Daily WHUFC News - 24th June 2014

West Ham United at the World Cup - '10
WHUFc.com
A look back at West Ham United's involvement at the 2010 FIFA World Cup
23.06.2014

West Ham United had five players on duty for their respective countries at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Two were called up by Fabio Capello's England - goalkeeper Rob Green and defender Matt Upson, while Valon Behrami was picked by Switzerland, Jonathan Spector by the USA and Guillermo Franco by Mexico. For England, Green was selected for their opening fixture against Spector's United States. The Three Lions took an early lead through Steven Gerrard, but Green's fumble allowed Clint Dempsey to level matters five minutes before the interval and 1-1 was how it ended. Green was supplanted in goal by David James thereafter, although Upson came into the side for the third group game against Algeria and retained his spot - finding the back of the net - as England crashed out 4-1 to Germany in the second round. Spector had to be content with a watching brief for the tournament, which also ended at the second round stage as the United States lost to Ghana 2-1 after extra time.

Behrami missed out on selection for Switzerland's shock opening victory over Spain, but was back involved as Ottmar Hitzfeld's side took on Chile next up. However, the midfielder's World Cup would only last 31 minutes as he saw red and the South Americans triumphed 1-0. A 0-0 draw with Honduras meant a campaign which began with so much promise for the Swiss was over almost before it began. Guillermo Franco started all three of Mexico's group games as a 1-1 draw with hosts South Africa, a 2-0 victory over France and a 1-0 defeat to Uruguay meant they qualified as Group A runners-up. Franco then found himself on the bench as his country took on Argentina in the second round, and with Diego Maradona's team 3-0 up, Mexico called for the Hammer as they looked for a way back. Javier Hernandez did find the net, but it counted for little as La Verde's campaign ended there.

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Reid gives boost to Maori youngsters
WHUFC.com
Young Maori and Pacific Island children had the time of their lives thanks to an initiative involving Winston Reid
23.06.2014

Ten young Maori and Pacific Island children had the time of their lives thanks to an initiative by Wellington Phoenix and West Ham United's Maori defender Winston Reid. The youngsters, from the Kelvin Road School in the Auckland suburb of Papakura, love their football, but their parents have never been able to afford to buy them boots to play in. That all changed as The Phoenix partnered with Winston Reid's Aotearoa Footballers' Charitable Trust, Maori Football New Zealand and Banks Shoes to help give the youngsters get a taste of professional football. Reid, who is of Maori descent, set up the Trust following the All Whites' 2010 FIFA World Cup campaign with three other New Zealand internationals of Maori descent - Leo Bertos, Jeremy Christie and Rory Fallon. Thanks to one of the Phoenix' supporters, Banks Shoes, the children each left the Eastern Suburbs ground where the Phoenix trained with a new pair of football boots.
They were even able to enjoy a kick-around with New Zealand's only A-League team before being invited to join the players and staff for dinner at the Grand Rendezvous Hotel, where they were each presented with a Phoenix shirt, and then joined in with the players for one of the club's traditions. The first time a player or member of staff travels away from Wellington with the team they are expected to stand on a chair and sing a song, which is a daunting experience for even the most confident person.

To a boy or girl they joined in the chanting for a reluctant singer and then, to cap the night off three of the budding football stars - Amelia Luselu, Taitimu-Lee Harrison and Roine Sinanoa - stood in front of players and staff and sang! The Phoenix will face Reid and West Ham during the Hammers' Football United Tour to New Zealand, with the fixture taking place at Eden Park stadium in Auckland on Wednesday 23 July at 7.45pm. West Ham will then travel to Wellington to face another A-League side, Sydney FC, on Saturday 26 July at 2pm as part of a double-header which also includes the Phoenix's meeting with Barclays Premier League club Newcastle United.

More than 20,000 tickets have been sold for the Wellington double-header, while seats are also selling quickly for the Eden Park fixture.

Ticket prices for the West Ham v Wellington fixture start from just 59 NZD (£30.20) for Adults and 20 NZD (£10.25) for Children.
Silver ticket prices for the Westpac Stadium double-header are priced at 95 NZD (£48) for Adults, 45 NZD (£22.80) for Children and 235 NZD (£119) for a Family (Two Adults/Two Children). Gold seats are available for 129 NZD (£65.30) for Adults, 59 NZD (£29.90) for Children and 319 NZD (£160.60) for a Family (Two Adults/Two Children).
Affiliated Supporters' Clubs from New Zealand and across Australia have already revealed plans to travel to both matches, while UK-based supporters are also set to make the 11,400-mile trip to cheer on their team.

Flight, ticket and accommodation packages for the Football United Tour are also on sale now, with prices starting from as little as NZ $216 (£110) per person. For full details, click here.

Football United Tour
Wellington Phoenix v West Ham United
Wednesday 23 July 2014, 7.30pm (local time)
Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Sydney FC v West Ham United
Saturday 26 July 2014, 2pm (local time)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand

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U21s pre-season schedule confirmed
WHUFc.com
West Ham United U21s will enjoy a busy pre-season ahead of the 2014/15 campaign
23.06.2014

West Ham United U21s will enjoy a busy pre-season ahead of their 2014/15 campaign. Nick Haycock's Development Squad finished the 2013/14 Barclays U21 Premier League season in ninth place, earning themselves a spot in the newly-formed Division 1 when the competition gets underway in August. Before then, Haycock's side will travel far and wide as part of their preparations, taking on Premier League, non-league and foreign opposition as the Hammers' young professionals continue their development. The pre-season schedule gets underway on home turf with the visit of Isthmian League Premier Division side AFC Hornchurch to Little Heath on Saturday 12 July. The following Tuesday, the U21s hit the road to Hampshire to take on Conference South outfit Havant and Waterlooville. The weekend of 19/20 July sees the Hammers taking part in the four-team Absolute Travel Cup at Cambridge United's R Costings Abbey Stadium. There, Haycock's squad will face continental opposition in Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk and Spanish side Espanyol. West Ham will take part in another international tournament the following week, when they travel to Germany for the Ruhr Cup, hosted by Borussia Dortmund. There, the Hammers have been drawn in Group B alongside German pair Borussia Moenchengladbach and Schalke 04, Turkish side Galatasaray and Israeli club Maccabi Netanya. On Tuesday 29 July, Alan Devonshire's Conference Premier side Braintree Town will play host to West Ham before the pre-season schedule is rounded off by a trip to another trip to a Conference Premier side in Woking on Tuesday 5 August and the visit of Aston Villa's U21s to Little Heath on Friday 8 August.

Ticket details for all the U21s' pre-season fixtures and any additions will be confirmed on whufc.com
U21s pre-season fixtures
Sat 12 July v AFC Hornchurch (Little Heath, 11am)
Tue 15 July v Havant and Waterlooville (West Leigh Park, 7.45pm)
Sat 19 July v Shakhtar Donetsk (Absolute Travel Cup, R Costings Abbey Stadium, Cambridge United FC, 2pm)
Sun 20 July v Espanyol (Absolute Travel Cup, R Costings Abbey Stadium, Cambridge United FC, 2pm)
Thu 24-Sun 27 July v Borussia Moenchengladbach/Schalke 04/Galatasaray/Maccabi Netanya (Ruhr Cup, Dortmund, Germany)
Tue 29 July v Braintree Town (Amlin Stadium, 7.45pm)
Tue 5 Aug v Woking (Kingfield Stadium, 7.45pm)
Fri 8 Aug v Aston Villa (Little Heath, 12noon)

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Hammers games go live
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd June 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's two friendlies in New Zealand are being broadcast live on TV. BT Sport have announced that they will be showing both of West Ham's matches on the forthcoming Football United tour, which begins on 23rd July next month, live. United's tournament-opener against hosts Wellington Phoenix is being broadcast on BT Sport from 7.00am (BST) on Wednesday, 23rd July. Their second and final fixture of the competition, against Sydney, takes place three days later (26th July) and goes live from 2.00am (BST). The other matches in the tournament take place on Tuesday, 22nd July (Sydney vs Newcastle United) and on Saturday, 26th July (Wellington Phoenix vs Newcastle United).

* It has been confirmed that West Ham will face Sampdoria in the Marathonbet Cup on Saturday, 9th August, as exclusively revealed here on KUMB last month. Tickets - priced from £15 for adults - are already available from whufc.com.

Pre-season: 2014/15

12th July: Stevenage (Lamex Stadium, 3.00pm)
16th July: Ipswich Town (Portman Road, 7.45pm)
23rd July: Wellington Phoenix (Eden Park, 7.45pm*)
26th July: Sydney (Westpac Stadium, 2.00pm*)

2nd August: Schalke 04 (Veltins Arena, 5.30pm*)
3rd August: Malaga (Veltins Arena, 3.30pm*)
9th August: Sampdoria (Boleyn Ground, 3.00pm)

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Engineering works cause more travel woes
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 23rd June 2014
By: Staff Writer

The Metropolitan Police face a logisitical nightmare after it was revealed that the District Line will be closed for the opening day of the 2014/15 Premier League season. Once again Transport for London, in their infinite wisdom, have decided to close both the District and Hammersmith & City lines - presumably for maintenance - on the opening day of the new Premier League campaign. It's also a day on which West Ham United are due to face bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur - meaning that instead of monitoring Upton Park tube, the Met will now have to spread their resources to cover the many different routes supporters of both teams will be forced to take in order to reach the Boleyn Ground. TfL - who have regularly overlooked the needs of football supporters when choosing which times to close certain routes for maintenance in recent years - have also announced that the District Line will be mostly unavailable on 20th September, when West Ham host Liverpool. There will also be problems the following month on 4th and 25th October (Queens Park Rangers and Manchester City) when further interruptions to the District Line's regular service are planned.

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West Ham United are looking to agree a deal for Dnipro winger Yevhen Konoplyanka
Guardian Series
3:50pm Monday 23rd June 2014 in News

West Ham are keen on poaching Dnipro winger Yevhen Konoplyanka from under the noses of several Premier League rivals, according to the Daily Express.
The 24-year-old Ukrainian international was due to complete a £16m move to Liverpool in January but the move fell through on deadline day when Dnipro owner Ihor Kolomoyskyi refused to sanction the deal, despite the Reds activating his release clause. Konoplyanka has also attracted interest from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and a tussle for the 5ft9 and 1/2in winger's services looks likely this summer. Since making his Ukraine debut in 2010, Konoplyanka has won 37 caps for Ukraine, scoring ten times including a memorable goal against England at Wembley in qualification for the 2014 World Cup.
He scored eight times in 23 starts for Dnipro last term as they finished runners-up in the Ukrainian Premier Division.

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West Ham United can land midfield enforcer for just £3m
Date: 23rd June 2014 at 7:00 pm
Written by: Dan Prescott |
Football Transfer Tavern

We don't get many hipster Hammers in the Football Transfer Tavern but those that do venture in are happy with this latest rumour. As according to the Daily Star, the East London outfit have been offered penny farthing lover Raul Meireles for a cut-price deal of £3 million. Sam Allardyce is apparently fond of the Portuguese midfielder and not just because of his fantastic beard. The former Bolton Wanderers manager tried signing him in January from current club Fenerbahce. However the deal was blocked by the Turkish club and in the end West Ham signed Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino who incidentally had a pretty sweet beard himself! But according to reports, a return to the Premier League could be back on as Fenerbahce look to reduce their large wage bill. Meireles is one of the clubs' highest earners and they are likely to take a major financial hit should the Hammers take him off their hands on the cheap.

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West Ham linked with Spanish wonderkid
By matt_harris | Posted: June 23, 2014
Brentwood Gazette

WEST Ham have reportedly had a bid for Spanish wonderkid Marco Asensio turned down by his club Real Mallorca. Asensio made 20 appearances for Mallorca last season, after being promoted from the club's B team, and the 18-year-old attacking midfielder is seen as one of the top talents emerging in Spain and has been watched by Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid. It is believed the Hammers made an offer of €750,000 with that rising to more than €2.5m with add-ons. But the Spanish Segunda Division side have rejected the offer and see Asensio as key to their attempts to get back in La Liga.

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WEST HAM PREPARING AMBITIOUS MOVE FOR £12M LIVERPOOL TARGET
West Ham preparing ambitious move for £12m Liverpool target
Written by James Jones | Comments(0)

West Ham are preparing a sensational move for Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester United target Yevhen Konoplyanka, according to the Express. The Ukraine international was close to a switch Anfield in January before a deal collapsed in the final hour of transfer deadline day. And despite Brendan Rodgers' reportedly still hopeful of completing a deal, as well as interest from Tottenham and Man United this summer, Sam Allardyce is preparing to beat all three to the 24-year-old's signature. The winger, who has a £12million buy-out clause in his Dnipro contract, is expected to leave Ukraine this summer after coming so close to the exit door at the beginning of the year, although it is thought he isn't willing to move to a club not competing in Europe. That would instantly rule Man United and West Ham, but West Ham are hopeful of persuading him to join them in east London as they start building for a future in the Olympic Stadium.
Hammees co-chairman David Sullivan has recently spoken of the club's burning ambition to break in to the top six within the next few years, and has followed up with the capture of Mauro Zarate and Cheikhou Kouyate already this summer. And, despite it being unclear whether they will be prepared to meet Konoplyanka's release clause and the successful agree personal terms, a deal would further prove the Hammers are serious about their ambitious plans for the immediate future.

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Rav and Winston in talks after holidays
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on June 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Ravel-Morrison-2West Ham have this afternoon confirmed that talks with Winston Reid and Ravel Morrison will re-start when the defender and midfielder return from their summer holidays. ClaretandHugh revealed yesterday (Sunday) that they will be holding new contract talks with both players. Reid has been reported as wanting around £75k a week to stay at the club whilst speculation continues to swirl around Morrison's future with Swansea, QPR and Newcastle allegedly interested. A Hammers source explained to CandH: "Both players remain on holiday at the moment but talks are planned when they return."

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Neymar is already bigger in Brazil than Pele! But four years ago World Cup poster boy could have moved to West Ham for £12m
Santos rejected bids from West Ham and Chelsea for Neymar
By ROB SHEPHERD
PUBLISHED: 14:34, 23 June 2014 | UPDATED: 17:06, 23 June 2014
Daily Mail

Neymar might not be better than Pele but in many ways he is already bigger. In the modern world of sports marketing 22-year-old Neymar's image is omnipresent in Brazil. 'Neymar-keting' sees the player endorse a wide range of products from soft drinks to mobile phones and he has even appeared on the front cover of Time magazine. On Monday he will aim to endear himself further to a besotted Brazil by leading the World Cup hosts to victory against Cameroon. All this from a player who four years ago could have moved to, er, West Ham. In 2010 agent Barry Silkman alerted the club to a new Brazilian wonder player at Santos - the club where Pele played. The Hammers swiftly made a £12million bid for a player then 'unknown' in Europe. But Santos, and one suspects the Neymar family, turned the offer down. An approach from Chelsea soon after was rejected, too. Neymar moved on to Barcelona last summer.

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Irons confirm defender talks
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on June 23, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham have confirmed morning reports that the club remains in talks with Nice left back Timothee Kolodziejczak but that they are still looking at three others. And after seeing neither Razvan Rat and Pablo Armero solve their problem position, the club is absolutely determined to get things 100 per cent right this time around. Kolodziejczak – destined to become 'Kolo' should he finally arrive at the club – is understood to be available at around £3 million but is also being hunted by Southampton. However, a highly placed Upton Park source told ClaretandHugh exclusively a few minutes ago: "We are looking at four left backs and this guy is one of them but we are a long way from a deal at this stage. That Southampton, who see him as a possible replacement for Luke Shaw, rate demonstrates the 21 year old's quality. Norwich City's Martin Olsson is another the Hammers are tracking.

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Why West Ham are approaching this transfer window the wrong way
Monday 23 Jun 2014 12:31 pm
Metro.co.uk

Following crunch talks with the West Ham hierarchy last month, manager Sam Allardyce vowed to abide by the owners' demands to play 'exciting football' next season, and will be given a sizeable transfer budget to make this dream a reality. So far he has managed to lure ex-Birmingham loanee Mauro Zarate back to the Premier League from Argentine side Velez Sarsfield on a free transfer after the forward bought himself out of his contract with the club, and last week he finalised the signing of Anderlecht powerhouse Chiekhou Kouyate for a reported £7million. The 24-year-old centre back/defensive midfielder has Champions League experience and will add some much needed quality to the side. Not so say these aren't good signings – they are, but if you ask any pundit who follows the Premier League closely or more importantly any West Ham fan, they would've told you that at the heart of our defense and midfield is solid.

It's widely accepted that James Tomkins and Winston Reid are two of the most underrated centre-back's in the Premier League, so bringing another strong player in at that position does raise an eyebrow or two. The Hammers have also been linked with a number of central players since the end of the season. Colombia's Eder Alvarez Balanta, Fenerbache's Raul Meireles and soon to be ex-Manchester City star Gareth Barry to name but a few have all been linked with moves to West Ham in the past week. As said above, we don't need help in the positions that these players ply their trade in, we need help elsewhere, most notable in the wide areas.

Both fullback positions are in dire need of reinforcements. On the right side, 33-year old Guy Demel enters the last year of his deal at the club. Joey O'Brien, an old Sam favourite, simply cannot stay fully fit for a 38-game season. On the left side, George McCartney has been released by the club following the expiry of his contract, and loanee Pablo Armero appears to be returning to Napoli with an option to make his loan permanent not taken up. In my opinion, not enough has been done to solidify these areas of the team. It appears the Hammers are in the driving seat to sign Fiorentina left back Marcos Alonso this summer, but face competition from Sunderland, who Alonso spent last season on loan with. It also seems like a deal to sign impressive Nice defender Timothee Kolodziejczak has been put on hold.

With the way the Premier League is heading, this current West Ham team will continue to be exposed on the wings due to a lack of quality. We are seeing more and more explosive wingers enter the league, and fullbacks being given the license to bomb on forward on the overlap – the team must look to sign players who are defensively strong and can contribute going forward if they wish to return to the top 10.

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