Hammers start with Cardiff at home
WHUFC.com
The fixtures for the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season have been
released
19.06.2013
West Ham United will kick-off the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League season
with a home fixture against top flight new boys Cardiff City.
Having claimed an excellent tenth position in their first season back in the
Barclays Premier League last term, Sam Allardyce's side will start the new
campaign by facing Malky Mackay's side at the Boleyn Ground on Saturday 17
August. The Hammers' first away game will follow with a trip to Newcastle
United on Saturday 24 August before Stoke City visit east London on Saturday
31 August.
Big Sam's men will wrap up league matters on Sunday 11 May 2014, when they
tackle Manchester City at Etihad Stadium, the first time in seven years the
Hammers will play an away game on the final day.
The Hammers take on reigning Barclays Premier League champions Manchester
United on Saturday 22 March (home) and Saturday 21 December (away), while
they host runners-up Manchester City on Saturday 19 October.
The mouth-watering London derby matches against Tottenham Hotspur will take
place on Saturday 5 October (away) and Saturday 3 May (home), while Jose
Mourinho's Chelsea will form the opposition on Saturday 23 November (home)
and Wednesday 29 January (away).
Premier League new boys Crystal Palace visit the Boleyn Ground on Saturday
19 April, while the Hammers travel to Hull City on Saturday 28 September and
Cardiff City on Saturday 11 January.
The traditional Christmas and New Year fixtures will see the Hammers face
Arsenal at home on Boxing Day and Fulham away on New Year's Day.
West Ham are one of 13 Barclays Premier League clubs who will enter the
Capital One Cup at the second round stage, with ties scheduled to be played
in the week commencing Monday 26 August.
Full list of fixtures (all subject to change)
Sat Aug 17 Cardiff City H
Sat Aug 24 Newcastle United A
Sat Aug 31 Stoke City H
Sat Sep 14 Southampton A
Sat Sep 21 Everton H
Sat Sep 28 Hull City A
Sat Oct 5 Tottenham Hotspur A
Sat Oct 19 Manchester City H
Sat Oct 26 Swansea City A
Sat Nov 2 Aston Villa H
Sat Nov 9 Norwich City A
Sat Nov 23 Chelsea H
Sat Nov 30 Fulham H
Tue Dec 3 Crystal Palace A
Sat Dec 7 Liverpool A
Sat Dec 14 Sunderland H
Sat Dec 21 Manchester United A
Thu Dec 26 Arsenal H
Sat Dec 28 West Bromwich Albion H
Wed Jan 1 Fulham A
Sat Jan 4 F.A. Cup 3
Sat Jan 11 Cardiff City A
Sat Jan 18 Newcastle United H
Sat Jan 25 F.A. Cup 4
Wed Jan 29 Chelsea A
Sat Feb 1 Swansea City H
Sat Feb 8 Aston Villa A
Tue Feb 11 Norwich City H
Sat Feb 15 F.A. Cup 5
Sat Feb 22 Southampton H
Sat Mar 1 Everton A
Sun Mar 2 Capital One Cup Final
Sat Mar 8 Hull City H
Sat Mar 15 Stoke City A
Sat Mar 22 Manchester United H
Sat Mar 29 Sunderland A
Sat Apr 5 Liverpool H
Sat Apr 12 Arsenal A
Sat Apr 19 Crystal Palace H
Sat Apr 26 West Bromwich Albion A
Sat May 3 Tottenham Hotspur H
Sun May 11 Manchester City A
Fixtures are subject to change.
If you cannot wait for the Barclays Premier League season to get under way,
then the Hammers will be playing a host of pre-season matches at home and
abroad. For a full list of the Club's pre-season fixtures, click here.
Hammers mobile text alert subscribers received this news first. Click here
to sign up so you can make sure you stay in touch wherever you are this
summer.
Check back on whufc.com later for all the reaction to the announcement of
the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League fixture list. Please note all fixtures
are subject to change.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Wednesday, June 19
Daily WHUFC News - 19th June 2013
Lee's delight at award-winning year
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee has targeted further progress after making his first team bow
last season
18.06.2013
Academy striker Elliot Lee enjoyed a productive 2012/13 campaign, netting 14
goals for the Club's Under-18 and Under-21 sides, as well as making his
first team debut. The 18-year-old's rapid progress was recognised at the
Hammers' end of season awards dinner, when he collected the prestigious
Academy Player of the Year prize. It rounded off a fine season for the
youngster, whose father Rob and brother Oliver also played for the Hammers,
and he is keen to continue along the same upward curve over the coming
years. "I'm delighted with the award, I couldn't be happier," he beamed. "It
caps off a great season, so to pick up the award is brilliant. "I love
scoring goals - I've ended up as the top goalscorer for the Under-21s so
that's great, and winning any award gives you confidence. "I just want to
push on from here and see what I can do in pre-season to impress the first
team. "My mate Moncs [George Moncur] won the Young Hammer of the Year so
hopefully I can take that one off him next year!"
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Liverpool striker Andy Carroll passes West Ham medical
BBC.co.uk
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has passed his medical at West Ham prior to a
£15m move. The 24-year-old cost Liverpool £35m and has been on loan at West
Ham since 2012, scoring seven times in 24 games. The transfer fee was agreed
in May, but the England international was unsure about a move before a World
Cup year.
Andy Carroll career stats
Newcastle (2006-11): 91 games, 33 goals
Preston (loan Aug 2007-08): 12 games, 1 goal
Liverpool (2011-present): 57 games, 11 goals
West Ham (loan 2012-13): 24 games, 7 goals
England (2010-present): 9 games, 2 goals
"We managed to bring Andy's medical forward and I am delighted to inform you
that he has passed with flying colours," chairman David Gold tweeted.
The examination was expected to be a thorough one, because of the fee
involved and the player's record of injury problems. The former Newcastle
player fell awkwardly in the Hammers' final game of the season, picking up a
heel injury that forced him out of England's two post-season friendlies
against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil. That followed previous problems
with his hamstring and knee, which disrupted much of the first half of his
campaign at Upton Park. Carroll was signed by Kenny Dalglish for Liverpool
on transfer deadline day in January 2011, for what remains a record fee for
a British player. He had impressed by scoring 31 times for his boyhood club
Newcastle United in 81 appearances, but his time at Anfield was short-lived.
Coupled with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers and a new style of play,
Carroll's return of just six goals in 44 league outings for Liverpool saw
him loaned to West Ham in late August 2012.
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Roll out the Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th June 2013
By: Staff Writer
Andy Carroll is set to be confirmed as West Ham United's record signing
after he successfully completed a medical earlier this evening. The
24-year-old striker will cost the Hammers £15.5million plus a further
£2million in add-ons - smashing the club record of £10.75million paid to
Wolves last summer for Matt Jarvis.
The news was confirmed earlier this evening by co-chairman David Gold, who
had Tweeted earlier in the day to reveal that Carroll's medical would take
place on Wednesday morning. However posting an update shortly after 9pm
tonight, Gold said: "We managed to bring Andy's medical forward to this
evening and I am delighted to inform you that he has passed with flying
colours." The capture of the former Liverpool star represents a huge coup
for West Ham. Just two-and-a-half years ago Newcastle sold him to the
Merseyside club for what remains a British record transfer fee of
£35million. And although his salary is expected to cost West Ham somewhere
in the region of £4.5million per year - or £27million over the course of his
six-year contract - most supporters appear to agree that his capture is a
real signal of intent from the club.
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Gold backs Jack
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th June 2013
By: Staff Writer
David Gold has been speaking about the club's policy regarding transfer news
- and explaining why the job of announcing new signings has been left to his
partner's son of late. Jack Sullivan - the teenage son of Gold's co-owner
David Sullivan - has become something of an Twitter sensation in recent
months since he began to leak the club's breaking transfer news via the
social network. Earlier today he was the first to reveal that Andy Carroll
had agreed terms with the club on a six-year deal and was undergoing a
medical - making the club's own website, which had previously been charged
with making such announcements (as is customary with other professional
clubs) essentially redundant. The issue was raised tonight during a Q&A
session following a speech Gold had given as part of Newham Council's 'Ideas
Olympiad' at Stratford Circus. Asked by a member of the audience how he felt
about young Jack breaking West Ham transfer news via Twitter, Gold - after a
long pause - replied: "He's 13 years of age and he's in kind of a privileged
situation. "He hears things. His father wouldn't say to him "look, this is
what's happened, go and Tweet it" - he wouldn't do that. Jack happened to be
around the house today, he's picked up something and he can't resist it.
"When he goes to school tomorrow, he'll be like a God; he'll swan around
like the King. So give him some slack, he's a good kid and I like him very
much - although I could whack him when he does this! "What you will hear in
due course are the actual facts, when the [Carroll] deal is done. We're
close, but Jack doesn't care - he'll still be a star when he goes to school
tomorrow and that's the end of the matter. "But he is a good kid."
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That Was The Season That Was 2012/13 - Part Three
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th June 2013
By: Gordon Thrower
Christmas - seems so long ago doesn't it? The latest in Gordon Thrower's
review of the 2012/13 season covers November 2012-January 2013. Something
for you to have a look at before you finally get round to taking that awful
pullover your aunt bought you down to the charity shop...
November
Our first match of the month finishes in a 0-0 draw at home to reigning
champions Man City. In fact we have a perfectly good goal notched off by a
linesman as Nolan's fine volley appears to have put us ahead. One of a
number of dubious decisions we endure against the so-called big 4 in the
season.
The skipper is on target the following week as we pick up another away win,
this time up at Newcastle where Nolan is handily placed to divert Joey
O'Brien's wayward effort to give us a 1-0 win that sends us to 6th place for
a bit. Sky diver Felix Baumgartner turns down an invite to the match on the
grounds that the away section at St James Park is far too high for comfort.
"You're not getting me up there" he would have said, we expect, had we
really asked him.
Over the water, alleged Hammer Barack Obama is re-elected as President of
the USA. Barry Hearn considers a judicial review on the grounds that the
traditional inauguration ceremony due to take place in January might affect
Leyton Orient's gate if they happen to be home that weekend.
With a little over a month to go before the transfer window re-opens it
becomes public knowledge that Mo Diame has a release clause in his contract
allowing him to speak to any club willing to pay an alleged £5m. I can't
imagine where the papers got that one from. Why, it's almost as if his agent
had released the news to engineer a money-making move or a new contract or
something.
In legal news three men are sent for trial on fraud charges over the Olympic
Stadium decision, with personal records belonging to Karren Brady and others
having mysteriously ended up in their possession. The accused were employed
by accountancy firm PKF who had been engaged by Spurs as part of the whole
process. Spurs are predictably keen to distance themselves from the whole
affair claiming "We're as shocked as you are. There's no way that this
should have been traceable back to us. Er, this isn't being recorded is it?"
Moe legal news as the Met's finest announce that they are dropping all
enquiries into Chelsea's allegations against Mark Clattenburg. The phrase "I
don't give a monkey's" is supposedly at the centre of all the fuss. Chelsea
chairman Bruce Buck ties himself in all sorts of logical knots trying to
justify the club's defence of John Terry whilst apparently slinging round
official complaints at referees for the same offence. One of the poorer
referees in an already poor bunch, Clattenburg gets away with murder for the
rest of the season on the wave of sympathy gained from the whole affair.
Stoke are the next visitors to the Boleyn and they escape with a point. Joey
O'Brien is the man on target three minutes into the second half equalising
an early Walters effort. As usual, Stoke's goal owes a hellofalot to their
illegal blocking at corners which referees love to ignore. Stoke boss Pulis
continues to boast that he coaches his team to break the laws of the game.
Some might think that such an admission merits a disrepute charge. We could
not possibly comment.
The national side pops over to Sweden to celebrate the Swedish FA's
centenary. Ibrahimovic scores on 20 minutes to give the hosts the lead.
Welbeck and Caulker actually put us 2-1 up at one stage but, ever keen to
behave ourselves as guests at the party, we remember our places. Ibrahimovic
nets a further three, the last of which is a remarkable 30 yard overhead
kick, to give Sweden victory.
Back home Andy Carroll finally nets his first for the club at Spurs but
sadly this turns out to be a late consolation as the home side provides one
of the shocks of the season by winning 3-1. Defoe (2) and Bale are
predictably on the scoresheet for the home side. The match is marred by some
inappropriate chanting that, equally predictably, is pounced on by some
sections of the press as an indication that civilisation as we know it is
about to collapse. The FA announce one of their thorough investigations
which, seven months later, concludes that they will take no further action
against the club.
We go up to Old Trafford and are on the back foot after 31 seconds as Van
Persie opens the scoring. However the home side fail to add to their tally
and are seen desperately time-wasting in the closing stages as they hang on
for a 1-0 win.
Only a few weeks after having gained his chairman's full backing via the
medium of twitter, Mark Hughes is sacked by QPR. "He was utterly utterly the
right man for the job up to a few moments ago when we sacked him" tweets
Tony Fernandes. Probably. The thought that we might have dodged a bullet,
ownership-wise, crosses our minds as Fernandes announces that "the new
utterly utterly right man for the job is Harry Redknapp". "Or his dog Rosie.
I think that's where his pay is going".
Chelsea haven't won a trophy for a few weeks, a state of affairs that
Abrahamovic tries to rectify by sacking Roberto Di Matteo just a few months
into a two-year deal. Accident and emergency rooms in hospitals are on alert
as thousands are admitted with painful side-strains from laughing too much.
Some A&E units even have to close their doors as the follow-up announcement
that Rafa Benitez has been appointed "Interim" manager to replace Di Matteo
hits the airwaves.
In the wake of "Clattenburggate" PGMO announces that the conversations
between their officials are, henceforth, to be recorded to protect their
employees from accusations such as those made by Chelsea. Knowing PGMO as we
do we look forward to the mysterious wiping of tapes whenever one of their
number is found to be out of order. Just about every week then.
As November closes we find ourselves in 10th place with 19 points from 14
matches. Happy with that – only 21 points from that mythical safety point………
December
The run of good month-opening results continues with a cracker as we turn
over Chelsea who arrive with their with their interim manager and their
equally interim supporters at the Boleyn to see us win 3-1. A Mata goal
gives the visitors an interim, sorry, half-time lead. However the
introduction of a clearly up for it Diame in the second half changes things
completely. Cole, Diame himself and a late one from Maiga gives us all three
points as A&E departments implement their "major incident" plans in advance
of a whole nation laughing at Chelsea.
The good news is tempered by the announcement that former academy graduate
Mitchell Cole has passed away at the shockingly young age of 27. Whilst
still with West Ham, Cole had been diagnosed with a heart condition similar
to that which had affected Fabrice Muamba. Despite the condition Cole had
enjoyed a successful career at non-league level before retiring in 2011.
Up in scouseland Brendan Rodgers tries to fit in with the legendary local
sense of humour by announcing that his side will be challenging for the
so-called Champions League places come the end of the season. Honest he
really did say that.
Whilst we're on the subject of daft statements David Ginola claims that
Gareth Bale isn't a diver. Sad to see the former Newcastle winger's brain
start to go at such a young age.
The long-awaited announcement regarding the Olympic stadium is finally made.
The announcement seems to consist of an announcement that there will be an
announcement. Sometime. Soon. Honest. To nobody's surprise Barry Hearn
starts making noises about taking things further when the real announcement
finally comes.
The West Ham players' Christmas do takes place in Dublin and this year's
so-called scandal occurs when a photographer claims to have been flattened
by Andy Carroll, The club makes a statement denying that Carroll had hit
snapper though they admitted that the budding David Bailey had been
"restrained" by the club's security team to protect the injured striker.
Talking of Irish things, we sign a kid called Sean Maguire from Waterford.
It's a bit of a worry for a while as one of my female chums who is an expert
on these things suggests that the player has already been told his career is
over by the medics after a training accident while he was an apprentice at
Walford Town. I calmly explain to her the difference between EastEnders and
real life and ask her to do the washing up before making me a cup of tea. I
spend the next hour removing broken crockery from my hair.
Max Clifford, who was responsible for the horrible image of David Mellor in
a Chelsea kit in our minds, is arrested as part of Operation Yewtree. It
occurs to us that he could do with a hand - if only he knew somebody who
could handle the publicity fallout for him.
Back on the pitch we play Liverpool off the park for much of the match. A
spectacular Glen Johnson effort – what a waste – puts the visitors 1-0
against the run of play before a Gerrard og and a Noble penalty give us the
lead. The turning point is the departure of Mo Diame, who is running the
match, with a torn hamstring. The visitors, whose main tactic seems to be
hoofing the ball for the corners in a rugby style move at every opportunity,
end up taking away an undeserved three points in a 3-2 win, Joe Cole's
uncelebrated effort and a freak own goal from Collins being the difference
between the sides.
The news leaks out that Assistant Manager Wally Downes has left the club "by
mutual consent". I say "leaks", "oozes slowly" would probably be a better
description of the non-announcement. Speculation that the parting of the
ways has resulted from incidents during the Dublin trip abound, with no
confirmation from any source available to confirm or deny the position. The
club's only comment is to the effect that the parting of the ways was
"amicable". Meanwhile Downes himself, normally so voluble on twitter, goes
all quiet. A bit of a mystery then.
In a strange case of "déjà vu" Yossi Benayoun is sent back to Chelsea having
spent (predictably) most of his loan spell in the treatment room with a
series of mystery injuries. A 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns follows, a match
that is as nondescript as the scoreline suggests. Meanwhile a strike by tube
workers results in the announcement that the Boxing Day visit to Arsenal's
library is to be postponed.
Another club official to depart is Finance Director Nick Igoe who had
somehow juggled the finances during one of the most turbulent periods of the
club's history. Not sure what he's up to next but, given the nature of the
job required during his tenure, he'd probably be forgiven for asking for a
six-month stay in The Priory as part of his severance package.
The pre-Christmas visit of Everton is ruined by the antics of so-called
professional referee Anthony Taylor. Carlton Cole gives us the lead before
receiving a ludicrous red card, a decision that turns the game. Everton win
2-1 with goals from Anichebe and Piennar, Taylor's second major brainstorm
in dismissing Everton's Gibson for an identical and equally innocuous
challenge occurring too late to have any effect on the match. Both red cards
are later rescinded though Taylor escapes any sort of punishment, the tapes
of the fourth official shouting "are you SURE about that Anthony?" having
presumably been mysteriously wiped.
There's amusement at a typical Harry Redknapp press conference in which a
question that has all the hallmarks of being planted by one of twitchy's
press mates is asked about the possibility of Joe Cole going to QPR. Our old
boss responds in his usual manner "great player…I gave him his debut you
know…who wouldn't be interested etc ..etc" So far so standard until a journo
forgets himself and asks the sixty-four thousand dollar question: "have you
spoken to Joe?" The question flusters Redknapp "No. Of course not. He's
under contract to Liverpool . I'd need permission. Are you trying to get me
into trouble?" That'll be a "Yes" then Harry.
The year ends in traditional style as muppet club Reading score with
virtually their only attack of the match at the Wiggydome. West Ham dominate
the rest of the match but a dreadful miss from Vaz Te ends all hope of a
point.
The result leaves us at the end of the year in 12th spot with 23 points from
19 matches. Not actually in the scrap for relegation but maybe a little bit
too close to it for total comfort. Still there's a fair way to go yet…….
January 2013
Happy New Year!
34,000+ hungover souls drag their wearies over to the Boleyn (quiet night in
for me actually!) where Norwich are the visitors. First half goals from
Noble (pen) and O'Brien are enough to give us all three points despite a
late Martin consolation. The win sends us up to 11th place and eases the
slight concerns raised at the end of the last bit of this review.
Of course January means that the transfer window has re-opened. The main
concern is the sharks that appear to be circling around the release clause
in Diame's contract. Diame, of course, is out of action after doing his
hamstring in in the Liverpool match. Journalists find the player difficult
to get hold of with the club probably having sent him to the room next to
Nick Igoe's at the Priory to recover somehow mislaying the key in the hope
that he won't pop up on someone else's radar.
Talking of Liverpool, strong rumours start to appear that we are to rescue
Joe Cole from his nightmare spell on Merseyside. The rumours are true and
the player signs for the club where he always did his best work.
Also arriving on loan to the end of the season is Arsenal forward Marouane
Chamakh. Another loan forward on the way in is Brazilian Wellington Paulista
who joins from Cruzeiro until the end of the season with a view to a
permanent deal. Meanwhile Sky Sports are aghast. Three players in at the
Boleyn and it's only 5th January – at this rate there'll be nothing left for
them to go ballistic about at the end of the month when the window closes.
For the second time this season we have a second coming of a JC as Joe Cole
makes his second Hammers' debut in the FA Cup 3rd round tie against Man Utd.
Another cracking match sees us go 1-0 down to a Cleverley effort from close
range. We then take the lead from two virtually identical goals from
JC(Collins) both of which are headed conversions of crosses from JC(Cole).
We hold on to the lead until the dying minutes when Van Persie converts a
long ball (irony alert) from Giggs to take the match to a replay. As usual
Ferguson shows his contempt and arrogance for everything outside Salford by
failing to appear for the standard post-match press conference. His two-bob
club further show their complete lack of class by charging us double for the
replay, having gleefully begged for and accepted cut-price tickets for their
fans for the original match. What a nice club with classy supporters. Not.
The mighty (yeah, right) Liverpool struggle to get past Mansfield in the
cup, until Suarez adds a deliberately handled goal to racism and diving in
his list of crimes against football. Still when you're a struggling two-bob
club I suppose you need all the help you can get to get past teams like
Mansfield.
Sam Allardyce – or possibly charities favoured by him – becomes a wee bit
richer following an apology from Blackburn Rovers over comments made by then
manager Steve Kean in a bar during a pre-season tour. The full apology
reads:
"During the summer of 2011, Mr Steve Kean was this Club's manager and
accompanied the players of Blackburn Rovers on a pre-season tour of the Far
East. Whilst in Hong Kong, Mr Kean was in a bar and falsely alleged that Sam
Allardyce, our previous manager, was sacked by us because he was a crook.
This is completely false and we apologise to Mr Allardyce for the
embarrassment and distress caused to him by Mr Kean."
The apology and settlement are the latest setbacks in a complete nightmare
of a season for Blackburn. Having suffered relegation – the existence of
which apparently came as a surprise to the owners - they manage to get
through no fewer than four managers in the season. The aforementioned Kean
goes in September 2012 (or "forced to resign" as Kean amusingly put it) at a
time when the club is sitting in third place in the Championship. Henning
Berg arrives and lasts until December 2012. Michael Appleton's reign lasts a
mere 67 days but still only manages to be the second shortest reign in the
club's history (Berg having only lasted 57 days). Current incumbent is Gary
Bowyer – though admittedly I haven't been online much this morning and
there's every possibility that they've gone through another four or five
since I started this paragraph.
As well as getting a chunk of compo from his former club, Sam is also linked
with a potential double swoop on Ewood with left back Martin Olsson and
'keeper Paul Robinson both touted for a move to the Boleyn. Our staff writer
earns himself another kicking with the headline "Here's To You Mr Robinson".
In the event neither deal goes through – Rovers appear to reject our bid for
Olsson and, whilst talks with Robinson get much further, the club eventually
decides that the deal isn't right.
With us beginning to be thankful that we're not owned by a bunch of know
nothing chicken farmers we get a bit of a shock as it's announced that David
Gold is in hospital with pneumonia. Thankfully the septuagenarian
co-Chairman makes a full recovery.
Our away form continues to fail to impress as we contrive to lose 3-0 up at
Sunderland. Worse still James Collins tears a calf muscle exposing the lack
of depth within the squad, though the quiet return of Mo Diame to the bench
is welcome (as long as none of the clubs interested in him notices).
We travel up to Old Trafford for the Cup replay where, as usual, the home
side are able to count on more than a little assistance from the match
officials. This time it is unfit chubber Phil Dowd who, faced with identical
penalty appeals, gives one to the home side and denies one to the away side.
Rooney blazes his effort high into the stands. We'd probably have scored
ours. Sam is hauled up before the FA for pointing out that such decisions
are a regular occurrence at Old Trafford as the authorities' contempt for
supporters is reinforced once more. We deserve more than the 1-0 reverse
that we get.
We return to league action at home to QPR where the visitors take the lead
with virtually their only attack of the game, the goal coming through
debutant Loic Remy. Joe Cole equalises with 20 left but despite battering at
the door we fail to covert the point into three. In what is possibly a
unique experience in my lifetime I find myself using the words "Redknapp"
and "honest" in the same sentence as the Rangers boss admits that his side
were fortunate to escape with a point, However, in his post-match press
conference he admits to having had talks with Joe Cole several weeks before
West Ham got involved with a deal. That would be about the time you were
denying speaking to him then Harry – you know, that time when when you
accused the journalist of trying to get you into trouble? Normal service
resumed then.
Southampton sack Nigel Adkins and replace him with Mauricio Pochinetto.
Adkins eventually ends up at Reading – an unlikeable club finally getting
the manager it deserves.
Alou Diarra finds himself in hot water following comments made to French
football magazine L'Equipe. Having arrived on a three year deal then got
injured he's found it difficult to break into the team, a fact that he moans
about to the magazine in abundance.
The postponed trip to the Library finally takes place and we're on the wrong
end of a 5-1 defeat. Collison is on target for us in a match marred by a
head injury to Dan Potts which leaves the youngster with concussion, putting
one in mind of the old quote attributed to John Lambie: "he doesn't know who
he is? Tell him he's Pele and send him back on". Modern medical opinion
being what it is our medical team opt to send him to hospital instead where
the player is treated for concussion.
History is made and the world of football broadcasting is rocked to its feet
as kumb radio is launched. Despite opening with yours truly as a guest, the
podcast survives and goes on to become a regular event in its first season.
Kudos to producer/presenters Chris Scull (he has a BAFTA you know) and James
Longman.
The awayday woes continue as we go down 3-1 at Craven Cottage to an ordinary
Fulham side. Nolan nets our consolation. There are mutterings that our away
form could drag us into the relegation scrap, though the poor, and highly
amusing form of Reading and QPR continues to give us a bit of comfort in
that regard. Still an away win or two wouldn't go amiss…
Transfer deadline day arrives and in comes defensive cover in the form of
Emanual Pogatetz, on loan from Wolfsburg. Alou Diarra is on his bike
(presumably wearing one of those stripey shirts and a beret and carrying a
string of onions) having cheesed off the manager with his attitude. A loan
deal to Rennes is his "reward".
A couple of youngsters (Rinor Nushi and Vit Nemrava) apart that's it as far
as we're concerned for the window.
There is high comedy at Loftus Road. QPR table a bid for West Brom winger
Peter Odemwinge. West Brom reject the bid for the player. Odemwinge gets to
hear about the QPR bid, though obviously this news cannot possibly have been
relayed to him by anyone from QPR, Harry Redknapp for example, as that would
have constituted an illegal approach. Odemwinge somehow gets the impression
that everything will be sorted out between the clubs in the time that it
takes him to drive from the Midlands to West London, and an ambiguous
interview given to Sky (yes through a car window) could be interpreted as
implying that he's spoken to someone at Shepherd's Bush. However, QPR,
realising that they do not have permission to talk to the player, turn off
all the office lights and hide under the furniture pretending to be out when
Odemwinge knocks at the door. Odemwinge returns to Smethwick with his tail
between his legs and picks up over £150,000 in fines for his trouble as the
country looks on in amazement. And laughs.
We end the month in 13th place with 27 points from 24 games. Still not in a
relegation battle but not quite far enough away from one for us to be
totally happy. Another 13 points would be most welcome then. As soon as
possible please………
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Andy Carroll passes West Ham medical ahead of Liverpool exit
Last Updated: June 18, 2013 10:59pm
SSN
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has passed his medical with West Ham ahead of
his proposed £15million move to Upton Park. The England international spent
last season on loan with the Hammers, where he scored seven goals in 24
games. After revealing earlier in the day that the forward was due to
undergo a medical on Wednesday, Hammers chairman David Gold wrote on his
social media account: "We managed to bring Andy's medical forward to this
evening and I am delighted to inform you that he has passed with flying
colours."
Carroll had been suffering from a heel problem which forced him to miss the
recent England friendlies with Republic of Ireland and Brazil, and there
were fears he could be out of action for up to four months. But West Ham
boss Sam Allardyce revealed at the weekend a deal to bring the player to
east London on a permanent contract was close. And the 24-year-old is
expected to secure a six-year contract, with Liverpool receiving around £15m
for the player. Allardyce had previously expressed concerns about the size
of the financial package involved in bringing in Carroll permanently.
However, he confirmed earlier this month that finalising a move for the
striker is his priority before turning his attention to other transfer
targets. "Our first priority is signing Andy Carroll, if we can," said
Allardyce. "We have nearly finished our planning for pre-season and the
players have all had their training programmes given to them so when they
come back on 1st July they are ready to go. "Then it's about the recruitment
of the other players who we want as quickly as possible. That will be the
most difficult part of the summer."
West Ham have already agreed deals to sign Spanish goalkeeper Adrian and
Romania captain Razvan Rat on free transfers.
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Bordeaux's Lamine Sane says it is his 'dream' to play in England
Last Updated: June 18, 2013 6:27pm
SSN
Bordeaux defender Lamine Sane says that it is his 'dream' to play in the
Premier League and test himself against some of the best players in the
world. Sane has been linked with a move to West Ham United, Everton and
Southampton and he hopes a move to England is not that far away. "I am a big
fan of the English league, everyone knows that," Sane told Sky Sports. "It
is a dream to play in England and I want to go there and test myself to the
limit against the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov
and Fernando Torres."
The Senegal international is reported to have been watched most recently by
West Ham with current club Bordeaux thought to be holding out for a big fee.
Sane added: "I am being linked with some teams but I think there is a
serious one who watched me several times this season. "I hope they conclude
a deal with Bordeaux and that I can play in England."
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Hammers move fast to land Carroll
The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: 18th June 2013
WEST HAM have smashed their transfer record to capture Andy Carroll in a
deal worth £55million. Panicking Hammers rushed forward plans to sign the
Liverpool striker to head off a late challenge from his home-town club
Newcastle. Carroll landed at Heathrow from a holiday in Las Vegas at 11am
yesterday and was whisked away to a private hospital in Essex where he
passed a medical. Joint chairman David Gold tweeted: "We managed to bring
Andy's medical forward and I'm delighted he passed with flying colours."
Carroll has agreed a six-year deal with an option for a seventh, worth
£100,000 a week which could see him pocket a staggering £36m. West Ham have
also agreed to pay Liverpool a club-record £16m plus £3m in add-ons. The
Hammers moved fast after concerns that Newcastle director of football Joe
Kinnear was about to hijack the deal. Kinnear stated signing a striker was a
priority and West Ham were aware Carroll was keen to head back to his old
club. The England ace, 24, spent last season on loan at Upton Park but
suffered a heel injury towards the end of the campaign. He had initially
been due to have his medical later this week. But a Hammers insider said:
"The comments from Joe worried us. "Andy had been keen on staying at
Liverpool or going to a top-five club or home to Newcastle, where he has two
kids. So we had to move fast."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Liverpool's Andy Carroll flies home from America to complete permanent West
Ham transfer
18 Jun 2013 22:31
The Mirror
Andy Carroll has already texted West Ham players to say that he will be
rejoining them at Upton Park next season. The England striker, a hit on loan
from Liverpool in the last campaign, had a medical on Tuesday night with a
view to completing a £15.5m move - a fee which could rise to £17.5m with
add-ons - to the Hammers on a six-year contract. Co-owner David Gold
tweeted: "We managed to bring Andy's medical forward to this evening and I
am delighted to inform you that he has passed with flying colours." Carroll
could yet be joined at the east Londoners by Chelsea hitman Romelu Lukaku to
form a mouthwatering strike-force. We revealed last month that Irons manager
Sam Allardyce is desperate to pair the two frontmen in a devastating,
new-look attack next season. It has been claimed that new manager Jose
Mourinho will keep Lukaku - who hit 17 goals on loan at West Brom last
season - at Stamford Bridge, but West Ham are refusing to give up. Lukaku's
Blues team-mate, and former Hammer, Demba Ba is also in their sights as a
back-up option. Carroll flew back from holiday in America for his medical
and to seal his £85,000-a-week transfer. He texted pals on Tuesday, saying:
"Looks like you've got me for another six years!"
Carroll's signing is set to draw a line under a nervy 48 hours for the
Hammers, who feared earlier this week that the 24-year-old's former club
Newcastle were ready to hijack the deal and bring him home to Tyneside.
While new Toon director of football Joe Kinnear was being ridiculed over a
radio interview he gave on Monday night, the West Ham board were taking very
seriously claims that the Magpies could look to back the 66-year-old by
re-signing Carroll. They breathed a sigh of relief on Monday afternoon when
it became clear that Newcastle were still unwilling to match the offer from
east London. Carroll's fee will break West Ham's transfer record - set when
they bought Wolves winger Matt Jarvis for £11m last year. It also represents
a huge loss for Liverpool, who paid Newcastle £35m for him in January 2011.
The Reds are moving on from the failed Carroll experiment - he scored only
six league goals for them - and are expected to put his transfer fee towards
buying Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas and Shakhtar Donetsk's goal-scoring
midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. While Carroll - who scored seven Premier
League goals for West Ham last season - will officially become a Hammers
player, he is not expected to play for them until September as he is still
recovering from a heel injury. Carroll has failed in his bid to convince
Hammers to pay him £100,000-a-week. We revealed two weeks ago that the
England frontman had launched an audacious bid to exploit the London club's
desperation to land him. West Ham have dug their heels in, maintaining they
simply cannot afford such a high wage.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee has targeted further progress after making his first team bow
last season
18.06.2013
Academy striker Elliot Lee enjoyed a productive 2012/13 campaign, netting 14
goals for the Club's Under-18 and Under-21 sides, as well as making his
first team debut. The 18-year-old's rapid progress was recognised at the
Hammers' end of season awards dinner, when he collected the prestigious
Academy Player of the Year prize. It rounded off a fine season for the
youngster, whose father Rob and brother Oliver also played for the Hammers,
and he is keen to continue along the same upward curve over the coming
years. "I'm delighted with the award, I couldn't be happier," he beamed. "It
caps off a great season, so to pick up the award is brilliant. "I love
scoring goals - I've ended up as the top goalscorer for the Under-21s so
that's great, and winning any award gives you confidence. "I just want to
push on from here and see what I can do in pre-season to impress the first
team. "My mate Moncs [George Moncur] won the Young Hammer of the Year so
hopefully I can take that one off him next year!"
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Liverpool striker Andy Carroll passes West Ham medical
BBC.co.uk
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has passed his medical at West Ham prior to a
£15m move. The 24-year-old cost Liverpool £35m and has been on loan at West
Ham since 2012, scoring seven times in 24 games. The transfer fee was agreed
in May, but the England international was unsure about a move before a World
Cup year.
Andy Carroll career stats
Newcastle (2006-11): 91 games, 33 goals
Preston (loan Aug 2007-08): 12 games, 1 goal
Liverpool (2011-present): 57 games, 11 goals
West Ham (loan 2012-13): 24 games, 7 goals
England (2010-present): 9 games, 2 goals
"We managed to bring Andy's medical forward and I am delighted to inform you
that he has passed with flying colours," chairman David Gold tweeted.
The examination was expected to be a thorough one, because of the fee
involved and the player's record of injury problems. The former Newcastle
player fell awkwardly in the Hammers' final game of the season, picking up a
heel injury that forced him out of England's two post-season friendlies
against the Republic of Ireland and Brazil. That followed previous problems
with his hamstring and knee, which disrupted much of the first half of his
campaign at Upton Park. Carroll was signed by Kenny Dalglish for Liverpool
on transfer deadline day in January 2011, for what remains a record fee for
a British player. He had impressed by scoring 31 times for his boyhood club
Newcastle United in 81 appearances, but his time at Anfield was short-lived.
Coupled with the arrival of Brendan Rodgers and a new style of play,
Carroll's return of just six goals in 44 league outings for Liverpool saw
him loaned to West Ham in late August 2012.
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Roll out the Carroll
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th June 2013
By: Staff Writer
Andy Carroll is set to be confirmed as West Ham United's record signing
after he successfully completed a medical earlier this evening. The
24-year-old striker will cost the Hammers £15.5million plus a further
£2million in add-ons - smashing the club record of £10.75million paid to
Wolves last summer for Matt Jarvis.
The news was confirmed earlier this evening by co-chairman David Gold, who
had Tweeted earlier in the day to reveal that Carroll's medical would take
place on Wednesday morning. However posting an update shortly after 9pm
tonight, Gold said: "We managed to bring Andy's medical forward to this
evening and I am delighted to inform you that he has passed with flying
colours." The capture of the former Liverpool star represents a huge coup
for West Ham. Just two-and-a-half years ago Newcastle sold him to the
Merseyside club for what remains a British record transfer fee of
£35million. And although his salary is expected to cost West Ham somewhere
in the region of £4.5million per year - or £27million over the course of his
six-year contract - most supporters appear to agree that his capture is a
real signal of intent from the club.
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Gold backs Jack
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th June 2013
By: Staff Writer
David Gold has been speaking about the club's policy regarding transfer news
- and explaining why the job of announcing new signings has been left to his
partner's son of late. Jack Sullivan - the teenage son of Gold's co-owner
David Sullivan - has become something of an Twitter sensation in recent
months since he began to leak the club's breaking transfer news via the
social network. Earlier today he was the first to reveal that Andy Carroll
had agreed terms with the club on a six-year deal and was undergoing a
medical - making the club's own website, which had previously been charged
with making such announcements (as is customary with other professional
clubs) essentially redundant. The issue was raised tonight during a Q&A
session following a speech Gold had given as part of Newham Council's 'Ideas
Olympiad' at Stratford Circus. Asked by a member of the audience how he felt
about young Jack breaking West Ham transfer news via Twitter, Gold - after a
long pause - replied: "He's 13 years of age and he's in kind of a privileged
situation. "He hears things. His father wouldn't say to him "look, this is
what's happened, go and Tweet it" - he wouldn't do that. Jack happened to be
around the house today, he's picked up something and he can't resist it.
"When he goes to school tomorrow, he'll be like a God; he'll swan around
like the King. So give him some slack, he's a good kid and I like him very
much - although I could whack him when he does this! "What you will hear in
due course are the actual facts, when the [Carroll] deal is done. We're
close, but Jack doesn't care - he'll still be a star when he goes to school
tomorrow and that's the end of the matter. "But he is a good kid."
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That Was The Season That Was 2012/13 - Part Three
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 18th June 2013
By: Gordon Thrower
Christmas - seems so long ago doesn't it? The latest in Gordon Thrower's
review of the 2012/13 season covers November 2012-January 2013. Something
for you to have a look at before you finally get round to taking that awful
pullover your aunt bought you down to the charity shop...
November
Our first match of the month finishes in a 0-0 draw at home to reigning
champions Man City. In fact we have a perfectly good goal notched off by a
linesman as Nolan's fine volley appears to have put us ahead. One of a
number of dubious decisions we endure against the so-called big 4 in the
season.
The skipper is on target the following week as we pick up another away win,
this time up at Newcastle where Nolan is handily placed to divert Joey
O'Brien's wayward effort to give us a 1-0 win that sends us to 6th place for
a bit. Sky diver Felix Baumgartner turns down an invite to the match on the
grounds that the away section at St James Park is far too high for comfort.
"You're not getting me up there" he would have said, we expect, had we
really asked him.
Over the water, alleged Hammer Barack Obama is re-elected as President of
the USA. Barry Hearn considers a judicial review on the grounds that the
traditional inauguration ceremony due to take place in January might affect
Leyton Orient's gate if they happen to be home that weekend.
With a little over a month to go before the transfer window re-opens it
becomes public knowledge that Mo Diame has a release clause in his contract
allowing him to speak to any club willing to pay an alleged £5m. I can't
imagine where the papers got that one from. Why, it's almost as if his agent
had released the news to engineer a money-making move or a new contract or
something.
In legal news three men are sent for trial on fraud charges over the Olympic
Stadium decision, with personal records belonging to Karren Brady and others
having mysteriously ended up in their possession. The accused were employed
by accountancy firm PKF who had been engaged by Spurs as part of the whole
process. Spurs are predictably keen to distance themselves from the whole
affair claiming "We're as shocked as you are. There's no way that this
should have been traceable back to us. Er, this isn't being recorded is it?"
Moe legal news as the Met's finest announce that they are dropping all
enquiries into Chelsea's allegations against Mark Clattenburg. The phrase "I
don't give a monkey's" is supposedly at the centre of all the fuss. Chelsea
chairman Bruce Buck ties himself in all sorts of logical knots trying to
justify the club's defence of John Terry whilst apparently slinging round
official complaints at referees for the same offence. One of the poorer
referees in an already poor bunch, Clattenburg gets away with murder for the
rest of the season on the wave of sympathy gained from the whole affair.
Stoke are the next visitors to the Boleyn and they escape with a point. Joey
O'Brien is the man on target three minutes into the second half equalising
an early Walters effort. As usual, Stoke's goal owes a hellofalot to their
illegal blocking at corners which referees love to ignore. Stoke boss Pulis
continues to boast that he coaches his team to break the laws of the game.
Some might think that such an admission merits a disrepute charge. We could
not possibly comment.
The national side pops over to Sweden to celebrate the Swedish FA's
centenary. Ibrahimovic scores on 20 minutes to give the hosts the lead.
Welbeck and Caulker actually put us 2-1 up at one stage but, ever keen to
behave ourselves as guests at the party, we remember our places. Ibrahimovic
nets a further three, the last of which is a remarkable 30 yard overhead
kick, to give Sweden victory.
Back home Andy Carroll finally nets his first for the club at Spurs but
sadly this turns out to be a late consolation as the home side provides one
of the shocks of the season by winning 3-1. Defoe (2) and Bale are
predictably on the scoresheet for the home side. The match is marred by some
inappropriate chanting that, equally predictably, is pounced on by some
sections of the press as an indication that civilisation as we know it is
about to collapse. The FA announce one of their thorough investigations
which, seven months later, concludes that they will take no further action
against the club.
We go up to Old Trafford and are on the back foot after 31 seconds as Van
Persie opens the scoring. However the home side fail to add to their tally
and are seen desperately time-wasting in the closing stages as they hang on
for a 1-0 win.
Only a few weeks after having gained his chairman's full backing via the
medium of twitter, Mark Hughes is sacked by QPR. "He was utterly utterly the
right man for the job up to a few moments ago when we sacked him" tweets
Tony Fernandes. Probably. The thought that we might have dodged a bullet,
ownership-wise, crosses our minds as Fernandes announces that "the new
utterly utterly right man for the job is Harry Redknapp". "Or his dog Rosie.
I think that's where his pay is going".
Chelsea haven't won a trophy for a few weeks, a state of affairs that
Abrahamovic tries to rectify by sacking Roberto Di Matteo just a few months
into a two-year deal. Accident and emergency rooms in hospitals are on alert
as thousands are admitted with painful side-strains from laughing too much.
Some A&E units even have to close their doors as the follow-up announcement
that Rafa Benitez has been appointed "Interim" manager to replace Di Matteo
hits the airwaves.
In the wake of "Clattenburggate" PGMO announces that the conversations
between their officials are, henceforth, to be recorded to protect their
employees from accusations such as those made by Chelsea. Knowing PGMO as we
do we look forward to the mysterious wiping of tapes whenever one of their
number is found to be out of order. Just about every week then.
As November closes we find ourselves in 10th place with 19 points from 14
matches. Happy with that – only 21 points from that mythical safety point………
December
The run of good month-opening results continues with a cracker as we turn
over Chelsea who arrive with their with their interim manager and their
equally interim supporters at the Boleyn to see us win 3-1. A Mata goal
gives the visitors an interim, sorry, half-time lead. However the
introduction of a clearly up for it Diame in the second half changes things
completely. Cole, Diame himself and a late one from Maiga gives us all three
points as A&E departments implement their "major incident" plans in advance
of a whole nation laughing at Chelsea.
The good news is tempered by the announcement that former academy graduate
Mitchell Cole has passed away at the shockingly young age of 27. Whilst
still with West Ham, Cole had been diagnosed with a heart condition similar
to that which had affected Fabrice Muamba. Despite the condition Cole had
enjoyed a successful career at non-league level before retiring in 2011.
Up in scouseland Brendan Rodgers tries to fit in with the legendary local
sense of humour by announcing that his side will be challenging for the
so-called Champions League places come the end of the season. Honest he
really did say that.
Whilst we're on the subject of daft statements David Ginola claims that
Gareth Bale isn't a diver. Sad to see the former Newcastle winger's brain
start to go at such a young age.
The long-awaited announcement regarding the Olympic stadium is finally made.
The announcement seems to consist of an announcement that there will be an
announcement. Sometime. Soon. Honest. To nobody's surprise Barry Hearn
starts making noises about taking things further when the real announcement
finally comes.
The West Ham players' Christmas do takes place in Dublin and this year's
so-called scandal occurs when a photographer claims to have been flattened
by Andy Carroll, The club makes a statement denying that Carroll had hit
snapper though they admitted that the budding David Bailey had been
"restrained" by the club's security team to protect the injured striker.
Talking of Irish things, we sign a kid called Sean Maguire from Waterford.
It's a bit of a worry for a while as one of my female chums who is an expert
on these things suggests that the player has already been told his career is
over by the medics after a training accident while he was an apprentice at
Walford Town. I calmly explain to her the difference between EastEnders and
real life and ask her to do the washing up before making me a cup of tea. I
spend the next hour removing broken crockery from my hair.
Max Clifford, who was responsible for the horrible image of David Mellor in
a Chelsea kit in our minds, is arrested as part of Operation Yewtree. It
occurs to us that he could do with a hand - if only he knew somebody who
could handle the publicity fallout for him.
Back on the pitch we play Liverpool off the park for much of the match. A
spectacular Glen Johnson effort – what a waste – puts the visitors 1-0
against the run of play before a Gerrard og and a Noble penalty give us the
lead. The turning point is the departure of Mo Diame, who is running the
match, with a torn hamstring. The visitors, whose main tactic seems to be
hoofing the ball for the corners in a rugby style move at every opportunity,
end up taking away an undeserved three points in a 3-2 win, Joe Cole's
uncelebrated effort and a freak own goal from Collins being the difference
between the sides.
The news leaks out that Assistant Manager Wally Downes has left the club "by
mutual consent". I say "leaks", "oozes slowly" would probably be a better
description of the non-announcement. Speculation that the parting of the
ways has resulted from incidents during the Dublin trip abound, with no
confirmation from any source available to confirm or deny the position. The
club's only comment is to the effect that the parting of the ways was
"amicable". Meanwhile Downes himself, normally so voluble on twitter, goes
all quiet. A bit of a mystery then.
In a strange case of "déjà vu" Yossi Benayoun is sent back to Chelsea having
spent (predictably) most of his loan spell in the treatment room with a
series of mystery injuries. A 0-0 draw at the Hawthorns follows, a match
that is as nondescript as the scoreline suggests. Meanwhile a strike by tube
workers results in the announcement that the Boxing Day visit to Arsenal's
library is to be postponed.
Another club official to depart is Finance Director Nick Igoe who had
somehow juggled the finances during one of the most turbulent periods of the
club's history. Not sure what he's up to next but, given the nature of the
job required during his tenure, he'd probably be forgiven for asking for a
six-month stay in The Priory as part of his severance package.
The pre-Christmas visit of Everton is ruined by the antics of so-called
professional referee Anthony Taylor. Carlton Cole gives us the lead before
receiving a ludicrous red card, a decision that turns the game. Everton win
2-1 with goals from Anichebe and Piennar, Taylor's second major brainstorm
in dismissing Everton's Gibson for an identical and equally innocuous
challenge occurring too late to have any effect on the match. Both red cards
are later rescinded though Taylor escapes any sort of punishment, the tapes
of the fourth official shouting "are you SURE about that Anthony?" having
presumably been mysteriously wiped.
There's amusement at a typical Harry Redknapp press conference in which a
question that has all the hallmarks of being planted by one of twitchy's
press mates is asked about the possibility of Joe Cole going to QPR. Our old
boss responds in his usual manner "great player…I gave him his debut you
know…who wouldn't be interested etc ..etc" So far so standard until a journo
forgets himself and asks the sixty-four thousand dollar question: "have you
spoken to Joe?" The question flusters Redknapp "No. Of course not. He's
under contract to Liverpool . I'd need permission. Are you trying to get me
into trouble?" That'll be a "Yes" then Harry.
The year ends in traditional style as muppet club Reading score with
virtually their only attack of the match at the Wiggydome. West Ham dominate
the rest of the match but a dreadful miss from Vaz Te ends all hope of a
point.
The result leaves us at the end of the year in 12th spot with 23 points from
19 matches. Not actually in the scrap for relegation but maybe a little bit
too close to it for total comfort. Still there's a fair way to go yet…….
January 2013
Happy New Year!
34,000+ hungover souls drag their wearies over to the Boleyn (quiet night in
for me actually!) where Norwich are the visitors. First half goals from
Noble (pen) and O'Brien are enough to give us all three points despite a
late Martin consolation. The win sends us up to 11th place and eases the
slight concerns raised at the end of the last bit of this review.
Of course January means that the transfer window has re-opened. The main
concern is the sharks that appear to be circling around the release clause
in Diame's contract. Diame, of course, is out of action after doing his
hamstring in in the Liverpool match. Journalists find the player difficult
to get hold of with the club probably having sent him to the room next to
Nick Igoe's at the Priory to recover somehow mislaying the key in the hope
that he won't pop up on someone else's radar.
Talking of Liverpool, strong rumours start to appear that we are to rescue
Joe Cole from his nightmare spell on Merseyside. The rumours are true and
the player signs for the club where he always did his best work.
Also arriving on loan to the end of the season is Arsenal forward Marouane
Chamakh. Another loan forward on the way in is Brazilian Wellington Paulista
who joins from Cruzeiro until the end of the season with a view to a
permanent deal. Meanwhile Sky Sports are aghast. Three players in at the
Boleyn and it's only 5th January – at this rate there'll be nothing left for
them to go ballistic about at the end of the month when the window closes.
For the second time this season we have a second coming of a JC as Joe Cole
makes his second Hammers' debut in the FA Cup 3rd round tie against Man Utd.
Another cracking match sees us go 1-0 down to a Cleverley effort from close
range. We then take the lead from two virtually identical goals from
JC(Collins) both of which are headed conversions of crosses from JC(Cole).
We hold on to the lead until the dying minutes when Van Persie converts a
long ball (irony alert) from Giggs to take the match to a replay. As usual
Ferguson shows his contempt and arrogance for everything outside Salford by
failing to appear for the standard post-match press conference. His two-bob
club further show their complete lack of class by charging us double for the
replay, having gleefully begged for and accepted cut-price tickets for their
fans for the original match. What a nice club with classy supporters. Not.
The mighty (yeah, right) Liverpool struggle to get past Mansfield in the
cup, until Suarez adds a deliberately handled goal to racism and diving in
his list of crimes against football. Still when you're a struggling two-bob
club I suppose you need all the help you can get to get past teams like
Mansfield.
Sam Allardyce – or possibly charities favoured by him – becomes a wee bit
richer following an apology from Blackburn Rovers over comments made by then
manager Steve Kean in a bar during a pre-season tour. The full apology
reads:
"During the summer of 2011, Mr Steve Kean was this Club's manager and
accompanied the players of Blackburn Rovers on a pre-season tour of the Far
East. Whilst in Hong Kong, Mr Kean was in a bar and falsely alleged that Sam
Allardyce, our previous manager, was sacked by us because he was a crook.
This is completely false and we apologise to Mr Allardyce for the
embarrassment and distress caused to him by Mr Kean."
The apology and settlement are the latest setbacks in a complete nightmare
of a season for Blackburn. Having suffered relegation – the existence of
which apparently came as a surprise to the owners - they manage to get
through no fewer than four managers in the season. The aforementioned Kean
goes in September 2012 (or "forced to resign" as Kean amusingly put it) at a
time when the club is sitting in third place in the Championship. Henning
Berg arrives and lasts until December 2012. Michael Appleton's reign lasts a
mere 67 days but still only manages to be the second shortest reign in the
club's history (Berg having only lasted 57 days). Current incumbent is Gary
Bowyer – though admittedly I haven't been online much this morning and
there's every possibility that they've gone through another four or five
since I started this paragraph.
As well as getting a chunk of compo from his former club, Sam is also linked
with a potential double swoop on Ewood with left back Martin Olsson and
'keeper Paul Robinson both touted for a move to the Boleyn. Our staff writer
earns himself another kicking with the headline "Here's To You Mr Robinson".
In the event neither deal goes through – Rovers appear to reject our bid for
Olsson and, whilst talks with Robinson get much further, the club eventually
decides that the deal isn't right.
With us beginning to be thankful that we're not owned by a bunch of know
nothing chicken farmers we get a bit of a shock as it's announced that David
Gold is in hospital with pneumonia. Thankfully the septuagenarian
co-Chairman makes a full recovery.
Our away form continues to fail to impress as we contrive to lose 3-0 up at
Sunderland. Worse still James Collins tears a calf muscle exposing the lack
of depth within the squad, though the quiet return of Mo Diame to the bench
is welcome (as long as none of the clubs interested in him notices).
We travel up to Old Trafford for the Cup replay where, as usual, the home
side are able to count on more than a little assistance from the match
officials. This time it is unfit chubber Phil Dowd who, faced with identical
penalty appeals, gives one to the home side and denies one to the away side.
Rooney blazes his effort high into the stands. We'd probably have scored
ours. Sam is hauled up before the FA for pointing out that such decisions
are a regular occurrence at Old Trafford as the authorities' contempt for
supporters is reinforced once more. We deserve more than the 1-0 reverse
that we get.
We return to league action at home to QPR where the visitors take the lead
with virtually their only attack of the game, the goal coming through
debutant Loic Remy. Joe Cole equalises with 20 left but despite battering at
the door we fail to covert the point into three. In what is possibly a
unique experience in my lifetime I find myself using the words "Redknapp"
and "honest" in the same sentence as the Rangers boss admits that his side
were fortunate to escape with a point, However, in his post-match press
conference he admits to having had talks with Joe Cole several weeks before
West Ham got involved with a deal. That would be about the time you were
denying speaking to him then Harry – you know, that time when when you
accused the journalist of trying to get you into trouble? Normal service
resumed then.
Southampton sack Nigel Adkins and replace him with Mauricio Pochinetto.
Adkins eventually ends up at Reading – an unlikeable club finally getting
the manager it deserves.
Alou Diarra finds himself in hot water following comments made to French
football magazine L'Equipe. Having arrived on a three year deal then got
injured he's found it difficult to break into the team, a fact that he moans
about to the magazine in abundance.
The postponed trip to the Library finally takes place and we're on the wrong
end of a 5-1 defeat. Collison is on target for us in a match marred by a
head injury to Dan Potts which leaves the youngster with concussion, putting
one in mind of the old quote attributed to John Lambie: "he doesn't know who
he is? Tell him he's Pele and send him back on". Modern medical opinion
being what it is our medical team opt to send him to hospital instead where
the player is treated for concussion.
History is made and the world of football broadcasting is rocked to its feet
as kumb radio is launched. Despite opening with yours truly as a guest, the
podcast survives and goes on to become a regular event in its first season.
Kudos to producer/presenters Chris Scull (he has a BAFTA you know) and James
Longman.
The awayday woes continue as we go down 3-1 at Craven Cottage to an ordinary
Fulham side. Nolan nets our consolation. There are mutterings that our away
form could drag us into the relegation scrap, though the poor, and highly
amusing form of Reading and QPR continues to give us a bit of comfort in
that regard. Still an away win or two wouldn't go amiss…
Transfer deadline day arrives and in comes defensive cover in the form of
Emanual Pogatetz, on loan from Wolfsburg. Alou Diarra is on his bike
(presumably wearing one of those stripey shirts and a beret and carrying a
string of onions) having cheesed off the manager with his attitude. A loan
deal to Rennes is his "reward".
A couple of youngsters (Rinor Nushi and Vit Nemrava) apart that's it as far
as we're concerned for the window.
There is high comedy at Loftus Road. QPR table a bid for West Brom winger
Peter Odemwinge. West Brom reject the bid for the player. Odemwinge gets to
hear about the QPR bid, though obviously this news cannot possibly have been
relayed to him by anyone from QPR, Harry Redknapp for example, as that would
have constituted an illegal approach. Odemwinge somehow gets the impression
that everything will be sorted out between the clubs in the time that it
takes him to drive from the Midlands to West London, and an ambiguous
interview given to Sky (yes through a car window) could be interpreted as
implying that he's spoken to someone at Shepherd's Bush. However, QPR,
realising that they do not have permission to talk to the player, turn off
all the office lights and hide under the furniture pretending to be out when
Odemwinge knocks at the door. Odemwinge returns to Smethwick with his tail
between his legs and picks up over £150,000 in fines for his trouble as the
country looks on in amazement. And laughs.
We end the month in 13th place with 27 points from 24 games. Still not in a
relegation battle but not quite far enough away from one for us to be
totally happy. Another 13 points would be most welcome then. As soon as
possible please………
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Andy Carroll passes West Ham medical ahead of Liverpool exit
Last Updated: June 18, 2013 10:59pm
SSN
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll has passed his medical with West Ham ahead of
his proposed £15million move to Upton Park. The England international spent
last season on loan with the Hammers, where he scored seven goals in 24
games. After revealing earlier in the day that the forward was due to
undergo a medical on Wednesday, Hammers chairman David Gold wrote on his
social media account: "We managed to bring Andy's medical forward to this
evening and I am delighted to inform you that he has passed with flying
colours."
Carroll had been suffering from a heel problem which forced him to miss the
recent England friendlies with Republic of Ireland and Brazil, and there
were fears he could be out of action for up to four months. But West Ham
boss Sam Allardyce revealed at the weekend a deal to bring the player to
east London on a permanent contract was close. And the 24-year-old is
expected to secure a six-year contract, with Liverpool receiving around £15m
for the player. Allardyce had previously expressed concerns about the size
of the financial package involved in bringing in Carroll permanently.
However, he confirmed earlier this month that finalising a move for the
striker is his priority before turning his attention to other transfer
targets. "Our first priority is signing Andy Carroll, if we can," said
Allardyce. "We have nearly finished our planning for pre-season and the
players have all had their training programmes given to them so when they
come back on 1st July they are ready to go. "Then it's about the recruitment
of the other players who we want as quickly as possible. That will be the
most difficult part of the summer."
West Ham have already agreed deals to sign Spanish goalkeeper Adrian and
Romania captain Razvan Rat on free transfers.
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Bordeaux's Lamine Sane says it is his 'dream' to play in England
Last Updated: June 18, 2013 6:27pm
SSN
Bordeaux defender Lamine Sane says that it is his 'dream' to play in the
Premier League and test himself against some of the best players in the
world. Sane has been linked with a move to West Ham United, Everton and
Southampton and he hopes a move to England is not that far away. "I am a big
fan of the English league, everyone knows that," Sane told Sky Sports. "It
is a dream to play in England and I want to go there and test myself to the
limit against the likes of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov
and Fernando Torres."
The Senegal international is reported to have been watched most recently by
West Ham with current club Bordeaux thought to be holding out for a big fee.
Sane added: "I am being linked with some teams but I think there is a
serious one who watched me several times this season. "I hope they conclude
a deal with Bordeaux and that I can play in England."
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Hammers move fast to land Carroll
The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: 18th June 2013
WEST HAM have smashed their transfer record to capture Andy Carroll in a
deal worth £55million. Panicking Hammers rushed forward plans to sign the
Liverpool striker to head off a late challenge from his home-town club
Newcastle. Carroll landed at Heathrow from a holiday in Las Vegas at 11am
yesterday and was whisked away to a private hospital in Essex where he
passed a medical. Joint chairman David Gold tweeted: "We managed to bring
Andy's medical forward and I'm delighted he passed with flying colours."
Carroll has agreed a six-year deal with an option for a seventh, worth
£100,000 a week which could see him pocket a staggering £36m. West Ham have
also agreed to pay Liverpool a club-record £16m plus £3m in add-ons. The
Hammers moved fast after concerns that Newcastle director of football Joe
Kinnear was about to hijack the deal. Kinnear stated signing a striker was a
priority and West Ham were aware Carroll was keen to head back to his old
club. The England ace, 24, spent last season on loan at Upton Park but
suffered a heel injury towards the end of the campaign. He had initially
been due to have his medical later this week. But a Hammers insider said:
"The comments from Joe worried us. "Andy had been keen on staying at
Liverpool or going to a top-five club or home to Newcastle, where he has two
kids. So we had to move fast."
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Liverpool's Andy Carroll flies home from America to complete permanent West
Ham transfer
18 Jun 2013 22:31
The Mirror
Andy Carroll has already texted West Ham players to say that he will be
rejoining them at Upton Park next season. The England striker, a hit on loan
from Liverpool in the last campaign, had a medical on Tuesday night with a
view to completing a £15.5m move - a fee which could rise to £17.5m with
add-ons - to the Hammers on a six-year contract. Co-owner David Gold
tweeted: "We managed to bring Andy's medical forward to this evening and I
am delighted to inform you that he has passed with flying colours." Carroll
could yet be joined at the east Londoners by Chelsea hitman Romelu Lukaku to
form a mouthwatering strike-force. We revealed last month that Irons manager
Sam Allardyce is desperate to pair the two frontmen in a devastating,
new-look attack next season. It has been claimed that new manager Jose
Mourinho will keep Lukaku - who hit 17 goals on loan at West Brom last
season - at Stamford Bridge, but West Ham are refusing to give up. Lukaku's
Blues team-mate, and former Hammer, Demba Ba is also in their sights as a
back-up option. Carroll flew back from holiday in America for his medical
and to seal his £85,000-a-week transfer. He texted pals on Tuesday, saying:
"Looks like you've got me for another six years!"
Carroll's signing is set to draw a line under a nervy 48 hours for the
Hammers, who feared earlier this week that the 24-year-old's former club
Newcastle were ready to hijack the deal and bring him home to Tyneside.
While new Toon director of football Joe Kinnear was being ridiculed over a
radio interview he gave on Monday night, the West Ham board were taking very
seriously claims that the Magpies could look to back the 66-year-old by
re-signing Carroll. They breathed a sigh of relief on Monday afternoon when
it became clear that Newcastle were still unwilling to match the offer from
east London. Carroll's fee will break West Ham's transfer record - set when
they bought Wolves winger Matt Jarvis for £11m last year. It also represents
a huge loss for Liverpool, who paid Newcastle £35m for him in January 2011.
The Reds are moving on from the failed Carroll experiment - he scored only
six league goals for them - and are expected to put his transfer fee towards
buying Celta Vigo forward Iago Aspas and Shakhtar Donetsk's goal-scoring
midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan. While Carroll - who scored seven Premier
League goals for West Ham last season - will officially become a Hammers
player, he is not expected to play for them until September as he is still
recovering from a heel injury. Carroll has failed in his bid to convince
Hammers to pay him £100,000-a-week. We revealed two weeks ago that the
England frontman had launched an audacious bid to exploit the London club's
desperation to land him. West Ham have dug their heels in, maintaining they
simply cannot afford such a high wage.
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