a lifetime to earn enough money to return to our roots
and we won't give that up lightly. We're doing our best but it would be that
much easier if there were three of us."

Gold believes that a move from Upton Park to the Olympic Park would make a
huge difference to the club's prospects - and appeal to potential investors.
He said: "We're not going to be a top four club straightaway. "But one day,
it's possible, if there is a super-wealthy West Ham fan who wants to come
and join the club, that could change things for us. "Now we have to do the
best we can within the areas of our ability. "To grow the club, fingers
crossed to get to the Olympic Stadium which could change our whole image,
would help us attract better players. "But it all boils down to income and
we have to generate more income. "Arsenal doubled theirs by moving, City,
even before Sheikh Mansour bought the club, doubled their income by moving
to a stadium that they didn't buy, but rented. It can be done. "In the
meantime, we must keep strengthening the club and that means not selling our
best players. "There is no such thing as a 100 per cent guarantee but that
is our intention, not to sell our best players. "I want good players but I
won't want players who might bankrupt the football club. "Yossi Benayoun is
a good example. He wasn't happy, he's come back and he wants to play
football. "He took a wage cut to come to us and prove he is still a quality
player. We can't afford to take a risk that will bankrupt us."

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Savio Nsereko faces trial after faking his own kidnapping in Thailand
Metro.co.uk

Former West Ham footballer Savio Nsereko is set to face trial in Germany
after reportedly faking his own kidnapping. The 23-year-old is said to have
called his family from Thailand telling them his 'captors' were demanding a
ransom of 3,000 euros (£2,400) for his safe release. Nsereko's concerned
family then contacted the country's German embassy, who brought in the
police. Suspicious of the rather small ransom demand, the police tracked
down Nsereko and arrested him. A Thai newspaper revealed Uganda-born
Nsereko, who most recently played for German third-division side SpVgg
Unterhaching but saw his contract terminated after just three months, was
broke after spending 25,000 euros while holidaying on the Thai coast and
came up with the story in a bid to restock his bank balance. The striker
moved to Upton Park in 2009 for £9million but flopped and was sold to
Fiorentina less than six months later, having made just one Premier League
start for the Hammers.

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