Daily WHUFC News - 25th July 2013

Macca delighted with improvement
WHUFC.com
Hammers assistant manager Neil McDonald was pleased to see an improved display against Hamburg
24.07.2013

West Ham United assistant manager Neil McDonald was thrilled with the way his side bounced back from defeat to Mainz by beating Hamburger SV 3-1 in the second game of their German tour on Tuesday. The Hammers produced a super display of counter-attacking football to get the better of Hamburg, who finished seventh in the Bundesliga last term. It was a far improved display from the Londoners and McDonald was pleased with the outcome. "It was an excellent response," he explained. "I said after the game on Saturday that it was all about performance, and everybody's performance was a lot better, and that's very pleasing. "We took our chances very well and played some decent football at times. A lot of players have had some really good field time, which is great and we move on to the next game now."

All three of West Ham's goals - scored by Alou Diarra, James Tomkins and Ravel Morrison - were supplied by Matt Jarvis and McDonald had special praise for the winger. "Matt Jarvis was in excellent form," he continued. "He got at his man, he crossed the ball, he took his man on and he drove into the box. That's what we've been trying to get him to do since he came to the football club. "Hopefully the penny's dropped and we'll have a few more performances like that where he's creating goals and setting chances up for everybody."

McDonald explained that the improvement in performance came in all areas, exactly what he wants to see in pre-season. He added: "In possession we moved the ball on more quickly and a lot brighter. People were available more and then when we didn't have the ball we worked on our shape to pinch it back. We did that much better. "We're working on field time for the lads, getting their time up where we can and a lot of them are almost ready for 90 minutes now. Along with the training and the last game we have in Germany, that will do them the world of good. "They'll be at a level where we want them to be knowing that there are still two or three weeks until the start of the season. "We'll want exactly the same when we play Eintracht Braunschweig [on Saturday], another good performance with good tempo when we have the ball. "We'll want a good shape when we're out of possession, making us hard to break down and that gives you a chance to play some good football and a chance not to concede. That's what we've been working on in training as well as in matches."

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Braintree 3-2 West Ham United XI FT
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock's Development Squad are edged out by the odd goal in five by Alan Devonshire's Braintree Town
24.07.2013

BRAINTREE TOWN v WEST HAM UNUTED XI
PRE-SEASON MATCH
THE AMLIN STADIUM
WEDNESDAY 24 JULY 2013
KICK-OFF: 7.45PM

Final score - Braintree Town 3-2 West Ham United XI

91 mins - A couple of seconds past the 90 minutes and the final whistle is blown. Goals from McCallum and Sadlier are not quite enough and Braintree's win is met with a loud cheer from the home fans. It's been entertaining. The Development Squad return to action on Saturday, when they travel to Manchester City. Thanks for joining us. We'll have post-match reaction and highlights on West Ham TV and whufc.com soon.
90 mins - Braintree are finishing on top as they win a corner that Burke does welll to head clear from under his own crossbar. West Ham eventually scramble the ball away, but a late equaliser is looking unlikely.
88 mins - West Ham win a corner, but the ball is headed over the top. Is that the visitors' final chance gone? They will be disappointed to lose this as they have generally given a good account of themselves. A couple of pieces of loose defensive play have cost the Hammers dear so far.
84 mins - Another change. Akapale replaces Habergham. I am told he has 'pace to burn'. He has six minutes to burn it.
82 mins - Tombides has a go from a free-kick about 30 yards out and it's a great hit from the Australian. He gets it up and over the wall before the ball dips viciously and McDonald has to go down to his right to make the save at the base of the post. Good stuff from the striker.
80 mins - As things approach a conclusion now here in Braintree, I should say that the Hammers will be sending a team to another non-league side in the shape of AFC Hornchurch on Saturday 3 August. Tickets for the 3pm kick-off are priced at £10 for Adults and £5 for Concessions and U16s. You will be able to buy tickets on the day at The Stadium in Bridge Avenue. The first team do not have a fixture that weekend, so Big Sam may choose to send some senior players down to Hornchurch for a run out.
76 mins - Two more changes for each side. West Ham replace Driver and Spence with Burke and Harney, while Braintree bring on Cox and Carney for Wells and Holman.
75 mins - Some anxious moments at the back for the Hammers as Habergham's cross from the left is hacked clear by a flying Wearen. Marks was threatening in behind to make it 4-2.
72 mins - Goal! Braintree are back in front. After the Hammers fail to clear a corner, Sparkes' initial shot is blocked but the ball falls to Holman, who smashes it past Spiegel from about 12 yards. West Ham have it all to do again.
71 mins - It's a cliche, but the game has lost its pattern a bit with all the changes. West Ham have a very young team on now, with only goalkeeper Spiegel, centre-back Spence and right-back Driver remaining from the starting XI.
68 mins - Peters comes on for Griffiths for the home side.
65 mins - Seven changes from the Hammers. On come Page, Cullen, Amoo, Maguire and Dylan Tombides. Off go Shaw, Moncur, Sadlier, Turgott and McCallum.
62 mins - Braintree replace Symons with Charlie Wassmer, who I am informed is a trialist. I can also inform you that he is tall, blond and wearing lime green boots.
61 mins - Spiegel elects to stay on his line rather than come for Sparkes' cross. Marks reacts quickly and catches his volley flush, but its straight at Spiegel from about a yard out! It's a great save, but a little fortunate.
60 mins - Turgott wins a corner, which he takes himself and finds the head of McCallum. The striker makes a good contact, but the ball flies over the top. Before West Ham make a raft of substitutions, I should mention the superb selection of conifer trees on the far side of the ground. They are basically giant Christmas trees. Very good.
58 mins - Two chances in quick succession for Braintree. First, Holman fires a shot just past the top corner, then Spiegel has to be brave to dive on the ball after it had squirmed through Wearen's legs and nearly fallen to Marks.
54 mins - Driver and Turgott combine before the latter crosses low for McCallum. The goalkeeper dives out, catches and then collides with his defender, losing the ball in the process. Thankfully for the hosts, it rolls to safety and is cleared away.
50 mins - Goal! The lead didn't last for long. A high dropping cross from deep on the right lands in exactly the right place for the unmarked Sparkes to send a controlled left-foot volley past Spiegel. Very impressive finish, but the Braintree player had a lot of time and space.
47 mins - GOAL! Fantastic goal from Sadlier. He picks up the ball wide on the left, races inside his full-back and curls an unstoppable shot past McDonald and inside the far post from about 20 yards. Great individual skill from the Republic of Ireland U19 forward.
46 mins - We're off again. A few changes from Nick Haycock at the break, with Wearen replacing Chambers at centre-back and Miles and Marlow on for Bywater and Makasi in midfield. Braintree have brought on McDonald for Hamman in goal, while Matt Paine has replaced goalscorer Davis in midfield.

Half-time score - Braintree Town 1-1 West Ham United XI

46 mins - Spence is penalised for fouling Holman just outside the penalty area. The No10 himself takes the free-kick and curls the ball around the wall and just past the far post. After the ball thuds into the advertising board, the half-time whistle is blown. Honours even at the break.
43 mins - GOAL! McCallum has his goal now. Blair Turgott races down the right and cuts the ball back to Moncur on the edge of the penalty area. It's a bit awkward and bobbles up, so Moncur can't hit it first-time. Instead, he takes a touch, makes a yard and drives a low cross-shot that eludes the defender and allows McCallum to tap in from a couple of yards.
41 mins - West Ham think they have an equaliser as McCallum taps in at the second attempt after Griffiths had blocked his initial effort. However, the assistant has his flag raised, presumably for offside against McCallum from Bywater's initial through ball.
37 mins - The floodlights are on here now at the Amlin Stadium as the sun sets on another gorgeous day. West Ham are playing the better football, but they are not finding it at all easy to break down the home defence. They do have another corner, though, as Sadlier's cross is blocked behind. Moncur delivers another great ball, but it eludes its target.
32 mins - Better. Moncur and Sadlier exchange passes before Moncur plays a second one-two with McCallum and spreads play wide right to Driver. He takes a nice touch into his stride and smacks a low shot that takes at least one deflection off a defender before goalkeeper Hamman saves low to his left. Good football recognised by applause from the stands.
30 mins - Nicky Symons catches a sweet strike on the half-volley from about 30 yards, but thankfully it is close enough for Spiegel to catch after moving a yard to two to his right. West Ham break and win a corner, but Moncur's left-wing delivery is easily cleared. It's quite an even contest now, to be fair.
26 mins - Alan Devonshire has really done a fantastic job here at Braintree. The 1980 FA Cup winner and former England winger is running a Conference National side on a budget the fraction of the size of many of his rivals. Braintree are part-timers, but the vast majority of sides in the same division are full-time, with many of them recent Football League clubs like Luton Town, Hereford United, Macclesfield Town and Grimsby Town. The Iron finished ninth last season - some achievement.
24 mins - Another corner for West Ham as Shaw forces Wells to put the ball behind. It comes to nothing, though.
23 mins - The ball drops to No10 Holman about 30 yards out. He has a chance to shoot, but makes a hash of it and drags the ball well wide of the left-hand post.
21 mins - Massey puts a Turgott cross behind for a corner. Chance for Turgott himself to create something. And he nearly does for Chambers as the defender sees first a header and then a well-taken volley cleared off the line. The ball flies away for another corner, which comes to nothing as Chambers is whistled for a push at the far post.
20 mins - Shaw is harshly penalised by the assistant referee for a foul on Chez Isaac. Davis crosses and Simmons rises and heads the ball high and wide. Dangerous delivery from the goalscorer.
17 mins - The goal wasn't exactly against the run of play, but the Hammers had shaded the opening period before Davis' strike. Bywater gets in behind again and tries to lob the ball over the goalkeeper from an acute angle. He gets a little too much on it, however, and the ball lands past the far post and the lurking Paul McCallum.
13 mins - Goal! Braintree have carried more of a threat and big striker Sean Marks forces Chambers to concede a throw. It is hurled over and Bywater's clearance falls to Kenny Davis on the edge of the box. He smashes the first-time show low through the legs and into the bottom right-hand corner. Braintree lead.
11 mins - Don't forget, you can get your tickets to watch the Hammers take on UEFA Champions League qualifiers Pacos de Ferreira now. We host the Portuguese side at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 10 August at 3pm. For full ticket details, click here.
7 mins - Great football there as Bywater slips in Shaw down the left wing. He clips over the cross first-time and Massey has to be alert to head over his own crossbar. The Hammers work the corner and then play some delightful stuff in and around the box. Braintree stand firm and don't let their opponents get a shot away. Finally, the ball is lifted over the defence for Sadlier, but he is caught just offside. Really easy on the eye, this football.
5 mins - West Ham have started well. They are knocking the ball around confidently on a nice playing surface here at Braintree. The challenge will be to overcome the fact the visitors are playing bigger, stronger, older players.
2 mins - The corner comes over and is cleared as far as Sadlier on the edge of the box, but his shot is charged down and the Iron clear their lines eventually.
50 secs - West Ham fashion an early opportunity as Bywater digs a cross out from the left wing. It skims off the head of a defender and drops to Turgott. He takes a touch and sees his shot deflected behind by Habergham for a corner.

7.44pm - A few seconds early, West Ham get things underway here on a lovely sunny evening in north Essex.
7.40pm - Here come the two tyeams. West Ham are in their home kit of claret and blue, while Braintree look like a team of Blackpool impersonators. The home side are in all-orange. The Hammers are being captained by Callum Driver tonight.
Good evening and welcome to a sunny Amlin Stadium for tonight's pre-season match between Alan Devonshire's Braintree Town and West Ham United's Development Squad.
With Sam Allardyce's first team away in Germany, Nick Haycock has brought a young and relatively inexperienced squad to Essex. However, with the likes of Raphael Spiegel, Jordan Spence, Callum Driver, George Moncur, Blair Turgott and Paul McCallum in the line-up, there are still plenty of recognisable faces on show.
Haycock will also give Leo Chambers and Eoin Wearen another chance to work on their fitness as the pair step-up their respective returns from long-term knee injuries. There is also the welcome sight of Dylan Tombides' name among the substitutes.
After thrashing Swansea City 4-0 at Little Heath on 16 July, the Under-21s pushed an experienced Wolverhampton Wanderers side all the way before going down to a narrow 3-2 defeat on Saturday. McCallum (pictured) has scored in both matches and will look to hit the net again after impressing in the first team's pre-season match against Cork City earlier this month.
Hammers legend Devonshire's Braintree have also been busy in pre-season, beating League Two side Southend United 2-1 before holding another team from the same division, Portsmouth, to a goalless draw. On Saturday, the Iron were beaten 4-1 by League One club Colchester United.
Braintree Town: Hamman, Griffiths, Habergham, Wells, Massey, Isaac, Sparkes, Davis, Simmons, Marks, Holman
Subs: McDonald, Cox, Carney, Paine, Peters, Wassmer, Akapele
West Ham United XI: Spiegel, Driver, Shaw, Chambers, Spence, Makasi, Moncur, Bywater, Turgott, McCallum, Sadlier
Subs: Guzman, Burke, Marlow, Wearen, Page, Harney, Cullen, Miles, Amoo, D.Tombides, Maguire

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Guy's hard graft paying off
WHUFC.com
Guy Demel was glad to see West Ham United's tough schedule pay off against former side Hamburger SV
23.07.2013

Guy Demel believes Tuesday's impressive 3-1 win against Hamburger SV is a result of the hard work the West Ham United squad have put in during their time in Germany. A headed goal apiece from Alou Diarra and James Tomkins and a penalty from Ravel Morrison wrapped up an encouraging result against the team that finished seventh in last season's Bundesliga. The result more than made up for the disappointing start to the three-game German tour, when the Hammers lost 4-1 to FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday, with Demel citing the intense training schedule as the key reason for the turnaround in fortune. "It was a great response to the defeat against Mainz on Saturday," Demel told West Ham TV. "I think the lads on Saturday didn't have a great game but the most important thing is the physical work during the friendly games. "As a team we learned from that mistake and as a team we responded. We worked hard during the week and it is good to win when you're in pre-season as it gives you the confidence to keep working hard."

Although Demel added his usual attacking threat to a much-improved collective defensive showing, it was the Hammers' forward play that really impressed. Central to that was Matt Jarvis, who provided assists for all three goals - two corners for Diarra and Tomkins and a tricky run that ended in a foul to win Morrison's penalty. "Hamburg are a team that like to keep the ball and try to go forward but as a team we were compact and when we won the ball we looked to use outlets like Matt to go forward. "When you have a player like Matt or Modibo [Maiga], who can hold the ball and win headers, along with Ravel, who is a good talent, then you can play the counter-attacking football. We know Matt's quality as we know if you can find space in behind he will cause the opposition problems."

Tuesday's result at the Flensburger Stadion was all the more special for Demel as he spent seven years at Hamburg before joining West Ham. He spent much of his time in the tunnel area before and after the game catching up with old friends. Although he admits it was nice to reminisce with his former colleagues, his focus now is very much on his life in London and exceeding last season's tenth-place Barclays Premier League finish. "It was nice to see some old team-mates and the fans of the Club. But my life is in London now with West Ham so I focus on that. I enjoyed my time in Hamburg but I don't think about the past and I only look forward. "I played seven seasons and I always gave my best and the fans liked that which was why they gave me a good reception. "With West Ham, we're going to try to finish at least as high again. I think other people would be happy to stay in the league but we are West Ham and we must have more expectation than that."

Overall, the former Ivory Coast international feels the seven days spent in Germany so far has been worthwhile, adding that the fitness levels are even better than at this stage last summer. "It has been a great week in Germany. The first game gave us an idea of how far along we were. Although it was hard, it was important to have that physical test. I think we will get better and better and we are fitter than we were at this stage last season so we should be fitter at the start of the season. "The Gaffer told us to we have to push for more than that as this season is going to be harder than last season, so we must all focus on being fit for the new season and deliver a new season that will make our fans happy."

West Ham will complete their stay in Germany by taking on Bundesliga new boys Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday afternoon, with kick-off at the Eintracht-Stadion at 3.30pm local time.

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Karren Brady: West Ham's Olympic Stadium move is not on the cheap
Last Updated: July 24, 2013 3:41pm
SSN

West Ham's Karren Brady has insisted that the club have not been allowed to use London's Olympic Stadium 'on the cheap.' The Hammers' vice-chairman went to Parliament on Wednesday to explain that West Ham must pay off all of their bank debt before they move to the iconic stadium. The Premier League team have debts of £70m, with half of that bank debt secured on Upton Park, and which has to be cleared when the ground is sold ahead of the move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016. Brady, giving evidence to the House of Lords committee on Olympic and Paralympic legacy said the club was not getting the stadium on the cheap and that the deal was good value to the tax-payer. She pointed out: "West Ham is not getting a free stadium. The stadium was built for the Olympics and what are we going to do with it? "Across the world stadiums that are not used die. Without anchor tenants the cost would be huge to the tax payer."

As for selling Upton Park, she added: "We did have a tentative deal but that fell away. "We hope the money generated from the sale of Upton Park will be enough to fulfil our commitment and to help pay off some of our bank debt. "When we bought the club and took on more than £100m of debt that was guaranteed on the ground. "We have to pay off all our bank debt to move, we can't take the debt with us. "If there is any excess from the sale it will meet some of that debt but I don't expect there will be."

At the same meeting, Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn said that West Ham's planned move 'was not certain' because of his on-going judicial review and legal action against the Premier League. Hearn wants his club to ground-share with West Ham and use just the lower tier for Orient's matches. Hearn said: "This is not a done deal. West Ham have an agreement but I have a judicial review outstanding and litigation with the Premier League that West Ham even moving would be a breach of Premier League rules. "We have ended up in situation where we have gifted £500m of tax-payers' money to a Premier League club that has a turnover of more than £100m. "It's a wonderful gift but if I was an Arsenal fan I would wonder why we bothered paying to build a new stadium.
"This is state sponsorship beyond my wildest dreams. In effect it's rent free as they have ability to develop Upton Park."

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The bookies get it wrong, as the Hammers outclass Hamburg!
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die

Some things never change. And one of those is West Ham United FC's continuing propensity to confound the odds. Following on from from the 4-1 defeat to FSV Mainz, some of the more prominent on-line bookie websites were confidently predicting that Hamburg (Van der Vaart on all) would just have too much for the Hammers to cope with in Tuesday evening's fixture. Well, as it turns out, nothing was further from the truth! West Ham outclassed Hamburg with relative ease, racing in to a 0-2 lead by the 28th minute. Both goals originated from pin point Matt Jarvis centres that found Diarra and Tomkins (respectively) to score from well taken headers.

With Van der Vaart briefly coming more in to the game, the Netherlands international found the head of Westermann from a well executed corner, in the 42nd minute, to cut the deficit and raise German expectations of an equaliser. However, this West Ham side is made of sterner stuff than many of its precursors and they duly dashed those expectations on the stroke of half time. A pacy run down the left, from that man Jarvis, solicited an ill advised foul by Diekmeier in the penalty area. The resultant penalty was expertly converted by the ever improving Ravel Morrison and West Ham then very professionally controlled the pace of the game, and shut up shop at the back, in the final 45 minutes.

The West Ham starting line up was as follows:

Henderson, Demel, Rat, Collins, Tomkins, Diarra, Nolan (Capt), Diame, Morrison, Maiga, Jarvis

So, who says the bookies always get it right!! But seriously, the performance was very encouraging and shows the team learnt from the FSV Mainz defeat and accordingly upped their game against better opposition. Overall, the squad have hitherto shaped up very well in pre-season and the signs are good for the new campaign, but we do need to secure that extra strength in depth and cutting edge up front. If we can secure Kalou from Lille, he can provide the pace and finishing ability down the right flank and then it is a matter of adding at least another striker to deputise for Carroll. That new striker must be able to both lead the forward line and play off Carroll as a second striker, otherwise we may be looking at two deals, probably a permanent deal and a loan.

On the striker acquisition front, there were reports today that Undinese's Czech international striker, Matej Vydra, is keen to join West Ham. At least that is according to his agent, who has gone public in stating his client's keenness to move to Upton Park. The pacy striker scored over 20 goals, last season, on loan to Zola's Watford and was voted the Championship player of the season. At 21 years of age, Vydra is a good prospect and could combine very well with Carroll in a classic front two striking combination. Could he fulfil the right sided forward role, if the Kalou deal does not materialise? Almost certainly. However, it is very doubtful that he could deputise like-for-like for Carroll, unless Sam Allardyce pairs him with Maiga or Vaz Te to form a very different type of strike force. Well, Allardyce could confound us all, on this one, but the odds are probably against that happening by choice. So, if the mooted £5m deal is done for Vydra, then the another deal is likely for a tall and powerful centre forward, possibly on loan.

Crouch would be one possibility, but I would prefer to see a deal done with Blackburn Rovers for Jordan Rhodes. The Scottish international striker has been a prolific finisher at every level at which he has played. As such, I do not feel that it is a large gamble for a PL club to sign him. More like a 'racing certainty,' as far as such a thing exists in football. Arguably, we should consider offering Blackburn any two of Vaz Te, Taylor or Henderson to oil the wheels of a deal. Any Championship side would welcome a proven Championship goal scorer like Vaz Te, Taylor offers valuable experience and Henderson has the potential to be a good keeper. If he stays, Vaz Te could prove the doubters wrong next season and rediscover his goal scoring touch. However, although that is a possibility, would anyone seriously not gamble on that to secure an exciting talent like Rhodes? Of course, Blackburn Rovers may well decide that they wish to base their promotion challenge next season firmly on Rhodes' goal scoring ability. However, c£8/9m and a player exchange (for say Vaz Te and Taylor) could be tempting because they get two good players and £8/9m to reinvest in their squad. No chance of that happening? Maybe, but Rovers have not exactly been distinguished by the soundness of their decision-making in the last two or three seasons. So, perhaps that run could continue and include an unlikely deal for Rhodes?

One of the major positives in pre-season has been the way in which the midfield players have been regularly finding the back of the net. If that trend continues in to the new season, and we secure the desired cutting edge up front, then that would bode very well for the future. But arguably the key is still pace. We need to sign players like Kalou or Vydra with the pace to catch out opposition defences, particularly away from home, where we were often too static and predictable last season. I would love to see us play a fast counter-attacking game, which we have not witnessed since the days of Craig Bellemy. That tactic is perfect for away fixtures, where the home teams push forward and leave gaps at the back which can be ruthlessly exploited by pace. Ideally, I would also have liked to see more of that quality in the full-back positions, but the defence is more or less settled. As such, the best chance is that Spence and/or Potts get a chance to impress in the new season. With a reinvigorated Alou Diarra available to shield and cover the defence, we could have the extra assurance at the back to encourage, in some fixtures,the attacking flair of Spence and Potts to push forward down the flanks. Well, at least we can postulate about the possibility! Whether it happens is another matter!

Finally, David Sullivan recently undertook a Q&A session on twitter and the key message was that the transfer emphasis is upon attack. No surprises there. But there was also an interesting reference to a willingness to secure Scott Parker's return from Spurs. Although not a priority, David Sullivan admitted that a deal for Parker would be welcomed if it could be done within the club's transfer and salary budget. On the transfer budget, he clearly stated that money for further transfers was available, but the real obstacle was the new Fair Play rules capping the total player salary budget at the club. And for the doubters, David Sullivan also made it perfectly clear that Sam Allardyce picks the transfer targets and has the final say on which players actually join the club. He was pretty emphatic on that point and probably wanted to squash once-and-for-all any internet speculation that in the past players have been imposed upon on the manager (i.e. BNM and Paulista). This player imposition theory is novel, but does anyone really believe that a strong manager like Allardyce would accept such a practice, even if the club were remotely inclined to do it? Which, it seems apparently, they are not!

SJ. Chandos.

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West Ham face £35million debt repayments before Olympic Stadium move
24 Jul 2013 15:26
The Mirror

Karren Brady has today admitted that West Ham United will have to clear around £35million worth of debt before they move into the Olympic Stadium in 2016.
The Hammers are £70million in the red and half of that is tied into their Upton Park home. Brady, speaking at the House of Lords' committee on Olympic and Paralympic legacy today, is also wary that the club's current home will need to be sold soon in order to ease the financial burden on owners David Sullivan and David Gold. "We did have a tentative deal to sell Upton Park but that fell away," she said this morning. "We hope the money generated from the sale of Upton Park will be enough to fulfil our commitment and to help pay off some of our bank debt. "When we bought the club we took on more than £100million of debt that was guaranteed on the ground. We have to pay off all our bank debt to move, we can't take the debt with us. "If there is any excess it will meet some of that debt but I don't expect there will be."

Manager Sam Allardyce has been backed reasonably well in the transfer market this summer, notably parting with £15million to sign Andy Carroll from Liverpool. However one of the areas which may suffer in the club's plans to repay the sum may be player recruitment. The club, though, will be optimistic in their ability to do so without too much disruption to first-team affairs.

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West Ham United are believed to be interested in Porto winger Silvestre Varela
Guardian Series
3:00pm Wednesday 24th July 2013 in News

West Ham United have been linked with a move for FC Porto winger Silvestre Varela. The Hammers are believed to be interested in a move for the 28-year-old who has won three Portuguese titles during his four years with the Dragons. According to the Daily Mail, Turkish club Besiktas had a £5 million bid rejected by Porto which could give the Irons a better chance of completing a deal.

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West Ham United must pay £70m bank debt before Olympic Stadium move
• Karren Brady: club not getting ground on the cheap
• West Ham plan not a done deal, insists Orient's Barry Hearn
Press Association
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 July 2013 16.55 BST

West Ham United will have to pay off all of their bank debt before their move to the Olympic Stadium, according to the club's vice-chairman, Karren Brady.
West Ham have debts of £70m, with half of that bank debt secured on Upton Park and which has to be cleared when the ground is sold ahead of the move to the Olympic Stadium in 2016. Brady, giving evidence to the House of Lords committee on Olympic and Paralympic legacy on Wednesday, also insisted the club were not getting the stadium on the cheap and the deal was good value to the taxpayer. The Premier League club did have a buyer in place for Upton Park but that fell through because of delays to the deal to become Olympic Stadium tenants. Brady also stated that the sluggish property market means she expects income projections from the sale to be down 50% on 2010. Brady added that she did not expect the sale would cover much more than the lump sum the club will have to pay to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to move to the Olympic venue. She said: "We did have a tentative deal [for Upton Park] but that fell away. We hope the money generated from the sale of Upton Park will be enough to fulfil our commitment and to help pay off some of our bank debt. "When we bought the club and took on more than £100m of debt, that was guaranteed on the ground. We have to pay off all our bank debt to move, we can't take the debt with us. If there is any excess [from the sale of Upton Park] it will meet some of that debt but I don't expect there will be."

Brady was asked to respond to a claim by the former sports minister Richard Caborn that West Ham were getting the £600m stadium for only £15m, plus £2m-a-year rent, with the taxpayer picking up the tab. Brady defended the deal, however, and said: "The alternative scenario does not bear thinking about. West Ham is not getting a free stadium. The stadium was built for the Olympics and what are we going to do with it? Across the world, stadiums that are not used die. Without anchor tenants the cost would be huge to the taxpayer."

She added that West Ham would generate "many hundreds of millions of pounds" over the 100-year lease. The committee also heard from Leyton Orient's chairman, Barry Hearn, who insisted West Ham's move was "not a done deal" because of his continuing judicial review and legal action against the Premier League. Hearn wants his club to be able to groundshare with West Ham and use only the lower tier for Orient's matches. He also described the LLDC's deal with West Ham as "state sponsorship beyond my wildest dreams".

Hearn said: "This is not a done deal. West Ham have an agreement but I have a judicial review outstanding and litigation with the Premier League that [means] West Ham even moving would be a breach of Premier League rules. "We have ended up in situation where we have gifted £500m of taxpayers' money to a Premier League club that has a turnover of more than £100m. It's a wonderful gift but if I was an Arsenal fan I would wonder why we bothered paying to build a new stadium. "This is state sponsorship beyond my wildest dreams. In effect, it's rent free as they have the ability to develop Upton Park."

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West Ham to clear debt before move to Olympic Stadium
Standard.co.uk
Published: 24 July 2013 Updated: 14:45, 24 July 2013

West Ham must pay off all their bank debt before they move to the Olympic Stadium, vice‑chairman Karren Brady revealed today. The Hammers have debts of £70million, half of that bank debt secured on Upton Park, and that has to be cleared when the ground is sold ahead of the move in 2016. If they failed to raise the necessary £35m then co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan would make up the shortfall to ensure the club could take up the 99-year lease. The club had a buyer for Upton Park but that fell through due to the delays in the deal to be tenants.Brady added she did not expect the sale would cover much more than the lump sum the club must pay to the London Legacy Development Corporation to move to the Olympic venue. She said: "We had a tentative deal [for Upton Park] but that fell away. We hope the money generated from the sale will be enough to fulfil our commitment and help pay off some of our bank debt. "When we bought the club and took on more than £100m of debt that was guaranteed on the ground. We have to pay off all our bank debt to move, we can't take the debt with us. If there is any excess [from Upton Park sale] it will meet some of that debt but I don't expect there will be."

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Barry Hearn: I'll Fight West Ham Bullies to the Death for Olympic Stadium
By DOMINIC GOVER: Subscribe to Dominic's RSS feed | July 24, 2013 1:45 PM GMT
IBTimes.co.uk

Barry Hearn has taken his war for the legacy of the Olympic Games to Parliament by again warning that Premier League West Ham United will kill his small east London club. Sports promoter Hearn delivered a lively case to the Lords' Olympic and Paralympics Legacy Committee for why League One minnows Leyton Orient must get a place in the Queeen Elizabeth stadium. Orient are fighting against the decision by Olympic legacy bosses to hand sole occupancy to the Hammers from 2016. A judicial review and a legal claim against the Premier League is underway, amid fears Orient ticket sales will be hit hard if the Hammers move in next door to Brisbane Road - where the O's play.

Hearn told IBTimes UK that Olympic officials and the Premier League club have a big fight on their hands to keep out Orient. Shortly after giving evidence, he said: "What is going on here? We need to know what is going on behind closed doors. Someone does not want us in the room and I want to be told to my face why that is. "We need to know just what the hell is going on here. It's good that people like the panel are asking questions and that can only be valuable."

Hearn told IBTimes UK Orient are being muscled out of the Games' legacy by bigger, richer players. "I do not like bullies and nobody doe," he said. "I have an awful lot on my plate with my other businesses, but I'm very passionate about Leyton Orient and it's unfortunate that this passion is being ignored and people are ignoring a common sense solution."

Under the terms of the deal, West Ham will pay £15m up front for the stadium, plus £2.5m a year from 2016. The taxpayer has ploughed almost £70m towards conversion costs totalling around £150m. Officials claim making West Ham the tenant of the 80,000 stadium is the best way to ensure it is used regularly. But Hearn told Lords today (Wednesday) that poses an existential threat to the smaller club. "The Premier League is everywhere," he said. "It's such a strong brand. Kids will turn on to a Premier League club every day of the week. They don't think: "I'll fight my corner at my local club." We lose 400 die-hards every year and they get replaced for 400 kids who come to their local team. If you have a Premier League club on your doorstep offering free tickets, do you honestly think they're going to Orient?

"Orient are the forgotten tribe of the East End and I don't think we'll die quietly. I don't know anything other than fighting for something which I think is the genuine legacy of the Olympics. This is not a done deal."

West Ham say owners David Gold and David Sullivan are devoted to the club, will share costs with the public and boast a proud east London heritage.

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