Daily WHUFC News - 16th May 2013

Noble seeking Reading revenge
WHUFC.com
Mark Noble is determined to end the season on a high by scoring a victory
over familiar foes on Sunday
15.05.2013

Mark Noble says West Ham United are determined to finish the Barclays
Premier League season with smiles on their faces. The Hammers will
definitely finish tenth in the top flight should they end 2012/13 with a
home win over Reading on Sunday. Noble insists he and his team-mates will be
doing all they can to do just that, while also gaining some personal
gratification by defeating a Royals side who have tasted victory over West
Ham three times in the past two seasons and beat them to the Championship
title last term. "Finishing in the top ten would see us hit our target," the
No16 confirmed. "Reading pipped us to the post last year so it would be a
little bit of revenge there. "We'll be at home so we want to give the fans a
good send-off for all the support they've given us all year and hopefully we
can give them a good game and come away with three points. "You don't want
to end the last home game with a bad result because you take the kids around
the pitch afterwards and all that sort of stuff. It's nice to have won the
game and to go away on holiday with a smile on your face."

Noble said the players would also love to finish tenth to reach the target
set by manager Sam Allardyce, who signed a new contract at the weekend. The
midfielder wholly endorsed the Board's decision to reward Big Sam with a new
deal. "I've worked with the gaffer for a couple of years now and we get on
really well and the players get on well with him. He's done a lot for the
Club in a short space of time. He is over the moon."

Looking back at Sunday's 2-0 defeat at Everton, Noble admitted to being
disappointed by the performance and result at Goodison Park, but conceded
that the Toffees had been superior on the day. "Everton showed they are a
good side. They played very well and they produced a good send-off for their
manager who has given them eleven years of good service. We found it hard to
cope. "I don't know why we didn't hit our straps but it was maybe an
accumulation of a few things. I couldn't really tell you because I wasn't on
from the start, but when I did come on I enjoyed myself and tried to get us
going a little bit and made a couple of tackles. "We had a few good chances,
to be fair. Andy Carroll hit the post, Joey O'Brien had a good chance and
Joey Cole had a good chance, so there were a couple of positives but all in
all it was a poor day for us."

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Ex-Hammers set for Army fixture
WHUFC.com
Stuart Pearce and Jimmy Walker will take part in a special FA Legends
fixture against an Army FA XI
15.05.2013

Former West Ham United favourites Stuart Pearce and Jimmy Walker and Hammers
fan Ben Shephard will take part in a special FA Legends fixture against an
Army FA XI. The trio will be joined by a host of household names for the
fixture, which will take place at Reading's Madejski Stadium on Saturday 18
May at 4pm. The fixture w ill help mark 125 years of Army football, while
also being part of The Football Association's wider 150th anniversary year
celebrations.
Former West Ham and England left-back and current England Under-21 manager
Pearce will coach the Army FA XI, while Walker and Shephard will line up
alongside the likes of Ledley King, Matt Le Tissier, Gary Neville and
Dietmar Hamann for the FA Legends. All proceeds from this special game will
go to Service charities that promote sporting opportunities for soldiers,
including those who play sport as part of their rehabilitation. The
beneficiaries are The Royal British Legion and the Team Army Sports
Foundation. The FA has made a £10,000 donation towards the event. Click here
or call Reading FC on 0844 249 1871 to purchase your tickets.

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The curse strikes again
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 15th May 2013
By: Staff Writer

Four of the five clubs to take a stand against West Ham United in 2007 over
the Carlos Tevez affair have now been relegated from the Premier League.
Wigan Athletic's drop into English football's second tier was confirmed last
night after they were thrashed 4-1 at Arsenal - despite having won the FA
Cup just 72 hours previously. And that means that four of the 'Gang of Five'
who called for West Ham to face further sanctions over the Tevez scandal -
Wigan, Middlesbrough, Charlton and Sheffield United - now find themselves
outside the Premier League. The one remaining club of the cabal to survive
in the top flight are Fulham - and they only narrowly avoided relegation in
2007/08 on goal difference.

Despite having been fined a world record £5.5million for third party
interference, the five clubs - railroaded by Wigan chief Dave Whelan and
Sheffield United chaiman Kevin McCabe - insisted that West Ham should
receive further sanction in the shape of a points deduction or further heavy
fines. Speaking in a 2007 interview, Whelan - who consistently claimed
incorrectly that Tevez has been illegally registered (when this was never
the case ) said: "We support Sheffield United. Fulham do, Charlton do,
Middlesbrough do. All those clubs are committed to helping Sheffield United
fight this case.

"Sheffield United will be asking for our moral and financial support.
Fulham, like Wigan will stand right behind them. Middlesbrough will too as
they've been mistreated. They, like us, want fairness and the Premier League
must realise that we have rules and regulations that we must stick to."

The final payment of the £25million West Ham agreed to pay Sheffield United
after Lord Griffiths ruled against the club is due in August. The Blades,
who finished fifth in League One were beaten 3-0 in the play-off semi-final
by Yeovil and therefore face a second successive season in the third tier of
English football. Charlton Athletic and Middlesbrough, like Wigan Athletic,
will feature in the Championship next season.

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Arsenal's Marouane Chamakh opens door to Bordeaux return
Last Updated: May 15, 2013 11:08pm
SSN

Marouane Chamakh believes there is a chance that he will return to Bordeaux
as he does not expect to stay at Arsenal. Chamakh is due to go back to
Emirates Stadium in the summer after joining West Ham United on loan in
January, but it is likely that he would remain a long way down Arsene
Wenger's pecking order. He has struggled to make an impact in the Premier
League since making the move to English football from Bordeaux in 2010, and
he admits he misses life in France. The Morocco international, 29, says that
if he does ever go back to Ligue 1 he would only be interested in a return
to Bordeaux. "I am always nostalgic. I spent so many good times here," he
told 10 Sport on a visit to the region for a charity event. "Everyone knows
that Bordeaux is a club that is in my heart. If I find an agreement with
Bordeaux, why not." Asked if it really might be possible, he continued:
"Yes, this is possible because there is a good chance that I will not stay
at Arsenal. "If I come back to France, it will be in Bordeaux."

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