Daily WHUFC News - 31st July 2016

From the Boardroom - David Sullivan
WHUFC.com


The Joint-Chairman on the new Stadium, UEFA Europa League, injuries and
transfers...

It is an extremely busy time for everyone at West Ham United and I can
assure you that we are all working as hard as possible to ensure a
successful future for our Football Club. We are now less than a week away
from our historic first-ever home match at our new Stadium on Queen
Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Hundreds of people have been putting in long days and nights to ensure the
Stadium is ready for our opening fixture against NK Domzale in the UEFA
Europa League, working 24-hours-a-day. There has been so much going on at
the Stadium these past few weeks, with the major work being to move the
relocatable seating into place so that our Season Ticket Holders can sit in
their regular Premier League seats for next Thursday's game. This has been a
major engineering project, but one we are confident will be completed to
everyone's satisfaction.

My Vice-Chairman Karren Brady welcomed VIP guests to the Stadium earlier
this week, including the family and friends of the late, great Bobby Moore,
former players and jounalists. They were given a tour of Club London and
also able to view the inside of the Stadium bowl from the Upper Tier of the
East Stand. The feedback I have received has been overwhelmingly positive,
with some being close to tears when they saw the scale of our new home.

Of course, if we are going to continue to grow our already enormous fanbase,
we need to play entertaining, winning football. On Thursday, we lost 2-1 to
Domzale in our UEFA Europa League third qualifying round first leg tie in
Slovenia, which we all admit was not good enough. I was certainly scratching
my head to explain why we couldn't hit our usual high levels of performance,
and I am sure Slaven and his coaching staff were too. We know we have to do
better next week – and we will. Tickets for the second leg are selling well,
with Season Ticket Holders and Claret Members taking us close to a sell out,
so I would urge you all to purchase your seat as soon as possible to ensure
you do not miss out on this unique occasion.

Any remaining tickets will go on General Sale on Saturday morning and are
expected to go quickly Thursday's performance and the injuries suffered by
Aaron Cresswell, Manuel Lanzini and Gokhan Tore have only increased our
eagerness to get deals done. There has been some good news with Manu, who we
hope will only miss three Premier League fixtures. We are very close to
bringing in a very promising striker who has scored goals regularly in his
career in competitive leagues. He will need time to settle, like every new
player, but we are confident he will add a lot to the squad.

We are also talking to another Premier League club about a top-class
international forward, but the discussions over financial terms still have
some way to go.
With Aaron unfortunately out for a few weeks, we have lodged bids in for a
left-back, one of which was an £8m bid which was turned down on Thursday. We
will now decide whether or not we increase that bid.

Watch this space.

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Stadium in full football mode for Europa League
WHUFC.com

West Ham United are delighted to confirm that the relocatable seating on all
four sides of London Stadium is now in place, which means the Hammers'
iconic new home will be operating in full football mode for both the UEFA
Europa League and the Betway Cup.

The Club have been working tirelessly with Stadium owners E20 Stadium LLP to
ensure that Season Ticket Holders have access to their chosen seasonal seat.
And thanks to the success of the accelerated process to move the relocatable
seats, every single seat in the lower tier will now be in use from day one,
with a maximum Stadium capacity of 54,000 for these first two fixtures.

This is the final step for the ramp up to the Stadium opening at its full
60,000 capacity for the eagerly-awaited opening Premier League fixture
against AFC Bournemouth on Sunday 21 August.

As a result of a great deal of hard work on our part and that of our
partners E20 Stadium LLP, Season Ticket Holders in Blocks 145-155 of the new
Bobby Moore Stand are now able to secure their seat for the return leg
against NK Domzale on Thursday 4 August via www.eticketing.co.uk/whufc or
over the telephone on 0871 529 1966*

Their priority window will run until 5pm on Saturday 30 July.

In the meantime, all remaining tickets elsewhere in the ground are to go on
General Sale from 9am Saturday 30 July.

Supporters are reminded that the return leg will not be televised in the UK
and so the only way to witness the Hammers' landmark curtain raiser at
London Stadium is by securing your seat here.

As for the Betway Cup showdown against Italian champions Juventus,
supporters will be pleased to learn that a number of additional tickets in
the lower tier have now been made available.

The prestigious fixture on Sunday 7 August, which will include the Stadium's
official opening ceremony, had been sold out for some months, but supporters
now have one final chance to get their hand on a ticket for the Hammers'
marquee friendly.

Juventus tickets are on General Sale from www.eticketing.co.uk/whufc or over
the telephone on 0871 529 1966*

*Calls are charged at 13p/min plus your phone provider's access charge.

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Three Hammers, Three Lions, One World Cup
WHUFC.com

Saturday 30 July is a date that will forever be part of England – and West
Ham United – folklore.

That day, three Hammers inspired the Three Lions to their greatest-ever
triumph, a triumph that has never been repeated – FIFA World Cup glory.

Inspirational captain Bobby Moore was the man who lifted the Jules Rimet
Trophy at Wembley Stadium that sunny afternoon 50 years ago, while hat-trick
hero Geoff Hurst and goalscorer Martin Peters were the men whose goals
helped England to win it.

More than 96,000 supporters inside the ground, and millions more watching
and listening across the country, enjoyed the finest day in England's
football history thanks to three humble young graduates of the Academy of
Football.

Moore was the boy from Barking who grew up to be his country's greatest
defender and captain; Hurst was the converted midfielder who Ron Greenwood
had turned into a prolific centre forward; Peters was the multi-talented
player who could line up anywhere and was considered ten years ahead of his
time.

Together, the trio took what they had learned on the lush green grass of
Chadwell Heath in Claret and Blue into the bright white of England on the
biggest day of their lives.

Moore's free-kick was headed in by Hurst to level after Helmut Haller's
opener before Peters put England on the cusp of winning the cup in normal
time with his 78th-minute shot.

Wolfgang Weber equalised with a minute to go, but England would not be
denied as Hurst scored twice – the first a disputed effort that bounced down
off the underside of the crossbar, and the second an emphatic last-gasp
finish while fans spilled onto the pitch.

Five decades on, England have yet to repeat the triumph, and here West Ham's
two surviving World Cup winners share their memories of a truly
unforgettable afternoon.

The hat-trick hero

Sir Geoff Hurst scored after 18, 101 and 120 minutes to complete the first –
and only – FIFA World Cup final treble…

"Scoring three goals and losing would have meant absolutely nothing to me.
I think my first was the most important goal and I've always said that. My
celebration was a combination of 'I'm here, I'm ready, I'm myself now and
I've justified my place. That stupid 'knees in the air' thing I did was an
expression of 'I'm really here'.

"The disputed goal, from a technical point of view, was a good goal. To get
the power on it, I had to lean back and I'm almost sitting on my bum to get
the power. The ball bounced behind the goalkeeper Tilkowski, so I had the
worst view in the stadium.

"The Swiss referee then consulted the Russian linesman and they couldn't
speak a common language. God knows what they were talking about!

"We were then hanging on 3-2 with seconds to go and the last cross of the
afternoon was put in by Willi Schulz on the right wing and the ball was
going to bounce in a very dangerous position. Who was there who has great
technique and reading of the game ability? Bobby Moore, of course.

"What does he do? He chests the ball down in the middle of the penalty area
in a World Cup final. His centre-half partner Jackie Charlton of Leeds would
have dealt with this in a slightly different way and he was heard to shout
across to Mooro: 'Robert, will you please kick the ball out of the ground!'.

"What Bobby was also good at was hitting the front player. Overath was going
to catch me because he didn't have the ball and I did, but then there was a
call from the other side of the pitch [from Alan Ball] of 'Hursty, give me
the ball' and that call disturbed the German defence.

"It could have gone beyond the bar and into the stand, into the crowd, and
by the time the ball boy had got the ball back to Tilkowski and he had hit
it upfield, the game would have been over.

"My feeling was one of relief and then 'Did the last goal count?' so I went
back out on the pitch in my suit and looked at the scoreboard and it said
'4-2' and I realised that it had counted."

The man of the moment

Plaistow-born Martin Peters MBE had only made his England debut in May 1966
and now the Hammers midfielder was a national hero…

"It's so difficult to explain how I felt, but I can tell you how the goal
came about. There were 12 minutes to go and Alan Ball had won a corner on
the right.

"The little guy went out to take the corner and he hit it to the far post. I
had a position on the near post where Alf Ramsey got me to stay.

"It actually went right over the far post and out of the box and Geoff Hurst
got onto the ball and maybe he should have passed but he shot. It was a
rubbish shot to be honest with you and it hit the full-back called Hoettges
on the leg and circled across the edge of the box.

"I had pulled out from my position on the near post to the edge of the box
and, as it came, I thought 'Oh God, it's coming to me, keep your knee over
the ball, like Ron Greenwood had told you at West Ham, and make sure it
doesn't go over the bar.

"As I hit it, the goalkeeper went one way and the full-back Schnellinger
went the other and it went down the middle and hit the back of the net.

"I was up and running and everyone was jumping all over me. Even now when I
talk about it, it gives me a thrill to think about scoring in the World Cup
final."

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Dev Squad beaten by strong Dutch outfit
WHUFC.com

The Development Squad faced a strong VVV-Venlo side on Saturday and were
beaten 6-1.

The Hammers equalised early in the second half through Toni Martinez after
they had fallen behind inside ten minutes, but the remaining action in the
second period was dominated by the hosts.

Substitutions were made and as the game lost its flow, Venlo capitalised on
some lapses in concentration to comfortably see out the game.

In a tight first half, it was the hosts who drew blood first, though the
Hammers had come close through Marcus Browne.

A long through ball from the back was collected in the right channel, and a
pinpoint cross allowed Torino Hunte to tap in.

And Nathan Trott was to thank midway through the first period as he flung
down to his right to superbly deny what looked a certain goal from a
six-yard header.

In the second half, Browne was again involved in the Irons' good play as he
drew a foul 20 yards from goal. Toni Martinez – who had just joined the
squad for the clash – took responsibility and fired low into the bottom left
corner to level the scores.

But soon, the Eerste Divisie team took control and put themselves beyond
reach of Terry Westley's young side – which contained a number of 15 and
16-year-olds.

Nathan Trott made good saves in the build up to Venlo's second and third
goals but could not deny the rebounds which were put away.

Vito van Crooij pounced to grab Venlo's second, while Tim Receveur was there
to find the back of the net soon after.

With half an hour remaining, Venlo scored with the model counter attacking
goal. Snatching the ball back from West Ham – who were themselves looking to
get back in the game – the Dutch side attacked fast and van Crooij was there
to finish an excellent move.

Receveur slid in at the back post to fire past Trott for the fifth, before
Hunte got himself on the scoresheet again, nodding over the line after Venlo
had previously struck the crossbar.

The two simple finishes completed the scoring at the Seacon Stadion – De
Koel to hand Venlo the victory against their partner club.

VVV-Venlo Squad: Maarten de Fockert, Moreno Rutten, Jerold Promes, Roel
Janssen, Danny Post, Vito van Crooij, Clint Leemans, Ralf Seuntjens,
Johnatan Opoku, Nils Roseler, Torino Hunte, Delano van Crooij, Leandro
Resida, Tim Receveur, Tristan Dekker, Roy Oomen, Lugman Bezzat, Roy Gielen

Dev Squad: Nathan Trott (Sam Howes 65), Sam Westley (Matt Carter 52), Josh
Pask, Tunji Akinola, Mason Barrett (Kristjian Belic 70), Diego Poyet (Janaai
Gordon 65), Moses Makasi (Noha Sylvestre 52), Dan Kemp (Jahmal Hector-Ingram
46), Marcus Browne (Conor Coventry 80), Grady Diangana (Joe Powell 61), Toni
Martinez (Alfie Lewis 71)

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West Ham make enquiry for Swansea's Andre Ayew - Sky sources
Hammers also closing in on Argentine forward Jonathan Calleri
By Sky Sports News HQ
Last Updated: 29/07/16 5:27pm

West Ham have enquired into the availability of Swansea forward Andre Ayew,
according to Sky sources. The Hammers are yet to lodge an official bid for
the 26-year-old, who is understood to be valued by Swansea at £20m. Ayew
attracted interest from West Ham last summer, but joined the Swans on a free
transfer and went on to score 12 goals during his debut season in the
Premier League. The Ghana international, who is contracted to Swansea until
2019, is currently one of only two senior forwards at the club following the
departure of Bafetimbi Gomis to Marseille on a season-long loan. Swansea
hope to sign two strikers before the close of the summer transfer window and
it is understood they will not entertain the possibility of selling Ayew
until they have acquired attacking reinforcements.


Slaven Bilic is worried his West Ham squad is not big enough for the rigours
of the upcoming season… Meanwhile, Sky sources also understand West Ham are
closing in on the loan signing of Argentine forward Jonathan Calleri from
Boca Juniors. A deal for the 22-year-old is nearing completion, but an
announcement is not imminent. Calleri spent last season on loan at Brazilian
club Sao Paolo and scored 16 goals in 31 appearances.

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Hull turn down West Ham's £7m transfer bid for Andrew Robertson
By Keith Downie, Sky Sports News HQ
Last Updated: 29/07/16 5:52pm
SSN

West Ham have had a £7m bid turned down by Hull City for Scotland left-back
Andrew Robertson, according to Sky sources.

The Hammers have been forced into the left-back market after Aaron Cresswell
was injured for up to four months with knee ligament damage on Monday.

Creswell missed just one Premier League game over the past two seasons but
was left writhing in agony in the closing stages of Saturday's pre-season
win over German side Karlsruher in Austria.

Robertson, 22, was instrumental in Hull's promotion campaign to the Premier
League last term, making 52 appearances in all competitions and scoring four
goals.

He signed for Hull from Dundee United for £2.8m in 2014 and has gone on to
play 77 times for the Tigers. Glasgow-born Robertson also has 10 caps for
Scotland.


West Ham have been plagued with injury problems already in pre-season, with
Manuel Lanzini suffering a knee injury with Argentina ahead of the Olympic
Games in Rio.

Summer signing Gokhan Tore also needs a scan on his own knee problem after
being hurt in training on Monday.

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West Ham don't need to sell Dimitri Payet claims club legend Tony Cottee
22:30, 30 JUL 2016
BY STEVE STAMMERS
Under the regime of David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady, West Ham
have been transformed and, for Cottee, that means the end of the "selling
club" reputation
The Mirror

Tony Cottee was a high-profile member of the famed production line of
­home-grown talent at West Ham . But he left no doubt about the direction
his career would have taken, had the club enjoyed in 1988 the status it does
now. "Quite simply, I would never have left," he said. "Simple as that."
Under the regime of David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady, West Ham
have been transformed and, for Cottee, that means the end of the "selling
club" reputation. "That is what West Ham have been in the past," said
Cottee, a prolific goalscorer in two spells at West Ham. "But those days are
gone. Long gone." "The days when the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole,
Frank Lampard and Glenn Johnson and Jermain Defoe HAD to be sold are long
gone."

Cottee is hugely optimistic about the future now the club have relocated to
the Olympic Stadium, with its 55,000 capacity. "It is fantastic," said
Cottee. "It is real progress and it is a huge step forward for the club.
"With all the money that is in football now, West Ham can pay top wages and
the players can play in a marvellous arena. "Why would the likes of Dimitri
Payet want to leave? "The squad is strong and were close to qualifying for
the Champions League last season. There is no reason to leave an environment
like this. West Ham don't have to sell any more – and that is why I can see
someone like Mark Noble staying here for the rest of his career."

That was once an ambition of Cottee's. He saw great prospects ahead, back in
1986 when the club finished third in the old First Division. "That was a
great side," recalled Cottee. "I thought it was the ideal chance to push on
and win the title in the future, but it never happened." "I had the chance
to join either Everton or Arsenal – both teams who push for the title on an
annual basis. "I had also just got into the England set-up and you heard the
Manchester United, Liverpool and Everton players talking about
championships. "I wanted to taste that and, to be fair, John Lyall, the
manager at the time, understood. "But if John had been able to work with the
finances now and send his team out to that stadium, West Ham would have had
more success – and I would never have left."

Cottee is a season-ticket holder at the newly-renamed London Stadium. "It is
a club now ready to compete with the best, not only in London – but also the
rest of the country."

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est Ham closing on £5million signing of Sweden left-back Ludwig Augustinsson
22:30, 30 JUL 2016
BY FOOTBALL SPY
Aaron Cresswell has been sidelined for around four months and West Ham have
stepped up their efforts to get the deal for Augustinsson done
The Mirror

West Ham are closing in on £5million Sweden left-back Ludwig Augustinsson.
Hammers boss Slaven Bilic was ready to move for the FC Copenhagen defender
before Aaron Cresswell 's injury. The plan was to take him to the London
Stadium as back-up to one of the most consistent left-backs in the top
flight. But Cresswell has been sidelined for around four months after
suffering knee ligament damage and West Ham have stepped up their efforts to
get the deal for Augustinsson done. The 22-year-old started his career at
IFK Gothenburg, featuring 29 times before his switch to FC Copenhagen 18
months ago.
Augustinsson has been a regular for the Danish giants, with his exploits
catching the eye of the Hammers.

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