Daily WHUFC News - 3rd October 2014

Mediawatch - 2 October
WHUFC.com
Our daily look at the West Ham United stories making the news
02.10.2014

TheFA.com cover the news that Reece Burke has signed his first pro contract
with the Hammers.

Meanwhile, the Mail Online report that James Collins has been called up to
the Wales squad for their UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifiers against
Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus.

Finally, former Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola has emerged as the frontrunner
to become Fulham's next boss, according to Sky Sports.

The views on this page are taken from the local and national media and do
not necessarily reflect the views of West Ham United

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Reid makes defensive points
WHUFC.com
Winston Reid says West Ham United need to tighten up defensively if they are
to pick up points consistently
01.10.2014

Winston Reid believes West Ham United will quickly climb the Barclays
Premier League table as soon as they eradicate costly defensive errors.
Mistakes have arguably cost the Hammers points in defeats by Southampton and
Manchester United and a draw at Hull City, meaning Reid and his team-mates
go into Sunday's visit of Queens Park Rangers in the bottom half. With
fixtures against the Hoops and fellow Barclays Premier League new boys
Burnley next on the agenda, the No2 said West Ham will be looking to tighten
things up at the back.
"I think, first and foremost, we've played some good stuff this year but
unfortunately we haven't got the amount of points we'd like to have," said
the New Zealand captain. "I think we will be looking to be doing two things
this Sunday. One, we want to win the game and score a few goals and two,
from a defensive point of view we want to keep a clean sheet because that's
something we haven't done so far this season. "I think if we can get those
two things right then we'll be all right."

West Ham's uncharacteristic defensive record has been in stark contrast to
their potency in front of goal. The Hammers have scored ten and conceded ten
in their opening six league matches - a record Reid is not altogether proud
of. "We've been good at scoring goals this season so far, but defensively
we've not quite managed to keep a clean sheet. We need to do better in that
regard, not just as a defensive unit but as a whole team. Come kick-off, I'm
sure we'll get it right."

While Reid is confident West Ham can keep Harry Redknapp's side at bay
defensively, he also knows it will not be easy for the home side to find a
way past a familiar figure in the QPR goal. Robert Green played for six
seasons with the Hammers before departing for Loftus Road in summer 2012.
Having shared a dressing room and pitch with Green for two seasons, the
centre-back knows the quality the England international goalkeeper
possesses. "When Greeny was here he was a good goalkeeper for us and I'm
sure he'll be doing his best to stop us," said Reid. "I thought Greeny did
well for us. He spoke a lot and was a great shot-stopper and pulled off some
good saves when we needed him to. "He has been capped by England and has
played a number of years in the Premier League, so he has been around the
block and is an experienced goalkeeper."

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Jenkinson called up for England U21s
WHUFC.com
On loan full back Carl Jenkinson is in the England U21 squad for the UEFA
European Championship play-off
02.10.2014

Carl Jenkinson has been selected in Gareth Southgate's England U21 squad for
the Young Lions' UEFA U21 European Championship play-off tie against
Croatia. England's youngsters are a two-legged play-off away from next
summer's tournament finals in the Czech Republic, following a successful
qualifiying campaign, which saw them drop just two points from their ten
games to finish top of Group One. Croatia, meanwhile, finished first in
Group Five, with 19 points from eight matches. Right-back Jenkinson wiill
now hope to add to his five caps at this level across the two games, with
the home leg being played first at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium
on Friday 10 October.
Southgate's squad will then travel to Croatia for the second leg in Vinkovci
the following Tuesday, with a place in the finals the target.
Jenkinson, who joined West Ham United on loan from Arsenal this summer, has
enjoyed a varied international career to date. Born in Harlow to a Finnish
mother, he has represented both countries at age group level, but elected to
make himself available to England in 2012. The 22-year-old made his senior
debut for Roy Hodgson's side in Sweden in November of the same year.

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Hammers commit to new guidelines
WHUFC.com
The Hammers have begun a new concussion screening protocol
02.10.2014

West Ham United have introduced a new Club-wide concussion screening
protocol to help safeguard players of all ages from potentially serious head
injuries. A concussion is a disturbance in brain function caused by a blow
to the head that can result in a wide variety of symptoms and signs,
including headache, unsteadiness, confusion and, in the most severe cases, a
short-term change in personality.
Following a number of high-profile incidents last season - including Guy
Demel suffering a major head injury and concussion at Cardiff City in
January - a decision was taken by the Premier League to formulate new
regulations to protect players based on expert guidelines developed at the
Fourth International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich in
November 2013. The new Premier League rules make clear that, when a serious
head injury is suffered on the pitch, that the decision of the team doctor
must be final. Each Club also now provides a 'Tunnel Doctor' at home matches
to offer an expert assessment if requested by a team doctor to help support
the medical staff treating players on the pitch and to support injured
players leaving the field of play, by monitoring and treating them as well
as arranging safe onward transfer to the appropriate medical facility when
required. West Ham have taken the guidelines a step further in protecting
all the Club's players, with Dr Weiler and head of medical and sports
science Stijn Vandenbroucke overseeing the introduction of baseline
concussion screening for Hammers players at every age level level. "We are
doing baseline concussion screening - called a SCAT3 (Sport Concussion
Assessment Tool) test - for West Ham players at all ages from 13 upwards,"
Dr Weiler explained. "A Child SCAT3 test is used for children aged 12 and
under. "As a Club, we are committed to taking concussion very seriously and
this process also helps to educate everyone across the Club of its
importance. "At first-team level, Guy Demel was concussed during a match
last season, while young Dan Potts suffered a concussion at Arsenal the
previous season [and Matt Taylor away at Stoke], so the players are
unfortunately acutely aware of the serious nature of concussion, the
unpleasant effects and how horrible it can be. "The new Premier League rules
and our own Club screening will give us the best possible chance to spot
when a player has suffered a concussion, remove them from the pitch and
provide the relevant treatment to enable them to make a full recovery.
Hopefully our commitment across the club will help raise awareness across
the community of the serious nature of concussion so that football players
at all levels, and not just Premier League footballers, are better equipped
to manage concussion safely."

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Happy birthday, Sir
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer

Everyone at KUMB.com would like to wish Sir Trevor Brooking a very happy
66th birthday. Arguably West Ham United's greatest living legend, Brooking -
born on 2 October 1948 - spent virtually his entire career at the Boleyn
Ground having made his debut in 1967. Capped 47 times by England, a figure
beaten only by Bobby Moore (108 caps), the midfielder made 647 appearances
for the Hammers before finally hanging up his boots in 1984 at the age of
35. However his finest moment came in the 1980 FA Cup Final in which he
stooped to meet Stuart Pearson's 13th-minute cross-cum-shot to score the
only goal of the game. In his new book, 'My Life In Football', Brooking
reveals it is a moment that he is asked to recall more than any other by
supporters. "I remember the goal clear as day," he writes. "The ball
bounced out to Pearson who was at the corner of the 18-yard box on the right
of the goal. Like any striker in that position, Stuart decided to shoot
ather than pass to a team-mate. It was my good luck that his shot was
dragged across the penalty box, hurtling in my direction. "Simply by falling
backwards I was able to divert the ball with my head towards goal. The power
of Stuart's shot was such that not even Pat Jennnings or the two full-backs
on the line could stop it! "As the ball flew into the net the goalscorer -
me - had a quick look at the referee to make sure he wasn't blowing for some
offence and then raced off towards the touchline with arms raised. Billy
Bonds grabbed me, demanding: 'What are you doing scoring with your head!?"

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Ambrosini: I nearly joined West Ham
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer

Retired former Italian international Massimo Ambrosini has revealed that he
came close to joining West Ham United. The 37-year-old midfielder, capped 35
times for his country hung up his boots at the end of the 2013/14 season
following a long and distinguished career (spent largely at AC Milan).
However Ambrosini, who is currently working as a TV pundit admitted that he
came close to becoming a Hammer last season - before eventually opting to
see out his career in Italy with Fiorentina. "Last year I was very close to
signing for West Ham before going to Fiorentina," he said. "I was still
happy to join Fiorentina but I would have loved to play in England. "I love
the Premier League; the passion, the stadiums and fans there. For them,
football is not a matter of life or death but a game is a good thing.
However, the deal fell through and I'm glad I joined Fiorentina."

KUMB.com reported back in May 2013 how West Ham and representatives of
Ambrosini had discussed a potential transfer. The former Milan star, who
travelled to London for preliminary talks was offered a two-year deal but
decided instead to remain in Serie A.

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Noble snubbed again
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer

On-loan Carl Jenkinson has been named in Gareth Southgate's latest England
under 21 squad. Right back Jenkinson, who is at West Ham United on a
season-long loan from Arsenal has been named in the junior squad for next
week's European play-off against Croatia. Jenkinson is the only Hammer to
have been selected in either the Under 21 or Senior squad - which represents
a further snub to Mark Noble, who Roy Hodgson's right-hand man Ray Lewington
watched destroy Liverpool little more than a week ago, and the in-form
Stewart Downing.

England Under 21 squad

Goalkeepers
Jonathan Bond (Watford), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Sam Johnstone
(Manchester United).

Defenders
Calum Chambers (Arsenal), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Garbutt
(Everton), Ben Gibson (Middlesbrough), Carl Jenkinson (West Ham United, on
loan from Arsenal), Michael Keane (Burnley, on loan from Manchester United),
Jamaal Lascelles (Nottingham Forest, on loan from Newcastle United), Liam
Moore (Leicester City), Luke Shaw (Manchester United).

Midfielders
Lewis Baker (Chelsea), Tom Carroll (Swansea City, on loan from Tottenham
Hotspur), Jake Forster-Caskey (Brighton & Hove Albion), Will Hughes (Derby
County), Thomas Ince (Hull City), Alex Pritchard (Brentford, on loan from
Tottenham Hotspur), Nathan Redmond (Norwich City).

Forwards
Patrick Bamford (Middlesbrough, on loan from Chelsea), Saido Berahino (West
Bromwich Albion), Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Cauley Woodrow (Fulham).


Full England squad

Goalkeepers
Fraser Forster (Southampton), Ben Foster (West Bromwich Albion), Joe Hart
(Manchester City).

Defenders
Leighton Baines (Everton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne
(Southampton), Kieran Gibbs (Arsenal), Phil Jagielka (Everton), John Stones
(Everton).

Midfielders
Fabian Delph (Aston Villa), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana
(Liverpool), James Milner (Manchester City), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
(Arsenal), Jonjo Shelvey (Swansea City), Raheem Sterling (Liverpool), Andros
Townsend (Tottenham Hotspur), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal).

Forwards
Rickie Lambert (Liverpool), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Welbeck
(Arsenal).

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Many happy returns for ex-Hammer
KUMb.com
Filed: Thursday, 2nd October 2014
By: Staff Writer

Former Hammer Robert Green says he is looking forward to making his return
to the Boleyn Ground this weekend. 34-year-old Green spent six seasons at
West Ham between 2006 and 2012 before a contract dispute led to his
departure from the club. However the former England international admitted
today that he was looking forward to returning to his old stomping ground.
"It's nice to go back to somewhere that was my club for six years," he told
qpr.co.uk. "I loved it and everyone there was good to me. I played there for
six years and then I felt it was time to move on and took on a new challenge
with QPR. "Winning at Old Trafford in my first season [at West Ham] to stay
up on the last day has got to be up there as one of my best moments. My last
game, which was winning in the play-off final, was a great day for me and
for everybody at the club."

Green, who made a total of 241 appearances for the Hammers also maintained
that his current and former clubs were of a similar stature. "There's
similarities in ownership and ambition of looking to move on but they feel
like very different clubs," he mused. "They've both got fantastic attributes
but in very different ways. West Ham are moving to a new ground and QPR are
looking to do the same. QPR are competing with Chelsea, Fulham and Brentford
for fans and there's lots of derby games. "On the other side of London you
either support West Ham or Spurs, perhaps even Orient - but you wouldn't put
them in the same bracket."

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MANY HARRY RETURNS
By Bianca Westwood 2 Oct 2014 at 08:00
West Ham till I Die

This is a rush job. It's going to be what you might call short and sweet. I
make no apologies folks…I have had a hectic week. I spent the weekend laid
up in bed battling what felt like a rare and severe strain of influenza. It
hasn't been pretty in my house what with the sneezes and the snots. I've
been keeping Kleenex in business and I had an uncanny likeness for Jim Smith
(in a long wig) from blowing my nose so much. But I digress…

I spent Monday in a horizontal position (not in the good way) and I decided
to recuperate by watching the first season of The West Wing to which I
quickly became addicted. I put off writing my blog, firstly because of my
aforementioned addiction, and secondly because I tend to leave things to the
last minute. In my defence I don't like to write my blog too early in the
week because of the ever-changing nature of events in football land…plus
have you ever watched The West Wing?? Decent.

Tuesday was spent preparing stats and doing my research for Brighton v
Cardiff for the Gillette Soccer Special on Tuesday night (good game by the
way) so my aim was to spend a bit of time on Wednesday writing a lovely blog
for you lovely West Ham fans.

Best laid plans and all that!!

I knew I was due to interview Nathan Dyer at the Liberty stadium that
afternoon, so the wonderful Sky travel girl Laura booked me a train from
Paddington, giving me simultaneously a peaceful journey and the opportunity
to read up on the Swans season, mentally prepare questions, arrive in
Swansea at 1pm, do the interview and finally write my blog on the train back
to London. Perfect.

No.

Get to Woodford station, no tubes. Have to drive. Lovely. Cut a long story
short (well I did say short and sweet) the drive was an 8 hour round trip,
the interview went well but now, instead of getting stuck into The West Wing
season 2, it's late and I'm here ranting to you lot about my pitiful few
days. Do you feel sorry for me yet? No? Ok!

My mum used to say time and again 'never put off till tomorrow what could be
done today', which never failed to aggravate me because more often than not
it was about cleaning my room, but the fact remains, infuriatingly, as
always, she's right! (I'm super tidy now by the way.) So here we are. For
starters I haven't read any of your comments over the weekend so I'm not
sure whether we're still living in a state of blissful optimism or if we're
moaning about the wheels falling off in the not-too-distant future. I do
recall a good many fans on here were predicting an absolute spanking at Old
Trafford but I was quietly confident that that wouldn't happen. And not only
did that not happen but in fact, United were actually hanging on for dear
life by the end.

I knew we were already dealing with a midfield without Kouyate so I was more
than concerned to see Mark Noble out. Plus the fact he's in my fantasy team
so that nugget of information didn't go down brilliantly. Clearly I feared
the worst when we'd conceded two after 22 minutes. It was a bit of a
shambles really, caught out twice like that and opened up like a can of
sardines. It didn't bode well. I tweeted as much saying that normal West Ham
service had resumed, however, I did secretly hope that we had a bit more
about us these days and we would pose some sort of threat for the remainder
of the game. I wasn't disappointed in that respect. After a spot of head
tennis Sakho put us in front and you could tell United were vulnerable. We
more than held our own and although Rooney dominated the backpages the
bylines for us were positive:

~ Diego Poyet showed maturity beyond his years and experience and
demonstrated there is a place for him in the midfield when he's called upon.

~ Diafra Sakho broke a 26 year record by scoring in each of his first four
starts. Even the great Leeeee-roy (I still do that in my head when his name
is mentioned) Rosenior was happy for him and it gives the player plenty of
confidence going forward.

~ We could have nicked it right at the death but for a Nolan forehead and a
scarily accurate linesman.

Sidebar – Nolan being back – personally I'm happy with that. I know a few of
you on here won't be enamoured with the prospect of the returning captain
but despite the shortcomings highlighted frequently and furiously by West
Ham fans, he does tend to pop up with a goal or two at crucial moments. As
he gets older and ever-slower I think his role will become more that of an
impact substitute. Which he'd be terrific at by the way. You just hope Sam
Allardyce picks the best team from the attractive options he now has at his
disposal. I guess we'll see.

~ We showed great character to come back from two goals, we created several
chances, playing through the channels we've got signings who can hurt
opposition with pace, we're continuing to play it on the deck and we are
much, much harder to beat.

~ And finally, we are showing surprising signs of strong self-belief which
is novel for us and, with that in mind, I think we could give QPR one hell
of a beating. With our team now, the best I've seen in a bloody long time,
we should take all three points quite comfortably. And then some!

I interviewed Robert Green last week for Soccer Saturday. I'm sure you'll
give him a warm welcome back when he takes his place between the sticks on
Sunday. But after that I hope you give him hell! He's a great guy though and
a terrifically honest interviewee. He admitted that QPR have not been at it
so far this season, especially at White Hart Lane and Old Trafford where
they got a good hiding. He said they'd been too 'nice', not ruthless enough
defensively and hadn't done enough to put the oppositions back line under
pressure either. I think we've got the personnel now that can really take
advantage of that. QPR did much better last weekend against a Southampton
team currently rampant, but, without Austin's worldy, the defeat would have
been far more emphatic. Kranjcar almost stole another late point for the
second week running with yet another classy free kick but this time the
crossbar had other ideas. We'll have to watch that!

Our old friend Harry has openly admitted he hasn't quite found the best way
to play with his team. He hasn't established the right system. He intended
to adopt a back three like he used to some success during his Portsmouth
days but, like Van Gaal , he had to abandon those plans pretty sharpish. His
back line are still getting to grips with the league and each other. Rio is
obviously not the player he was, his partnership with Steven Caulker is
still a work in progress and the two fullbacks Traore and Isla are wing
backs by trade and are yet to settle adequately into the four. All good news
for us of course and I'm confident Allardyce has identified the weaknesses
to exploit and expose there.

In the centre of the park players like Barton, Sandro and Mutch have
struggled with fitness and in the final third, having sold Loic Remy, QPR
are relying heavily on Austin as the lone front man and the team as a whole
have only managed four goals so far this season.

On top of all that the Hoops are still looking for their first away win. I
don't think they'll get it at the Boleyn. Although, unfortunately for us,
Harry Redknapp's record at his old stomping ground is pretty damn good. P7,
W5, D1, L1. Even Pompey used to give us a slap at home under Harry! Only
Piquionne has provided the claret and blue faithful with any glory over our
former gaffer when we beat Spurs one nil just over four years ago exactly.
I'm dreaming of putting a few more than that past Greeny this weekend.

As I write this there's no solid news online on Noble and I'm assuming he's
out, but with or without him I feel we have more than enough to win quite
resolutely. For me this is far more of a test than the trip to Old Trafford.
The West Ham of yore would undoubtedly give a winless team a big fat juicy
victory for their troubles but I just don't see that happening this time.

For those who return, Rio, Robert, Bobby and Harry, I predict you won't be
having a Super Sunday.

Wasn't exactly short and sweet was it in the end? Once I start I do tend to
go on. Now for The West Wing!

B x

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IN DEFENCE OF HARRY REDKNAPP
By Iain Dale 2 Oct 2014 at 14:00
West Ham Till I DIe

Guest Post by Neil Clack

I doubt there are many subjects that divide West Ham fans opinions as much
as the man who'll be sitting in the opposition dugout this Sunday. For me,
personally, the Redknapp years coincided with a happy time in my life and I
thoroughly enjoyed going to West Ham during that period, so I accept that I
could be looking back through rose-tinted specs here, but the main reason I
rate Redknapp as a manager is simply that I liked the style of football we
played under him.

It didn't always come off, just as it didn't always come off under Greenwood
and Lyall, but I always thought the spirit was there and that Redknapp
strove to play all-out attacking football, with an emphasis on skill and
flair, dribbling and passing along the floor.

Of course, it never reaches our high ideals, and I am aware there is a
certain 'romanticism' attached to the so-called 'West Ham way'. Neither am I
blind to it's faults – with so many players pushed forward, an exposed
defence produces some crazy results. We could be on the receving end of a
right hammering one week, but then out-play opponents and score a few
ourselves the next. As Ron Greenwood put it himself, "if the other team
score three then we'll try and score four!". For me, personally, that is the
kind of football I always want to see.

The Guardian got it spot on I thought when they took a trip down to
Portsmouth's training ground before their FA Cup win in 2008.

On a blustery day at Portsmouth's borrowed training ground in Eastleigh this
week he drilled his players with relish…..only intervening when a short pass
was overlooked in favour of a hopeful long option. Schooled in the West Ham
philosophy of Ron Greenwood and John Lyall, he has an abiding faith in a
passing game but is astute enough to have incorporated the power and pace
necessary in modern football in a squad containing several athletic giants

I have to disagree with those that say Redknapp simpy flung his sides
together any-old-how. Di Canio just did as he wanted and was popping up all
over the place they say….well, yes, that was the idea!

The skilful players, the creators who are your matchwinners, should be
trusted to roam where they want and encouraged to play with freedom, in my
opinion. I'm not going to compare the likes of Di Canio, Berkovic, or Trevor
Sinclair to Cruyff and Maradona, Christian Ronaldo, or Messi, but one of the
main reasons the greats became what they were/are was because their managers
recognised they were intelligent enough to work things out for themselves on
the pitch. They were given loosly-defined roles in the final third, as was
Trevor Brooking by Ron Greenwood for both West Ham and England

I think it's more difficult, and requires a lot more tactical awareness, to
find a system that creates a platform from which flair players can operate
than just setting up your team in a rigid formation where every player has a
clearely defined role – negative tactics that were sadly in vogue with many
British managers a decade or so ago, and took English football backwards, in
my opinion.

John Hartson, in his prime, was a powerful header of the ball, but he also
had good ability when balls were played into his feet, as they often were at
West Ham, often from a central midfield partnership of Bishop and Moncur, a
pairing that would flourish in today's modern Premier league, in my opinion.

Hartson was a a bit of a nutter who sadly went off the rails with alcohol
and gambling problems, culminating in an arrest for assaulting a plant-pot
in his home town in Wales. I think it's unfair to blame the manager for all
that, as discipline was generally good under Redknapp. He banned alcohol
from the players' lounge, introduced the concept of a fitness triainer for
the first time at West Ham and had a reputation for dishing out a rollocking
when it was needed, but sometimes if you have a player with serious
problems, who is a liability, then there's not a lot a manager can do?
Except perhaps get rid of their influence, as Alex Ferguson did several
times with Keith Gillespie, Lee Sharpe, Norman Whiteside, Jaap Stamm and a
few others, inspite of their popularity with the crowd (sadly, so far, it
seems Ferguson knew what he was doing by letting Ravel Morrison go too).

We got excellent money for Hartson (7 million), ripped Wimbledon off really,
and bought Di Canio and Marc Viven-Foe with the proceeds (oh, and Scott
Minto – not quite as good, obviously!). Hartson did very little at Wimbledon
before a renaissance at Celtic in the inferior Scottish league, but he never
did much in the Prem again.

But style of play is so subjective, just personal taste really, noone is
right and noone is wrong, so I'd like to take a closer, more factual look,
at some of the other accusations often aimed at Harry's time at West Ham.
Let's remember where the club was when Redknapp tookover. We were relegation
material, and remained so for a couple of seasons. We had a relatively small
ground and no outside investment, unlike some of our rivals at the time:
Middlesboro, Fulham, Bradford, Blackburn.

Like a politician you can play with statistics and balance sheets to suit
your arguments and Terence Brown certainly did in his first post-Redknapp
chairman's report. Brown is correct though, there was a point (Redknapp's
last season) when we had the 7th largest wage bill in the Premier league and
were not too far behind Arsenal who were in 6th place in the highest wages
list in that one season (although we were way behind the top 5 – Man U,
Leeds, Chelsea, Newcastle and Liverpool).

But what rarely gets mentioned is that there were a whole host of clubs
whose wage bills were not a lot lower than our own at that point –
Middlesboro, Fulham, Sheff Wed, Aston Villa, Bradford, Tottenham, Nottm
Forest and Everton. Infact our wage bill had been significantly lower than
all of those clubs during most of the Redknapp years, and it was only in his
last season that West Ham's reached those levels.

All those clubs were getting themselves heavily into debt. It was not only
us. You had to have a high wage bill, just to be able to compete at that
level.

But this is the crucial bit that rarely gets mentioned either- during his
whole time as maanger, Redknapp was never given money to fund transfers.
Every transfer fee had to be financed by a sale.

At the time of his sacking, Hammers News ran a complete list of all the ins
and outs during Redknapp's time that revealed he had actually made a profit
on transfer fees. The Observer newspaper also at that time published an
article on Premier League spending that showed that overall, ins and outs,
only two Premier league clubs, West Ham and Southampton, did not have a big
minus figure in their total transfer balance during the previous five
seasons.

All the other 15 clubs mentioned above had spent massively on trensfer fees
during that period so, overall, taking into account wages aswell, they had
all spent a lot more money than West Ham. By rights, we should have been
struggling down the bottom of the table, 16th at best, season after season,
but by finishing 8th, 5th, 9th in consecutive seasons we were over-achieving
by a long way.

And I think therein lay the problem. Harry Redknapp was a victim of his own
success and the goalposts got moved. A team that really should have been
battling down the bottom was finishing consistently in the top half,
including a 5th place. Of course, Redknapp was an ambitious manager and
naturally wanted to keep the club moving forward, Brown himself was also
ambitious, stating in one chairman's report during Redknapp's reign that his
aim was to establish the club as a top 8 side and, of course, the fans are
always going to expect more of the same. But, with no investment and a small
ground that was unrealistic, ne impossible.

After years of successful wheelng and dealing eg. Matty Holmes, Cottee,
Bilic, Rieper, Hartson, Lomas, Ian Pearce, Hislop on a free, Sinclair,
Viven-Foe, Kanoute, Sinclair, Lazaridis, many of whom were sold on for big
profits, nooone can dispute that Redknapp spent some of the Rio money badly.

Less than 7 of the £18 million received for Rio went on transfer fees, but,
yes, there are wages to consider. (According to West Ham's chief accountant
Nick Igoe at a fan forum in Feb 2005, the decision to sell Rio was taken by
the board as they feared an EU law was going to abolish transfer fees and
that the defender might leave for free at a later date – he also said
Redknapp was given a 300k bonus "for good service to the club and his good
work in the negotiaitions during the Rio sale").

Christain Dailly at £1.75 milliion was a good signing, in my opinion. A
handy squad player for seven seasons, twice having his contract extended
under Pardew in the Premier league, and, as Pardew often alluded to, Dailly
was an excellent influence around the training ground.

Rigobert Song was sold for a small profit after a year so we didn't lose too
much money on him (Cologne were probably paying some of his wages when he
went on loan there for a few months before being sold to Lens). He went on
to have a decent career at a decent level, captaining Galataseray aswell as
Cameroon.

Todorov, Foxe, Soma – all youngsters bought for their potential.
Unfortunatey injuries blighted Todorov's career so it's difficult to judge
him, but he did have a good goals to appearances ratio in the Premier League
and Championship for Portsmouth and Wigan, before injury wrecked his career.
It's probably fair to say that both Todorov and Foxe (an ever present for
Pompey when they won the Championship) found their correct level in the
Championship, but neither Todorov, Foxe or Soma could have been earning that
high wages at West Ham as we would not have been able to offload them so
easily a year or so after they all joined.

Titi Camara was by far the worst of all Redknapp's signings, the one that is
refered to most, and the one on which hangs the most suspicion. It's
impossible to defend this signing, but at £2 million, he did cost less than
the £3.5 million Liverpool paid for him 18 months earlier. Camara had
actually made a good start to his career at Liverpool, finishing top scorer
behind Owen in 99/2000 and the fans had taken to him up there, but something
went wrong and he fell out with Houllier.

I'm not for one moment going to defend the signing of Camara, but all
managers do make bad signings. Greats managers like Ferguson and Wenger made
a few, wasting millions on the likes of Veron and Jeffers, but I can see the
logic behind the Camara deal. Redknapp probably thought, wrongly, that he
could get the striker back to what he was in France, where he had a very
good scoring record. I believe Redknapp was acting in the best interests of
the club when he made that signing. It was precisely that sort of gambling
attitude that brought us Paulo Di Canio.

Not part of the Rio money, but another signing that often gets lumped in
with it is Gary Charles, an ex England international. Again, classic
Redknapp, believing he could get a player whose career had lost it's way,
back on track. Of course, Redknapp was badly wrong again here, and I am not
pretending it was anything other than a bad buy, but I can see a logic to
the signing. Fortunately, West Ham had sensibly taken out insurance on
Charles' dodgy knee. It may well have been serious alcoholism that finished
Charles' career, but officially it was the knee and the insurance company
paid up the rest of his contract when it was terminated. To put that into
perspective, Charles cost the club, in transfer fee and wages, less than
Vladimir Labant (a Roeder signing), whose 4 year contract was also ripped up
but paid up in full by the club.

It is the accusations and rumours that Redknapp took bungs that leaves a bad
taste for all of us. Who really knows what went on? Maybe Terence Brown
doesn't actually know, though he suspects and has insinuated it, to a few
people.

It's so difficult to seperate rumours from facts, or to know who or what to
believe? That Mark Redkanpp was involved in his father's dealings is one of
the most repeated rumours, but, as far as I'm aware, has no substance? I
once spoke to West Ham's former Chief executive Paul Aldridge about this,
and he dismissed it out of hand. He said that on match days he used to chat
openly in the players lounge with Mark Redknapp, who regularly attended
games, and he thinks maybe that's how the false rumours started (I am aware,
of course, that Aldridge could well have been lying, but my gut feeling is
that he was genuine).

Author Tom Bower investigated Redknapp's transfers as thoroughly as anyone
has, especially the Rio transfer and Song and Camara deals. Thanks to
Terence Brown's assistance, Bower had access to documents, but makes no
reference to Mark Redknapp in his book 'Broken Dreams'. I'm sure Bower would
have said something if Redknapp's son had been involved as it would add to
the sense of scandal he was trying to create. He makes a very big deal of
the relationship between Arsenal's David Dein and his agent son in another
chapter.

The BBC programme from ten years ago, 'Fergie & Son', mainly concentrated on
Alex Ferguson's transfer dealings, but also mentioned Allardyce & son, Mick
MaCarthy & son and Howard Wilkinson & Son, as did several newspaper
articles, which also revealed how Kevin Keegan and Stuart Pearce, manager
and assistant at Man City, both had shares in an agency that City bought
players from. Again, why no mention of Redknapp & son in these programmes
and aticles? It would be such an obvious choice if it was true?

It's often mentioned how Redknapp used 'unscrupulous' agents like Pini
Zahavi, Willie Mckay and Rene Hauge, but the sad fact is Zahavi and Mckay
are two of football's most established fixers and you have to use people
like them if you want to bring good players to your club, especially foreign
players. By condemning deals involving Zahavi and McKay you are condemning
pretty much every manager and Chief executive who's ever worked in the
Premier league.

Behind the sweeping statements, do we know exactly which players were signed
through these agents? As far as I am aware, the only Zahavi player signed by
Redknapp was Eyal Berkovic. However, after Redkanpp left, Zahavi continued
as the agent involved in a number of West ham's signings, such as Rebrov,
Benayoun, Katan, Pantsill, Tevez and Mascherano.

As far as I am aware, there were only three Willie Mckay players signed by
Redknapp – Marc Vivien-Foe, Song and Camara.

According to Bower's 'Broken Dreams', it was actually O'Leary (George
Graham's prodigy) who insisted on Rene Hauge being involved in the Rio deal.
Hauge's ban was over so there was nothing ilegal about it and, as far as I'm
aware, I don't think Hauge was involved in any other West Ham deals does
anyone know? Apart from Soma perhaps?

I am suspicious, and always have been ever since all the rumours first
surfaced years ago, but I am also sceptical as I've met so many supposedly
barstool 'in-the-knows', and even journos, over the years who claim they
know something, but when it comes down to it they know no more than you and
I, and sometimes I can't help feeling that they are just rumours and gossip
that go round like a big game of chinese whispers, getting more embelished
as they're passed on.

A few more points:

- The club's accounts show the wage bill actually rose under Roeder.

- £25 million of the debt upon relegation in 2003 was money spent on the new
stands.

- It's a myth, in my opinion, that we were nearly relegated in Redknapp's
last season. We actually went 6th after beating Charlton 5-0 on Boxing day,
but after the FA Cup run (with good wins at Old Trafford and Sunderland),
key players were rested for two league games before the big quarter final
with Tottenham. We lost, everyone was gutted, and the seson just petered out
into nothing as there was nothing to play for. There were some poor games
and we slipped down the table, not mathematically safe until three games to
go, but I never felt we were ever in danger of going down?

But finally, and this is is the ultimate irony, In the end, the size of the
wage bill and debt didn't matter! (as long as we had remained in Premier
League, which I believe we would have under Redknapp). Scudamore at the
Premier League and the TV companies, with their professional financial
forecasts of a never ending TV bounty, were right after all. Brown and
Deloitte Touche's fears of the TV money drying up were unfounded and wrong.
(In his Chairman's report after sacking Redknapp, Brown got it wrong about
the TV money, and irony of ironies, as a result of those later masssive TV
deals that he never saw coming, Brown was able to sell the club and make a
cool 40 million pound profit for himself!).

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers on Lee for Bolton speculation
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham claim to have had no contact from Bolton over a possible 93 day
loan move for Elliott Lee. Reports the striker could join former Hammer Rob
Hall at the club were greeted with surprise from the Upton Park hierachy.
One told ClaretandHugh: "We've heard nothing from Bolton on that one. As far
as we know it's just media talk. "Mind you they did their brains on Hall who
has played one Capital League match this season and managed two goals from
24 appearances last term."

Reports emerged earlier today that a 93-day loan deal seeming the most
viable option. Bolton want to boost their attacking option after an abysmal
start to the season which sees them in second off bottom spot in the
Championship. But the Hammers insist that there has been no move for Lee and
our source said: "If he does go out anywhere we will want assurances that he
will get regular first team football but there's been nothing from Bolton."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hidden Carroll costs send fee up and up
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

The cost of injury stricken Andy Carroll to West Ham United just rises and
rises. A ClaretandHugh probe has discovered that the deal with Liverpool
also includes £500,000 payments for each season we remain in the Premier
League up to four . And despite missing half of last season and managing
just two goals the Irons have handed over the first £500,000 payment to
Liverpool for that campaign. And a top insider told us: "Potentially another
£1.5 million could take the tranafer bill to £18.5 million rather than the
widely quoted 16.5 million."Up to now, hes not the best of buys, as he's
also the highest paid player at the club, but let's hope he comes good."
ClaretandHugh reported this morning that Newcastle had shown interest in the
summer and that the could come back should manager Alan Pardew hold onto his
job

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Noble's "strange" injury
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Mark Noble's chances of returning to the team for the Queens Park Rangers
game appear to be on the slide. And that means Diego Poyet could again be in
central midfield for the game following his start against Manchester United
last weekend. Hopes had been rising that Noble – given he was in no pain
from the calf/shin injury – would be very much in the frame for Sunday's
game. But following a scan it seems there are some complications with a
source telling ClaretandHugh: "It's a strange injury, we just do not know
how long it will take." The comment was confirmed by www.physioroom.com who
have no projected return date for the midfielder.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Newcaste AC interest may rest on Pardew's future
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Newcastle United were keen to discover Andy Carroll's availability in the
summer and the Hammers believe they could return if Alan Pardew keeps his
job. ClaretandHugh has discovered from a Boleyn insider that Newcastle were
'sniffing' around in July and August. Pardew's position remains uncertain on
Tyneside but we understand that talks about the former hammers boss' future
could involve discussions about a Carroll return home. The player has two
children living in the city! The Irons are keen to keep the player and
certainly weren't interested in the £10m bid they were likely to receive had
they shown any interest in Newcastle's position. A source told us
exclusively: " Newcastle were sniffing around but Andy has work to do here –
he has things to prove to everybody. "It's been difficult for him and us but
we all know at his best he is a very good player indeed and a real asset.
"There has been no concrete offer from Newcastle but it's reasonable to say
that should Pardew remain at the club there could be."

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Downing heads Fabregas, Hazard, Sterling
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on October 2, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho have been a revelation this season but
Stewart Downing is emerging as the most influential Hammer over the early
games. And since he was used in the diamond formation the guy has truly
blossomed to the point where he is looking for and talking about an England
recall. A new set of stats from @EPL Statman proves the point as Downing now
heads the list of players responsible for creating most Premier League
chances this season.

Here's the full list:
Downing 20
Fabregas 20
Cabella 17
Silva 16
Hazard 15
Sigurdsson 14
Sterling 14
Barton 13
Ramsey 13
Larsson 13

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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