Daily WHUFC News - 12th September 2013

Jarvis keen for strong response
WHUFC.com
Matt Jarvis is sure the Hammers can bounce back at Southampton
11.09.2013

Matt Jarvis says the mood is confident in the West Ham United camp as they
look ahead to Sunday's trip to face Southampton. The Hammers No7 was
speaking as the team finished an intensive training session at their
Chadwell Heath training ground on Tuesday afternoon. Manager Sam Allardyce
took a squad including Jarvis to Spain last week to play Primera Division
side RCD Espanyol, to give the players not on international duty some match
action in the absence of the domestic schedule. "It was a good game and we
played a different style of team, in a big stadium with a good atmosphere.
So it was definitely worthwhile and keeps everyone ticking over," he said.
"It was good to play in front of a good crowd and always good to see a
strong group of our own fans there cheering us on. All in all, it was good
for the lads who went over to get this time to play. Obviously training is
still high tempo during this time, but it was good to have the match in the
middle of it all and now we are all looking forward to the game on Sunday."

The Hammers travel to St Mary's on Sunday looking to even better the strong
results they achieved against the Saints last season - it was a 1-1 draw on
the south coast, with West Ham having run out 4-1 winners at the Boleyn
Ground. But Jarvis said they know how good Southampton are on their own
patch and know they need to be on top of their game to beat them. "They are
a good team and pass the ball well, but we are in confident mood. We were
very disappointed in losing to Stoke in our last game, a result I think was
a blip for us but something we want to get out of the system. "We enjoyed a
good point here at St Mary's last season and then beat them at home, so we
know what we can do, we will go there to get a result which will see us back
on track."

Jarvis said the team welcomed Mladen Petric to the training ground after he
signed for the Hammers on Tuesday until the rest of the season. He said he
was looking forward to teaming up with Petric and also seeing Andy Carroll
back on the pitch soon. "Mladen is a good addition to the squad and that is
what it is about, having a squad as when you have injuries and everything,
others have to step up and play their part. For Andy, it is frustrating as
you are working so hard to get over an injury and sometimes there are other
niggles and things you pick up whilst you are doing this. Andy is a strong
character and will continue to work as hard as he has been doing already to
be back as soon as."

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Academy graduate returns as coach
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Academy product Anwar Uddin has returned to the Club
11.09.2013

Anwar Uddin learned his trade as a footballer at the Boleyn Ground - and now
he is taking his first steps as a coach with West Ham United too. The
31-year-old defender, who signed pro with the Hammers at the turn of the
Millennium, went on to play in the Football League for Bristol Rovers,
Dagenham & Redbridge and Barnet, winning promotion twice during his time
with the Daggers. He was also part of West Ham's FA Youth Cup winning team
in 1999 and is now teaching the next generation of Hammers as a part-time
coach with the Academy, working with the Foundation Phase (Under-8s to
Under-12s). Academy Director Tony Carr MBE said: "I'm delighted that Anwar
has joined us as a part-time coach, working with the Foundation Phase three
times a week, with a game on a Sunday. "I've known Anwar since he was a
young lad here, he's a good character, very amenable and is a great fit for
us. "As an ex-pro and being one of the first Asians to crack it in English
football, he's a great role model for the kids and I'm sure he will be an
excellent coach."

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Coleman blasts Collins
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 11th September 2013
By: Staff Writer

Welsh manager Chris Coleman has slammed West Ham United's James Collins for
refusing to join his latest squad. Collins was placed in the firing line by
an under-pressure Coleman, whose Welsh team sit bottom of World Cup
Qualifying Group A after a 3-0 home defeat by Serbia this week, for refusing
to join up with a squad from which he was initially omitted. Dropped in
favour of Wolves' League 1 defender Sam Ricketts - who later pulled out
through injury - Collins was asked to join the squad as a late replacement,
but refused to do so. That caused Coleman - who already had issues with
Collins after the defender pulled out of an earlier Welsh squad through
injury, only to play a full 90 minutes for West Ham the following weekend -
to issue a statement excoriating the 30-year-old central defender.

"James explained to me that he didn't want to come into the squad after
being on stand-by because psychologically he was disappointed," said
Coleman. "But that's not the attitude I'm looking for. "I'd rather someone
turns around to me and say, "I should be in the squad, you got it wrong and
I'm going to roll my sleeves up to prove you wrong". That's what I'm looking
for and I didn't get that. "After the Macedonia game we were scratching
around for players because of injuries and suspensions. I'm calling up
players who have not been in the squad and they don't come. It has to mean
everything to turn up to play for Wales. If it doesn't, then don't turn up."

Collins himself is yet to comment on the situation.

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Could - or will - this ever happen?
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th September 2013
By: John Rolls

So we are now into the FPP era, an era heralded by the Club's directors
balancing out the advantages of being a wealthy club as opposed to a soundly
run, middle-of-the-road Club. An even playing field for all, so they said.

In truth, it is making the wealthier wealthy and leaving those less
fortunate lagging behind. Unless a club has a super-rich sugar daddy all it
has done is allow you an extra £4million to spend on transfers and wages -
hardly balancing the league.

As West Ham followers know we are not a mega-rich Club. Moving to the
Olympic Stadium (the stadium of heroes. my name for the ground) will
increase our revenue but not to the extent of Chelsea, Man Utd, Man City
and, debatedly, Arsenal. These Clubs will generate the sort of income we can
only hope for, and in some ways aspire to.

I have come up with a fresh idea for balancing the League and Cup
competitions and ending the vicious spiral of English football suffering at
the hands of foreign mercenaries (as well as levelling the playing field for
teams and encouraging clubs to seek the best home grown talentand developing
their own). It may even lead to local lads being recruited to the Academies,
rather than the importation of kids from across the globe.

West Ham have the honour of winning a European trophy with eleven (yes
that's right, eleven) Englishmen). My first idea and the others could not be
implemented at the moment because of European employment law - but should we
withdraw from Europe, they may easily be brought in.

1) Each Premier League club to register 25 players. 14 of these players are
to be from the home countries (England, Northern Ireland, Wales and
Scotland).

2) Of those 14 home grown players, three must be under the age of 23.

3) Seven players must be home grown for Premier League fixtures, two of whom
must be under 23.

4) To receive the financial reward for league placing, clubs must meet the
above criteria for 100 per cent of matches. If you only manage for example
95 per cent of games then your financial reward is 95 per cent. The
remaining 5 per cent is redistributed to the clubs who have managed 100 per
cent.

5) Clubs will be allowed no more than two non-EU players.

6) The FA Cup and League Cup will be along the same lines and in addition to
the reduction in prize money , forfeiture of a place in next season's
competition. Could also be used as a sanction.

7) Should a club fail to meet the requirements over three seasons it would
be handed a 15 point penalty and any further breaches would result in
automatic relegation to the Championship and the fourth placed team or both
play-off finalists both being promoted.

This is admittedly quite draconian, but it would lead to the development of
younger players. Owners would never agree to measures like this, but how do
we justify that less than 30 per cent of players on any given match day are
from the home nations?



The three Amigos: From 1999. But will we ever see their like again?


It would be an interesting exercise to look at current squads and see who
comes anywhere near this. Imagine that we went with this in season 2018/19;
it would give clubs time to lose their foreign imports, and give time for
development of home grown players. Not only would this strengthen the
England team but also aid the development of players from the home
countries.

No longer would clubs be able to buy middle-of-the-road foreign imports to
bolster their multi-national squads. Those recruited would be the better
players. Clubs like West Ham would improve because they would encourage the
development of national players.

However certain clubs would fight against this as they would no longer be
able to go and buy a league-winning team from abroad. They would have to
have a good national scouting system and academies would have to up their
game as well.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than Chelsea winning the Premier
League and having to pass on a percentage of their winnings to a team like
us. Laugh? I would dance naked down the High Street - especially if my other
clause (whereby if a club is barred from competing in Europe and the next
highest placed team with a 100 per cent record takes your place) kicked in
too.

As I said earlier, Chairman might not go for it but reading between the
lines of FA Chairman Greg Dyke's recent speech, he shares my view that
something like this could be introduced for the FA Cup, at least.

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The Carroll fiasco
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 10th September 2013
By: Gary Portugal

Have you noticed how the goalposts keep moving? First we were told he would
miss Cardiff. Then we were told it was the first three games. Then it was
changed to he "might play a part" at Southampton.

Now, rumours are circulating that Carroll has suffered a setback which could
keep him out for a further undetermined amount of time, potentially for a
few months, pending scans. This raises many issues. For a start, should we
have paid the full price for Carroll if there were clear questions over his
fitness?

But more importantly, how in God's name could we have even started the
season with no recognised fit striker, and then failed to rectify that by
the close of the transfer window? We had all summer to deal with this, and
surely the issues surrounding Carroll's fitness were no mystery .

Yet Sam Allardyce, in his infinite wisdom, saw fit to waste our remaining
wage cap space on Stuart Downing when we had absolutely no cover for
Carroll. And our owners were unwilling to put their foot down on the
purchase of Downing, and have left us in a very precarious position. Has
there EVER been a more blatant case of putting your eggs in one basket?

I don't care how good a pre-season Maiga had. He was NEVER going to be
adequate cover for Carroll, nor anywhere near as good cover as a fit Carlton
Cole would be. Look at Maiga's performance last season - he was out of his
depth. Yes, he has a nice shot on him , if ever gets to take one. But he is
not physical or big enough to play in a lone striker role in the manner in
which Allardyce likes to set us up. It is putting a square peg in a round
hole and his performances to date this term show that little has changed
from last season.

My initial concern was not that Carroll's return would be delayed or that he
would aggravate the injury whilst trying to get himself fit. No. My concern
was that he would come back for the Southampton match, have a run of games,
but then get injured again well before the January window opened leaving us
very vulnerable. I never stopped to consider that his INITIAL return from
injury would be delayed beyond the first three matches , or worse, that he
would suffer a serious setback BEFORE even reaching full fitness.

But of course, when your marquee player is injured you have to consider ALL
possibilities. What is galling is that our manager and owners seem to have
been in total denial about the risk of Carroll's comeback being delayed, or
of him coming back and then suffering a new injury or an aggravation of the
old one. And if they weren't in denial, then they were taking a very
irresponsible gamble. The facts are that Carroll had three injuries last
season. If Allardyce feels that isn't "injury-prone", then that's his
problem.

I don't doubt that the club has been working hard (albeit belatedly) to find
a solution. That isn't the point. The point is, why was the club allowed to
be put into this position in the first place? How could anyone in their
right mind think that Downing's purchase should take priority over getting
adequate cover for Carroll?

For that matter, did we need to sign Razvan Rat, Adrian or Danny Whitehead
before the issue of cover for Carroll was resolved? To me, top priority from
the moment we signed Carroll should have been to get cover for him,
especially since we were well aware of his injury when we signed him. And
especially since we had already decided not give Carlton Cole a new
contract.

Our current owners aren't mugs. They are successful businessmen with loads
of experience which is what makes the whole thing incomprehensible to me.
This is the type of thing that would not have surprised me to have happen
under Terry Brown. But it shocks me to see it happen under Gold and
Sullivan. These are guys with a track record of running football clubs and
businesses-they should know better than to leave the club so dangerously
exposed like this. It boggles my mind.

Wisdom says that one shouldn't speak when one is angry. That one should let
the dust settle and calm down first. Well, I'm going to ignore that wisdom
to make a final point.

I think that the flow of information from the club to supporters about both
Carroll's fitness and our efforts to get a striker has been poor. Throughout
the summer I have never really felt that we were being given enough of the
story. And frankly, I think supporters, especially season ticket holders,
deserve better.

Even since the close of the transfer window there has been precious little
info from the club regarding efforts to sign an out-of-contract striker. To
me, it isn't good enough. I'm the first to be grateful to Gold and Sullivan
for getting us promoted, and for continuing to invest heavily in the club.
But, I have to say, I have lost some confidence in their judgement based on
the events of the summer, and the season to date. I'd be lying if I said
otherwise.

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Upton Park return for former West Ham defender Anwar Uddin
Last Updated: September 11, 2013 3:00pm
SSN

Former West Ham defender Anwar Uddin has embarked upon a new chapter in his
career by returning to the club where his playing career began as an academy
coach. Uddin was captain of the last Hammers team to win the FA Youth Cup,
when the academy side featuring players including Michael Carrick and Joe
Cole, lifted the trophy in 1999. The former Dagenham and Redbridge skipper
will now help nurture the next generation of Upton Park talent under the
guidance of renowned talent developer - Anthony Carr MBE. "It's hot off the
press really," said the former Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers
player.
"I was contemplating stopping playing and throughout my career I've done all
my coaching badges because I used to finish training at 1 o'clock and I
didn't want to play the Xbox all day. "Tony Carr got in touch with me and
said if you're thinking about stopping and want to coach, you're not going
anywhere but here. "I think the club is on a really amazing path and it
would be fantastic for me to get onto that path and work with their academy
and youngsters because that's where it started for me."

Uddin, who holds a UEFA B coaching license, became the first British Asian
to hold a coaching position in League football when he was appointed
player-assistant manager at Barnet in 2011. And the 31-year-old thinks that
experience will put him in good stead for his role at West Ham which he
believes is written in the stars. "It's a bit romantic really, and when the
opportunity came, I think that put to bed my playing career," he said. "The
club has changed since I was there with the attention to detail in terms of
young players and how they want to invest for the future and their plans for
the Olympic Stadium. "It's a route I think I am destined to take."

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Wales boss Chris Coleman angered by James Collins' attitude
Last Updated: September 11, 2013 9:04pm
SSN

Chris Coleman has criticised James Collins for declining to join up with the
Wales squad for Tuesday's defeat to Serbia. Collins was not included in
Coleman's squad for the World Cup qualifying double-header against Macedonia
and the Serbs. But with Ashley Williams suspended and Sam Ricketts injured
for the second game, the Wales boss turned to the experienced centre-half.
But Collins rejected the approach. Coleman said: "James explained to me that
he didn't want to come into the squad after being on stand-by because
psychologically he was disappointed. But that's not the attitude I'm looking
for." Swansea left-back Ben Davies was pressed into a central role alongside
Danny Gabbidon as a result, as Wales ended up suffering a 3-0 reverse, their
heaviest home loss for seven years. "I'd rather someone turns around to me
and says, 'I should be in the squad, you got it wrong and I'm going to roll
my sleeves up to prove you wrong'. That's what I'm looking for and I didn't
get that," added Coleman. "James Collins is not the reason we lost. The
reason we lost is we were outplayed by a better team and we didn't perform
and that's something we need to look at."

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James Collins says he did not refuse to play for Wales against Serbia
Last Updated: September 11, 2013 9:33pm
SSN

West Ham defender James Collins has dismissed reports he refused to play for
Wales in the World Cup qualifier against Serbia. National team manager Chris
Coleman said the 30-year-old did not want to join the squad because he was
"psychologically disappointed" at only being put on standby. The Wales boss
was short of options at centre-half for Tuesday's 3-0 World Cup qualifying
defeat by the Serbs at Cardiff City Stadium as Swansea skipper Ashley
Williams was suspended and Sam Ricketts, of Wolves, injured. Collins said:
"Following reports in the media today I feel obliged to set the record
straight as it has been wrongly suggested that I refused to play for my
country against Serbia on the 10th Sept 2013. "I would like to clarify that
I was not contacted by Chris Coleman or anyone at the FAW (Football
Association of Wales) to request that I join up with the squad for the
Serbia game. "Had I been asked I would have gladly joined up with my
team-mates and represented my country. "I did have a conversation with Chris
to try to seek clarification on why I had been left out of the initial squad
for both the Macedonia and the Serbia matches. "But at no stage did I state
that I would refuse to play for Wales. "I am proud to come from Wales and
even prouder to pull on the red shirt of my country so the suggestion that I
would ever refuse to play for them is plainly wrong."

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West Ham hoping the Dutch can do the trick for injured star
FootyLatest.com

West Ham United's record summer signing Andy Carroll has made the trip over
to Holland to see a specialist after re-injuring his foot in training this
week. Carroll is yet to feature for the Hammers this season after his 15
million pound move from Liverpool in the summer, and the injury prone
striker is facing the prospect of not playing football at all this calendar
year after having badly injured his heel in training.

24 year old Carroll joined the Hammers on loan last season from Liverpool,
and played in only 24 games all season, scoring just the 7 goals. West Ham
though seemed enamoured by the striker despite his poor injury track record
and lack of goals, and splurged heavily on him in the summer, offering the
youngster a 6 year contract.

That decision isn't looking quite so prudent anymore, and with a paucity of
strikers at the club, Manager Sam Allardyce has been forced to dip into the
free transfer market and sign former Fulham front man, 32 year old Mladen
Petric on a 1 year deal to provide cover for Carroll.

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West Ham risk points deduction as Sullivan flouts the rules
Thegamesgonecrazy.blogspot.com

So that's it then. Having surrendered five points in our one club quest to
stay the right side of the Financial Fair Play rules, David Sullivan has
suddenly decided to face up to the wrath of the footballing authorities
rather than trust to the possibility that, sometime this side of never,
Maiga might learn that those funny white posts with a net attached is called
a goal.

Of course, should we narrowly avoid the drop, we can expect a disciplinary
hearing and calls to financially compensate any team that goes down in our
stead. Crystal Palace have probably appointed a team of lawyers already, and
the first team that Petric scores against will instantly put together a case
proving that the former Fulham man was a one man team. Well, he's already
proved himself a better keeper than Rob Green if you believe some reports!

Neil Warnock is probably touting himself as a consultant and expert witness
as you read this whilst Shafting United's McScab is no doubt investigating
the possibility of a "piggy back" claim, asking for a retrospective review
of the Tevez case in the light of proof that the London club are a bunch of
cheating East End shysters. Every player in the Prem, meanwhile, is asking
his agent to seek legal advice on making a claim for a personal loss.

Meanwhile Scotty Duxbury will probably offer his services to the club in an
effort to mitigate losses, persuading the Board to accept a deduction of 18
points, a fine somewhere in the range of £30m to £60m, and compensation
deals, to avoid costly legal actions, amounting to £700m.

No wonder we didn't try to sign a striker before the window closed!

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West Ham blog: Should Ricardo Vaz Te's transfer request be forgotten?
London24.com
By Joe Difford
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
3:13 PM

Ricardo Vaz Te handed in a transfer request a few days before the deadline
but failed to secure a move away from West Ham. Skipper Kevin Nolan insists
should he be "welcomed back with open arms" but our fan blogger looks at
whether he should be.

Just over a year ago, Vaz Te smashed home a late winner in the Championship
Play-Off final, cementing his name in the West Ham history books and in the
hearts of all Hammers fans. But then came last month's request to leave
Upton Park, one that eventually came to nothing.

It's no secret that West Ham are lacking in attacking options, even despite
the signing of former Fulham man Mladen Petric.

It seems strange to some that a player like Vaz Te who scored 24 times in
the Championship and registered the most goals and assists for a winger at
the club last season, is being overlooked for Modibo Maiga.

Many would like to see Vaz Te handed a second chance in a more central
position, the role he impressed in during their year in the Championship,
but others argue that he simply cannot cut it as a Premier League player.

Yet, the statistics do not lie and it is clear that, amid all criticisms,
the Portuguese forward is effective, despite some lacklustre performances.
However, can Vaz Te be forgiven for wanting to leave the club?

Some may remember Wayne Rooney's second transfer request just last season,
denied though it has been from the Englishman's camp. After supposedly
announcing that he wanted to leave Manchester United for a number of
reasons, but failing to leave the club, he was eventually forgiven by the
vast majority of United fans. Furthermore, much of this has been overlooked
following an decent, if not stunning, season for the England striker, in
which he netted 16 times in all competitions.

Perhaps if Vaz Te were to deliver this, then fans may overlook his summer
transfer request, but others would still argue that he is not good enough
for this league and should be allowed to ply his trade elsewhere.

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Lampard speaks out about West Ham abuse
www.touchlinetalk.com

In the week that Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard made is 100th England cap,
he has also revealed that he will never forget the day he was singled out by
a West Ham United fan for negative reasons. Lampard has been at the best of
English football for the last decade, winning three Premier League titles,
four FA cup trophies and both European tournaments with Chelsea. However, he
admits that he is still haunted by the accusation that his career was made
possible due to family links at West Ham: both his dad and uncle worked at
the club.

Picked on

Lampard attended a fans' forum with his uncle and manager, Harry Redknapp,
but faced an attack from a fan who was disappointed in Redknapp for
seemingly acting preferably to Lampard for non-professional reasons. "I'll
never forget it," Lampard told ITV. "Everyone has their opinions. He voiced
them at a young kid. I thought that was wrong. I know exactly who it was but
there are no individual gripes. "He's probably quite tough anyway being from
east London. "But some people do forget it was tough, or they try to change
history and say it wasn't like that. "It was. I had the nepotism one thrown
at me regularly there and as a kid I found it quite hard to deal with.
Certainly that day I did."

No easy way

Lampard went on to express how his father never gave him a moment's rest as
he tried to make a name for himself at Upton Park. "He won't praise me for
the big things I do but he will have a go at me for not tracking a runner or
doing the basic dirty work," Lampard added. "Dad put that work ethic in me,
though. As a youngster, he always made me very aware of my weaknesses. He
would go on about my pace, getting in the box, scoring goals. "He let me
know there was no easy way to get there. It was extra runs, extra hours
practising shooting and finishing. It became ingrained in me. "In my younger
years he probably bullied me into it a bit. I didn't always like it but I
can't thank him enough for it now"

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Fabio Quagliarella had no plans to leave Juventus during the transfer window
Last Updated: September 11, 2013 10:47pm
SSN

Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella had no plans to leave the club during
the transfer window, according to his agent. Quagliarella was strongly
linked with a move away from Juventus this summer following the arrivals of
Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente. The likes of Norwich and West Ham were
credited with an interest in the 30-year-old, but Quagliarella's
representative, Beppe Bozzo, insists the striker always remained committed
to Juve. "Fabio didn't want to leave Juventus," Bozzo told Tuttomercatoweb.
"He simply asked for more space in the side because he knows he can be of
use. And boss Antonio Conte has always believed in him. "Quagliarella
received a number of offers from Italy and abroad, but the club decided to
keep him because he is part of the project and considered an important
player. "Then it is only normal that you have to accept the rotation policy
when you are part of a great side."

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Price of Football: How West Ham are attracting younger fans
By Andy Cryer
BBC Sport

West Ham United will offer a "kids for a quid" deal at as many as six home
games this season as they continue efforts to attract a new generation of
fans.
The Hammers, who have sold out their past 18 home league matches, will have
almost 20,000 more seats available when they move from Upton Park to the
54,000-seater Olympic Stadium in 2016. BBC Sport Price of Football found a
host of other top-flight clubs offer incentives to attract youngsters, with
West Brom and Fulham also running selected "kids for a quid" matches. Record
junior season-ticket sales for the Premier League were reported last season,
with adult sales also up. Other deals offered by clubs include Aston Villa
giving 1,000 free tickets to primary-school children every home match,
Everton (£95) and Swansea (£99) selling reduced-rate season tickets and
Southampton giving under-11s a free ticket when accompanied by two paying
adults.

Last year saw West Ham, who also offer under-11s season tickets for £115,
record their highest ever average attendance at the Boleyn Ground, as they
strengthen ties with local schools and clubs and attempt to improve the
match-day experience. "It is not a simple case of introducing an attractive
pricing strategy," said vice-chairman Karren Brady. "That is key, but it
must be supported by the product and work in tandem with the need to retain
and reward seasonal supporters. "Since we became involved in football, David
Sullivan, David Gold and I have been committed to offering affordable
football to all. "At Birmingham City, we pioneered the popular 'kids for a
quid' promotion. We feel passionately that people from all walks of life
should have access to elite sport to enjoy, to inspire them and to encourage
sports participation. "While the visits of some of the world's most
recognised teams will continue to merit a premium price, there are always
opportunities to make Premier League football more accessible "Competitive
pricing is important because, as consumer tastes develop and the
availability of alternative experiences increases, Premier League football
must compete with other family days out. This means clubs must differentiate
themselves to remain competitive. This is particularly true in London."

West Ham, who will become tenants of the Olympic Stadium in 2016, have had a
40% increase in the number of first-time fans buying match tickets from the
2011-12 season and a 23% rise in match-attending under-18s last season. "The
importance of the overall experience is all the more significant as the club
embarks on what is arguably the most exciting step forward in its history,"
added Brady. "The move represents a fantastic opportunity for West Ham,
allowing us to expand our community operations and opening up Premier League
football to huge numbers of new people. "Our move will give nearly 20,000
more supporters the chance to experience our fantastic product on a regular
basis, and the foundations of that work have already started with the effort
we have put in across our ticketing schemes."

Premier League junior season-ticket sales
2012-13: 58,546
2011-12: 56,024
2010-11: 58,106
2009-10: 57,097
2008-09: 58,313
2007-08: 56,235
2006-07: 52,494
2005-06: 49,101
2004-05: 46,325

Other offers in the top flight include Sunderland selling an adult and
junior season ticket for £425, Liverpool and Manchester City offering
match-day tickets for junior members at £5 or £10 respectively, and Norwich
selling reduced-rate season tickets, including one at effectively £3.67 a
game for under-12s. Stoke City give free tickets to members of their City 7s
scheme once a season, Tottenham offer fans attending for the first time a
discount, Chelsea put on a match-day experience for younger fans and Hull
sell an under-10 season ticket for £53. "Making football more attractive and
more affordable for families is something clubs have worked hard at over the
last few years," said Cathy Long, the Premier League's head of supporter
services. "Football is increasingly a family affair - 29% of fans attend
with children, and the clubs are doing a better job in making football more
accessible to them. "In 2009, 76% of parents thought clubs catered well for
their need, but that had increased to 87% last season."

The BBC Price of Football survey looked at 166 clubs in 10 divisions across
British football, including the Conference Premier and Women's Super League.

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