Daily WHUFC News - 2nd July 2017

West Ham United Ladies sign exciting WSL forward Amber Stobbs
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Ladies are delighted to announce the signing of exciting
forward Amber Stobbs. A speedy and creative attacker, Stobbs has represented
Reading Women and Everton Ladies in the Women's Super League (WSL) and joins
the ambitious Hammers from the latter. The London-born winger, who will also
take on the role of Women and Girls Officer with the West Ham United
Foundation, is excited about returning to her home city and helping West Ham
fulfil their desire of reaching the top flight themselves in the coming
years. "I'm very, very excited to be here and excited about what's to come
and I just can't wait to start rolling now," she told West Ham TV. "One of
the main reasons I have come is the ideas and ambitions of the club going
forward now we've got decent backing, which will help endlessly. "Also, I
had a very good experience when I was out of season with my previous clubs
and I trained with West Ham then, and at that moment I thought this was
somewhere I could see myself, so now it just seems perfect time. "I trained
for a month or two here last Christmas time and I really liked the members
of staff and even the training sessions themselves were what I would expect
from a team which wants to progress in the correct way. It seemed like the
perfect choice."

Stobbs' signing has been welcomed by Ladies managing director Jack Sullivan
and general manager Karen Ray. "It's great to have Amber on board, she being
experience from WSL and America and has played at a very high level!" said
Sullivan. "She loves the project and we hope she can help us get promotion
this season."

"Amber brings us so much more than her exciting ability on the ball, her
professionalism and desire to improve every day is exceptional," said Ray.
"She is a very effective player who I am confident will help lead a young
team to reach our aspirations. "We are delighted that Amber has seen the
ambitions of the club and believes in what we are doing, it speaks volumes
of the training environment we provide. "Amber's positive attitude and work
ethic both on and off the pitch have made her an incredible role model and
we are confident she will excel in her new role as the Women and Girls
Officer for the West Ham Foundation. We have no doubt that young girls will
aspire to follow in her footsteps and play for West Ham United Ladies."

Stobbs started playing football at the age of six and began her career with
Chelsea Ladies as a schoolgirl, before taking up a soccer scholarship in the
United States with Hofstra University in Long Island, New York, in 2010.
There, she helped the Pride twice reach the prestigious NCAA Tournament,
scoring six goals and registering eight assists in 47 appearances over four
seasons, while also turning out for professional club Washington Spirit in
Maryland each summer. There, she trained alongside United States
international forward Crystal Dunn, goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender
Ali Krieger, gaining much-needed experience before returning to England with
Reading in 2016. "That was the best experience!" she recalled. "I went over
there on a scholarship and it was obviously a great opportunity to play
football full-time and get a great education. "I ended up getting my
under-graduate degree in psychology and masters in sports science, then
worked out there before coming back to England to play the game." "I trained
alongside top players every day and that was an experience in itself and
obviously you just learn from the best and hope you'll get there one day."

Stobbs continued her football education with Everton earlier this year,
appearing four times as the Toffees won the WSL 2 Spring Series title
earlier this year. Now, the qualified football coach has brought her game
back down south. "The game has come a long way from when I played in England
at 17 before I went to America," she observed. "Back then, I was the only
girl in my area who played football, and I played for boys' teams growing
up. "The professionalism in this country has brought it on a long way and
the English national team did really well at the last World Cup, which made
me feel I wanted to come back to this country and have that football
lifestyle. "I am now looking for somewhere to develop more on and off the
pitch and there is no better place to do that than in my home city. "I'm
also very excited as I'm going to be working with the Ladies and West Ham
United Foundation to help more younger girls into the game, which I'm
massively passionate about."

You can follow Amber Stobbs on Twitter @akstobbs.

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Toni Martinez excited for start of pre-season
WHUFC.com

Toni Martinez says he is motivated more than ever to make his West Ham
United first team debut after seeing fellow youngster Declan Rice play his
first Premier League game last season. Martinez, who turned 20 on Friday,
spent the second half of the last campaign on loan at Sky Bet League One
side Oxford United, before returning to West Ham to help the U23s clinch
promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1. His two goals in the Play-Off
Final against Newcastle United capped off a terrific first year in English
football for the Spaniard and he cannot wait to return for pre-season with
the Hammers next week. "I am really excited to get going again and get back
on the pitch ahead of the new season," said last year's U23s top scorer.
"I'm really looking forward to meeting all the people at the Club again,
catching up with all the boys and of course seeing and meeting all the West
Ham fans who were brilliant to me last season. "Last season was a fantastic
season for me. I'm happy with my adaptation, with how I've coped playing a
different style of football in a different country and I hope this season
will be even better."
"The loan at Oxford last season definitely helped develop me. To play
professional football has been really useful and important. I feel now even
more ready to help West Ham United to achieve our goals."

Martinez played with Irish international Rice a number of times for Terry
Westley's U23s last year, with the latter becoming another member of the
Club's prestigious Academy of Football to make their Hammers first team
debut. Rice's substitute appearance in the Premier League victory against
Burnley on the final day of last season has given belief to Martinez that a
debut of his own is just around the corner. "This pre-season, I hope the
manager counts me in with pre-season, and if he does, I'll be really looking
forward to joining up and going away with them," he continued. "Not only
that, but I hope to gain a place in the first team squad and help with my
goals that I want to achieve. "The aim for the season really for me has to
be finally making my first team debut. Dec [Rice] was given his last season
and that was really fantastic to see. The fact that the manager trusts
Declan and potentially other young players is very motivating. "I would love
for the manager to consider me for a place in the team when he believes I'm
ready."

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REMEMBERING THE THREE TIME HAMMER OF THE YEAR
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 1 JULY 2017 AT 3:19PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Dwayne Hawkins @DwayneWHU

Hero or villain.

Legend or Judas.

Never before has one man made such a substantial impact on the West Ham team
and gone on to become one of the most divisive figures in the clubs history.
Derision over the club that he chose to represent after his departure has
certainly tainted his legacy and left a bad taste in the mouth of a large
portion of fans. Were his almost super human performances while wearing
Claret and Blue enough to allow us as a fan-base to forgive and forget? Did
a man who consistently gave it his all week in and week out during one of
our worst periods in recent memory earn the right to pick his next club
without being judged in the eyes of the fans and the club?

Those are questions in which every West Ham fan will have a different
answer. What we can all agree on is that one of our most influential and
inspirational players has announced his retirement from professional
football.

Scott Parker. There was no one quite like you.

The summer of 2007 was an exciting time to be a West Ham fan. Although the
following few seasons would prove to be anything but, in this transfer
window optimism was rife. Eggert Magnusson had completed his takeover of the
club in the November previous and his first transfer window in the following
January saw big names like Lucas Neil, Matthew Upson and Luis Boa Morte all
join the club. That summer West Ham were active in the transfer window and
boasting a bulging wallet, they club broke their transfer record by bringing
in Craig Bellamy for £7.5 Million. Freddie Ljungberg and Noberto Solano also
joined to add further flair to team. These signings would go on to have
varying levels of success for the club, but it was Scott Parker, a £7
million buy from Newcastle that would have the biggest impact.

Parker would make his name as a trainee at Charlton, making his debut for
the club in 1997. He would soon displace captain Mark Kinsella and become a
starting player for the club by the 2000/2001 season. With his tenacious
tackling and ability to pick out killer passes he would quickly make a name
for himself as one of the brightest prospects in English football. He would
go on to make 145 appearances for Charlton before Chelsea would come calling
in 2004 and he made the move across London for £10 million. He found
himself behind Claude Makelele and Frank Lampard in his first season and as
such his career stagnated. He found starts difficult to come by in the
Premier League but was a regular performer in the domestic cup competitions.
Newcastle offered him a way out in July 2005 and signed him for £6.5
million. By the time his spell at Chelsea came to an end he had managed to
make only 15 Premier League appearances in an 18 month spell.

It was at Newcastle that Scott Parker would restart his career and build a
reputation as one of the most consistent midfielders in the division. His
form led to a recall to the England team and him being made captain at the
beginning of his second season of the club following the retirement of Alan
Shearer. He made 73 appearances for Newcastle before moving back to London
and joining West Ham in the summer of 2007.

Injury would delay the start of his West Ham career, but he made his Premier
League debut for the Hammers in the 1 nil defeat to Arsenal in September
2007. Once back in the team and playing regularly Parker would continue to
display the form that he showed whilst playing for Newcastle without quite
hitting the levels of performance that he would in the following years. His
first goal for the club came as a last minute winner in December 2007
against Middlesboro and he finished his first season with the club making 18
Premier League appearances. Over the next few seasons the fans would fully
embrace him as their new hero. He was a throwback to a previous time, a
reluctant hero who would run that extra ten yards so a teammate wouldn't
have to. He was the embodiment of a working man's club. A man who left it
all on the pitch. Every single week.

He was a man who never truly got the recognition he deserved at
international level. He would make 18 appearances for the national side but
it wasn't until 2011 that he would truly become a regular for England.
Competing for his spot against bigger names in his position such as Steven
Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Gareth Barry and Michael Carrick there was often a
sniff of derision at the perceived lack of technical ability Parker had
compared to the aforementioned players. Never was this more plain to see
than when Parker was selected in Fabio Capello's preliminary 30 man squad
for the 2010 World Cup. He did not make the final 23 man squad despite being
the best performing central midfielder in the Premier League that season and
England would go on to have a poor tournament with their players lacking the
passion and drive that defined Scott Parker.

The following seasons brought difficult times and back to back relegation
battles. The first of which we survived through the skin of our teeth and a
swing of Parker's boot, as he scored the winning goal in a win against Wigan
and secured West Ham's place in the Premier League for another season. In
September 2010 he signed a new contract, becoming at that time the highest
paid player in the club's history. The following season featured some of the
worst performances West Ham have had in recent memory. Scott Parker was the
one player that gave me hope that things could turn around for the better.
That maybe we could find a way to dig ourselves out of the hole we had dug.
I have vivid memories of being at Upton Park that season and seeing Parker
making yet another challenge and the man stood beside him who only seconds
before had been cursing loudly clapping his hands together and screaming out
at the top of his lungs, "Does anybody else want to put any effort in!" The
familiar sound of Super Scotty Parker rang around the ground moments later,
just as it so often did during his spell with the Hammers.

He was as inspirational behind the scenes as he was on and demonstrated it
during a half time team talk that he gave which was enough to motivate West
Ham to come back from 3 nil down in a game against West Brom and salvage a
draw. Carlton Cole spoke about that day and inparticular that team talk,
stating; "If you were there you would have shed a tear." It was too much for
Parker to do alone that season and West Ham did succumb to relegation,
marking his place in history as the most undeserving man to ever suffer a
relegation from the Premier League. He would leave the club and have
successful spells with Tottenham and Fulham before announcing his retirement
from professional football aged 36 in June 2017.

He became the first player to win back to back Hammer of the Year awards
since Julian Dicks, and then won it for a third straight time the following
the season. He won the FWA Player of the year award the season West Ham
finished rock bottom of the Premier League. He brought a level of
determination and desire to win that the Hammers faithful had barely seen
before and are yet to see since. Whether he can ever go down as a true West
Ham legend is a question I will leave fans to answer themselves. However,
for all his contributions to the club during the four years he played for
West Ham, I would just like to say thank you Scott. There was no one quite
like you.

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EXWHUEMPLOYEE EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: BEASLEY JOINS IN REVAMP AND TRANSFER UPDATES
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 1 JULY 2017 AT 9:06AM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

Hi all, I decided to write this column, despite my absence from twitter,
mainly because there has been a lot of sensationalised reporting from the
media and some other West Ham News sites. I am looking forward to
continuing with the radio show on Wednesday and interacting with people
again via the show.

Following the appointment of much respected Gary Lewin as the club's new
Head of Medical services he has continued to revamp the medical team and
bring in his new men. The decision, from his hospital bed, of Slaven Bilic
to replace popular Stijn Vandenbroucke with the former England and Arsenal
man will bring a fresh approach to tackling our injury problems. This has
continued with the appointment of former England medic Dr Ian Beasley as the
new Club Doctor.

In other news, since I left twitter this week, not a lot has changed in
terms of transfers from when I left despite other media outlets trying to
tell you otherwise. Here is a brief summary:

Onyekuru deal collapsed because Everton decided to sign the player before a
work permit was agreed. A work permit may have required an appeal and The
Toffeemen decided they would sign the player regardless and loan him out. We
wanted a player for this season so we decided against a move.

No change in the Ihenanacho deal. The club has always accepted that we
would have to include a buy back clause. So sensationalised headlines of a
deal being closer to happening were misleading, inaccurate and designed to
generate hits. The deal continues to be held up by an agent dispute and may
not go ahead anyway as there are some concerns.

Enquires continue for many forwards including Modeste and Hernandez. We
have been long term admirers of both players (as you can trace back through
my columns) and both players are available. We had already bid for Modeste
but Koln wanted too much and he agreed a move to China. This has fallen
through so negotiations have resumed where we will try to bring down the
asking fee. Hernandez has always been a target and his availability means
we are very keen although we face strong competition.

We hope that Arsenal sign Lacazette so that Giroud will be granted a move
away from The Gunners.

Ogbonna agreed a 5 year deal. There was some interest from Italy for the
player but he had always committed himself to us.
https://twitter.com/WHUFCFZ/status/840303056059277312 He returned to
training early this week to put pen to paper. Other players mentioned in
the above tweet are set to follow.

The players return to first team training this week. Diafra Sakho and Andy
Carroll will require further medical treatment when they arrive back from
holidays.

Many loan offers have came in for our youngsters and most will be considered
for loans moves to the Championship. Bilic believes you have to prove
yourself there before ready for first team football.

We have been in talks to sign a top talented youngster from one of the most
established academies in the world. Whilst this player has been released
from the club he is still said to be highly talented.

You have a week to buy tickets for Sammy McNess' title fight next Saturday.
Remember if you buy tickets from him you will automatically be entered in
the draw for two West Ham Way tickets to any event. We are delighted to
announce that club legends Billy Bonds and Alan Devonshire have both agreed
to attend and dates will be confirmed when the sky fixtures are announced.
At the West Ham Way we have new and exciting venture coming soon and further
information will be available in the summer.

I hope you are all well! COYI

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West Ham in talks to sign Cologne striker Anthony Modeste
By Kaveh Solhekol, Sky Sports News HQ
Last Updated: 01/07/17 8:04am
SSN

West Ham are in talks to sign Anthony Modeste from Cologne, according to Sky
sources. The 29-year-old Frenchman scored 25 goals in 32 appearances in the
Bundesliga last season and the Hammers are prepared to pay £20m for him. Sky
Sports News HQ understands that West Ham turned down the chance to sign
Modeste for £6m last summer after he scored 15 goals in his first season for
Koln, who now want £30m. He was set to join Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian
for that amount this month but the move collapsed on Wednesday. Sky sources
understand West Ham have also contacted Villarreal about signing striker
Cedric Bakambu, who is also of interest to Newcastle United. DR Congo
international Bakambu scored 11 goals in all competitions for Villarreal
last season and has 34 in 81 appearances since joining the club in 2015 from
Bursaspor. Modeste is a former France U21 international but has never earned
a senior cap for France.

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Everything you need to know about £22m West Ham target Cedric Bakambu
Reports have emerged the Hammers have had a bid rejected for Bakambu, but
what do we know about him?
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
11:02, 1 JUL 2017

West Ham have reportedly had a £22m bid for striker Cedric Bakambu rejected
but could go back in with an improved offer, according to multiple reports
on Saturday morning. The Hammers are desperate to sign a new striker or two
this summer after a goal-shy 2016/17 season, thanks in no small part to
injuries to Andy Carroll and Diafra Sakho, with Simone Zaza, Jonathan
Calleri and Ashley Fletcher failing to fill the void in the interim. Slaven
Bilic's side have been linked with moves for a host of frontmen this summer,
with Kelechi Iheanacho, Michy Batshuayi, Olivier Giroud and Anthony Modeste
at the top of the list. But who is Bakambu, the latest player to be linked
with a switch to E20? Here's all you need to know.

Bakambu is a 25-year-old DR Congo international and is coming off the back
of a very successful season in Spain with Villareal. Bakambu, born in
France, netted 22 times last season and can also lay as a winger as well as
a striker. He made his professional debut for French side Sochaux in 2010
and played 107 times for them over five season, scoring 21 goals. That
earned him a move to Turkey and Bursaspor, finishing the season as their top
scorer in 2015. He also netted eight goals in 12 games as his team reached
the Turkish Cup final before a 3–2 home loss to Galatasaray. Bakambu
represented France at U18 and U19 level and was part of the side who won the
2010 U19 Championships on home soil and came fourth in the 2011 U20 World
Cup. In 2015, he decided to switch his allegiance to DR Congo at senior
level and earned his first call up for a friendly against Cameroon. He
scored his first international goal in a 2-1 win over Angola in an Africa
Cup of Nations qualifier.

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Henry Onyekuru – West Ham Offered Me More Money Than Everton But Odemwingie
Adviced Me To Snub Them
July 1, 201705

Everton latest signing Henry Onyekuru says he could have earned more
elsewhere than at Everton but choose to join the Premier League side after
listening to advices from ex Nigeria international Peter Osaze Odemwingie.
Onyekuru's move to Everton was confirmed yesterday by the club, with the
official announcement also confirming that he will spend a season on loan at
Belgium side Anderlecht. However the striker could have ended elsewhere
particularly West Ham who were the front runners for his signature, but the
20 year old who scored 24 goals last season for Eupen revealed‎ other
factors made him snub a move to other teams.
A chat with Odemwingie who played in the Premier League for Stoke City, West
Brom and Cardiff City‎ played a role in his choice of Everton, as well as
assurances from Everton boss Ronald Koeman. "Before making the decision I
seek some advice from Nigeria ex players like Osaze Odemwingie, and he gave
me some advices you know. I have some other clubs you know ready to offer
more than what Everton did", he told Owngoalnigeria.com. "But I begged with
my agent I need to play inside the pitch and not just the financial aspect
for my career I need a coach that will push me to make a good career for me,
so I choose Everton because the coach really wants me and I am going to take
a loan to Anderlecht, so it's good for my career.

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West Ham fail with Bakambu, Modeste bids
HITC
Shane Callaghan

West Ham United have failed with bids to sign the Primera Division and
Bundesliga hitmen. The Telegraph has reported that West Ham United have seen
£22 million bids knocked back for Cologne striker Anthony Modeste and
Villarreal hitman Cedric Bakambu. The Hammers are in the market for a
striker but all of the noise has been about a £20 million offer for
Arsenal's Olivier Giroud, say The Telegraph. But the same publication has
now claimed that West Ham have failed in big-money bids for the two hitmen.
Bakambu, 25, netted 22 goals last season for the Primera Division outfit,
while 29-year-old Modeste, who had a disappointing stint with Blackburn
Rovers, grabbed 25 goals for the Germans. It remains to be seen if Irons
boss Slaven Bilic will return with an improved bid for one or both of the
centre-forwards, but perhaps Giroud is the best option. The French striker
scored 12 Premier League goals in 11 starts last season, and is obviously
proven in English football. As lethal as Bakambu and Modeste are abroad,
they are untested on these shores and perhaps a 'devil you know' approach is
best for West Ham in this instance.

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