Slaven Speaks - Stoke City
WHUFC.com
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic sat down with the media ahead of his side's
Premier League clash against Stoke City at the weekend. The Croatian
discussed Andy Carroll's recent incident and all the chances West Ham are
creating while also providing an update on any injuries in the squad.
Slaven, how is Andy Carroll after the incident yesterday?
It was scary, what happened, but he is OK. What can I say? I will treat it
as a one off accident that happened. He was probably targeted. I don't think
it was a coincidence. It was like a chase for 15 or 20 minutes and it was
probably planned. He was very brave to do what he did, and he came back to
the training ground and then it stopped. He is good and OK though, and he
acted like a really brave man.
If he needed it, is there someone who can provide counselling at the Club?
We can provide it if he needed it. But of course, there isn't someone in the
Club set up just for if that happened who provides it! But whatever Andy
needs, we will provide him with that service or whatever.
How is he getting on?
He is smiling, he is not scared. He is in a good environment now. He will
continue to do his rehab and he is progressing good now. He is back running
and there has been no negative reaction to that. If it continues like this,
in two weeks' time, we are expecting him to be training on the pitch with
us.
Will the extra segregation at the Stadium make a difference for the Stoke
game?
It might help, but that's the only thing we can do; the Club has done
everything. There was enough, obvious segregation between our fans and the
Chelsea fans. The Club is going to make an even bigger gap, and that's all
the Club can do.
Is your biggest concern at the moment trying to convert the number of
chances you're creating?
Yes, we are not scoring many goals and we are creating chances. But, I would
rather have us creating chances and waiting for a moment to convert them
than not create them at all. We are disappointed with the Everton result but
we are on a good path, we are there, and we are going to score goals.
Joe Allen is a player in prime form – are you most wary of him?
He is playing really good, scoring and creating goals. He scored for Wales
against Austria and a few for Stoke and he is the link between the midfield
and attack. He is very good in coming alive in the right moment and place.
Of course, he is one of their main players, especially now that Arnautovic
is suspsended and he is maybe their best player. But they have Bony, Shaqiri
– who is doubtful. Against Stoke last year, they were tough games, as you'd
expect. They were in trouble but they have ten points from the last four
games.
Do you have any fresh injuries?
No, except Winston Reid, who got a small one against Everton, but he is
suspended anyway. The rest of the guys are ready and fit.
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#ImagineBoleyn shortlisted for top award
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's stunning 360 degree Farewell Boleyn video could win a
2016 Football Business Award this evening!
The 360 degree video is one of six shortlisted in the Football Business
Awards 2016 Best/Most Innovative use of Technology by a Club category,
alongside submissions from Cardiff City, Chelsea, Manchester United,
Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Awards ceremony will take place at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium on
Thursday.
The Hammers' entry, entitled #ImagineBoleyn, was produced by Ricoh, West Ham
United's official Information Technology Partner, in collaboration with
virtual reality specialists Immersive VR.
Narrated by star of film and television Ray Winstone, a lifelong Hammers
fan, the three-minute long feature incorporates high quality visuals, while
capturing West Ham's historic home of 112 years in a way never before seen.
The Club was determined to say farewell to the Club's stadium in a fitting
way, giving supporters the chance to continue to connect with the Boleyn
Ground for years to come.
Alongside fans' stories, photographs and memories, West Ham and Ricoh
created a fitting tribute for not only the Claret and Blue Army, but for the
wider football world.
The footage captured took fans to key parts of the Boleyn Ground, including
behind-the-scenes areas that would normally be kept from public view,
including the dressing room and players' tunnel, moments before kick-off.
Supporters were able to follow Hammer of the Year Dimitri Payet out of the
tunnel one final time, all in all-encompassing 360 degree viewing.
To enable the maximum possible number of fans to enjoy the unique film, the
Club produced a trailer promoting it across the Club's website and social
media channels, before launching the full broadcast on the Hammers' and
Ricoh's official Facebook and YouTube channels.
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Collins - I cannot wait to get back involved
WHUFC.com
James Collins is hoping to witness another special atmosphere inside London
Stadium and would love to help his side record a big victory when the
Hammers host Stoke on Saturday.
With Winston Reid ruled out through suspension, Collins is in the frame to
win back his place in the starting line-up and says he is ready to get his
own season back on track.
The Wales international started the campaign in impressive fashion when he
got on the scoresheet against Chelsea in the opening game, but then lost his
place in the team.
Collins is now hoping to make amends and help the Hammers return to winning
ways as they look to move clear of the bottom three this weekend.
Collins said: "I cannot wait to get back involved. I obviously wasn't happy
with my form in the last couple of games that I played.
"Hopefully I can come in and play as good as the boys have in recent games
and we can get the right result.
"There has definitely been a major turnaround in the team and the
performances. There have been a number of things which have contributed
towards that. Some of the games we were not playing so bad and then one
thing went against us and you could see the confidence drain out of us.
"We have managed to keep a couple of clean sheets and the boys realised they
needed to knuckle down in training and we hope it will continue against
Stoke.
"We had a great win against Chelsea in the Cup. They are a world class team
with world class players so to beat them in any competition has got to be a
good performance, but it is certainly the best we have played this season.
"It was disappointing that we could not follow it up with a victory against
Everton last weekend.
"We didn't take our chances and the boys looked a bit tired after they had
put in so much effort against Chelsea on the Wednesday night. Everton had
not played in the week and that showed. But the boys have recovered and we
have now had a good weeks training. Hopefully we can get the right result on
Saturday."
Collins is looking forward to playing in front of nearly 57,000 West Ham
supporters once again and knows the special atmosphere that can be created
inside London Stadium.
The experienced defender says the victory over Chelsea was the best support
he had witnessed this season and knows the team can play a major role in
helping to re-create that noise if they get off to good start on Saturday.
Collins added: "That was the best atmosphere I have seen since we moved into
the new Stadium. The support through the night was top drawer.
"If we can get off to a good start on Saturday then the fans will get behind
us and we can really get the place rocking.
"It is a great Stadium to play in and this is a Club that is moving forward.
The Stadium and facilities that we now have are capable of seeing us push
for Champions League and European football.
"It is an exciting time. We have not been too happy with the results this
season but things are starting to turn around."
Collins is well aware of the threat that Stoke pose to his side, having won
their last three Premier League games.
Influential forward Marko Arnautovic is missing through suspension, but
Collins says one of the biggest threats could come from his Wales team-mate
Joe Allen who has been one of the star performers in the top flight in
recent weeks.
"Stoke have been playing well. I watched them on Monday night against
Swansea and they looked very good.
"My Welsh colleague Joe Allen has been getting among the goals and is
playing very well.
"He had a tremendous tournament at the Euros and I saw that first hand. I
see every day what he can do and thought it was a bit disappointing that he
had to leave Liverpool because I thought he could have done as good a job as
anyone they have got there.
"He has moved to Stoke and is now playing a bit further forward than I am
used to seeing. We will have to be on our toes to stop him at the weekend.
"Any time you play against Stoke it is always a tough game and they are well
drilled and know what they are doing. We know we need to be on top of our
game to get the right result."
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Sylvestre - Our confidence is building
WHUFC.com
West Ham United PL2 take on Nottingham Forest on Friday (7pm) at Alfreton
Town FC
The match is their second Premier League Cup Group E fixture this season
Noha Sylvestre says the team are growing in confidence after successive
victories
Noha Sylvestre thinks confidence is building within the Premier League 2
dressing room as the side looks for their third win in succession.
They take on Nottingham Forest on Friday evening (7pm) at Alfreton Town FC
in their second Premier League Cup fixture of the season.
The Hammers famously won the trophy last year and got their defence off to
the perfect start on October 1 when they utterly dominated their 2-0 victory
over Leicester City in Group E.
Sylvestre hopes the team can build on their recent good form and that
victory over the Foxes a month ago, a game where they completed over 700
passes.
"Leicester is the best game we've played this season so we need to take that
on and do it again against Forest," he said.
"Our confidence is definitely building up because of victories. You can see
it in training as well where the lads are more happy and if we win against
Nottingham Forest we'll have even more confidence."
Terry Westley's men battled to a deserved 2-1 victory over West Bromwich
Albion on Monday night - a result which saw them move up to third in Premier
League 2 Division 2.
It was their second win in a row after the triumph over Middlesbrough the
week previous, and Sylvestre thinks sticking with their playing style has
been key in their upturn in fortunes.
"We always go into games with the same thing in mind. So far it's been going
well for us," he added.
"Now we need to make sure that we do the same as we did against Leicester
when everyone worked hard to get on the ball and everyone worked hard off
the ball so we just need to repeat that again."
Sylvestre has appeared in all but one league match this season and was an
unused substitute in their first Premier League Cup fixture, but he hopes he
can continue his sustained run in the side.
"I've been in and out of the team recently but I'm working hard to stay in
it. That's my objective and I've got to chance to start on Friday so I'll
take the opportunity if it comes.
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Carroll's generous gesture for avid Hammers
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll welcomed three avid West Ham United fans from Arc in the Park,
a local inclusive centre for young adults with learning difficulties, to
Rush Green for a special training ground visit.
The striker was in good spirits as he posed for photos with the trio and he
capped off a hugely successful visit by donating a pair of his match-worn
boots to all three of the visitors.
Alex, Darryl and Champ, all huge Hammers, enjoyed a hugely exciting day out
as they got the opportunity to meet Carroll and their other heroes, while
also collecting gifts donated by the squad for local youngsters on behalf of
the Newham Recorder's Christmas Toy Appeal.
For more than 30 years, the Recorder has run a Christmas Toy Appeal, which
helps collect thousands of toys to give out to 3,000 underprivileged
children from across Newham.
Darryl, 17, who suffers from Global Development Delay and learning
difficulties, was ecstatic to meet his idol Dimitri Payet, neatly surmising:
"It was really good!"
Darryl's day was made even better when he received a surprise phone call
from The Moose, Talksport's esteemed presenter, the pair chatting away
happily about all things Claret and Blue.
Similarly, Alex, 16, who has autism, was equally delighted: "It was
fantastic to meet Manuel Lanzini because he's my favourite player. It was
lovely seeing them all today."
After meeting the trio, Carroll reflected: "It was fantastic to meet Alex,
Champ and Darryl, you can see how passionate they are about West Ham and how
excited they were to meet the lads.
"Alex told me I needed a haircut, and he's probably right!
"It's always great to spend time with the younger fans and put a smile on
their faces. I was more than happy to give them each a pair of my boots,
it's such an easy thing for us to do, but it makes a big difference."
Click here for more information about how you can make a donation to the
Recorder's Christmas Toy Appeal.
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Ex-pro inspires Foundation students
WHUFC.com
West Ham United Foundation and University of East London Applied Community
Sport undergraduate degree students have benefitted from their first guest
lecturer of the year.
Terry Angus, Community Equalities Executive at the Professional Footballers
Association (PFA), spoke to students at UEL about the PFA and their role in
working with professional footballers around the issue of equality.
In his lecture, Angus tackled many thought provoking topics, such as the
Equality Act (2010) and its protected characteristics, which ignited debated
around sexual orientation, gender and race.
The session also challenged perspectives relating to 'banter' and the
dangers of social media.
As a player, Angus played made over 350 league appearances playing for
Northampton Town, Fulham, Slough Town and Nuneaton Borough.
His position at the PFA is further supported by a wealth of experience from
his time working within the Youth Justice System and the Connexions support
service for teenagers, which included advice and guidance to those at risk
of disaffection, and involvement in community diversity programmes.
Now 50, Angus works closely with football clubs, community departments and
Foundations to ensure players are supported and represented for social
responsibility projects and programmes which is a key part of PFA work.
He spoke highly of the degree students he met at the University of East
London, saying: "I really enjoyed the session and it is great to see how the
University of east London and West Ham United Foundation take the issues of
Equality and Diversity so seriously.
"The students' knowledge was good and some very thought provoking
discussions was had.
"The session highlighted how committed students are to E&D and their ability
to critique the session."
Emily Hayday, Higher Education Officer at West Ham United Foundation,
welcomed Angus's visit and said it had inspired the students to think more
deeply about the issues affecting young people.
"Having Terry from the PFA coming to speak to the students about equality
and inclusion epitomises the reason this degree was created," she said. "The
degree provides students with access to experts from within the football
field, allowing them to network and think critically around current issues
such as equality."
For more information about the FdSc Applied Community Sport (West Ham United
Foundation) undergraduate degree course, click here.
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Olympic Stadium: 'From a symbol of celebration to a symbol of anger'
BBC.co.uk
By Dan Roan
BBC sports editor
The resignation of David Edmonds, chairman of the London Legacy Development
Corporation (LLDC), is just the latest episode in what has now become one of
the longest-running, vexing and expensive controversies in British sport.
And with the city's mayor ordering an inquiry into the former Olympic
Stadium's finances after the vast cost of converting it into West Ham's new
home continued to spiral by another £50m, and mounting questions over its
suitability as a football venue after recent fan disorder, the danger now is
that the iconic centrepiece of 2012's 'Golden Games', rather than being an
enduring symbol of inspiration, sporting glory, and legacy, instead becomes
one of chronic waste, poor planning, and mismanagement. A symbol not of
celebration, but of anger.
Anger - from London taxpayers who look set to foot the bill for extra costs
that appear out of control, and who now read that the stadium's board
members were warned this year that the venue may never make a profit,
despite original pledges to the contrary.
From freedom of information campaigners, who had to fight for years before
winning a battle to have details of the secret deal with West Ham made
public.
From the fans of other clubs - who feel threatened by what they see as an
over-generous deal that has enabled West Ham to offer significantly cheaper
tickets, and attract new fans towards Stratford.
From the LLDC itself - whose attempts at regeneration have been
overshadowed. Jobs have been created, affordable homes built, and a polluted
corner of East London cleaned up. The velodrome and aquatics centre are in
use and the kind of white elephants that blight Olympic parks in former host
cities have been avoided. But right now, few are thinking about the
positives.
From West Ham, whose plans for their historic first season in their
impressive new home had already been tarnished by the violent scenes at
recent matches. And who will now find themselves under growing pressure to
pay more to help bail the LLDC out, exacerbating rising tensions between
tenant and landlord.
And from many others, of course, who cannot understand why the stadium was
not designed for football in the very beginning, therefore saving some of
the £750m that has now been lavished on a venue that was originally intended
to cost just £280m, but which effectively, has had to be built twice.
So what happens next?
Mo Farah runs in the men's 5,000m final at London 2012
Briton Mo Farah (second from the left) runs in the men's 5,000m final at
London 2012
To start, there is West Ham's next game against Stoke City this weekend. The
stakes are high. The match is one of just a handful each season rated as
'Category C' - or high risk, and security has been beefed up with police on
the segregation line inside the stadium for the first time, a clear show of
strength. Despite the scenes of disorder during the League Cup match against
Chelsea, I understand the authorities were actually relatively pleased with
the stewarding, and relieved how few arrests had to be made for a game they
had been very concerned about.
Nonetheless, while the threat of being forced to play behind closed doors is
understood to be a long way off, West Ham are now desperate to avoid any
repeat, and are highly frustrated that permission to gradually expand their
capacity has been delayed as a result of the trouble. West Ham reject the
suggestion from some that the design of the stadium has in some way
contributed to the trouble, and were pleased with the atmosphere against
Chelsea until things turned nasty, but the costs of the enhanced security -
paid for by the taxpayer - are also now soaring.
And talking of money, there is the inquiry, which is expected to focus on
the LLDC's choice of contractor responsible for installing and operating the
crucial retractable seating that brings fans closer to the action in a venue
originally designed for athletics.
My understanding is that a desire to stage Rugby World Cup matches at the
stadium in 2015 placed unforeseen pressure on the LLDC, requiring them to
have the seating in place several months earlier than they had originally
anticipated. This in turn influenced the fateful decision to hire contractor
Alto Seating. The company went bust shortly before the tournament and an
alternative provider then had to be sought, the LLDC since discovering to
its horror, that rather than the £300,000 originally quoted for manually
moving thousands of seats on wheels, costs could rise to £8m a year.
Supporters confront one another during last month's EFL Cup match between
West Ham United and Chelsea at the London Stadium
Supporters confront one another during last month's EFL Cup match between
West Ham United and Chelsea at the London Stadium
Privately, the LLDC accept this amount is unsustainable, and say they are
committed to finding a cheaper solution. The installation of a more
efficient hydraulic system will be looked at, along with a review of other
running costs. Revenue from a naming-rights sponsor would help of course,
but talks with Indian company Mahindra recently collapsed, and after trying
for years without success to find a partner, there seems little prospect
right now of an alternative.
West Ham - who paid £15m towards the cost of converting the stadium (which
now amounts to £323m), could be asked to help of course. After all, last
year a BBC London documentary revealed that while paying £2.5m a year in
rent, the club would have all of its running costs covered. However, there
is nothing in the tenancy agreement to force West Ham to pay any more than
they currently do. This fiasco is not their responsibility. Many say the
riches of the Premier League easily enable West Ham to step in. This year
the club recorded a profit of £8m on record revenues of £120m. But others do
not see why the club should be punished for doing its job, and for striking
such a good deal for itself.
Either way, with the retractable seats taking much longer to move than
originally thought, (15 days rather than five) the fear is that the staging
of summer concerts and events - crucial to the stadium's finances - and the
start of the football season - could be affected.
How did it come to this?
It was fascinating listening to Ken Livingstone, who was London mayor when
the right to stage the London Games was won in 2005, and part of the 2012
bid team, on BBC 5live this week.
Livingstone said that he would have tried to keep the stadium purely for
athletics as originally intended, and blamed what he called a "screw up" on
his successor Boris Johnson. Once elected in 2008, Johnson decided that
instead of the scaled-back 25,000-seater athletics facility that had been
planned, the Olympic Stadium needed a football tenant to be financially
viable.
Karen Brady and the Mayor of London Boris Johnson talks to the press during
the press conference to announce the future of the Olympic Stadium
Karren Brady and the mayor of London Boris Johnson talk to the press during
the news conference to announce the future of the Olympic Stadium
But when asked if there had been any stadium legacy plan in the original bid
put forward by himself, London 2012 chairman Lord Coe and former Prime
Minister Tony Blair, his answer was stark.
"No" he admitted. "Because nobody assumed we were going to win. Seb Coe, and
me and Tony Blair, we knew it was going to be very close, it had already
cost us millions to put together a bid… you weren't going to spend millions
more planning what to do afterwards."
Sadly, it now appears that lack of legacy planning at the start of this saga
has ended up costing many more hundreds millions, years down the line.
With Coe having promised the IOC - and Lamine Diack, the man he hoped to
replace as IAAF president, that a running track would be retained
post-Games, and no obvious football option on the table, work on an
athletics venue carried on.
By the time Johnson then made his decision, it was too late, with the
options always likely to be limited. With potential tenant Spurs wanting to
remove the running track, rival bidder West Ham was seen as the only
politically acceptable option, and left them in a phenomenally strong
bargaining position. Naturally, they took full advantage, while their new
home had to be converted for dual-use, amid concerns over its suitability
for football.
Walk through the vast landscaped acres of the Olympic Park, as I did this
week, and it is hard not to be impressed by what has been achieved since the
Games. Visit the 12,000 sq ft West Ham megastore, take a look up at the
enormous new roof, and the stadium's hospitality facilities, complete with
various tributes to the club's heritage, and it is easy to see why - despite
such controversy - the club saw such potential in the move away from Upton
Park, and is proud of its new home.
Earlier this year, when announcing the club's financial results, vice
chairman Karren Brady hailed "a platform to transform the future of our
great club". The objective of ensuring fans enjoyed "a seamless transition
into their new home", however, is proving a challenging task.
Last year, the LLDC's chief executive David Goldstone, told me that the
stadium would help transform an area of London, desperately in need of
development, and help generate billions for the local economy.
He went on to say that it would "really pay its own way without requiring
on-going subsidy from the taxpayer" and that he was "confident it will cover
its own costs… I'm confident we've got good value for money out of the deals
we've done."
Sadly, such a forecast now appears more uncertain than ever.
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OS to introduce snatch squads?
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd November 2016
By: Staff Writer
A security firm charged with supplying stewards for this weekend's Premier
League clash between West Ham and Stoke at the Olympic Stadium has allegedly
asked for '10 good lads' to join their team.
A text message, understood to have been issued by a Heathrow-based security
firm earlier today was forwarded to KUMB.com by a concerned season ticket
holder, who had themselves been forwarded the missive by a club doorman who
was one of the original recipients.
And rather than seeking standard security staff, when pressed the sender of
the text is understood to have told the doorman in question that they were
looking for individuals with "cage-fighting backgrounds, or similar".
"Guys, as you might of seen on the news lately West Ham have been having
problems with trouble," read the text. "I've been asked to take 10 GOOD lads
in there this Saturday start 11.30-18.30.
"I'd like you to join me if your free? We will be going in and taking people
out of there seats and handing them over to the police. These are people
that are being band from the stadium."
KUMB understands that West Ham United were unaware of the text and the
decision to request additional security staff. The stewarding at the stadium
is largely handled by security firm OCS.
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Banned? I wasn't even in the stadium!
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd November 2016
By: Staff Writer
A West Ham supporter who had his season ticket revoked after he was accused
of persistent standing has received an apology from stadium operators LS185.
Ben Scott was one of three members of the same family to have their season
tickets revoked after a steward registered a complaint against them
following the home defeat against Watford back in September.
However the stadium operators were forced to return Ben's ticket after the
family requested a viewing of the CCTV footage - which subsequently
confirmed that Mr Scott was visiting one of the concourse bars when the
incident took place.
Speaking to KUMB, Ben's father Glenn - who was first approached by stewards
at the ground and ordered to sit down - revealed that he was delighted that
his son had been allowed to return to the stadium.
However both he and Ben's brother Connor, remain excluded from the stadium
whilst the investigation - which is currently in the hands of the CPS -
continues.
The incident took place during the home defeat aginst Watford back in
September
"We have never caused trouble and we feel we are being victimised," said
Glenn. "The stewards were bullies. My oldest boy, Ben, wasn't even in the
stand at the time as he was in the bar - so we still don't understand why he
got banned.
"When I was told to sit [by the steward] I explained that I had just had a
heart op and needed to stand now and again. The steward said it's not his
problem.
"My other son Connor told the steward to stop pushing and pulling me as it
was hurting. But once again they said it was not their problem. My friends
even told other stewards what was happening but no one give a damn.
"I later discovered that a steward had accused me of racism, which is far
from the truth. The police officer we spoke to told my solicitor that if it
was up to him, he would throw it out."
Ben discovered that his season ticket was being returned earlier this week
when he received an email from Graham Harris, LS185's Deputy Safety Officer.
"I have asked West Ham to reactivate your season ticket so yes you can now
attend," it read. "I can only apologise to you for the mishap - I believe
you have two members of your family involved and I think that your name was
dragged into it."
Mr Scott pointed out that he had been told it could take up to three months
for the CPS to respond. Meanwhile son Ben has attempted to contact West Ham
in order to request a refund for the games he has been forced to miss.
* Have you experienced similar problems with stewards at the Olympic
Stadium? Let us know your story by contacting us here.
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West Ham make Keye appointment
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd November 2016
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United have appointed a former Aston Villa employee as their new
Head of Ticketing. Nicola Keye, who worked for the Midlands club for 13
years has made the transition from Championship to Premier League by joining
West Ham. She succeeds (the popular) Gavin Stanley, who will concentrate on
his new role in Retail.
Earlier this year it was revealed that Keye - who is still llsted on Villa's
website as Head of Sales - was one of a number of Villa staff members who
were given bodyguards by the club to protect them from angry fans prior to
the club's relegation from the Premier League in May.
Prior to that she had been praised by a Villa fan who had been liaising with
her via email regarding the team. "Within five minutes of pressing the send
button I also had non other than Miss Keye on the phone," wrote Villa fan
Stuart Young back in 2012. "She is an absolute credit to the football club
and they should be proud of her. "
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The Wrath of Khan could do us all a favour
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd November 2016
By: Paul Walker
So somebody wants answers, frankly it's about time because we should all be
seriously fed up with the way West Ham is getting the blame for everything
from the black death to the great train robbery.
To say I am a little surprised at the near-hysterical reaction to the
intervention of new London Mayor Sadiq Khan into the Olympic Stadium fiasco
is putting it mildly. Blimey, if I was following in the dodgy footsteps of
Boris the buffoon, I would want to look very carefully into anything he
touched involving money.
Khan wants to know why there is a £51million overspend on the restructuring
of our new home into a place fit for football, and yes, I know there is a
lot who have seriously angry opinions on that already!
Now I see many are upset that he is jumping onto a bandwagon that is already
weighed down with critics. But in everything that he, his advisers and the
new administration at County Hall have said so far, they have been careful
not to blame us for anything. And rightly so.
They are after bigger fish than us. This, as must now be very obvious, has
turned political. It has, in fact, been political since day one of the
planning for the Olympics, and now Boris and his Tory mates have left office
and Labour are back in control of London, this is only going to get worse.
And you know what, I believe that it will start to see the spotlight lifted
from us, our board and Lady Brady, and onto the real villains - namely the
bureaucrats, politicians, faceless quangos, the athletics elite and the
stadium designers and planners who have left everyone with this dog's
dinner.
Can't everyone see that Khan wants Boris on a wire, something the blonde
bungler made pretty famous during the Olympics? If Khan and the new regime
have their way, Boris will be strung out for some time.
Up until now, everything that has gone wrong at the now London Stadium has
been laid at our door. Be it the crowd problems against Chelsea, all that
coin throwing and 'aggressive pointing' as one newspaper called it.
It doesn't seem to matter to anyone that so little of the stadium issues are
of our making, certainly not any of the recriminations surrounding the
stadium's design, construction and funding. And certainly not the initial
nonsense over segregation, stewarding and the lack of police.
If I was Khan, I would want to know where the money has gone, who has been
paid what, who decided what and when, and just how desperate Boris Johnson
was to get the stadium's future off his CV.
Don't forget, he was our Prime Minister in waiting. A Olympic Stadium white
elephant, unused and hugely expensive to maintain and mothball would have
ruined all that glad-handing and picture opportunities that our
pontificating rulers went through as they took the acclaim for a wonderfully
successful Olympics.
And crucially, the much-peddled theory that the legacy and the financial
aftermath would not further bother the tax payers.
Even the rightly much-maligned Dan Roan, the BBC man with his knife into us
ever since the Tevez saga, managed to switch his wrath (just) away from our
club and towards the people who made the catastrophic decisions
pre-Olympics.
In one of his worthy pieces for the BBC website, he managed to talk about
"those originally responsible", and "who agreed West Ham's remarkable deal"
as well as finding out "why the stadium was not designed for duel use from
the beginning. "Hallelujah, it's what we have been beating on about for
years with nobody listening.
Even the new London bosses were talking about "how we should stop worrying
about how West Ham acquired such a wonderful deal, to rather, who agreed to
it in the first place".
Grudgingly, people are starting to stop worrying about Karren Brady's
negotiation techniques, and are now wondering how desperate Boris was to
distance himself from the whole unseeingly wrangling, while he was
concentrating on trying to stab David Cameron in the back and riding around
the country in that bus covered in lies.
Brady couldn't believe her luck. Here was a regime who would agree to
virtually anything just to get rid of the problem. That she took full
advantage is only to be expected. Why not? It's only business.
And I don't believe for a second that Khan's inquiry will uncover anything
untoward about West Ham's involvement. Surely nobody believes that Brady and
our board would have done anything at all in anyway underhanded. They may be
a lot of things, but stupid in business. Not a chance.
This, from their point of view was surely going to be as straight as a dye,
let's face it, they were not really struggling to get what they wanted.
Khan has every right to look into the nuts and bolts of what was done before
he reached County Hall, and as I have said, I bet he is not looking at us,
but the people who mismanaged the whole thing from the start. And Boris.
Our club is absolutely right not to be making any statements on the
situation, it's nothing to do with us who made decisions and why before we
were ever involved. And it is being pointed out the stadium was three-parts
completed before they eventually started to talk to West Ham. We had no
input.
I hope he soon sees that none of the construction work, the companies
contracted and the costs agreed has anything to do with us. I hope, and
believe, he will agree that we should have been involved in the initial
planning from the start because it would have saved the taxpayers a fortune.
We all know that the pompous middle-class athletics mafia would not have
anything to do with that nasty, money-making football industry. They were
horrified at the obscene wealth of young men and their threesomes, gambling
and wild behaviour.
All this while they have been defending, or turning a blind eye, to the most
industrial drug taking scandal ever seen in sport, anywhere. Hypocrites.
And that brings me to the people who have really annoyed me of late, the
rent-a-quote, gobby MPs and supposed experts. No, the stadium is not going
to be pulled down. (Who would pay for a new one anyway, and where would we
go for a couple of years?) Sheer nonsense.
No, the stadium is not going to be shut down because of a few incidents of
coin throwing and a lot of pushing and shoving. And no, I am not trying to
belittle what happened against Chelsea, anyone found guilty of pointing at
rival fans should be banned, and seriously, anyone found to have thrown
coins, plastic bottles and the odd seat , should hunted down and banned.
Brady is good at that, it seems. I just hope Chelsea are searching through
CCTV footage to punish their lot. But don't hold your breath.
Firstly, two ill-informed opportunist MPs are on our case. First up, Mark
Field, (Tory, cities of London and Westminster, 9,671 majority). A job for
life, you might say, must be hard to hang onto that seat?
But here he was talking about us playing behind closed doors and having to
produce a detailed new plan inside 14 days on the stadium problems. Hang on
there pal, Bury supporter and vice-chair of the Commons football committee.
Should he not have been aiming his attention on the people who have failed
to handle the segregation, stewarding and policing at the LS? Talk about
rent-a-quote, those MPs who find themselves on TV on Sundays dressed in
cashmere cardigans, pressed cords and loafers sitting in pretty. walled
Surrey gardens and spouting about whatever the TV people want.
It took me a while to remember where I last heard of Field, then the fact
that he was all over the papers for shagging soon-to-be Tory MP, Liz Truss
came up on my Google search (Don't worry Ed, it's all common knowledge,
now).He clearly needed some new publicity.
Then there was his committee chairman, Damien Collins (Tory, Folkestone and
Hythe, 13,797 majority) another with a job for life and the annoying habit
of only getting half the story.
He wants to know why the conversion costs are so much more than for
Manchester City's Etihad stadium after the Commonwealth Games. Good grief,
do keep up. It's because City were involved from the start, the stadium was
planned for football and the transition was easy and cheap.
Cheap though is not the performance of City this week I experienced from the
newly built extension to the stadium as they smashed Barcelona.
A fantastic evening in a great stadium, seeing a team who have blossomed
from mid-table also-rans to what they are now, and all due to big money, a
stunning stadium and joined up planning. Think about it gents.
How come Collins didn't know all that? Half cock, half the information. And
this guy has form. He was the guy who, using the disgraceful 'parliamentary
privilege' was able to get away with bad-mouthing Neil Warnock of late in a
committee discussing bent managers. Slander and actionable outside of
Westminster.
The fact that Collins decided to drag up the Jason Puncheon incident again,
and the twitter claims made about Warnock's management style, was a
disgrace. Collins was prattling away at another of those parliamentary
committees, this one about football's governance. But he should have known
that the FA fined Puncheon, the twitter stuff was taken down and Warnock was
exonerated, something Collins somehow forgot. These are the sort of people
taking pot shots at us.
Then we have Paul Fletcher, ex-Burnley and a stadium 'expert'. He wants the
stadium knocked down. What rubbish. I last encountered him when he was doing
after-dinner speaking, and he does like the sound of his own voice.
But he did, pointedly, insist that he advised the stadium planners to
involved West Ham and build a football style stadium right from the start.
That fell on deaf ears…not surprised, are we?
So, let's see what Khan's lot come up with before jumping to conclusions. I
bet he will have enough to do sorting out the planners, designers, policy
makers and stadium admin to worry to much about Brady's coup.
Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the
author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be
attributed to, KUMB.com.
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West Ham v Stoke: Metropolitan police presence inside London Stadium
By Sky Sports News HQ
Last Updated: 03/11/16 6:14pm
SSN
Metropolitan Police Officers will be stationed between West Ham and Stoke
fans inside the London Stadium for the first time this weekend, as
authorities work to avoid further outbreaks of violence, Sky Sport News HQ
understands. To date, officers have been based outside the former Olympic
Stadium, entering only when violence has broken out. However on Saturday, it
is believed that lines of officers will supplement stewards for the first
time, keeping Stoke's 2,900 visiting fans segregated from the home fans on
either side. And, in a new development, on Thursday around 150 West Ham
season ticket holders have been relocated within the London Stadium as part
of the club's new segregation policies. Last week's violent scenes during
the EFL Cup match against Chelsea prompted West Ham to bring in a series of
measures, including an increase in the size of the segregation areas,
keeping rival fans apart. Yesterday Sky Sports News HQ reported that Stoke
City were trying to contact 85 of the 2,900 fans heading for East London,
after West Ham informed them they were re-issuing tickets to allow the
segregation areas to grow. This week, West Ham have been forced into a
similar move, with around 150 season ticket holders seated in Block 114
being removed from their chosen season-ticketed seats.
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Olympic Stadium chief David Edmonds resigns
By Paul Vinnell
Last Updated: 03/11/16 9:43am
SSN
The chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation, owners of the
Olympic Stadium, has resigned. David Edmonds, who has been a director of the
company that controls the Olympic Park since 2009, offered his resignation
to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, on Wednesday night. It follows Sky's
revelation of the soaring cost of converting the stadium, which prompted an
investigation by the Mayor. Mayor Khan announced his investigation after Sky
News learned that the estimated annual cost of moving "retractable" seats,
installed to improve the view for football, has risen to £8m, and that
moving the seats back and forth for summer events including athletics could
take a month.
David Goldstone, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development
Corporation, said: "David has made an enormous contribution to the legacy of
the London 2012 Games and he has helped to steer the organisation through
some extremely challenging issues. We thank him for all his hard work and
wish him well in the future."
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Motorbike 'gunmen' try to rob West Ham footballer Andy Carroll
The suspects tried to block Andy Carroll's car at a junction, and chased him
through the streets after he managed to drive away.
03:08, UK,
Thursday 03 November 2016
SKY News
West Ham striker Andy Carroll was threatened by two men on motorbikes who
claimed to be armed with guns in an attempted robbery. The Premier League
footballer was driving home from a training session when the suspects
demanded him to stop at a junction and gestured they had weapons. Both men
attempted to block his Mercedes G-Wagon when he tried to get away. They then
pursued the 27-year-old as he returned to the team's training ground for
help from security staff. The Metropolitan Police has confirmed they were
called to reports of an attempted robbery at gunpoint in nearby northeast
London at 12.45pm on Wednesday. However, the two men rode off before
officers arrived. Detectives from Redbridge CID are investigating but are
yet to make any arrests.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jordan Spence has started training with Rotherham United over a potential
move according to a report from HITC Sport.
The72.co.uk
The 26-year-old defender, who can play right back and centre back, is
currently a free agent after he was released by MK Dons following their
relegation from the Sky Bet Championship last season. He has been looking
around for a new club ever since and he may have finally found a new home
after he begun training with Rotherham.
New Millers manager Kenny Jackett is looking to improve his defensive
options and with Spence having plenty of experience at this level having
played for the aforementioned Dons and having a loan spell with Sheffield
Wednesday previously, he could end up being the perfect addition to the
squad.
However if Spence wants to get a deal with Rotherham, much like Peter
Odemwingie has got after he signed a short-term deal last week, he will have
to impress during his trial. Not only that, he will be able to use this time
with a club to get back to full match fitness so if he fails to get a
contract with Rotherham, he will be in a better place to get a deal with
another club.
Rotherham are currently struggling in the Championship and have already
sacked on manager, Alan Stubbs, after they were left at the bottom of the
league. Now with Jackett in charge of the club, they will hope to move up
the table and avoid being relegated to Sky Bet League One.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Agent: 'Zaza could leave West Ham'
By Football Italia staff
Simone Zaza's father and agent "can't guarantee" that the striker will stay
at West Ham United. The Italian international has struggled since moving to
the Premier League, and it has been suggested that he could return to Italy
in January, with Napoli said to be interested. "I honestly don't know, I
think we'll analyse the various situations," Antonio Zaza admitted in an
interview with Calciomercato.com. "Either tomorrow or the day after I'll be
in London to take stock of the situation with Simone and West Ham. "The
situation isn't very clear, I can't guarantee that he'll stay in London
until the end of the season or that he'll definitely leave.
"Firstly it will be important to analyse everything with my son."
Has there been any contact with Napoli?
"No, no-one from Napoli has called me recently. As you know, there was a
concrete deal last summer but no-one has called me again. "Milan? Not for
the moment, no. These two destinations would be very welcome, if they called
me I'd talk to them willingly."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
LLDC chairman Dave Edmonds resigns amid inquiry into West Ham London Stadium
costs
JAMES BENGE
Evening Standard
The chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) – the
owners of West Ham's London Stadium – has resigned after Sadiq Khan ordered
an inquiry into the cost of the ground. David Edmonds, who was appointed
chairman just over a year ago in September 2015, has ended his tenure after
it emerged that the cost of converting the arena for West Ham had risen to
£51million. Mayor of London Khan demanded an investigation after being told
that the conversion cost, to which West Ham contributed £15m, had increased
to £323m. That took the total cost to the taxpayer of the London Stadium to
£752m. David Goldstone, chief executive of the LLDC, said: "David has made
an enormous contribution to the legacy of the London 2012 Games and he has
helped to steer the organisation through some extremely challenging issues.
We thank him for all his hard work and wish him well in the future."
Edmonds has been a board member of the LLDC and its predecessor, the Olympic
Park Legacy Company, since 2010 and chaired E20 LLP, the joint venture
between Newham Borough and the LLDC that is responsible for the stadium. The
price of retractable seating has been a key issue, rising from a predicted
£300,000 to £8m, with the company behind the original proposal, Alto Seating
Solutions, having gone into liquidation. The 15 days required to change the
stadium from an athletics to football mode also means that West Ham are
unlikely to be able to play a home game at their new ground until September
next season, with the World Athletics Championships taking place in
Stratford until August 13. Deputy Mayor Jules Pipe said earlier this week
that the investigation into the costs of the former Olympic Stadium would
consider all aspect of the ground's management to understand why its cost
had skyrocketed. However he conceded that there was little possibility of
renegotiating the original deal with West Ham, which commits the ground's
tenants to paying £2.5m per annum in rent.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham news: Blame Seb Coe and Boris Johnson, not the club, for the
scandalous waste of £752m stadium
Is this the legacy Coe envisaged 11 years ago?
The Independent
Ian Herbert Chief Sportswriter @ianherbs 44 minutes ago1 comment
There are many reasons for rage about £752m being casually tossed away on a
stadium to accommodate a London football team currently larging it in the
£5bn Premier League, though the contribution which that club is stumping up
for the privilege tops the lot.
West Ham United have paid £15m – the cost of an average midfield player –
towards the £323m alteration costs to their new ground and are finding about
£2.5m a year – the annual salary of an average midfield player – to help
with the running costs. And that's their lot. The exchequer is picking up
the vast remainder of the tab, at a time when 8 per cent of 16-24-year-olds
in the capital report recently being homeless and the number of people
sleeping rough there is double what it was five years ago. 'Football -
bloody hell,' as a manager once said. Out there in the real world, what must
they think of this game we love and the parallel plain it occupies?
Well, the game cannot take the kicking on this occasion. We must turn to an
old friend of this column to understand how this nation, which the
Conservative Government have been telling us for six years requires a long
dose of austerity, is blowing three quarters of a billion to accommodate
Slaven Bilic and his merry men.
He is one Sebastian Coe, who was talking in a very loud way about 'legacy'
in 2005, when insisting that a 20,000-seat unroofed athletics stadium must
form the centrepiece of 2012 London's Olympic Bid. They told him at the time
that he should bring a football club in from the start for the Olympic
Stadium, because you count on the fingers of one hand the number of days
athletics needs 20,000 seats.
Coe was not having it. I mean, he really was not having it. It takes a hell
of a lot to fluster this man but one of those occasions arrived when, under
questioning by the Greater London Authority, it was put to him that
Tottenham Hotspur may be the stadium's future occupants. "I didn't make a
promise to Tottenham Hotspur season ticket holders," he fulminated. Football
would not be in the 2012 Bid document, diluting London's appeal with to IOC.
Safe to say it also helped Coe's bid for the presidency of athletics'
governing body, the IAAF, to make a "permanent home for athletics" one of
the Bid's articles of faith.
Enter, stage left, Boris Johnson, an individual who loves nothing more than
a spectacular project. It was he who pushed for an additional £300m or so
more to be spent bringing some Premier League razzle to the stadium and
making it dual use after all. Except £300m wasn't enough. The original
canopy only covered two-third of the seats, so £160m would be needed for a
new cantilevered roof – the largest cantilevered roof in the world, no less
– and to install 21,000 retractable seats, bringing the lower tiers closer
to the pitch.
By the time it came to adapting the stadium for the only sport which could
consistently fill it, West Ham were the only show in town. And since
everyone who has sold a house knows what a lack of willing buyers does to
the price, Karren Brady & Co can hardly be blamed for driving as good a deal
for their shareholders as they could.
A little spirit of inquiry and curiosity would have told Coe that he was not
breaking new ground, here. When Manchester staged the Commonwealth Games in
2002, an expensive new stadium was also built. But in that city they happen
to have effective administrators, who worked out exactly what the legacy
would look like. It was agreed, ahead of construction, that the Commonwealth
Stadium would be converted for use by Manchester City and the original
design took account of that. The conversion only cost around £42 million,
with the tax payer and Manchester City each footing half the bill.
Prime Minister Theresa May dipped into the world of football for an easy hit
in the popularity stakes on Wednesday, when she appropriated the poppy for
political ends and damned Fifa's refusal to allow England and Scotland to
wear one on their jerseys when they play each other, next week. Everyone
loves some feel-good Fifa-kicking. An intelligent head of government would
have looked at this scandalous £752m waste and demanded that Coe and Johnson
answer to the DCMS select committee for their actions.
West Ham coincidentally revealed that they are unlikely to play any home
games before September next season because it will take 15 days for the
seats to be put back in place after next summer's World Athletics
Championships. The seats are actually not retractable at all. They must be
entirely dismantled. It was thought that the process would only take five
days but not so. The firm who promised to do so, Alto Seating Solutions, has
gone into liquidation.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham's Andy Carroll left 'shaken' after attempted armed robbery
Telegraph Sport
3 NOVEMBER 2016 • 12:09AM
Police are investigating an incident in which Andy Carroll, the West Ham
United and England forward, was threatened at gunpoint while he was
returning from training on Wednesday. The 27-year-old was ambushed in his
£100,000 Mercedes G-Wagon by two motorcyclists as he approached a road
junction in Essex. They ordered him to stop his car, but the 6ft 4in Carroll
accelerated and drove at speed to try to shake them off. According to the
Daily Mail, Carroll decided his safest option was to return to West Ham's
training ground in Rush Green, which lies between Barking and Dageham and
Havering, but in near-panic was in collision with a number of vehicles.
He managed to finally throw off the attackers and summoned help once he
arrived at the training ground, where he was said to be "shaken and
stunned".
Fellow players offered him support until police were able to arrive on the
scene. He later was allowed to return to his home to be reunited with his
fiancée Billi Mucklow, the reality TV star, and their son Arlo, aged one. A
spokesman for West Ham said last night: "West Ham United can confirm an
incident targeting one of our players on Wednesday 2 November. The matter is
now being handled by the police."
The Metropolitan Police confirmed officers were called to reports of an
attempted robbery at gunpoint in nearby Chigwell, north-east London. A
Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: "Police were called at around 12.45 on
Wednesday, November 2, to reports of two males on motorcycles attempting to
rob the driver of a car in Romford Road. "The two men threatened the driver
and intimated through gesture that they were in possession of a gun. The
motorcyclists attempted to block the car as the driver sought to get away.
"The driver of the car - a man aged in his 20s - was able to manoeuvre away
and he called police for assistance. The suspects rode off prior to the
arrival of police. "The driver of the car was spoken to and an allegation of
attempted robbery was recorded."
Officers from Redbridge CID are investigating and are yet to make any
arrests, the Met said. It has been a difficult few months for Carroll, who
has not played this season apart from the opening day when he suffered knee
damage – the latest in a long line of injuries – and he is still some way
from a return to full fitness.
It has also been a challenging time for his club, whose move away from Upton
Park to the London Stadium has been dogged by incidents of crowd violence,
the worst of which occurred during last week's 2-1 EFL Cup win over Chelsea,
when rival supporters threw coins and broken-off parts of seats at each
other. West Ham, meanwhile, are struggling at the wrong end of the Premier
League table. Their 2-0 defeat away to Everton last Sunday leaves them in
17th place, just three points above the relegation places. They have a
crucial match at home to Stoke on Saturday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Halfway to £25 million obligation to buy, Zaza admits he is struggling to
adapt to English football
HITC
Damien Lucas
Simone Zaza is halfway to triggering West Ham United's whopping £25 million
obligation to buy him from Juventus but the player has admitted he's
struggling. If Simone Zaza can't get into a West Ham side that is not
scoring freely and where his three rivals for a starting spot are injured or
not fully fit then it doesn't bode well. The Italian striker was a
substitute yet again in the 2-0 defeat to Everton last time out with winger
Michail Antonio preferred up front. But coming on as a sub Zaza clocked up
another appearance as he reached seven games, halfway to activating the
14-game obligation to buy clause for an eye-watering £25 million from Serie
A giants Juventus. While pundits and fans alike have seen for themselves
that Zaza is struggling to adapt to life in the Premier League, now the
player himself has admitted as much in an interview with the club's official
website. "Well, the game is much more physical here and there is less
emphasis on tactics," Zaza told whufc.com. "The game is non-stop for the
whole 90 minutes. "I knew that when I arrived it would be hard, because it's
a completely different league, but I didn't think it would be this
different."
While Zaza went on to say he felt more comfortable in recent weeks, his lack
of game time in the club's two games since suggests that manager Slaven
Bilic does not trust the player. And it is understandable, after all Zaza
has not even come close to a goal with over a quarter of the season gone.
Reports in the likes of the Express emerged this week that West Ham were
sounding out AC Milan to potentially take on the 25-year-old's loan deal so
they could pursue other targets in January.
Perhaps that would be best for all parties as it would be inconceivable that
the Hammers could potentially pay out a club record £25m to sign a striker
who has already proved a flop.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Paper round-up: Hammers linked with Kone
By London Football News 03/11/2016
Embed from Getty Images
West Ham are monitoring Sunderland centre-back Lamine Kone, according to the
Daily Mirror. Hammers boss Slaven Bilic is reportedly keen to strengthen his
defence in January and is said to be interested in the Ivory Coast
international. Kone, 27, was previously tipped to join Everton and the
Mirror say the Merseyside club could make another attempt to sign him.
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