Daily WHUFC News - 2nd September 2014

Morgan spices up Hammers
WHUFC.com
France international midfielder Morgan Amalfitano has become West Ham
United's ninth summer signing
01.09.2014

West Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of France
international Morgan Amalfitano. The 29-year-old, who can play in a variety
of midfield roles, has linked up with the Hammers from French Ligue 1 club
Olympique de Marseille on a permanent deal for an undisclosed fee.
Amalfitano spent last season on loan at Barclays Premier League side West
Bromwich Albion, for whom he scored four goals in 31 appearances. After
completing his deadline-day move to east London, the Nice-born player told
West Ham TV he is looking forward to his second crack at English football.
"It's very good news and I'm very happy to come to this big club," he began.
"I've waited a long time, but I am very happy to have signed here. The Club
wanted me a lot and for that I waited for West Ham and now I'm here. "The
manager explained to me how the team plays and how he needs me. I explained
to him where I prefer as my position in his team. This is a new team with
very good players with great experience of this league. I think everything
can go well and I hope we have a good season. "I prefer to play behind the
striker, but last year with West Brom I played on the right. I like to cross
the ball too, but I can also give through passes from behind the striker.
The coach will see what happens in every game and if he finds another
position for me in the team, there is no problem for me. "I enjoyed my first
year in English football and for that reason I have come back and hopefully
I can improve again. The first year was good for my experience and I will
try to help West Ham now by giving my best and continue to improve in this
league. I like this country and this is the best league."

Able to play in central midfield, behind the central striker or out wide,
Amalfitano came through the same AS Cannes academy that produced France
internationals Zinedine Zidane, Patrick Vieira and Gael Clichy. At 18, he
moved to Sedan, where he began his professional career in 2003. In five
seasons, he totalled 137 appearances before moving to Lorient in the summer
of 2008. Amalfitano discovered his goalscoring touch in Brittany, netting 15
goals in 121 games in all competitions and attracting the attention of some
of France's biggest clubs. The summer of 2011 saw Marseille snap him up on a
free transfer. Amalfitano's debut for the club saw him win the Champions'
Trophy as Marseille defeated Ligue 1 champions Lille 5-4 in Morocco. The
2011/12 season also ended with a trophy as he played the full 120 minutes in
a 1-0 extra-time victory over Lyon in the French League Cup final. The same
campaign saw Amalfitano win his first cap for France in a 2-1 friendly
victory over Germany. The 2013/14 campaign saw the midfielder move to The
Hawthorns on a season-long loan. Amalfitano capped an impressive first
season in English football with an outstanding individual goal in West
Brom's 2-1 victory at Manchester United a year ago. He would love nothing
more than to repeat that experience when West Ham travel to Old Trafford on
27 September. "I hope so! It was a fantastic game for our team and if I can
do that again I would do so with pleasure. For the time being, I need to
work with this team and win as many games as I can for West Ham."

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Diame departs
WHUFC.com
West Ham United can confirm Mohamed Diame has joined Hull City on a
permanent basis
01.09.2014

West Ham United can confirm that midfielder Mohamed Diame has joined
Barclays Premier League club Hull City on a permanent basis for an
undisclosed fee.
The 27-year-old Senegal international departs the Boleyn Ground after a
little more than two years, having made 79 appearances and scored seven
goals in Claret and Blue. With just ten months remaining on Diame's
contract, the Hammers reluctantly accepted an offer from Hull. West Ham
United would like to thank Mohamed for his efforts and wish him all the best
for his future career.

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Potts reflects on six-goal thriller
WHUFC.com
U18s manager Steve Potts reflects on Saturday's thrilling 3-3 home draw with
Tottenham Hotspur U18s
01.09.2014

West Ham United U18s 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur U18s

West Ham United U18s boss Steve Potts was left with mixed emotions after his
side let a two-goal lead slip before fighting back to draw 3-3 with
Tottenham Hotspur at Little Heath on Saturday. Potts' side have made a
bright start to the Barclays U18 Premier League South Group, having
convincingly beaten West Bromwich Albion 3-1 and drawn 0-0 with Leicester
City. The Hammers initially continued their good run of form against Spurs,
starting brilliantly when striker Jordan Brown and defender Manny Onariase
put the Hammers two goals up after only 17 minutes. However, Tottenham
responded well as Joe Pritchard and Luke Amos scored to level the game.
Spurs made a bright start to the second half as Josh Onomah fired the away
side in front, before Brown netted his second goal of the game to secure the
Hammers a point. "I thought the players were a little bit naive when they
were 2-0 up because Tottenham are a good team and managed to find the gaps
to get the game back to 2-2 by half-time," Potts reflected. "In the second
half, we came out and played much better. When we went 3-2 down, we worked
hard to bring the game back to 3-3, which showed effort and commitment from
the team."

Both sides had several chances to take all three points and Potts feels that
there are areas of their performance that need further attention in
training.
"There were certain areas of the team performance where I thought the boys
played well and other areas where we let ourselves down," he continued. "I
spoke to the lads after the game about ways that we can manage different
parts of our performance and manage certain areas of the pitch, which we
could've managed better but will work on more in training. "There is still
plenty to work on with the lads but there are certain parts in all three
games this season where the lads have played really well, so we will get
back to training and prepare for our next game."

Potts is satisfied with a return of five points from an unbeaten start,
particularly in the light of so many of his regulars being called away to
represent the first team and Development Squad. Speaking about how the U18s'
season has started so far, Potts explained: "We've had quite a few new lads
come into this team, which has been different because we had quite a settled
squad last season. The new players have come in and we have even had
schoolboys featuring for us in the early part of the season which is good
for their development."

Recently, the Academy have seen some of their players push up as far as the
first team, including centre-half Reece Burke, who played the full 120
minutes in the Capital One Cup defeat by Sheffield United, and defenders
Lewis Page and Reece Oxford, who were named as substitutes on the night.
Potts, a former West Ham youth player himself and father of recent Academy
graduate Dan Potts, said proudly, "I'm really pleased for any of the lads
that push on to a higher level. It's a fantastic opportunity for them.
That's what we as an Academy are here for so hopefully they carry on
improving."

U18s: Howes, Pike, Onariase, Akinola, Knoyle, Browne, Sylvestre (Neufville),
Parfitt-Williams, Adebayo (Powell), Diangana, Brown (Sheriff)
Subs not used: Linley, Bogard

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Eight receive international calls
WHUFC.com
Eight West Ham United players have been called-up for international duty
during the current break
01.09.2014

Eight West Ham United players have been called-up by their respective
countries for international duty during the current break.

Winston Reid will be travelling to Qatar - host nation for the 2022 FIFA
World Cup finals - for an international friendly between his New Zealand and
Uzbekistan on Monday 8 September.

Closer to home, Joey O'Brien is in the Republic of Ireland squad for their
friendly meeting with Oman at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday 3
September and the Boys in Green's opening UEFA Euro 2016 Group D qualifier
with Georgia at the Dinamo Arena in Tblisi on Sunday 7 September.

New boy Enner Valencia is in the Ecuador squad for two friendly
internationals with South American opposition in the United States. Ecuador
will take on Bolivia in Miami on Saturday 6 September and Brazil in New
Jersey on Tuesday 9 September.

Cheikhou Kouyate (pictured) has been included by Senegal, who face their
opening two 2015 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Group G qualifiers. Senegal's
campaign opens with a home fixture with Egypt in Dakar on Friday 5 September
before an away match with Botswana in Gaborone on Wednesday 10 September.
The tournament proper will take place in Morocco in January/February 2015.

At age-group level, midfielder Kieran Sadlier is in the Republic of Ireland
U21 squad for their final UEFA European U21 Championship qualifier with
Germany in Magdeburg on Friday 5 September. Unfortunately, Ireland cannot
qualify for the Play-Off round.

Northern Ireland U19s have included defender Jamie Harney in their squad for
a friendly double-header with Iceland. The first fixture will take place in
Dungannon on Wednesday 3 September and the second in Belfast on Friday 5
September.

Josh Cullen is in the Republic of Ireland U19 squad for the first time. The
midfielder has been included in the selection for a friendly with the
Netherlands at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin on Monday 8 September.

Finally, Sam Howes has a friendly match for England U18s against the
Netherlands at The JD Stadium, Bury FC on Friday 5 September 2014 at 7.30pm.

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Mohamed Diame leaves West Ham for Hull
BBC.co.uk

Hull have completed the signing of midfielder Mohamed Diame from West Ham
for an undisclosed fee. The 27-year-old, who scored seven goals in 76
appearances for the Hammers after joining from Wigan two years ago, has
signed a three-year deal with City. "I'm delighted to welcome Mo to the
club," said Hull boss Steve Bruce. "His experience, both at international
level and in the Premier League will be invaluable as we look to cement our
place in the top flight." Diame is Hull's second deadline-day signing along
with the club-record £10m purchase of Uruguay striker Abel Hernandez from
Palermo. They have also sold forward George Boyd to Premier League rivals
Burnley for £3m. Diame, who reportedly has a £3.5m buyout clause in his
contract, has been allowed to leave Upton Park after manager Sam Allardyce
made eight summer signings, including fellow midfielder Alex Song on loan.
West Ham are also looking to bring in a defender before the transfer window
closes.

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Deal complete, Amalfitano a Hammer
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 1st September 2014
By: Staff Writer

West Ham have completed their ninth signing of the summer transfer window,
say reports. L'Equipe are reporting this evening that French midfielder
Morgan Amalfitano has completed his move to the Boleyn Ground with just
minutes of the transfer deadline remaining. We'll have a full summary of
West Ham's summer business for you shortly.

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Diame completes Hull switch
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 1st September 2014
By: Staff Writer

Senegal international Mo Diame has become the first player to leave the club
on transfer deadline day after joining Hull in a £3.5million switch. Diame,
who was hotly-tipped to leave the Boleyn Ground during the current transfer
window has completed a move to Hull, despite previously insisting that he
would only leave West Ham for "a top six club". West Ham lost patience with
Diame - whose current contract expires next summer - after he failed to
accept terms that would have extended his stay at the club. And the arrival
of Cheikhou Kouyate from Anderlecht and Alex Song from Barcelona had already
pushed him further down the pecking order.

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Oh no! It's not Devo
KUMb.com
Filed: Monday, 1st September 2014
By: Staff Writer

Alan Devonshire has been overlooked for the vacant Colchester job, despite
being linked with the post earlier in the day. Former youth team coach Tony
Humes was the surprise choice to success the recently-departed Joe Dunne,
despite former Hammer Devonshire being touted as a potential successor this
morning. According to the Chronicle, Devonshire's current club were not
contacted with view to his availability. Braintree Town chairman Lee Harding
told the paper that he had not heard from the League One club, who have
endured a difficult start to the 2014/15 campaign. Devonshire, now 58, has
been in charge of Braintree for three years. His managerial career began in
1997 at Maidenhead. Following three years with the Magpies, Devo became
manager of Hampton & Richmond Borough with whom he stayed for eight years,
before taking the Braintree role.

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Cech him out, say fans
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 1st September 2014
By: Staff Writer

Petr Cech has been made available for loan - sparking interest from Hammers
fans, if not necessarily the club itself. The 32-year-old Chelsea goalkeeper
is currently considered second choice at Stamford Bridge following the
emergence of Belgian international Thibaut Courtois. This morning it was
revealed (Mail) that Chelsea had offered the Czech international to
neighbours Queens Park Rangers, although the two parties failed to agree
terms. And with West Ham still having one loan space in the squad available,
a number of supporters have urged the club to move for Cech - who, it is
understood, will not be offered to clubs competing in Europe or the
Champions League. West Ham's current number one Adrian has had a mixed start
to the 2014/15 season, whilst current number two Jussi Jaaskelainen is
rapidly approaching his 40th birthday. Cech has made more than 450
appearances for Chelsea since joining the club for just £3.75million from
Rennes in 2004

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Arsenal launch Reid bid
KUMb.com
Filed: Monday, 1st September 2014
By: Staff Writer

Unconfirmed reports are suggesting that Arsenal have launched a deadline day
attempt to sign West Ham United's New Zealand international Winston Reid.
The 26-year-old central defender has been hotly tipped as a potential
Arsenal signing and, according to speculation this afternoon (Metro), West
Ham have been offered £3million by the north London club for his services.
Although that would appear to be a paltry offer, Reid has less than a year
of his current contract to run. All offers to extend his current contract
have been rejected, meaning that a bid perhaps double that already on the
table could well be enough to tempt the Board into selling. Elsewhere, the
Guardian are reporting that Morgan Amalfitano - on whom we brought you news
earlier this afternoon - is set to sign a three-year contract with West Ham,
having flown to England in order to complete a move from Marseille.

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Mohamed Diame has signed a three-year deal at Hull
Last Updated: 01/09/14 7:32pm
SSN

Midfielder Mohamed Diame has joined Hull City on a three-year deal. The
Senegal international heads to the KC Stadium - for an undisclosed fee -
after spending two seasons at West Ham. Diame, who worked under Tigers boss
Steve Bruce when the pair were at Wigan, has made 79 appearances for the
Hammers since joining them in the summer of 2012. However, the France-born
player has only started one game for Sam Allardyce's men this season - the
penalty shoot-out defeat to Sheffield United in the Capital One Cup last
week. Bruce has earmarked the recruitment of a midfielder to bolster his
squad before the end of the transfer window and has also been linked with a
move for Manchester United's Tom Cleverley. The former Rayo Vallecano player
has moved further down the pecking order at Upton Park following the summer
arrivals of fellow battle-hardened midfielders Alex Song and Cheikhou
Kouyate. And Bruce is pleased with his latest signing, saying: "I'm
delighted to welcome Mo to the club. "His experience, both at international
level and in the Premier League, will be invaluable as we look to cement our
place in the top-flight."

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Amalfitano set to join on loan
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 1, 2014 in Whispers
Claret & Hugh

West Ham are tonight closing in on their ninth signing of the transfer
window with Morgan Amalfitano set to sign a year's loan deal with the club.
The Hammers have had the player on their radar all summer and are now
working frantically to ensure that he puts pen to paper by 11pm. The
midfielder was on loan at West Brom last season but was a tad inconsistent –
one of the reasons the Hammers have waited until the very last minute as
they weighed up all options.
But with the player now inside Upton Park, it appears the 29 year old is set
to cross the channel from Marseilles to join the club. Meanwhile co-chairman
David Gold took to Twitter earlier to declare: "This is one of the best
transfer windows in West Ham history."

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One over the eight
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 1st September 2014
By: Staff Writer

The summer transfer window has 'slammed shut' - with West Ham completing a
ninth signing minutes before the 11pm deadline.

Marseilles winger Morgan Amalfitano became Sam Allardyce's ninth signing of
a very busy window by joining the Hammers on a season-long loan.

West Ham - who have spent around £30million in transfer fees during the
summer, representing a new club record - have strengthened in several areas
with only one first team squad member, contract rebel Mo Diame leaving for
pastures new (Hull City).

Two of the signings are season-long loans, whilst a further three arrived
for a nominal fees. West Ham's biggest single outlay was the reported
£12million fee paid to CF Pachua for Ecuador international Enner Valencia.

Despite West Ham's business being generally well-received, some supporters
have already expressed concern at the failure to sign a fourth central
defender given the problems experienced last Christmas when injuries to key
personnel left Allardyce without a single fit centre half.

The full list of new arrivals are as follows:

May
Mauro Zarate (Velez Sarsfield): nominal fee

June
Cheikhou Kouyate (Anderlecht): £7million

July
Enner Valencia (CF Pachua): £12.5million
Diego Poyet (Charlton Athletic): nominal, tribunal
Aaron Cresswell (Ipswich Town): £4million

August
Alex Song (Barcelona): season-long loan
Diafra Sakho (FC Metz): £4million
Carl Jenkinson (Arsenal): season-long loan
Morgan Amalfitano (Marseilles): nominal fee

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West Ham sign winger Morgan Amalfitano from Marseille
Last Updated: 01/09/14 11:32pm
SSN

West Ham have signed France international winger Morgan Amalfitano from
Marseille. The 29-year-old becomes the Hammers' ninth summer signing.
Amalfitano, who has earned a solitary cap for France, spent most of last
season on loan at West Brom. He was part of the Marseille side that lifted
the French League Cup in 2012, the same year he made his international debut
by playing 23 minutes against Germany in a friendly. According to the French
club's website he played 87 matches for Olympique Marseille, scoring seven
goals and providing 14 assists. Nice-born Amalfitano said: "I've waited a
long time but I am very happy to have signed here. "The club wanted me a lot
and for that I waited for West Ham and now I'm here. "The manager explained
to me how the team plays and how he needs me. I explained to him where I
prefer as my position in his team. "I prefer to play behind the striker but
last year with West Brom I played on the right. "I enjoyed my first year in
English football and for that reason I have come back and hopefully I can
improve again. "The first year was good for my experience and I will try to
help West Ham."

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HOW DO YOU RATE WEST HAM'S SUMMER TRANSFER BUSINESS?
By S J Chandos 2 Sep 2014 at 00:02
West Ham Till I Die

So, the summer transfer window finally slams shut! However, did you notice
something very different about this window? All our major business was done
early and there was an absence of the usual deadline day desperation, panic
and disappointment. This season, the club did their business the right way,
early! And we generally identified and landed our targets. There was none of
the serial abortive deals, yes we got some rejections along the way, but
arguably these were outweighed by the successes.

In all (as far as we know at this point in time), we made nine signings this
summer and they are as follows:

Zarate, Kouyate, Valencia. Cresswell. Sakho, Poyet, Jenkinson (loan), Song
(loan) and Amalfitano

In terms of exits, we moved out:

Joe Cole, Taylor, McCartney, Collison, Diarra, Maiga and Diame

Personally, I am very happy with the business conducted. We completed the
major overhaul of the squad that was so badly needed. We have brought in
greater quality and increased competition for places in the squad. Moreover,
we have signed skillful players like Zarate, Valencia and Amalfitano, who
added to the likes of Downing, Noble and Morrison, can contribute to
positively transforming our style of play. And this skill must be allied to
the power and competitive edge provided by Kouyate, Song, Reid and Carroll.
I think that even their most strident critics must conceed that the West Ham
Board did a good job in bankrolling the transfer activity and landing the
club's targets. Sam Allardyce now has the tools, but can he do the job that
is required? Can he get the team to gel and make the best of the talent at
his disposal? That is the challenge to the manager. If not, and there are
any repeats of the abject Southampton defeat, then change will become
inevitable. There can be no more excuses, we need to see progress!

How do you rate the transfer business completed? Do we now have the squad to
progress this season?

SJ. Chandos.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com



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