WHUFC.com
Terry Dixon hit the only goal of the game in the reserves' 1-0 friendly with
at Grays
16.12.2009
Terry Dixon continued his encouraging form for the reserves with the winner
in a friendly with Grays Athletic. Dixon finished neatly for the only goal
of the 1-0 victory in an eventful first period, that saw chances passed up
by both sides. Goalkeeper Adam Street was Alex Dyer's side's saviour on
several occasions, pulling off a string of outstanding saves. "We won 1-0
and had a couple of first-year players involved. Everyone got 45 minutes and
it was a worthwhile exercise," the reserve-team manager said. "The lads
played well and passed the ball around well. On the whole we played some
good football. In fairness, they could have scored two or three goals but
Adam Street pulled out two or three outstanding saves."
Dyer named a side for each half of the game, consisting of a mixture of
reserves like Danny Kearns and youth players. "We had a totally different
team for the second half and a couple of the first year players blended in
with some of the older ones like Kearnsy. Again it was different as they
made a few changes as well. "They were a physical side but we contained them
and created a couple of chances. Overall it was a good performance and a
good run out."
Striker Dixon also continued to show his progress by grabbing the game's
only goal. "Terry Dixon scored a good goal. It was good movement. He got the
ball on to his left foot in the box, dropped his shoulder and put it into
the bottom far across the goalkeeper. "He had a couple of opportunities, one
of which went just past the post. We created quite a few good chances so I
was pleased with the first half."
The two separate XIs for either half allowed Dyer to experiment with
different players in a range of positions. "It was nice to see people like
Anthony Edgar come back as he'd been injured with a pulled hamstring for a
couple of weeks. "Holmar [Orn Eyjolfsson] was at centre-half and did well
alongside Jordan Brown. It was nice to see Jordan in a different position as
he normally plays left-back. "Eoin Wearen played centre-half in the second
half. It was different for them and it's important that they can play in
other positions and learn what other people can do. They seemed to handle it
well enough."
With no reserve league game scheduled until the trip to Wolverhampton
Wanderers on 5 January, Dyer was grateful of the match practice against a
much more physical side.
"It was great experience for the players as a lot of them played in the FA
Youth Cup a week ago and did very well. It was nice for them to step up and
show how far they have come. Even though they are semi-pros they are playing
against, a lot of them will have had football league experience."
Tuesday's meeting also saw the Hammers come up against some familiar faces
in the shape of Grays manager Julian Dicks and his assistant Kenny Brown.
"It was good to see them. We had a good chat with them and it was nice to
see ex- West Ham boys doing well. It was nice to catch up and a nice
afternoon."
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Four poppy shirts on sale
WHUFC.com
Four special poppy shirts have gone back on sale after non-payment from the
buyer
16.12.2009
West Ham United have started a new charity auction for four of the special
home shirts produced for the Remembrance Sunday match against Everton. Due
to non-payment after the original auction, the Jack Collison, Radoslav
Kovac, Luis Jimenez and Frank Nouble signed shirts from the 8 November
fixture have all been placed once again on eBay. Fans can bid until Saturday
afternoon in the hope of landing one, with the aim being to get them
delivered to the successful supporters in time for Christmas.
Originally 57 shirts were auctioned off with the club confirming that more
than £16,000 was raised for the Poppy Appeal. All proceeds from the new sale
will also go straight to the charity. To register your bid for one of the
four remaining shirts, go to eBay.co.uk and search for West Ham poppy.
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West Ham debt freeze hits Gold and Sullivan's bid
BBC.co.uk
David Gold and David Sullivan's bid to buy West Ham has taken a knock after
the bank controlling the club had its debt payments frozen until September.
On Monday former Birmingham owners Gold and Sullivan tabled a bid, thought
to be worth £50m, to buy the club. Had the bank not succeeded in getting
repayments frozen, the holding company would have gone into liquidation,
leading to a likely sale of assets. But now the bank can hold out to hear
offers from other potential buyers. Since June, the Straumur-Burdaras
Investment Bank has owned 70% of the club's holding company, CB Holding,
after its previous owners had financial problems.
"Several parties" have made approaches and are involved in "an ongoing
dialogue" about the possibility of buying the Hammers, according to a senior
board member, but negotiations are still at a fairly early stage. The club,
who are currently second from bottom of the Premier League, have struggled
financially since the Icelandic economy was hit particularly hard by the
recession. Gold and Sullivan bought Birmingham 16 years ago for £1 and sold
the club to Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yeung this October for a price of
£82m. The duo have strong links with West Ham, having once owned a 30% stake
in the club. Sullivan lives in Essex and Gold grew up opposite the Hammers'
Upton Park ground, representing the club at youth team level.
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Straumur moratorium extended
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 16th December 2009
By: Staff Writer
Straumur have, as expected, been granted a moratorium extension. A brief
statement posted on straumur.net this lunchtime read simply: "The District
Court of Reykjavík has today granted Straumur-Burdaras Investment bank hf.
an extension of moratorium until 10 September 2010."
The news should make little difference to those planning bids for control of
West Ham United however it means that Straumur now have no immediate need to
sell the club, given their nine-month stay of execution. Rothschild, the
bankers instructed by West Ham's owners CB Holdings (in whom Straumur have a
70% stake) are continuing to talk with parties interested in purchasing the
club - most notably, David Sullivan and David Gold whose £50million offer
remains on the table. Although CB Holdings are now under no pressure to sell
until next September should the unthinkable happen and West Ham be relegated
next May it is widely thought that the club would be lucky to survive - let
alone command the kind of fee offered by the two Davids. Meanwhile Irons
fans, who have seen the first team squad dismantled over the last 15 months
are planning to voice their disapproval at CB Holdings/Straumur during this
weekend's live TV clash with Chelsea. A number of supporters have already
aired the idea of organising a protest against the Icelandic's continued
unwelcome presence at the club although that has come too early for this
weekend's game, where sporadic outbursts of dissent are more likely.
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Collison - Green can deny Blues
Midfielder backs keeper to bounce back from Bolton blunder against Chelsea
Last updated: 16th December 2009
SSN
West Ham midfielder Jack Collison has backed Robert Green to bounce back
from his Bolton howler against Chelsea on Sunday. The England keeper gifted
the Trotters the lead late on at the Reebok Stadium after dropping Gary
Cahill's bouncing effort for Ivan Klasnic to tap-in. West Ham had earlier
pulled themselves back into the game when Collison set up Alessandro
Diamanti to equalise midway through the second half, but the Trotters then
pushed on to win 3-1. Gianfranco Zola's strugglers next face Carlo
Ancelotti's table toppers at Upton Park on Sunday in a game being shown live
on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports HD1 at 4pm. Despite the daunting task of
denying players of the calibre of Didier Drogba, Collison believes Green has
the strength of character to bounce back against the Blues. He said: "It was
a bit unfortunate, and Greeny has been magnificent for us. "He has played
100-odd consecutive games, and I do not really remember him making a
mistake. "These things happen in football and if it is a keeper, it is
highlighted more. "Greeny is a very strong character and a massive player
for us. "I am sure he is going to bounce back - and what better match than
to do it against Chelsea. "It is a great opportunity to show what a good
keeper he is and really claim his place as number one for England."
After the Bolton defeat, West Ham defender Daniel Gabbidon used his personal
Twitter site to issue an apology to the travelling fans and Collison insists
the players and coaching staff are determined to improve and haul the
Hammers out of the drop zone. He added: "We are not in the greatest of
positions at the moment, we know that. "We are all very realistic and it is
going to take a lot of hard work. "As a team and individuals, we have to cut
out the mistakes and do our best to get us out of the situation we are in,
work hard, graft for each other then hopefully the results will take care of
themselves."
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Clarke carries the can
Hammes assistant keen to take some of the pressure off Zola
By Chris Burton Last updated: 16th December 2009
SSN
Steve Clarke has urged West Ham supporters to blame him for the club's
troubles, not Gianfranco Zola. The Hammers are currently second from bottom
in the Premier League table after suffering three consecutive defeats. The
latest of those setbacks came at fellow strugglers Bolton on Tuesday, with
the Trotters running out 3-1 victors on home soil.
In the wake of the Reebok Stadium nightmare, Clarke has sought to divert
attention away from under-pressure boss Zola by claiming that he should be
held responsible for the ongoing failings. Able to boast considerably more
coaching experience than Zola, after spending four years as an assistant at
Chelsea, the Scot feels it would be unfair to place too much pressure on the
Italian tactician's shoulders. "If there are any faults, if anyone's looking
to blame, they'll have to blame me," Clarke said in the Evening Standard.
"I'm the guy they brought in to help Gianfranco. He's the novice manager,
just in the game but if anyone wants to points fingers, point them at me.
"It's been another disappointing night for us. It's been a difficult time
recently and tonight sort of summed it up."
Events off the field have hardly helped West Ham's cause over recent months,
with the club's financial health still giving cause for concern. Former
Birmingham co-owners David Sullivan and David Gold are believed to be
readying a bid for the club, but reports suggest their approach will be
knocked back. That would come as a further blow to Zola, with the January
transfer window approaching, but Clarke insists those charged with
generating results on the field cannot afford to concern themselves with
matters in the boardroom. "Obviously we're aware it's going on but there's
nothing we can do about it," he said on the takeover turmoil. "Inside the
dressing room it's not spoken about."
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Vinny's Bolton Report
Vinny - Wed Dec 16 2009
West Ham Online
Bolton Wanderers 3 West Ham United 1
West Ham hit a season low with a crushing defeat at the Reebok Stadium which
has put the club second from bottom in the Premiership with top of the table
Chelsea to come next.
For me this was the worst performance of the season and the worst display
from a West Ham side I have seen a at least a couple of years. We played
terrible football, we had no fight, no passion, and we lack the most
important aspect of any team - Quality.
If there was ever a game to highlight the weaknesses of the team it was this
one and anyone thinking that we were not in trouble will have been
re-thinking that opinion when looking at this horror show.
Of course there is the argument that again we have been unlucky and of
course how can Gianfranco Zola legislate for such a terrible error from
Robert Green which gifted Bolton the second goal and really lost us the
game? After all when we scored we looked the better team and most of the
travelling fans thought we could well go on and win the game (me included).
But I can only use luck as an excuse a few times before it becomes very
boring. Apart from that ten minute spell we were shocking and any talk of
the Zola era bringing good football to the club has been bound and gagged as
what I saw on a freezing night in the North West of the country was not good
football - it was worse than anything Alan Curbishley provided, and that is
saying something.
We have too many players who hide and do not get involved. Diamanti may have
scored but his weak performance showed that he still has not adapted to life
in the Premiership and he was unwilling to get into any type of physical
battle with the Bolton players.
Scott Parker and Guillermo Franco were excellent and anything negative I
mention about the side I am excluding them as their performances were all
you could really ask for.
The other praise will go to the five hundred or so fans who made the trip to
Bolton. After watching a pretty dismal display at Birmingham on Saturday I
had to question my own sanity to why I would do this trip.
Gianfranco Zola made two changes to the side who were beaten at St Andrews.
Amazingly none of these changes came in defence.
In midfield Mark Noble was suspended and replaced by Jack Collison. On the
left wing Junior Stanislas was dropped to the bench in favour of Kieron
Dyer.
We kept the exact same formation as we did at Birmingham with Zola
persisting with the 4-3-3 (or 4-5-1 if you like) and I can't say I was too
impressed as this had clearly not worked from an attacking standpoint at
Birmingham where a team who have scored there fair share of goals this
season managed to have few shots on goal and scored none.
I would have preferred to see Spector at right back with Faubert on the
right wing with Collison and Parker in the middle and Kovac on the bench.
Then Diamanti could have played just off Franco and given him the support
which he craved for on Saturday and was crying out for all evening in this
one.
But Zola has been a lover of this formation since he came to the club and
bollocks to league position he is going to keep it until it works.
The first half was not a great advert for the Premiership and one of the
worst I have seen us play in quite a while. Everything about our game was
wrong and but for Bolton being pretty dismal themselves we did not get
punished but could have very easily been.
We started the game a little better than the hosts in terms of possession
with everything going through Dyer who I was convinced would be that little
bit extra that would win this game for us. That bit of quality when things
are not going well I think Dyer can produce and our first chance fell to
him.
A brilliantly weighted pass by Ilunga saw Dyer's pace get in behind the
defence but his shot was like a pass back and he had Jack Collison to his
right in an even better position.
Foolishly when I saw us create that chance I was thinking "we are going to
have these tonight" but we just didn't threaten their goal again.
Bolton were the most likely to open the scoring in the first half but seemed
to have left their finishing boots at home as they wasted a string of half
chances.
We kept playing the ball high to Diamanti who was not willing to jump for
any header and kept giving the ball away when he was in possession. His
performance was so very frustrating as he looked so far off the pace.
Our best player of course was Scott Parker who everything went through but
just like at Birmingham he was trying to do everything. He was the attacking
midfielder, the defensive stopper, the play maker, the brute force in the
centre. Collison and Kovac were non existent
.
With just 21 minutes on the clock Kieron Dyer had to be taken off with a
hamstring injury. He didn't even last a half and was replaced by Junior
Stanislas.
Kevin Davies, so often the tormentor of West Ham saw his shot take a wicked
deflection off Danny Gabbidon and go just wide with Robert Green stranded.
Gary Cahill glanced a header wide of the goal and Muamba saw his long range
effort take a deflection and go over the bar.
Bolton had a glut of corners (much like Birmingham did) but did very little
with them. Klasnic saw his swerving shot go just wide as Bolton although not
exactly firing on all cylinders still looked the team more likely to score.
We won our first corner in first half stoppage time which of course was
easily cleared. We had offered nothing to be optimistic about in the first
half I could not quite believe at how lost we looked.
The positive that I kept getting told is that it was 0-0 and we are still in
the game. I find it hard to grasp that being still in the game against
Bolton Wanderers is something to be happy about. I was wanting nothing other
than a win from this game and a draw would be just as detrimental to our
progress as a loss because we need some big wins to get us out of the
trouble we were in. Surely not even the most optimistic of West Ham fans
could have watched that first half and thought we looked anything other than
a very poor outfit.
So the second half began and I couldn't help but think this could be one
which shapes our season - for better or worse.
Zola had changed things about with Jack Collison now occupying the right
hand side and Diamanti given almost a free role behind Franco.
Bolton nearly got the first goal when Cahill saw his powerful shot saved
well by Green and the ball was played to Scott Parker who ran fifty yard
with the ball with Franco dragging defenders wide and opening up a gap for
Parker to hit s shot which was well saved by Jaaskelainen. This was the
moment where the West Ham fans started to believe a little more and so did
the team as we looked as though we were capable of doing something other
than playing the long ball to Franco.
Alessandro Diamanti had a half chance when his curling effort was again
saved by the Bolton keeper.
But a sucker punch was waiting in the wings and Bolton struck the opening
goal.
Our failure to clear the ball (mainly Tomkins the culprit) lead to the ball
being worked well in behind our defence in the area for the Korean winger
Chung-Yong Lee (far and away Bolton's best player) who slotted the ball past
Robert Green.
To our credit we did not collapse at that point and Bolton's lead only
lasted four minutes as a very neat move involving Franco who found space to
cross the ball low to Collison who in turn knocked the ball square for
Diamanti and the Italian was in acres of space and thumped a close range
right foot shot past Jaaskelainen to make it 1-1.
Now to go on and win the game and complete an unlikely turnaround? Well that
is what I was hoping and to be honest that is what looked like happening.
We had a spring in our step and Bolton seemed to be getting worse by this
point.
Scott Parker again found some room and let fly from long range with his shot
going just over the bar.
But of course just as you think the tide may be turning it all goes wrong
and how horribly wrong it go especially for Robert Green who had been given
the 'England's Number One' treatment by the Hammers fans just moments before
his monumental cock up.
Bolton's Cahill took a shot from outside the area which did take a
deflection but Green managed to catch the ball. But a lack of concentration
saw him drop the ball right at the feet of Klasnic who was not going to pass
up that type of chance and put Bolton back in front in farcical
circumstances.
I'm not usually surprised at things West Ham do but this really took the
wind out of me. It was as if some had punched me in the face and told me my
father was in fact Fred West.
The players seemed shell shocked themselves and even with time running out
Zola could still manage to do one more thing to piss everyone off which was
to take off Jack Collison and bring on Manuel Da Costa as an emergency
striker!
How shit must Frank Nouble be?
To rub salt into those gaping wounds a corner swung in by Ricardo Gardener
was met by Gary Cahill who saw his header make it 3-1,
Most of the West Ham fans made for the exit and really who could blame them?
Regardless of what happens in this season we will remember this game for a
while yet.
Player Reviews
Robert Green
A mistake that lead to our defeat. His kicking was awful and sometimes you
do question his ability as the pressure seems to get him. This is not the
first mistake he has made this season.
Julien Faubert
Considering how bad we were you would expect Faubert to be up there with the
worst players of the night but surprisingly he was not. But like on Saturday
he made a near fatal slip which we were very lucky to get away with.
James Tomkins
A terrible performance from Tomkins. His distribution was simply dreadful.
It was so bad it makes me want to cry a little thinking about it. Tomkins
had a complete nightmare.
Danny Gabbidon
Long gone the player who won hammer of the year a few years ago. He was
beaten in the air time and time again, he looked shaky when in possession
and really pissed me off when at 2-1 down he was wasting time in not giving
the ball back when Bolton won free kicks.
Herita Ilunga
The best out of the four defenders and it was much like his performance at
St Andrews. He is still not hitting the level of performance as he did last
season but this was not a display ridden with misplaced passes and despite
Stanislas giving a half arsed effort at helping him out in the second half
Ilunga dealt with things well.
Radoslav Kovac
Got stuck in and the game was physical enough for him to get involved but
the guy is such a limited football player. He offers so little.
Jack Collison
Was pleased to see him back in the starting line up but his performance was
quite poor and his form is very inconsistent. Muscled off the ball a number
of times, never won anything in the air and he did see a lot of the ball
like that. Collison needs to step up and make himself counted.
Scott Parker
Our best player by a mile.
Alessandro Diamanti
Of course it was great to see him score but if you watched this game I can't
believe you would think Diamanti played well. I thought he was fucking
dreadful for most of the game. A random piece of skill which ultimately gets
you nowhere is not good enough in my book and he hid for far too long.
Kieron Dyer
The lame one only lasted 21 minutes. Had a good chance to score (our best of
the first half) and it is a great shame we will never see him play for the
club. I think Dean Ashton has more chance of starting and finishing a game.
Guillermo Franco
Another good effort from the Mexican forward. He is a hard worker and he put
himself about despite having no support. He needs a strike partner.
Subs Used
Junior Stanislas (on for Dyer 21 mins)
Way out of his depth.
Manuel Da Costa (on for Collison 87 mins)
So he is a striker now?
Subs Not Used: Kurucz, Nouble, Spector, Daprela, Payne
Yellow Cards: Franco (3rd)
Man Of The Match: Scott Parker
Attendance: 17,849
Overall
It's hard to know how to actually sum this all up because fears of
relegation are now becoming reality. We have failed to pick up even a point
from the last two 'must win' fixtures and find ourselves second from bottom.
The talk of Zola's removal is starting to pick up pace and if we lay down
and die against Chelsea on Sunday the end will move even closer for Zola who
showed just as much bottle as his team by sending out assistant manager
Steve Clarke to deal with the press. What sort of message does this send out
when the manager is now too afraid to speak to the press about his team and
their failings?
I hate sacking managers. I don't like seeing it in football and especially
not at West Ham where it has never been something we do on a regular basis.
But I'm willing to say if I feel it is time for a change and it is getting
very close to that time. Don't get me wrong, I want nothing more than Zola
to succeed at West Ham because if he does then not even the strongest Zola
hater could say anything even about his Chelsea links.
Trouble is, at this stage, I fear Gianfranco Zola hasn't got a fucking clue.
Next Game - Chelsea (h)
Nothing but three points is good enough.
No Show Zola so Clarkes Comments
"It is another disappointing night for us," Clarke said. "Its been a
difficult time recently. Tonight sort of summed it up in a way. We got back
in the game and looked in control and Robert's unfortunately made a mistake.
It's something we couldn't come back from.
"When you're down there it's a nervous game. Bolton are a little bit more
direct so they got more balls in the box. Unfortunately in the first half we
couldn't impose our style of play on the game.
"We didn't pass the ball well enough. We changed things a bit at half-time
and were much better in the second half and had much more control of the
game. Unfortunately, as we've said a few times this season, it went away. "
"I think if you start to rely on luck it will never come. We have to work
harder, we have to be more aggressive, we have to play better, we have to
cut out the mistakes and I think the harder you work the luckier you get and
that's the philosophy we have to take."
"I think its a great game for us. Nobody expects us to get anything and they
have to go there and work as hard as they can. In football you never know.
Because if you'd said Last week Wolves would go to Tottenham and get a
result you would have laughed. Maybe it will happen for us this weekend.
That's what we're hoping for."
"The feeling in the dressing room is that we know we're in a bad position,
we know we haven't got enough points. The quicker we can get a win, the
better. But we don't just need one, we need three, four, five wins.
"We're not stupid. We understand the situation and we're working as hard as
we can to rectify it and at the moment it's not easy. We have confidence in
the players, we have confidence in ourselves and we're sure we can get out
of the bottom three."
"Football's all about mistakes. Rob will deal with it. He will recover. The
best thing he can do is to go out against Chelsea on Sunday and have the
game of his life. He has to respond and I'm sure he will.
"Robbo's done well for us, its been a difficult season. For various reasons
we've not been able to play with the same defenders. We've always been
mixing and matching. We defended quite well against Birmingham at the
weekend. Unfortunately we lost the one goal and I thought we defended quite
well.
"I thought the third puts a very unfair reflection on the game. We switched
off at a set play towards the end. When you have young players in your team
sometimes that happens.
"There are no problem with Robert. He's working as hard as he can to try and
help the team. The best thing he can do for everybody especially himself is
to have a great game on Sunday. "
If anyone's looking to blame, they'll have to blame me. I'm the guy they
brought in to help Gianfranco. He's the novice manager, just in the game but
if anyone wants to point fingers, point them at me."
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Redknapp joins Liverpool in Parker hunt
Sport.co.uk
Author: Ben Moss
Posted on:16 December 2009 - 10:41
Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp has reportedly joined Premier League rivals
Liverpool in the race for West Ham midfielder Scott Parker. Reports
yesterday suggested Rafa Benitez was keen to bring the Upton Park favourite
to Anfield in a cut price deal, and the Times today suggests West Ham's
captain is a target for Tottenham even if Gianfranco Zola would desperately
like to hold onto him. The newspaper suggests Harry Redknapp has told Spurs'
chairman Daniel Levy to see if the 29-year-old Hammers star is available,
and claim the North London based club will beginning proceedings by offering
£6 million to cash-strapped West Ham. Parker was voted West Ham's player of
the year last season and reports suggests Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez sees
the England international as a like-for-like replacement for Javier
Mascherano who is expected to join Barcelona in the summer. Tottenham boss
Harry Redknapp has regularly expressed a desire to bolster his White Hart
Lane engine room and should Liverpool enter the race to sign the West Ham
star, Spurs will reportedly follow suit. Parker joined West Ham in the
summer of 2007 from Newcastle United and has played three time for England.
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West Ham's Robert Green will recover from Bolton blunder, says Steve Clarke
West Ham assistant manager Steve Clarke has said Robert Green must respond
after the goalkeeper's blunder against Bolton.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Telegraph staff and agencies
Published: 11:24AM GMT 16 Dec 2009
With the game level at 1-1, Green inexplicably dropped Gary Cahill's
bouncing effort in the 77th minute, allowing Ivan Klasnic to finish with
ease. The error proved crucial for West Ham, who eventually went down 3-1 at
the Reebok Stadium and are now second from bottom in the Premier League
table, two points adrift of Bolton and Wolves. West Ham's Gianfranco Zola
seeks first win at Reebook Clarke, admitted afterwards Green's mistake was
the turning point in the match and said the beleaguered England goalkeeper
needs a stand-out performance in Sunday's fixture against Chelsea to hit
back at his critics. "We just got back in the game, it looked as if we were
in control and Rob has unfortunately made a mistake and it is something that
we couldn't come back from," said Clarke. "Football is all about mistakes.
He has made a mistake but he is a man and he'll deal with it. "He'll recover
and the best thing he can do is go out on Sunday and have the game of his
life. That is what he has to do - he has to respond."
Clarke also insisted the players are under no illusions about their current
plight but is confident they will soon turn the corner. "The feeling in the
dressing room is that we know we are in a bad position," he added. "We know
we haven't got enough points. The quicker we can get a win the better - but
we don't just need one win, we need three, four, five wins. "We are not
stupid. We understand the situation and we are working as hard as we can to
rectify it. "At the moment it's not easy but we have confidence in the
players, in ourselves and we are sure we can get out of the bottom three."
West Ham suffered another blow as injury-plagued midfielder Kieron Dyer, who
was making his first start for three months, limped off midway through the
first half. "Unfortunately he just felt a tightening in his hamstring," said
Clarke. "It wasn't a tear, just another small pull and it could be an injury
for another two or three weeks. "To be honest I am just disappointed for the
player. He has worked very hard to get himself in a position where he can
start a game and he gives us something extra."
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JACK COLLISON: WEST HAM WILL TURN ANGER ON CHELSEA
Daily Express
Thursday December 17,2009
By Frank Wiechula Have your say(0)
JACK Collison has said West Ham will "turn their anger" on league leaders
Chelsea on Sunday. West Ham are sitting second from bottom in the table
after Tuesday's dismal 3-1 loss at fellow strugglers Bolton. Hosting Chelsea
gives them a chance of instant redemption, especially for England goalkeeper
Robert Green, whose second-half howler crucially allowed Bolton to regain
the lead. Midfielder Collison, 21, said: "We're disappointed with the Bolton
result and you are going to get a few angry players out there looking to put
in a real performance. "And what better place to start than against Chelsea,
a massive local derby in front of your own fans? "It's a game we're looking
forward to and hope to take something out of it, which would give us and the
fans a massive boost." Collison added: "It's up to us to turn things around
and change people's opinions and show we are good enough to start pushing up
the table and stay in the league." West Ham have conceded 34 goals in 17
league games and have not had a clean sheet since August. Collison said:
"There are still 60-odd points to play for, a lot of football between now
and the end of the season." And of Green, he said: "Obviously, Greeny was
disappointed but he has been absolutely magnificent this season. On Sunday
he will show everyone how good he is and claim his spot as England's No1."
Collison dismissed the belief that the takeover uncertainty involving the
club was getting to the players. "No, we know we have a massive task on the
pitch. We can't let things off it affect us," he said.
THE Daily Express caught up with Jack Collison at an Xbox Game with Fame,
where he played Halo 3: ODST against some of the 20 million members of the
Xbox LIVE community.
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Matt Upson interest a new blow to under-fire Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola
Published 23:00 16/12/09 By John Cross
The Mirror
Gianfranco Zola is fighting to save his job - and may have to keep West Ham
up without Matt Upson. The Hammers boss suffered another defeat at Bolton to
leave West Ham facing a huge game against Zola's former club Chelsea on
Sunday. Zola kept the club up last season despite their financial problems
and is facing another fire sale in January to add to his problems at Upton
Park. But West Ham are determined to keep hold of in-demand midfielder Scott
Parker and it may be that England defender Upson is the big-name player
sacrificed to balance the books. Liverpool and Tottenham are both interested
in Parker as they sense that West Ham may be forced into the January sales.
But Zola has identified Parker as a player they must keep while Upson is
also interesting Tottenham and Manchester City. Upson knows that a long
relegation scrap may not be good for his World Cup prospects, especially
with West Ham keeper Rob Green embarrassed by another howler at Bolton on
Tuesday night. But the creditors are closing in on West Ham even if
Icelandic bank Straumur was yesterday granted an extension to its debt
moratorium until 10 September 2010. That will give West Ham breathing space
but also leaves former Birmingham owners David Gold and David Sullivan's
£42million takeover bid in jeopardy. With West Ham no longer under immediate
need to sell up, Gold and Sullivan may now even turn their attentions to
Charlton. But with Zola and his team on the wrack after another disastrous
defeat, the West Ham manager's No.2, Steve Clarke, insists he should take
the lion's share of the blame for the club being haunted by relegation.
Clarke said: "If there are any faults, if anyone's looking to blame, they'll
have to blame me,.
"I'm the guy they brought in to help Gianfranco. He's the novice manager,
just in the game but if anyone wants to points fingers, point them at me.
"Obviously we're aware what's going on in the boardroom but there's nothing
we can do about it. Inside the dressing room it's not spoken about."
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West Ham's owners benefit from freeze on debt payments
Icelandic bank granted reprieve until September 2010
Bank can wait for new offer from David Gold and David Sullivan
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 16 December 2009 16.32 GMT Article history
The bank that owns West Ham has had their debt repayments frozen until
September 2010. The Icelandic bank controlling West Ham United has had its
debt repayments frozen until September. Straumur-Burdaras Investment Bank
said in a statement today that the District Court of Reykjavik had granted
it an extension of the moratorium on repayments until 10 September 2010.
Straumur, which is owned by the Icelandic government, has owned 70% of West
Ham's holding company since June. It prevented West Ham going bankrupt by
taking over debts of previous owner, Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. The Straumur
director Andrew Bernhardt is West Ham's current chairman. West Ham are
second from bottom in the Premier League and were hit hard hit by
Gudmundsson's bankruptcy and the collapse of the company that sponsored its
shirts. Iceland's economy collapsed last year when its three major banks
went bust and foreign currency transactions were frozen for weeks. The move
could represent a setback to the chances of David Gold and David Sullivan
succeeding with their bid to take over at Upton Park. The former Birmingham
owners offered £42m for the club but Straumur can now afford to hold out for
a better offer.
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I Have Faith in Zola
West Ham Till I Die
I feel dirty. Tonight I am going to Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea thrash
Portsmouth (hopefully). I'm only going as I'll be in a nice warm box… Well,
I'm not a politician yet so I don't have to declare this corporate
hospitality to the authorities – apart from to you lot!
I've been quite shocked at the level of vitriol against Zola and Clarke that
has been displayed on this site over the last 24 hours. Like you all, I am
extremely disappointed that we failed to get a single point from the Bolton
and Birmingham games – and from what I have heard we didn't deserve to
either. Yes, things have got to improve and improve fast, no one is denying
that. But would a change in the management team really bring about an
instant change? It might, it might not. But haven't we all seen glimpses of
the kind of football we all love to see? In most matches we have not played
like a side facing relegation. The fact of the matter is that we have
players with the talent to get us out of this predicament, and if Zola can
bring in one or two new faces in January – even if it means allowing one or
two others to depart – then I genuinely believe Zola can turn things around.
I don't believe he has lost the dressing room. If I did, then I would be the
first to accept that the end would be near.
Looking back, the sale of James Collins was a bad mistake, but that was out
of Zola's hands and he cannot be blamed. The fact that Ashton, Dyer, Cole
and Upson have been injured is, again, not Zola's fault. He is still playing
with the majority of the players he inherited from Alan Curbishley. Yes,
unfathomably, he sanctioned the purchase of Kovac, who I continue to believe
is one of the worst West Ham players of the decade, but were the purchases
of Savio and Jimenez down to him? No, I think a different Italian can be
held to account for them.
Football fans are a fickle bunch. When things don't go away we always have
to find someone to blame. Sometimes it is the chairman, sometimes it is the
board, sometimes it is the manager. But in the end the manager can only pick
the players available to him. We know that Green, Upson, Parker, Cole,
Collison, Noble and Ilunga form the basis of a very good team. But we also
know that we have weaknesses. The challenge is for those weaknesses to be
addressed over the next few weeks, and I for one believe that Zola and
Clarke are up to that challenge.
We should all have a little faith.
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David Gold and David Sullivan's West Ham bid dealt major blow after troubled
owners are given nine month debt extension
By Sami Mokbel
Last updated at 2:38 PM on 16th December 2009
Daily Mail
David Gold and David Sullivan's bid to buy West Ham has been dealt a major
blow after the club's cash-strapped owners saw their debt repayments
suspended until September.
Icelandic bank Straumur's application for a nine-month extension on their
debt moratorium was granted by a Reykjavik court today. The troubled bank,
who own 70 per cent of the Upton Park club, will not have to pay a single
penny of their huge debt until September 10, 2010. A statement from the bank
read: 'The District Court of Reykjavik has today granted Straumur-Burdaras
Investment bank an extension of moratorium until 10 September 2010' Today's
ruling gives the Icelandic bank ample breathing space and time to negotiate
an offer they class as acceptable in their quest to offload the Hammers.
Gold and Sullivan, who this week lodged a £50m bid to buy the club, are now
likely to have their offer rejected with Straumur bank looking for at least
£80m.
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West Ham reject Gold-en ticket
Newham Recorder
16 December 2009
WEST HAM'S Icelandic owners have dismissed David Gold's bid to take control
at Upton Park, writes DAVE EVANS. CB Holding, a subsidiary of Straumur, the
troubled Icelandic bank, have valued the club at £120million including
debts, but Stepney-born Gold has offered a deal worth £30million below the
asking price. It would seem that this first official offer from Gold and his
footballing business partner David Sullivan, may be just the beginning of
real negotiations between the two parties. CB Holding insist that they have
no reason to sell the club in the current economic climate, and an insider
at Straumur confirmed that despite this week's revelations with Gold and
Sullivan, nothing has materialised to change that view. It is understood
that CB Holding are unhappy with the way that Gold and Sullivan seem to be
conducting a lot of their business in the media, but they insist it is
business as usual at Upton Park. Gold's bid of £50million made to Rothschild
and Standard Bank, who have been appointed to handle any offers for the
club, included taking on the debt of some £40million. But with parent
company Straumur set to be given breathing space by their creditors to
continue the reorganisation of their beleaguered firm, they feel that the
time and the price is not right to sell their greatest asset. Two other
parties are still said to be interested in making a bid for the club. Tony
Fernandes, owner of the Air Asia company, and the London-based Intermarket
Group, have both had talks with Rothschilds about the financial position of
West Ham, but at the moment, neither are close to making an official bid.
One complication to be thrown into the mix, however, is West Ham's perilous
situation in the Premier League. While they sit in the bottom three, with
the possibility of relegation looming, Straumur may consider it wiser to
sell the club, rather than risk it depreciating markedly if they were to
fall into the Championship.
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The vultures are gathering
Newham Recorder
16 December 2009
LIKE VULTURES gathering around a badly wounded animal, so the Premier League
managers look to pick the carcass of West Ham's stumbling, faltering season,
writes DAVE EVANS. Second from bottom in the Premier League after Tuesday
night's dismal defeat at Bolton; David Gold's bid to take over the club
rejected and now the cherry-picking of the club's best assets. Scott Parker
is a target for Liverpool and Spurs with a £6million price tag apparently
all that needs to be paid to haul the former England man from Upton Park.
Robert Green is interesting Aston Villa and Sunderland with an £8million
valuation on his head, while Matty Upson could go to Manchester City or
Spurs. Carlton Cole is injured and has already stated that he is happy at
West Ham, but that has not prevented him being linked with Liverpool once
again this week. It seems the knives are out for the Hammers and until a
takeover is successfully completed, those stories are likely to linger into
January and the transfer window. Perhaps it is not all doom and gloom. If
Gold and his business partner David Sullivan return with a more convincing
bid, then Icelandic bank Straumur may finally decide to cash in on their
asset, before they are relegated and its value plummets. Straumur have
priced the club at £120million including debts, but Stepney-born Gold has
offered a deal worth £30million below the asking price. It would seem that
this first official offer from Gold and Sullivan, may be just the beginning
of real negotiations between the two parties. The Icelanders insist they
have no reason to sell the club in the current economic climate, and an
insider at Straumur confirmed that despite this week's revelations with Gold
and Sullivan, nothing has materialised to change that view. It is understood
they are unhappy with the way that Gold and Sullivan seem to be conducting a
lot of their negotiations in the media, but Straumur insist it is business
as usual. They have just been given breathing space by the courts to
continue putting their house in financial order, but that does not help West
Ham's cause. The uncertainty over the future of star players and the lack of
money to spend in the new year, has put the club firmly on a downward spiral
and unless something happens, and quickly, that is likely to end in
relegation.
Still, there's a nice easy game on Sunday - Chelsea are in town!
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Clarke urges team to 'impose' themselves
12:34pm Wednesday 16th December 2009
Guardian Series
WEST HAM number two Steve Clarke has urged his players to cut out the errors
and start to impose themselves on games. The warning comes after the
Hammers suffered their third straight loss against Bolton on Tuesday, in a
result that sees them slip to 19th in the table. Things don't get any easier
for West Ham as next up is the visit of league leaders Chelsea on Sunday.
And Clarke has moved to warn the players against the mistakes that are
costing the dearly, highlighted by Robert Green's blunder at the Reebok,
when Ivan Klasnic pounced after England's number one keeper inexplicably
spilled Gary Cahill's shot into the striker's path. "You have to utilise the
players you have in the best way," said Clarke. "We have a manager who likes
to pass the ball and when I say aggressive, you have to be aggressive with
the ball and impose your style of play on the game. First half (against
Bolton) we didn't do it, second half we did it much better. Unfortunately
the game went away from us. "I think if you start to rely on luck it will
never come. We have to work harder, we have to be more aggressive, we have
to play better, we have to cut out the mistakes and I think the harder you
work the luckier you get and that's the philosophy we have to take."
Clarke and manager Gianfranco Zola welcome their former club to Upton Park
this weekend, and it is not difficult to predict who the favourites will be.
But Clarke refuses to approach the game with anything less than a positive
attitude. "I thin it's a great game for us," he added. "Nobody expects us to
get anything and they have to go there and work as hard as they can. In
football you never know. Because if you had said last week that Wolves would
go to Tottenham and get a result you would have laughed. Maybe it will
happen for us this weekend. That's what we're hoping for."
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Dixon on the mark for West Ham again
17.12.09 | tribalfootball.com
Terry Dixon was on the mark again for West Ham United reserves in their 1-0
friendly win over Grays Athletic. Former Tottenham striker Dixon continues
to impress as he returns from long-term knee injury. Hammers coach Alex Dyer
told whufc.com: "Terry Dixon scored a good goal. It was good movement. He
got the ball on to his left foot in the box, dropped his shoulder and put it
into the bottom far across the goalkeeper. "He had a couple of
opportunities, one of which went just past the post. We created quite a few
good chances so I was pleased with the first half."
Tuesday's meeting also saw the Hammers come up against some familiar faces
in the shape of Grays manager Julian Dicks and his assistant Kenny Brown.
"It was good to see them. We had a good chat with them and it was nice to
see ex- West Ham boys doing well. It was nice to catch up and a nice
afternoon."
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