Daily WHUFC News - 2nd July 2014

Kiwi youngsters welcome Reid return
WHUFC.com
Pupils at Winston Reid's former primary school cannot wait to welcome him back home to New Zealand
01.07.2014

The return of Winston Reid to New Zealand with West Ham United this summer will inspire youngsters at his old primary school. Reid attended Milford School in the Auckland suburb of North Shore from the ages of five and ten before emigrating to Denmark, playing his first organised football for the school and local club junior Takapuna AFC. The school's current teacher-in-charge of football - or soccer, as it is more commonly known in New Zealand - Martin Dijkgraaf said Milford's pupils are excited about the return of their famous alumnus. "The children are extremely excited as Winston is a great player and a role model, demonstrating that New Zealanders can make it in overseas professional football," explained Dijkgraaf. "Since [former Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur defender] Ryan Nelsen left the Premier League, Winston is now the only Kiwi playing at that level, and West Ham are a very well-known club so it is very exciting that they are coming all the way to New Zealand to play."

While rugby, cricket and netball remain New Zealand's most-popular sports, Dijkgraaf said the achievements of Reid and his compatriots in reaching the 2010 FIFA World Cup finals in South Africa - where they drew with Slovakia, Italy and Paraguay before being eliminated as the tournament's only unbeaten team - had led to a big increase in interest in football. Many have followed in the footsteps of Reid by turning out for Takapuna AFC and another local club, Forrest Hill AFC, and dream of emulating the Hammers defender.

"Kiwi kids love their sport and after Winston and the All Whites played at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa there was an increase in the number of kids playing football," Dijkgraaf confirmed. "Here at Milford School we have a huge number of children who are members of various local clubs. "Lots of them hope to go along to Eden Park to watch Winston in action against Wellington Phoenix, so it is best they do all their chores at home in the next little while! "One of the kids is lucky enough - or is it that his father is such a fanatic? - that he is also travelling down to Wellington to see the Hammers play against Sydney FC too!"

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Legends return home
WHUFC.com
Alan Taylor and Phil Parkes led tours of the Boleyn Ground for supporters recently
01.07.2014

West Ham United legends Alan Taylor and Phil Parkes returned to the Boleyn Ground over the summer to lead a series of stadium tours for supporters.
The two ex-Hammers, who have well over 400 league appearances for the Club between them, took supporters behind the scenes to show them everything from the dressing rooms to the Chairman's suite. Showing fans around their old home comes as a great thrill for the duo, who were delighted to share their experiences. "Phil and I have taken these tours for quite a while now - over the last nine months we've done nine tours," two-goal 1975 FA Cup final hero Taylor explained. "They seem to be going down very well with supporters. They enjoy themselves, we certainly enjoy it too and it's very popular. "The fans love coming down to the pitchside, being in the dug out, the players' entrance and, most of all, the dressing rooms."

Parkes, who cost the Hammers a then-world record fee for a goalkeeper when he signed from QPR in 1979, echoed those thoughts. He added: "I think it's great, it's a privilege for us. We love doing it, we really do. Everyone who comes here wants to see behind the scenes, because normally they haven't got a clue what goes on. "Something like eleven-hundred people are working behind the scenes on a matchday. It's quite hard to comprehend that when you sit in the stand, watch the game and go home after stopping for a pint. "I think they are all quite fascinated by all of that."

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Leyton Orient drops objection to use of Olympic stadium
BBC.co.uk

Leyton Orient Football Club has settled a dispute with the Premier League over its decision to allow West Ham to occupy the Olympic Stadium. West Ham was declared as the anchor tenant for the stadium in March 2013 and will pay £2m a year in rent. Leyton Orient had feared West Ham's tenancy would affect the number of fans attending its own matches nearby. It says it has now reached a "confidential agreement" in its dispute. In September, Leyton Orient's written application for judicial review into tenancy of the stadium was rejected. West Ham is expected to move into it from August 2016.

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Who said there's no such thing as a free lunch?
KUMb.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st July 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United FC are looking for a number of supporters able to attend a Kiwi-themed BBQ in central London next Wednesday as part of the build-up to the Club's impending tour of New Zealand. The Club are looking for supporters planning to travel to New Zealand this summer who would be willing to pop along for a couple of hours on Wednesday, 9th July and be interviewed by a NZ television film crew for their version of The One Show. The interviews would cover the fans' support for West Ham United and their excitement at following the Hammers to the other side of the world, as well as their views on the football side of the Club. West Ham will also ask supporters to pose for a few publicity shots for use on whufc.com, the Club's social media platforms and by Wellington Phoenix. In return, all supporters participating in the event will receive a 2014/15 away shirt and a good feed of New Zealand meat and wine/beer at the BBQ!
Anyone interested in participating should contact Rob Pritchard at programme@westhamunited.co.uk for further details.

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That Was The Season That Was 2013-14 - Part Four
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st July 2014
By: Gordon Thrower

After a less than wonderful start to 2014, things needed to improve and fast. Gordon Thrower's look back at 2013/14 continues as he picks off another couple of months starting with February 2014. Howard Webb might want to give this one a miss....

February 2014

With the January window having closed it emerges Razvan Rat, has been released from his contract "by mutual consent". Nobody ever did get round to calling him Roland, mainly as a result of his making so few appearances. Also out of the door is out of favour Modibo Maiga. He heads west to QPR in the hope that a spell in the Championship might do something for what appears to be a somewhat fragile confidence.

After what was by any reasonable standard a miserable January, the point gained at Chelsea at the end of the month appears to have galvanised the team who return to winning ways with a 2-0 win over Swansea. A first half brace from Nolan gives us the three points.

The match is hugely controversial as Howard Webb hits a new low. Carroll tangles with Chico Flores, accidentally brushing the cheating Spaniard's ponytail as his arm comes around. Flores clutches his face as if shot. Webb dismisses Carroll. On video review it transpires that the one piece of violent conduct in the whole affair is Flores' elbow to Carroll's chest and that Webb is actually looking the other way as it occurs. Despite this, Webb refuses to change his mind when shown the video. Carroll gets a three match ban. Webb, whose dishonesty in the whole affair should have seen him face some sort of disciplinary action, takes his bent grin off to the World Cup instead.

One would have hoped that Webb's main employers might have had something to say about their employee. Unfortunately, as the Hillsborough affair has shown, altering the facts to save your own backside seems to be pretty endemic amongst the South Yorkshire Police Force

Whether or not connected with the dishonesty of his players, Michael Laudrup barely survives the weekend as manager of Swansea, his dismissal being the second of the season to occur just after playing us. Laudrup's departure comes amid rumours of the manager's lack of interest in little things like actually taking training, midweek breaks to Paris apparently being the norm.

Ooop north things at Leeds become so farcial that those who remember them kicking, bribing and cheating their way to league titles in the 1970's temporarily stop laughing at Spurs for a while to enjoy a loud guffaw at the expense of the denizens of Elland Road.

The story goes something like this: Italian Massimo Cellino takes over the club from owners GFH. Cellino sacks incumbent manager Brian McDermott. A person or persons unknown then makes changes to the Leeds team on the Friday before they go out and bet local rivals Huddersfield 5-1 on the Saturday. GFH then point out that Cellino doesn't actually own the club yet and therefore doesn't have the power to sack McDermott. McDermott is duly reinstated, though nobody thinks to tell him, the news arriving via his i-Pad. Meanwhile, the lawyer who sacked McDermott on behalf of Cellino is escorted from the ground by a big bloke acting on behalf of GFH. McDermott turns up to take training to find a mystery Italian player warming up in training. Asked by the press who the player is McDermott responds "no idea". Cellino promptly fails the Football League's fit and proper test, which is a a pretty good trick given the credentials of some of those who have managed to pass the test in the past. More to come on this one we reckon.

Of course when it comes to stuff to laugh at, Joe Kinnear is ever one to be outdone. Seven months and not a penny spent sees the SJP faithful chanting "where's your signings Joe Kinnear." Sadly before he can claim to have signed Messi and Ronaldo in response, Kinnear resigns pausing only to add a Newcastle Champion League win onto the bottom of his already somewhat factually-challenged CV. Meanwhile, the resulting grin on Alan Pardew's face makes him look smugger than ever, something previously thought to have been impossible by most scientist, or at least most of those who deal in smugology.

As if to rally against the sheer injustice of the whole Carroll affair, we make it three clean sheets in a row with a 2-0 win over Villa at Villa Park. Nolan continues his rehabilitation with another brace.

Surely we couldn't make it three in a row for the first time since black & white telly (no I couldn't be bothered to look it up either but it probably wasn't that long ago I suppose. The amazing run continues as two late goals from Collins and Diame send Norwich home pointless. Adrian is the MOTM after a string of saves earlier on keeps us in the game. Canaries boss Chris Hughton bemoans his luck. Again.

Outside of football, as if organised religions don't do enough to make themselves look daft, The General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowment in the UAE announces a Fatwa. The subject of this interpretation of Islamic law is not, as you might think, some hapless cartoonist or the entire population of the USA. No, the ruling is aimed at anyone who might be considering going to live on Mars. Apparently the one way nature of such a trip would be tantamount to suicide which, of course is a no-no in many religions. Thanks guys that's match my mind up for me.

The Ravel Morrison mystery continues. Having been missing with a groin injury that has seen coaching staff raising sceptical eyebrows-a-plenty, the player is loaned out to QPR, which is fast becoming the Boleyn Ground's equivalent of the naughty step.

Winning? It's getting boring now as the streak continues with the side coming from behind to dispatch Southampton 3-1. Jarvis, Carlton Cole and a resurgent Nolan are on the scoresheet in a month that waves two fingers at Howard Webb.

The guys who run the kumb.com podcast to honour the anniversary of the passing of Bobby Moore. It's a marvellous piece of work featuring a whole host of the great and good of football and Harry Redknapp. If you haven't heard it yet I'm sure the link is available somewhere on the site. Meanwhile I'd like to apologise to the guys on behalf of everyone who approached me to tell me what a good job I'd done (I did apportion the credit to where it was due).

The four wins in a row see us end the month in tenth place, easing the worries of relegation that some of you may have been having up to this point. At the top Chelsea lead though Arsenal, Man City and Liverpool, who seem to be trying to become the first team to win the Premier League based purely on their ability to dive, are all breathing down the Pensioners' necks.

March 2014

Having won 4 in a row in February, the marvellous run comes at an end up at Goodison Park. Lukaku is the difference between the sides again with a late winner. The match sees the return of Andy Carroll from his disgraceful suspension. Replacing Carlton Cole on 28 minutes, the record signing ends up with a broken finger for his troubles.

Newcastle beat Hull 4-1 at the KC Stadium in a match memorable for an altercation between Alan Pardew and City's David Meyler. The Newcastle boss headbutts the defender. And we thought Kinnear was the mad one. The butt earns Pardew a seven match ban, the first three of which are a stadium ban. An FA fine of £60,000 is added to a club one of £100,000. Have to wait a few more weeks to upgrade that Ferrari then Alan.

Man City pick up the League Cup, though they don't have it all their own way as Sunderland go into the interval 1-0 up. Three unanswered second half goals give the Citizens the trophy prompting us to muse how different things might have been had we been able to field a proper first XI in the semi-final. Not much probably.

We then go down 3-1 at Stoke. Carroll's 5th minute opener is cancelled out by Odemwingie before referee Pawson inexplicably allows Stoke defender Muniesa to get away with a penalty so blatant that had a human being been refereeing the match (rather than the cloned Rileybots that are employed these days) he'd have died of shame. Stoke go on to net two more times to give them a flattering win.

Former Olympic triple jump champion Jonathan Edwards, who famously wouldn't compete on Sundays due to his religious beliefs, announces that he no longer believes in God. Whilst the athlete doesn't go into too much detail, we wonder if, like us he wonders about a supreme deity who, would, if he existed, surely have hit Howard Webb with a plague of boils or something by now.

Another West Ham tradition is maintained as it is revealed that Boriello, who has made just two sub appearances since arriving on loan, joins the long list of signings who get injured never to be seen again.

FIFA announce that from June 1 any player displaying a message on his undershirt would receive an automatic yellow card for the offence. The decision takes the relevant committee so long to come to, that they run out of time to take steps to ensure that referees enact the laws already there to punish players for diving. Similarly all the stuff about preventing corruption within FIFA gets put off until after brown envelope season has closed.

Jack Collison looks to be on his way out as he signs for Wigan on loan to the end of the season. I'd check that contract Jack if Whelan has signed it.

After a longer than usual delay in announcing the award, the powers that be finally run out of excuses not to give Sam Allardyce February's manager of the month thingy. Joe Kinnear scoffs dismissively claiming to have won dozens of the titles.The fact that they used to give out those massive bottles of scotch for the award could explain a lot.

"Madder than a whole box of Kinnears" defender Toms Repka admits to have given away a penalty in a Czech league match in 2012 in order to get back at his old club. The resulting goal helps Liberec win 4-0 with them eventually going on to win the league by two points over Repka's old club Sparta Prague. "I wasn't thinking straight" Repka points out helpfully in his autobiography which, totally coincidentally, is out at the time.

The good people at Birdseye announce the retirement of Captain Birdseye from our tv screens,. "Our decision is designed to breathe new life into the brand and is in no way connected with Operation Yewtree" claims a spokesman.

We go down to Man Utd 2-0 at home. The opening goal has the tv pundits going into fawning overdrive as Rooney volleys in from near the halfway line having shoved Tomkins out of the way. Let's just ignore the laws of the game shall we then for the sake of something to talk about? Manchester United boss Moyes breaks years of tradition by doing us the courtesy of actually turning up at a press conference.

We return to winning ways as Hull are beaten 2-1. Hull 'keeper McGregor knocks himself out colliding with Mo Diame. Having given away the penalty McGregor recovers enough to leave the field only to see Mike "Look At Me" Dean show him the red card. Noble puts the spot kick away. Jelavic equalises in the second half before Chester diverts Demel's cross into his own net. The team's performance is poor enough to have sections of the crowd booing, with Allardyce, perhaps unwisely, cupping his ear to supporters in response. Earlier in the match the centre-half curse strikes again as James Collins limps off after only nine minutes. Roger Johnson, who earlier describes himself as a "season-ticket holder" in the Soccer AM crossbar challenge thing, comes on and inspires one of the wittier chants of the season, suggesting that "he's off to Brazil".

West Brom sack Nicolas Anelka for "gross misconduct" hours after the player announces that he's torn up his contract anyway. An Albion spokesman says that his "resignation" doesn't count as he only announced it on twitter which makes the club's sacking the decision that counts, an announcement that in no way reeks of sour grapes at all.

So a mixed month comes to an end in 12th spot with Man City and the Liverpool diving academy fighting over top spot. We look safe enough to me, though with a tough run-in and not many points separating the occupants of the lower half of the table a few more wins in the next month or so wouldn't go amiss. Meanwhile the relationship between the manager and fans is balanced on a knife-edge. Best not get relegated then.....

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The peril of signing World Cup stars
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 28th June 2014
By: Paul Turner

When a major international tournament is receiving wall-to-wall television, internet and print press coverage, the eyes of football fans descend upon players you may have heard of, signed on football manager, or just plain don't know.

The spotlight becomes focused on those teams who have qualified and those players that perform well over the length of the tournament. Individual games are debated at length at work, in the pub or on internet forums. "Player X would do well for us"; "that player Y, the club should sign him". If the club signed everyone who had a half decent game we would have hundreds of players on the books.

Scouting and evaluating players in the modern game has moved on from the days of Wally St. Pier watching schoolboy county matches and West Ham United taking young professionals on as part of the ground staff. Now there is so much technical data that can be acquired; a player's reaction times, sprint bursts, passing method as well as judging a player's aptitude to go with the physical ability.

This information can be entered into databases and programmes, analysed by sports scientists into all manner of different outputs or conclusions depending on what the manager is looking for.

The players under Sam have spoken before about how information pertaining to matches and training ground performance has been provided to take away and digest in their own time, to try and make the player aware of their own statistics or those of the team in general and to build a better understanding of team mates' abilities.

How a footballer takes on board such information is up to the player. But this kind of statistical analysis of a footballer's abilities goes beyond the headline statistics of goals and assists.

With the World Cup now having reached the knockout stages, I wondered about the players so far that have shown promise or have impressed and how West Ham United have fared before with World Cup players. The club's signing of players from World Cup exploits in the months preceding the tournament has only been a recent phenomenum.

According to worldfootball.net,West Ham have signed nine players who have represented their country at a World Cup Finals. Javier Margas, in 1998, appears to be the first player we signed on this basis. There's also been Gary Breen in 2002, John Pa(i)ntsil, Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano (although the two Argentinians were obviously at WHU for other purposes) in 2006 and Victor Obinna, Pablo Barrera, Winston Reid and to a lesser extent Lars Jacobsen in 2010.

In recent years and decades (and in particular under Harry Redknapp) there has been a high turnover of players at West Ham United, yet there seems to be more consideration when it comes to players who have performed at World Cups. A number of factors could come into this thinking. Is the player a flash-in-the-pan? Are the (willingly or reluctantly) selling club asking for a king's ransom based on World Cup performances? Is the signature of a player just for marketing purposes and to catch interest from fans for commercial motives?

As an example, when West Ham announced the signing of Winston Reid in 2010, the first article on the club website announcing the signature featured phrases like 'joining the club was a "dream move" for the player' and 'Reid "caught the eye" and has "ability to perform at the very highest level"'.

Back in August 2010 that kind of statement from West Ham United regarding a player who the majority of fans would have only seen playing three times before - if they caught all of New Zealand's World Cup matches - breeds an air of expectation that the club have a real starlet on their hands.

The best way to describe Winston's first season at the club is 'difficult', although having a proper manager to work under in Sam Allardyce, Reid has flourished into the player we all know today. To ask the question, though: did we sign Winston because of the opportunity it offered after the publicity New Zealand achieved in 2010, or was it because he had been carefully scouted and processed by the new staff at the Boleyn Ground under Avram Grant who had only themselves been at the club for a matter of weeks after Franco Zola had left?

Once being given the time and space to develop in the English game (in the season spent in the Championship) Reid's signing proved a shrewd one for the club - although it was a gamble that nearly didn't pay off. Necessity, due to players having to be offloaded after relegation rather that a conscious decision to further Reid's development was the main reason Winston started the Championship season. He's never looked back.

The less said about some of his Gary Breen's performances in claret and blue the better, but to have signed the former Coventry defender off the back of a good showing for the Republic of Ireland at the 2002 World Cup seemed like a good deal at the time.

As for John Pantsil, Barrera, Jacobson and Margas? These players came to West Ham with established reputations as solid players, wouldn't let you down when coming into the team and "could do a job". In what seems to be a fashion only WHU have mastered, for different reasons none of those deals worked out for player or club.

This is not to say that any player signed as the result of a strong showing at this World Cup or future tournaments are doomed to failure in East London, but when it comes to evaluating potential signings the club seem to look more at the known metrics that can be recorded and evaluated rather then the player's potential to shine on the international stage.

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Enner Valencia and Islam Slimani top West Ham hit list
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st July 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham are likely to move for Algerian international Islam Slimani - if a move to sign Ecuador international Enner Valencia fails to bear fruit.

Slimani, who has been linked with West Ham since the end of the last transfer window is understood to be the club's second choice behind Valencia, who like Slimani has won plenty of approval for his performances in Brazil 2014. Sporting are reported to have slapped an €8million price tag on the 26-year-old Algerian who the Hammers had hoped to land on loan back in January.

We reported yesterday how West Ham had made enquiries into the availability of Valencia, CF Pachua's 24-year-old centre forward who scored three goals in the World Cup Finals despite his country failing to qualify for the knockout stage.

* Bayern Munich's Italian defender Diego Contento is reported to have been the subject of an enquiry by West Ham. Considered surplus to requirements having failed to nail down a first team spot under Pep Guardiola, the 24-year-old has also been linked with West Bromwich Albion.

* Ravel Morrison is due to return to West Ham this Thursday when the first team squad reconvene for pre-season. The attacking midfielder, on loan at Queens Park Rangers since January has signalled his desire to win his place back in Sam Allardyce's first XI despite rumoured interest from a number of parties, including Harry Redknapp's Rangers.

* West Ham are rumoured to be one of a number of clubs taking a close look at Dynamo Kiev's Andriy Yarmolenko - however with a rumoured transfer fee of £12-15million (Daily Star) United's chances of landing a player also sought by Liverpool and Chelsea, both of whom can offer Champions League football, appear slim at best.

* Italian sources (Il Giallo Rosso) are running with a story suggesting Milan's Antonio Nocerino may be set to return to the Boleyn Ground on a permanent basis, despite previous reports claiming that he was about to complete a (permanent) move to Torino. KUMB suspects this may be someone taking what is known as a flyer, given Noce's frosty demeanour when leaving the BG for the final time back in May.

* Les Bleus midfielder Mathieu Valbuena, a regular in the French World Cup squad that reached the quarter finals courtesy of a 2-0 win over Nigeria on Monday is being linked with an £8million move to east London (Mail). Currently with Ligue 1 side Marseille, Valbuena has also been linked with Arsenal (quelle surprise) and Liverpool in recent weeks after his agent revealed that he would consider a move to the Premier League.

* Even more spurious than the Nocerino link is a rumour emanating from Portuguese media claiming that West Ham are showing an interest in signing Sporting's Argentine defender Marcos Rojo. The 24-year-old has featured regularly for his country at the World Cup Finals and is valued at the £20million mark. Russian side Zenit previously failed with a £15million bid for the 6'1½" centre half.

* It's debatable whether West Ham were ever seriously interested but Belgian striker Divock Origi is on the verge of completing a move to Liverpool. At just 19 the Lille forward is poised to make a £10million move to Anfield, apparently snubbing the likes of West Ham and Tottenham.

* Jefferson Montero, whom it was recently claimed was on the verge of signing for West Ham has spoken of his desire to try his luck in Europe. "It's certain that I'll leave the league," said the Mexican-based Ecuadorian international. "I already have an offer and I can tell you that it won't be Mexico; it will be Europe and I hope it works out."

* Five years after making a €5million bid, Italian sources insist West Ham are taking a second look at Napoli's Macedonian international Goran Pandev. The 30-year-old striker has also been linked with Tottenham and Monaco. Franco Zola was thought to be close to landing the player in 2009 but missed out.

* West Ham's ongoing link with Leeds striker Ross McCormack finally looks close to reaching its inevitable conclusion with the news that recently-relegated Fulham have offered £7million for the Scottish international. Leeds are said to be holding out for £10million, for a player who at 28 has never played in the Premier League. West Ham are unlikely to challenge the Cottagers.

* A number of Twitter feeds are linking West Ham with a move for the US World Cup star Omar Gonzalez - although claims that the story originated in the Telegraph appear to be wide of the mark.

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Orient and Hearn reach OS 'settlement'
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 1st July 2014
By: Staff Writer

Leyton Orient's legal bid to overturn West Ham's tenure of the Olympic Stadium is over after they reached a settlement with the Premier League. The League One club, who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Championship last season have fought to prevent West Ham from being awarded use of the £500million arena for more than three years. However the Premier League confirmed in a statement this morning that the two parties had reached a settlement - not necessarily a financial inducement, although that is how many commentators have perceived it - thus ending Orient's battle. "The Premier League and Leyton Orient FC are pleased to announce that they have reached settlement of a dispute regarding the future use of the Olympic Stadium on terms which are confidential," read a statement on the Premier League's website this lunchtime (Tuesday). "Leyton Orient confirms, however, that it no longer disputes the validity of the Premier League's decision to allow West Ham United to occupy the Stadium."

When questioned about the decision via Twitter, O's supremo Barry Hearn replied: "No point carrying on now we have permission to talk to new operators re a deal if we want to."

Hearn's comment relates to the revelation last December that Orient are free to consult with the stadium operators with view to using the venue for matches of their own. One person not convinced that the settlement was based on financial terms was Times' sports writer James Masters. "It's my understanding that Orient withdrew their case against West Ham United moving to the Olympic Stadium following advice from lawyers and to save on legal fees." he said. "I also understand that Orient DID NOT receive any financial compensation in settlement with Premier League."

West Ham are due to move into the 54,000-capacity stadium in time for the beginning of the 2016/17 season, two years from now.

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Time for a changing of the guard?
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 30th June 2014
By: Sean McGuire

In a recent poll asking Hammers fans to vote for who they would like to see as the Irons' captain next season, current incumbent Kevin Nolan received only about eight per cent of the vote compared to (first place) Mark Noble who received around 79 per cent of the vote.

So why the swing against Nolan? To answer that, I need to consider the attributes that make a good captain. I have always subscribed to the opinion that, whatever the sport, you should pick your first choice team and then from that select the player best suited to be captain. Sometimes it feels like a captain is selected at the start of the season and then their place in the team is unimpeachable because of their captaincy status.

Therefore the first thing to consider is would Nolan be a consistent first XI player next season based on merit alone? He was our top goal scorer this season with seven goals, however over half of those came in two exceptional games in early February (Swansea at home and Villa away) where he scored back to back braces.

Outside of those two games Nolan was a very different animal this season; after scoring in the opener the first half of his season was very quiet and uninspiring.

Of course I'm not suggesting that our top goal scorer shouldn't start next season or that he wouldn't be my first choice attacking midfielder, but as his 32nd birthday approaches and after a disappointing season his place would certainly be under threat from Mo Diame, Mauro Zarate and Ravel Morrison.

Diame was a consistent attacking threat (albeit nowhere near captain potential after his recent media outbursts and top six delusions). Zarate starting would place Nolan under threat as given the promised two strikers up front the central attacking midfielder slot is the most likely to be sacrificed. I know I have a tendency to over-rate Morrison but even his biggest critics would probably agree that if we keep him we should start playing him.

This is a contrast to the ever-present Noble who received the Hammer of the Year and KUMB.com Player of the Year awards for his consistently high-quality performances in the deep midfield. He made 107 tackles and 70 interceptions this season helping to keep our defence tight. I cannot see him losing his place at holding midfield to anyone in the current squad or anyone we have been linked with although I would love to see him and Cheikhou Kouyate playing alongside each other as a defensive midfield pairing. We would be impenetrable.

Next to consider when selecting a captain is whether or not they set a good example. WHUFC has a proud tradition of bringing up youth talent so to my mind a captain that sets these youngsters a good example is imperative.

On December 7th we were losing 3-1 at Anfield when at a throw in, our captain Nolan approached Henderson whose back was turned to receive the ball and stamped on his calf. He received a straight red card and a three-match ban for this violent outburst making it the fifth December in a row he had received a suspension (perhaps he just enjoys Christmas at home with his kids). On his second match back from suspension he kicked Fulham's Amorebiata while off the ball, earning a second straight red for violence.

Nolan simply isn't a good example as far as discipline goes, in stark contrast to Noble. While I would argue that due to their different roles in the midfield Noble should pick up more cards than Nolan, they both got seven yellows last season and Noble's only red couldn't have been more different to Nolan's two straight red for violence. It was for a second bookable offence at Everton and most agree on replay that he shouldn't have been booked and that he got the ball.

Finally, and to my mind most importantly, a captain should be an inspirational figure, a man with the determination to rally a team and boost morale when the opposition are leading. Given that Nolan's two violent outbursts last season came when we were losing and possibly out of that frustration I do not think that he has the level head to be the type of captain I am describing.

Again a contrast to Noble, the tireless worker who has run further than any other West Ham player this year and who is in possession of a level head. I think he has exactly the qualities to inspire a team and turn games around. It is time to pass the captaincy torch onto another and the current vice captain, longest serving player and last season's Hammer of the Year also known as "Mr West Ham" is the obvious replacement.

Sadly, I cannot see this being a move that will happen. Sam Allardyce is hugely loyal to Nolan, which is understandable as Nolan has played under Allardyce at two different teams in a relationship going back to 1999 (involving 390 appearances and 74 goals for Nolan). However, hopefully Allardyce will see the need for change as I think for the reasons listed above the change could give the team a boost.

Also, Noble deserves it - and I imagine he is the type of player that would care about becoming captain.

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WHO WILL BE THE NEXT SOUTH AMERICAN HAMMER?
By Sean Whetstone 1 Jul 2014 at 17:24
West Ham Til I Die

Over the last three days we have been running a series on the 15 South American players to have signed for West Ham and how they fared in the east end of London.
Today we look at who could be the 16th South American player to sign for West Ham with seven South Americans recently linked to us in recent weeks.

Emanuel Insua

It is claimed West Ham United are in talks over a possible deal for Boca Juniors defender Emanuel Insua.The 23-year-old left-back, the younger brother of ex-Liverpool defender Emiliano, has discussed terms with a four year deal proposed.Argentine sources say the Hammers have bid for the defender, Boca are reportedly open to offers for Insua and are prepared to listen to what West Ham have to say after previously turning down a bid from Torino. West Ham are known to be interested but he is just one of many left backs we are interested in at the moment.

Eder Balanta

According to the Sunday People West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is chasing Colombian World Cup star Eder Balanta, Hammers have sent top spies to Brazil to check out the 21-year-old defender ahead of a possible £6million bid. Balanta, who plays in Argentina for River Plate, is tipped to make a move to Europe after the tournament.
Balanta made his debut for Colombia as recently as March and has only a handful of international caps so is still operating largely under the radar of Premier League clubs.
But West Ham have been on his trail for some time and will try to do a deal once the South Americans are out of the World Cup. However, River Plate vice-president Matias Patanian has denied there has been an offer from West Ham United for the defender. iver Plate vice-president Patanian told Radio La Red: "For the moment we only know, in an official way, that Juventus are making a big effort for Balanta.Asked about West Ham, he replied: "No, we have heard what an English newspaper is saying about West Ham."If the amount of money that the newspaper mentions is true and we receive an offer like that, then River could sit down and start negotiations as it would be close to the amount the club expects for transferring Balanta."If the money that is being mentioned in the English media is that, then we will have to listen to them when we receive an official offer.Of course we would want to sell our players to the team that gets closest to our value."

Gonzalo Bergessio

Sam Allardyce could make a move for another Argentine striker according to reports on an Italian website.Tutto Mercato Web claims West Ham are interested in Catania's 29-year-old forward The frontman Gonzalo Bergessio., who has two goals in three appearances for the Argentine national team, netted ten times in 28 starts for Catania in Serie A last season. Bergessio made his Argentina international debut on 15th October 2008, playing the second half of a 0–1 loss in Chile, in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. He scored his first two international goals on 20th May of the following year, in a 3–1 win over Panama. On 30th October 2013, Bergessio suffered a broken fibula as a result of a late tackle by Giorgio Chiellini in Catania's 0–4 loss at Juventus FC. He has made 96 appearances for Catania scoring 30 goals.

Ezequiel Ponce

West Ham have been linked with the South American teen sensation Ezequiel Ponce.The Newell's Old Boys 17 year old billed as the most exciting prospect in Argentinian football is also the subject of an Argentine investment group financial move with the businessmen wanting to purchase 50 per cent of the player's rights.

The story first broke in the Argentinian media where West Ham was named as a likely destination. It is claimed the club want £5 million plus a 50% sell on fee when/if he becomes a world superstar.Whether he becomes the next Messi remains to be seen but £5m from our limited transfer budget seems a gamble too far for West Ham.

Jefferson Montero

According to the Guardian West Ham are close to signing Jefferson Montero by triggering the Ecuadorian's £3m release clause that would take him from a Mexican club, Morelia, to the Boleyn Ground.The 23-year-old Montero will earn £30,000 a-week in what should be a four-year contract, having impressed the West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, who hopes the winger can help provide the service to the club's record signing, Andy Carroll, next season.Montero, who has played for Ecuador more than 25 times, impressed in the 1-1 draw with Argentina in a World Cup qualifier in Quito early this month when a number of scouts from English clubs were present.


Marcos Rojo

A newspaper report in Portugal claims West Ham are interested in signing Argentine defender Marcos Rojo.The 24-year-old, who plays for Sporting Lisbon could move to West Ham but the 20 million euros price tag is likely finish off any real interest. The report says Russian outfit Zenit St Petersburg failed with a 15 million euro bid in January, and Liverpool, Manchester United and Arsenal are also interested in Rojo, He can play in central defence and at left-back.Rojo scored for Argentina in their 3-2 win over Nigeria in the World Cup and is expected to start in his country's last 16 match against Switerland today.


Enner Valencia

West Ham are interested in Ecuador striker Enner Valencia, according to Dean Jones in the Sunday People.The forward has made a big impression at the World Cup with three goals in the group stages Valencia just 25, currently plays for Mexican side Pachuca and scored 18 goals for them before heading to the Brazil finals.
Everton are also believed to be monitoring him.

And finally the one who got away ……

Neymar

David Sullivan has admitted that West Ham made a bid for Brazilian World Cup superstar Neymar four years ago during the summer of 2010! The Joint Chairman confirmed the had made a bid worth around £16m for the then 18 year wonder kid. Santos rejected it insisting they would not deal at less than the than the player's £28.4m release clause.Any deal would of been complicated by Santos owning just 60 per cent of Neymar's rights and needing the agreement of an investment group should they accept anything less than the buyout clause. The bid from West Ham alerted Chelsea who made their own offer in August 2010 but were also turned down after Pele persuaded Neymar to stay in Brazil.

Neymar was born on the February 5 which is the same as the Joint Chairman Sullivan and former South American Hammers legend Carlos Tevez

In 2012 during an interview with Iain Dale David Sullivan had said:

"I believe in coincidence. Get this. Carlos Tévez. Born, 5 February. Cristiano Ronaldo. Born 5 February. Neymar. Born 5 February. All born on the same day as me. Jordan Rhodes, also born 5 February. And you know what, this other player that we didn't sign, also born 5 February.When I saw the Huddersfield guy was the same date as me and the same date as those players, I thought it was written in the stars. Just incredible. An incredible coincidence, isn't it?"
The other player he refers to is believed to have been Billy Sharp.

What other players were born on 5th February?

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THE FOLLY OF LAST SEASON'S TRANSFER STRATEGY!
By S J Chandos 1 Jul 2014 at 08:00
West Ham Till I Die

Watching the World Cup Finals and, in particular, the performances of Algerian striker, Islam Slimani, one is reminded of the club's transfer folly last season. The club invested c.£15m in Andy Carroll, a decision that may yet be vindicated in the medium/long-term, if not currently, in the shorter-term. However, if the club had at the time decided to invest its transfer funds elsewhere, it is sobering to reflect on the fact we could have likely secured both Wilfred Bony (£8m) and Slimani (£6m) for a combined fee of £14m! I am not so sure about their wage demands, but surely we could have got both players for not much more than the c.£70,000 per week that Carroll is allegedly paid. No wonder the board have decided to be more 'hands on' with our transfer dealings this summer! And, no doubt, the addition of a Head of Recruitment will ensure that there is less chance of a repeat of the Bony and Slimani episodes in future.

A Bony-Slimani strike force would certainly have guaranteed goals. The partnership would have had everything, power, pace, technique, intelligent play off the ball and (last but certainly not least) a clinical cutting edge in front of goal. Unfortunately, we lost our opportunity to sign Bony and, his goal scoring record at Swansea last season, probably now renders him unaffordable at £19m. In Slimani's case, it could be that we will come to regret not closing a deal for him in January. It is probable that £6m would have secured him before this World Cup, but will Sporting Lisbon now increase the asking price in the aftermath of his World Cup exploits? I would be very surprised if they did not. So, one must ask, why the club did not follow through on the deal in the last winter transfer window? Its probable that indecision/vacilliation has put the player beyond our reach, especially now other PL and European clubs have been alerted to his ability. Still, you never know, West Ham, may still be able to strike a deal for Slimani. He certainly looks like a striker who could improve us and increase our options up front. Both as competition to Carroll and a striker that can play alongside him.

Talking of Carroll, it will interesting to see if Teddy Sheringham will be able to help him work on key aspects of his game. In particular, his link up play and running off the ball. If West Ham are to adopt a more attractive playing style next season, it stands to reason that Carroll is going to have to contribute more to build up play and be better prepared to convert chances on the ground. Of course, Carroll's ariel ability is a great strength, which we must continue to exploit. However, as a matter of playing policy, the intelligent ball in to the near and far post should replace the aimless punt up field. Caroll needs to adapt his play and show that he is a better all-round technical player than many suppose. He has the potential to do it and, with Sheringham's coaching, he could come on leaps and bounds next season. The big variable factor is whether Carroll can stay fit and available for selection. Some feel that he may be injury prone and next season will probably prove or disprove that proposition.

Fans often express the view that the squad currently lacks a midfield play-maker, someone to orchastrate play in the final third and pick out the killer balls. In that case, they will be pleased to note that we have been linked with a classy player of just that type. Sportsmail are reporting that West Ham are considering bidding for French midfielder, Mathieu Valbuena. He is currently on World Cup duty with the French national squad and normally turns out for Marseille. The speculation is that a c.£6-7m bid will accepted by Marseille and the player is known to be keen on a move to the Premier League. We should monitor this potential deal, because it could prove another significant one, certainly in terms of our commitment to improve our playing style. Who knows, if true, then perhaps we can even offload Diarra and/or Maiga to Marseille as part of the deal?

Finally, it has been reported today that both Fulham and Norwich City have submitted £10m bids for Leeds Utd's Ross McCormack. That is a big fee for a Championship striker, albeit one that scored 28 goals last season. As we know, West Ham have a long running interest in the player and contemplated a £5m punt last January. But is he really worth an inflated £10m fee? Can McCormack reasonably be expected to perform as well in the PL? I can see why he would be seen as a good signing for clubs seeking an immediate return to the PL after relegation, even at £10m, because he virtually guarantees 20 plus goals in the 2nd tier. But has that level of bid effectively priced McCormack out of an immediate PL move?

SJ. Chandos.

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Nice starlet Timothee Kolodziejczak set to become West Ham's third summer signing
Tuesday 1 Jul 2014 8:55 pm
Metro.co.uk

Having already recruited Velez Sarsfield striker Mauro Zarate and Anderlecht anchor man Chiekhou Kouyate, Sam Allardyce appears to be closing in on his third signing of the summer, highly-rated Nice defender Timothee Kolodziejczak (that's just 'Kolo' to you and me).

The Daily Star reports the Hammers look set to sign the former France U-20 starlet for £4million, with the player due in London to discuss personal terms and undergo a medical with the club. The 22-year old left-back had been previously linked to a number of Premier League outfits, most notably QPR and Southampton, who saw the youngster as an ideal replacement for the recently departed Luke Shaw.

Kolodziejczak is due in East London this week to hold talks with the Hammers and undergo a medical ahead of his move, and is expected to put pen to paper on a four-year deal.

As outlined in a previous post, the Irons needed to start filling in holes in the wide areas of the pitch, especially at full-back, and it appears the club are doing just that. 'Kolo' wasn't the only player West Ham identified as a potential signing at left-back, with at one time or another, Norwich's Martin Olsson and Boca Juniors' Emanuel Insua were both tipped to sign at Upton Park.

In addition, reports in Portugal suggest that the Hammers are looking at signing impressive Argentine defender Marcos Rojo. The 24-year old, who can play left-back and at the heart of the defense, was subject of an enquiry from the Hammers, but they were quoted a fee of £16m if they wish to sign the player, who is also a target for Premier League rivals Liverpool.

The impending arrival of 'Kolo' would see the Hammers' summer spending reach double digits, with a total outlay of approximately £11.5m, but it's evident that Allardyce is not content with the group of players he currently has at his disposal, and is eager to bring in several more faces in the coming weeks and months.

Having said goodbye to George McCartney, Jack Collison, Joe Cole and Jordan Spence this summer, the current squad is looking thin in a number of areas, and as expectation mounts on more arrivals, Allardyce and co. are wasting no time in recruiting players for the 2014/15 season.

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