Daily WHUFC News - 19th August 2012

Big Sam hails winning start
WHUFC.com
The manager was happy with a deserved opening-day victory over Aston Villa
18.08.2012

West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce was justifiably happy following the Hammers' 1-0 Barclays Premier League opening-day win over Aston Villa. The Boleyn Ground was rocking before, during and after a game that was settled by Kevin Nolan's 40th-minute goal. In truth, West Ham could have won by a more comfortable margin had debutant Modibo Maiga not had his effort saved by a miraculous goalline clearance. Big Sam told West Ham TV of his pride at earning a victory over an established top-flight side in uncomfortably hot conditions. "It was a pretty low-key start due to two things - Villa were just intent on keeping the ball and not really going anywhere with it and the weather. It was so hot that it made it difficult to continue the sort of pressure that you would do if it was a much cooler day. "We had to be patient and then we built our way into the game and grew into the game, if you like, and once we started we finding a quality of pass then we started putting pressure on Aston Villa from corners, free-kicks and final-third entries."

That growing pressure told when Mark Noble's free-kick hit an Aston Villa defender and fell to Ricardo Vaz Te, whose cut-back was converted by captain Nolan. The assistant referee initially flagged for offside, but referee Mike Dean was sure the ball had hit a defender and played Vaz Te onside. After a short conversation with his colleague, Dean gave the goal. "In the end, they cracked and the referee made a huge decision for us - which was the right decision - by not allowing the goal to be scrubbed out for offside. The ball came off the Villa defender and not a West Ham player. The linesman had flagged and the referee ignored that flag and gave the goal, which was the right decision. "We got better as the second half went on and started getting more of the ball and started probing Aston Villa and we created some good opportunities. Coley should have had a penalty after half-time, Kevin Nolan had a shot inside the box and then cool-hand Maiga rounded the goalkeeper with ease and we all thought he would put it into the net for 2-0 but up popped the Villa defender to block it which was a great shame. "It's a great day for us and a great result and one that we fully deserved."

It took West Ham six matches to record a victory in their most-recent Barclays Premier League campaign in 2010/11, leaving the Hammers playing a game of catch-up they never managed to win. This time around, they will start the week in the top half of the table. Naturally, the manager was delighted that his side showed the belief, fitness and maturity to close the game out in temperatures of 85 degrees. "There was actually more energy expended than in a normal game. Because of the drain of fluid and the heat, the body starts shutting down more quickly than it normally would. The players lost three or four kilos during the game, even though they were topping up on fluids before, during and afterwards. "It shows the extent of the energy they had to expend to win the game and in the end our fitness told. We looked a little fitter than Aston Villa and saw the game out better and could have won it by more in the end."

Finally, Big Sam was happy with the contributions of his goalkeeper and defenders, who kept a clean sheet on the back of outstanding displays from Man of the Match James Collins and WInston Reid. "There was some good solid defending. A goalscorer with a great reputation in Darren Bent was snuffed out of the game by Winston and James effectively well. It didn't matter how well people were playing because if you let Bent have a chance he'll score at any stage - they didn't even give him a chance to day. "They gave us the perfect platform from which to win this game."

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U18s start with Royals draw
WHUFC.com
Elliot Lee scored twice as the Under-18s were held to a 2-2 draw at Reading in their opening league match
18.08.2012

Elliot Lee scored twice as the Under-18s were held to a 2-2 draw at Reading in their Barclays Under-18 Premier League match. Striker Lee bagged two goals before half-time to send the Hammers in well ahead at the break, but the Royals struck back after half-time to earn a share of the spoils. Academy Director Tony Carr was pleased with his team's performance and admitted Reading had deserved a point on the basis of their second-half revival. "We were 2-0 up at half-time thanks to two typical Elliot Lee goals," Carr confirmed. "The first one he received the ball to feet on the edge of the box and turned his defender, cut inside and drove a low shot to the goalkeeper's right and into the corner. "The second one was very similar but this time he went out side his defender and slammed the ball inside the near post as the goalkeeper advanced. Both were typical individual Elliot Lee goals. "Reading got a goal back after half-time and then equalised a short time after that. At the end of the day it was a draw and I think it was probably a fair result. "It was a good workout for the boys and we played very well, particularly in the first half, but we ended up with a share of the spoils."

The Under-18s return to action next Saturday, when they host Everton in an 11am kick-off. West Ham TV will exclusive highlights from Saturday's draw at Reading soon.

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West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0
FT 90 +5
HT 1-0

18 August 2012
Last updated at 19:21
By Mandeep Sanghera
BBC Sport

West Ham marked their Premier League return with a win over Aston Villa, who were beaten in new manager Paul Lambert's first game in charge. The Hammers went ahead when Ricardo Vaz Te pulled the ball across for Kevin Nolan to sidefoot home. "West Ham's win was secured by Kevin Nolan's goal shortly before half-time. Villa didn't have the inspiration or the drive up front to trouble a West Ham defence in which James Collins was outstanding against the club he left in the summer."

West Ham later had a penalty shout for a shove by Villa centre-back Ron Vlaar on striker Carlton Cole waved away. Villa rarely troubled their hosts and Cole should have extended West Ham's lead but headed wide from close range. Hammers substitute Modibo Maiga also came close in injury-time when he raced clear and rounded keeper Shay Given only to see his shot cleared from the goalmouth by backtracking defender Nathan Baker. The miss did not prove crucial against a Villa side who started brightly but ultimately showed little improvement on the side that only avoided relegation by two points last season.

In contrast, West Ham's victory served to continue the feelgood factor around east London after London 2012. The shadow of the Olympic Stadium - the Hammers' prospective new home - looms large over Upton Park and could yet provide inspiration in a campaign where Premier League safety remains the first target. However, the home side began in a subdued and stuttering fashion, with Villa - in particular, central midfielder Fabian Delph - possessing the greater enterprise.
Lambert has promised Villa fans more of an attacking style but, while his side showed intent, they could not find the incisiveness to pierce the Hammers defence.
West Ham gradually shook off their apprehension and started to pose more of a threat, with the strength of striker Cole unsettling Villa's summer signing Vlaar.

West Ham v Aston Villa fast facts

The Hammers netted more goals from set pieces than any other side in the Championship in 2011-12 (33).
Kevin Nolan has scored more Premier League goals against Villa (5) than any other team.
Aston Villa have won none of their last nine Premier League away games.
Villa players did not find a single teammate with any of their 10 crosses in this match.

Nolan fizzed an 18-yard free-kick just wide after a foul by Vlaar on Cole before the Hammers breakthrough. A floated Mark Noble free-kick was headed on to Vaz Te and he squared the ball for Nolan to provide the finishing touch. The assistant's flag had gone up for offside against Vaz Te but referee Mike Dean awarded the goal after correctly ruling that Villa's Ciaran Clark had headed the ball on and not West Ham's James Collins. Vlaar was being given a testing workout on his Premier League debut and cut a relieved figure when referee Dean waved away West Ham's penalty appeals for a shove on Cole. A Vlaar shot, saved by Hammers keeper Jussi Jaaskelainen, was Villa's only real effort on target as they surrendered tamely to defeat.

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce: "We grew into the game. We started to expose Aston Villa's defence and got the goal with a perfectly good goal and a perfectly good decision with the referee overruling the linesman. "I think there was a definite penalty on Carlton Cole after half-time. "It ended up as a very good day as we won 1-0 and kept a clean sheet. James Collins was back and solid in defence which gave us a platform to win the game and there were lots of good performances."

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert: "We started the game really well but we just never really created as much as we wanted to. "I couldn't fault the effort. We will pick ourselves up and go again. There is a long way to go and we'll see what happens. "I have great belief in [the players]. They will do fine. If we can stick together and the fans stick with us we'll be OK."

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West Ham want Matt Jarvis, says chairman David Gold
BBC.co.uk

West Ham chairman David Gold says the club are still hoping to sign Wolves winger Matt Jarvis. Wolves have rejected bids for one-time England international Jarvis, 26, with chief executive Jez Moxey saying the club's valuation of the player has not been met.

Matt Jarvis
Born: 22 May, 1986
Position: Winger
Gillingham: 2003-2007
Wolves: 2007-present
England caps: One

"We are still pursuing Jarvis, that is where we are at the moment," Gold said. Gold also confirmed a deal for Liverpool's Andy Carroll is dead but that "things can change overnight." Jarvis began his career at Gillingham, making 122 appearances for the Kent club, before joining Wolves in the summer of 2007. He was one of Wolves' stand-out performers as they were relegated from the Premier League, scoring seven goals in 14 appearances at the end of last season. Meanwhile, Gold says he hopes to learn whether West Ham's bid to move to the Olympic Stadium has been successful within the next six weeks. The Hammers want to take over the 80,000-capacity venue after the Paralympic Games end next month."We are still waiting," said Gold. "I think we will hear within four to six weeks and we wait patiently for the outcome. "If successful we could move in the 2014-15 season. That is when the alterations would be completed and all being well when we could move in."

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West Ham Utd 1 Aston Villa 0
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham's 2012/13 league campaign got off to the best possible start thanks to captain Kevin Nolan's first half winner. In front of a near capacity crowd, Nolan scored the only goal of the game to get United up and running in their first game back in the Premier League since last May's play-off Final win over Blackpool.
With the August sun burning overhead - the temperature inside the Boleyn Ground was touching degrees - Sam Allardyce's new-look team took a while to get going but eventually found their feet and, in the end, were fully deserving of the three points. Villa, who looked the better side in the opening exchanges produced exactly what you would expect from a team managed by Paul Lambert - bar, most importantly, an end product.

England striker Darren Bent, who nearly joined West Ham four years ago, was a virtual bystander throughout the game despite the visitors seeing plenty of the ball in the first half such was the dominance of West Ham's central defensive pair of Winston Reid and James Collins, making his second debut for the club.

Collins, playing against his old club and no doubt out to prove a point was absolutely outstanding and deservedly named Man of the Match by the sponsors.

But just as influential on the day was fellow debutant Mo Diame, who took the game by the scruff of the neck and almost single-handedly swung it back in West Ham's favour when Villa looked the more likely to score.

The game's only goal came with five minutes of the first half remaining.

Mark Noble's free kick - one of several West Ham were awarded in quick succession - found its way to Ricardo Vaz Te at the back post. The Portuguese forward pulled the ball back and, as was so often the case last season, Nolan was on hand to prod the ball over the line.

Villa, for all their early promise produced little after the break and if anyone was going to score a second West Ham looked the more likely.

Carlton Cole was denied what appeared to be a fairly obvious penalty when he was shoved in the back by Ron Vlaar just moments after the restart, whilst substitute Modibo Maiga saw an effort cleared off the line in injury time after he had rounded Villa 'keeper Shay Given as West ham countered.

But those missed chances mattered not come the end of the game and the final whistle was greeted with jubilant scenes inside the Boleyn Ground as West Ham secured their first win back in the big time at the first attempt.


Match facts: West Ham Utd 1 Aston Villa 0

West Ham Utd: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Collins, Reid, McCartney (O'Brien 71), Diame, Noble, Nolan (Tomkins 73), Vaz Te, Taylor, Cole (Maiga 81).

Subs not used: Henderson, Diarra, O'Neil, Maynard.

Goals: Nolan (40).

Possession: 49%.

Shots on/off target: 4/4.

Corners: 6.

Fouls committed: 17.

Aston Villa: Given, Baker, Vlaar, Clark, Lowton, El Ahmadi (Weimann 61), Delph (Bannan 77), Ireland, N'Zogbia (Gardner 74), Holman, Bent.

Subs not used: Guzan, Lichaj, Herd, Burke.

Booked: Clark (39).

Possession: 49%.

Shots on/off target: 6/4.

Corners: 4.

Fouls committed: 8

Referee: Mike Dean (7).

Attendance: 34,172.

Did you know? Today's clean sheet was the first West Ham have kept on the opening day of a Premier League season at the Boleyn Ground since beating Tottenham 1-0 in August 1999.

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Under 21s: West Ham Utd 3 Reading 1
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Staff Writer

West Ham United's development squad kicked off the new season in perfect fashion by beating Reading 3-1 at Rush Green last night. Ian Hendon's young team made short work of their Berkshire rivals to open their Barclays Under-21 Premier League campaign with a win in their first competitive match at their new home, which is being shared this season with homeless Grays Athletic. Paul McCallum put West Ham in front three minutes before the break, scoring from close range, before doubling his tally after 55 minutes by converting a Robert Hall cross. The Royals reduced the deficit 18 minutes from time but victory was secured for Hendon's with just four minutes of normal time remaining when an unnamed triallist - believed to be Rennes winger Razak Boukari* - made it 3-1. A happy Hendon, speaking to whufc.com after the game said: I'm delighted with the result because it gives us an excellent platform going into the season. Reading are a big team who tried to knock the ball long up to the front three and I felt we dealt with that. "It was a little disappointing conceding from a corner, but that may have more to do with a little lapse in concentration due to being 2-0 up. It's early days and that is something we can focus on ironing out on the training ground, but I'm delighted with the result and to have got off to a winning start."

Next up for Hendon's side is the trip to Everton, who they face at Finch Farm on Sunday, 26th August (1pm kick-off). * As was the case in the Olympic Games, each team in this season's Barclays Under-21 Premier League may feature a maximum of three over-aged players in their match day squad.

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Lambert on....West Ham United
KUMb.com
Filed: Saturday, 18th August 2012
By: Staff Writer No.2

Aston Villa boss Paul Lambert looks for the positives after his side's 1-0 defeat this afternoon at the Boleyn. As ever we bring you the post match press conference in full....

Paul: On the balance of the 90 minutes was that a fair result or do you feel hard done by?

Well we started the game really well. I thought that for 30 minutes or so we were excellent. We controlled the ballbut we didn't score. You can' fault the lads' effort. He effort was there but there wasn't much in the game.

The actual goal: there was a lot of confusion between the linesman and the ref. Your thoughts?

I wasn't sure at the time but I've seen the tape and the ball came off one or other of the lads so the ref's called it right. The ref I can't fault. We made mistakes all over but there were a lot of positives to take. You pick yourself up and start again.

You looked very bright to start off with. Is the challenge now to convert that extra possession into chances?

Yeah – you summed that up brilliantly! You'd be better off sitting up here! (Laughter)

You have Darren Bent who everyone knows is a goalscorer but he only got a few touches today...

Yes it was difficult today. Whether the heat contributed to that..it probably did. Darren will score that's for sure. He's a goal threat – we just have to get the service to him.

Paul how far off are you squad-wise? Do you need more bodies?

I'm not so sure. I was asked that yesterday If something comes up and it's worth our doing then we'll look at it. If we get one or two injuries back – losing Gabby (Agbonlahor) has been a bit of a blow for us. He's a big player. He was playing very well in pre-season. We're still talking two or three weeks for him.

As a former manager did you wince at the Norwich result?

No – what was it?

5-0...

For?...

Fulham.

Fulham???? Listen I can't speak highly enough of Norwich. Good luck to Chris and the lads – there's a long way to go. It's one game for everybody and it's a long old season.

Mark Hughes is probably saying the same thing - QPR lost 5-0 at home.

There's been some strange results about – Liverpool got beat 3-0 so I heard.

Sam just said that, although it's just one game it's important to get a good start. Do you feel as if you are going to need some wins just around the corner?

I think you get a bedding-in time of about three and a half milliseconds! I never think of anything other than trying to win. Ever. That's just me as a person. Last season at Norwich – you get a point away at Wigan then you get beat the next game and think 'where's the next point coming from?' I think the crowd were good today – they came a long way to watch us but we need them to be there when things are not going right for us.

Stephen Ireland looked as if he wanted the ball, he looked energetic and was always looking for angles. Is he a key part of what you're trying to do?

It's unfair to single out any player – it's as a team we have to gel. I also thought Ron Vlaar was excellent, Karim (El Ahmadi) had a lot of the ball and did fine. Matt Lowton has just come out of League One he was excellent as well. We just need to pull as a team. If we can do that we'll be fine.

Ron Vlaar didn't even know he was bleeding when he came off for treatment.

He's a big lad and a top pro. He was excellent.

Do you think that the team will grow together?

We have to. We have to grow together. We have to win together and to lose together. There's no blame culture. I'm not one for a blame culture.

Thanks.

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Big Sam pleased with win
Hammers boss delighted with correct decision to award goal
Last Updated: August 18, 2012 6:40pm
SSN

Sam Allardyce was relieved that the assistant referee made the right decision as West Ham marked their return to the Premier League with victory against Aston Villa. Kevin Nolan's disputed goal five minutes before the break handed the Hammers a 1-0 win at Upton Park. The midfielder tapped-in Ricardo Vaz Te's cross, who was initially flagged offside only for the assistant referee Simon Long to change his mind. Referee Mike Dean ruled the West Ham striker was onside as Villa defender Ciaran Clark had touched the ball into his direction. Allardyce told Sky Sports: "I saw it straight away and then I had a quick glance at Mike Dean and saw him pointing to the spot, so I was then delighted because I thought, well, he's given the goal so it's clearly come off the Aston Villa player on the way through to Vaz Te. "And then of course you've got a little concern because he went over to the assistant referee, but I think it was just a matter to satisfy himself and everybody that he was correct. "He asked the assistant probably 'why did you give that' and he would have said 'offside' and he'd have said 'look, I know that came off a Villa defender' and so it was the right decision and when you look back at it, it was. "So, those major decisions, it would have been goalless here right now, rather than one-nil to us had he actually taken the linesman's decision and he'd have got it wrong and it would have been a major decision gone the wrong way for us. "Because he's got it right, we have to thank him for doing his job really well."

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Nolan hails important win
Skipper wants Hammers to go on winning run now
Last Updated: August 18, 2012 6:14pm
SSN

West Ham skipper Kevin Nolan praised his side's opening day victory at home to Aston Villa thanks to his goal five minutes before the break. The midfielder, who scored 14 goals for the club last season, turned a low cross from Ricardo Vaz Te, who was initially flagged offside only for the assistant referee Simon Long to change his mind, into the back of the net. And the 30-year-old admitted that he was not at all worried about the controversy which followed because he knew the ball had touched defender Ciaran Clark on the way through. He told Sky Sports: "I knew that it had come off the defender so I knew it couldn't have been that and I knew that I wasn't offside. I couldn't see where the linesman was, so that's why I went off celebrating. "I would have been very unhappy if it would have been chalked off. The referee got it spot on with his decision."

And having secured such an important win on the opening day of the season, Nolan said: "It's what you work all pre-season for with this first game and obviously to get the goal and keep a clean sheet. "It's a fantastic day all round for us and overall it's a very good start and hopefully we can go on a bit of run now."

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Nolan nails hapless Villa
Midfielder grabs controversial first-half winner at jubilant Upton Park
Last Updated: August 18, 2012 7:02pm
SSN

West Ham made the perfect start to the new Premier League season thanks to a 1-0 victory at home to Aston Villa. Man of the match: Former Aston Villa defender James Collins was making his second West Ham debut and the big centre-back was a towering presence all afternoon. Controversy of the match: Villa players stood and watched as referee Mike Dean awarded West Ham the opening goal by Kevin Nolan despite the assistant raising his flag as the ball was launched into the box. Skill of the match: Ricardo Vaz Te produced a moment of magic to nutmeg Nathan Baker on the near touchline deep in the second half. The Hammers fans certainly enjoyed that moment. Talking point: Big Sam is still in the process of moulding his Hammers side. How far can they go this season? Paul Lambert is focused on ball retention at Villa. But will today's result alter his ideas about the way his side should be playing? Stat of the match: Villa have now failed to win in their last six away opening Premier League fixtures of the season, since a 1-0 victory at Newcastle in 1999. Kevin Nolan's controversial close-range finish five minutes before half-time was enough to seal all three points. The skipper turned home a low cross from Ricardo Vaz Te, who was initially flagged offside only for the assistant referee Simon Long to change his mind. Villa players complained but referee Mike Dean confirmed the goal pointing to the centre circle. Substitute Modibo Maiga should have added a second deep into second-half stoppage-time, but Nathan Baker got back to make a superb clearance off the line. Villa were short of ideas and failed to muster a real opportunity in front of goal.

Dangerous

West Ham featured two debutants in goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and midfielder Mohamed Diame plus the returning James Collins, who lined up against his old team. With Paul Lambert in charge for the first time, Aston Villa fielded four summer signings, including Brett Holman whose early 20-yard drive briefly had Jaaskelainen worried. Holman was involved again after receiving a reverse pass from Stephen Ireland but his cross was cleared by Winston Reid, one of three timely interventions from West Ham's Kiwi defender. West Ham did not create any real pressure until Matt Taylor played Carlton Cole into the box, forcing Villa to concede a 14th minute corner. But nothing came of it. Villa looked marginally the more dangerous going forward - in relative terms - but they were denied by a double block from the dominant Collins, who charged down Karim El Ahmadi and then Ireland. The game began to spark into some sort of life after 36 minutes, when Cole was brought down on the edge of the Villa box by Ron Vlaar. Mark Noble touched the free-kick to Nolan, who drilled it low and through the wall but just wide of Shay Given's right-hand post. Four minutes later, West Ham had the lead. Noble's lofted free-kick fell to Vaz Te, who pulled the ball back for Nolan to score from close range. But there was more than a hint of controversy about it. Assistant referee Simon Long initially flagged for offside, in the belief that Collins had flicked the ball on to Vaz Te before changing his mind. Villa players complained immediately as West Ham celebrated, and referee Dean consulted with his assistant before confirming the goal.

Pressure

West Ham began to grow as the game went on and Cole was convinced he should have had a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Vlaar. The Hammers could have doubled their lead on 65 minutes, when Vaz Te skipped brilliantly past Nathan Baker and cut a low cross back to Nolan, whose shot was blocked by Vlaar and cleared. Just after the hour mark, Taylor swung in a dangerous free-kick from the right touchline which Cole rose to meet but the former England striker directed his header wide. Vlaar tried his luck from 35 yards out but the final word could have gone to West Ham replacement Maiga on his debut.
The Mali striker, on for Cole, was released by a long ball as Villa chased the equaliser and he rounded Given but Baker got back to clear off the line.

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Match Report: West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

It may not have been pretty on the eye, but three points are three points. And I suspect that is what we'll be saying quite often this season. So, first of all, the positives, and I think they were plain for all to see - Mo DIame and James Collins. It's always good to see two new signings do well making their debuts, and we certainly couldn't have asked for anymore from these two. Diame was a monster. The guy I sit with reckoned he played a bit like Behrami without the headless chicken moments. I could see what he meant. What an engine! And James Collins played possibly his best ever game for us. It has to be said that Villa never really threatened and I reckon they only had one shot on target in the whole game. But there's a reason for that and James Collins was a large part of it. However, that should not detract from the rest of the back four, who were also magnificent in keeping Villa at bay. especially Demel and Reid.

After twenty minutes, I will admit that a lot of negative thoughts were passing through my mind. Villa were dominating possession even if they weren't creating goal opportunities. They played some nice passing football, but after that we started to get into our swing and the midfield started intercepting Villa passes quite well. But if Villa didn't have any real chances in the first half, we hardly had more, and it was a surprise to us all when we scored. Indeed, so much of a surprise was it to me and my neighbour that we didn't even cheer, as we had seen the linesman raise his flag. It is very rare that a referee overrules a linesman in these circumstances, but this referee, who gave us nothing in the rest of the game, decided that Kevin Nolan deserved to get off the mark, and gave the goal. It was several minutes before I even realised who had scored. I gather a Vila player had headed the ball through to Vaz Te, who gave it Nolan for a tap in.

From then on in we never looked in danger, and how often can you say that about a West Ham side? Very rarely. Our defence and midfield were superb even when we might have been disrupted through three substitutions. Tomkins came on for Nolan in midfield and was dominant, and he allowed Diame to get forward more.

Towards the end Carlton Cole put a header wide that he really should have buried. He should also have got a penalty, and in any other game it would have been given. Cast iron. The only player who put in a disappointing performance was Matthew Taylor. He seemed unable to control the ball in the first half and seemed very slow. Personally, I think he will play at left back more than he will on the left wing. We badly need a nippy left winger who can get past people. On the right Vaz Te and Demel seemed to be building quite a good understanding and Demel seems to like to get forward.

There will no doubt be moans about our style of play today, and I have to say that if we have a season of that, I'm not sure how patient I will be, but three points are three points. Perhaps when we have got 35 points after 25 games we can afford to play a bit of the pretty stuff, but don't expect much before then!

Jaaskelainen 7
Demel 8
Reid 8
McCartney 6
Collins 9
Tomkins 8
Noble 6
Nolan 6
Diame 9
Vaz Te 6
Taylor 5
Cole 6
Madiba 5
O'Brien 6

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West Ham 1 Aston Villa 0
The Sun
By JUSTIN ALLEN
Published: 18th August 2012

SOME things just never change for Sam Allardyce. Back in the Premier League, a 1-0 win and Kevin Nolan popping up with the decisive goal. The Allardyce-Nolan partnership has been going for the good part of 13 years. And the last time Big Sam was taking a Premier League bow — after taking Bolton up — guess who was on the scoresheet? Yep, Nolan — as Bolton saw off Leicester in 2001. Nolan only had to roll the ball into an empty net from a few yards in the 40th minute after getting on the end of Ricardo Vaz Te's centre to get West Ham off to flier in their return to the big time. Allardyce said: "Kevin's a goalscorer. A lot of people look at him as a midfielder. "But he is a David Platt. He gets on the end of things, ghosts into the box without people understanding how he got there. It was through instinct he found that chance. While all the other players are standing watching, Kevin is on the move and he pops it into the back of the net. "Kevin is as good as any striker in the box. He's a great finisher and that's his outstanding quality, proven over many years."

His goal caused some controversy. Linesman Simon Long raised his flag as he adjudged Vaz Te was offside as Mark Noble pumped a free-kick to the right side of the box. All the Villa defenders stood still but Mike Dean overruled his assistant — and Vaz Te stayed composed, spotting Nolan's late run. Video highlights later proved the referee right. West Ham deserved the three points — but before the goal they were poor. You could sympathise with the Hammers faithful in The Boleyn Tavern boozer before kick-off continuing to complain about Big Sam's "long ball" game.

With the club eyeing a move to the Olympic Stadium, some observers believe there will not be much difference between watching a Big Sam team pump long balls sky high and an athlete chucking a javelin. But that is harsh as the opener showed West Ham are more fluid than that. And what a fantastic piece of business to get James Collins back from Aston Villa. The Welshman was in the thick of everything at centre-back — getting in tackles and throwing his body on the line. Despite all Villa's early possession, they never looked like getting behind West Ham. And it was the hosts who had more attempts at goal.

WEST HAM boss says Nolan is as good a finisher in the box than any Premier League striker Nolan nearly squeezed an opener from a free-kick routine with Noble before he fired the Hammers in front. West Ham thought they should have had a penalty moments after the restart when Villa's debut-boy Ron Vlaar appeared to push Carlton Cole. Hammers debutant, Mali striker Modibo Maiga, almost put the icing on the cake at the death with a second. But the sub, having rounded the keeper, saw his shot brilliantly cleared off the line by Nathan Baker. Manager Paul Lambert has lifted spirits at Villa Park since replacing Alex McLeish — but he needs to find a cutting edge. He admitted: "I thought we looked bright but we must turn our possession into chances. If we can just get a finishing touch on that then we'll be OK. "It was difficult for us to get service to Darren Bent. The heat probably contributed. But the effort was there and Darren will score, that's for sure. He's a goal threat, we just have to get the service to him."

West Ham: Jaaskelainen, Demel, Reid, Collins, McCartney (O'Brien 71), Noble, Diame, Nolan (Tomkins 73), Vaz Te, Cole (Maiga 81), Taylor. Subs not used: Henderson, Maynard, Diarra, O'Neil. Goals: Nolan 40.

Aston Villa: Given, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker, Holman (Weimann 61), El Ahmadi, Delph (Bannan 77), N'Zogbia (Gardner 74), Ireland, Bent. Subs not used: Guzan, Lichaj, Herd, Burke. Booked: Clark.

Att: 34,172
Ref: Mike Dean (Wirral).

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Big Sam's back! Allardyce's West Ham make winning return to the Premier League
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce's West Ham side scraped a narrow 1-0 victory against Aston Villa, thanks to a controversial Kevin Nolan finish . Just the start Sam Allardyce wanted.
And just the start that new Villa manager Paul Lambert must have feared. True, this was not the ­traditionally fluent West Ham of one-touch passing and ­eye-catching invention. But there was enough to ­suggest that the organisation and energy that Alladyce has instilled into his team will give them enough weaponry to survive in their return to the Premier League. There was a hint of ­controversy about the goal that decided this often ­attritional affair in the ­sweltering heat of East ­London. But there can be no question about the justice of the ­result. Indeed, but for a goal-line clearance in the last minute from Nathan Baker to deny Modibo Maiga his first ­competitive goal for West Ham, the cushion would have been more comfortable. Allardyce has had his fair share of confrontations with officialdom in the past. Yet he had nothing but praise for referee Mike Dean, who, five minutes from half-time, ignored a linesman's flag as Mark Noble's free-kick ­penetrated the Villa area. Ricardo Vaz Te was indeed a fraction offside, but Mr Dean saw what his lieutenant missed – that the last touch belonged to Ciaran Clark. Play went on, Vaz Te crossed and Kevin Nolan converted. "I have to say it was a very good decision by Mike Dean because the ball clearly came off a Villa player's head. ­Sometimes, though, the ­referee just acts on the ­linesman's flag." And that gave West Ham the platform they needed. Villa looked impressive in the first half hour. "Villa kept the ball very well," said Allardyce. "We found it hard in that spell."

His counterpart Lambert agreed. "But when you have the ball, you have to do something with it," he said. "We have a proven goalscorer in Darren Bent, but you have to give him chances and we didn't do that. "But we will learn. As for the goal, yes, the referee made the right call." The strike gave West Ham confidence.
"You have to hit the ground running," said Allardyce. His men certainly did that – and no one ran further or with more commitment than ­Mohamed Diame, who ­covered acres, despite the energy-­sapping temperatures. "An all-round midfield ­player who has the biggest smile you have seen in your life," said Allardyce, of the Senegal man signed on a free transfer after leaving Wigan. "A winning start is so ­essential. We may hit a sticky patch later, but if we have the points on the board, that will help us through." Villa lacked a cutting edge to go with their endeavour. And Lambert admitted that the pace and penetration of injured Gabriel Agbonlahor was sorely missed – and ­revealed that it will be well into September before he can call on the England ­international. "It has been a blow to lose him, but we will have to learn from this match," said Lambert. "We win together or we lose together. The effort was there, but the goal threat was not. Now, we have to grow as a team. There is no hiding place in the Premier League."

West Ham have the thrust of the unpredictable Vaz Te and Carlton Cole, the dynamism of Diame and the defensive strength of James Collins. They are a good bet for ­survival. Villa have the talent, they have the excellent philosophy of Lambert and they have ­Agbonlahor to come back. What they need now is a ruthless streak.

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Golden balls: West Ham United's co-owner reveals his cunning plan for the Olympic stadium
Brought up in abject poverty by a petty criminal, abused by a relative, written off as a greedy porn baron... David Gold has had to deal with plenty in his life – which means he's not about to give up on his dream of taking over the Olympic Stadium with his beloved West Ham United.
ROBERT CHALMERS SUNDAY 19 AUGUST 2012
Independent.co.uk

Twelve years ago, on Radio Five Live, presenter Nicky Campbell challenged David Gold to give a description of his Surrey estate in less than 60 seconds.

"I believe you have your own golf course," Campbell prompted his guest, in an ominously mischievous tone.

"Yes," Gold replied. "I am very proud of it."

"Outdoor Jacuzzi?" the presenter continued.

"I have an indoor Jacuzzi," Gold replied before describing, without irony, the "swimming pool, with the logo of Ann Summers [his jointly owned chain of shops selling lingerie and adult electricals] on the bottom. The greens on my golf course are each named after my various companies." Conversation then turned to David Gold's watch, and its unusually generous allocation of diamonds.

"I must say," Gold told his hosts, "that, all through my life, I have been very sort of, erm… what's the word…"

"Greedy?" volunteered one of Campbell's co- presenters. It was an unusual radio moment, not least for the fact that some of the laughter provoked by this impressively sharp intervention came from the man who had been introduced as "Britain's Mr Erotica". When the hilarity had subsided, though, Gold, rich as he may be, sounded humbled, almost mortified.

"This watch was chosen for me by my girlfriend, Lesley," he explained, quietly. "She has persuaded me to be a bit more flamboyant."

I have kept a copy of that broadcast, I tell Gold, when we meet in one of the reception rooms at his mansion, a recording I originally made because the news that day was dominated by a court decision relating to the Bulger case. I can remember, I tell the West Ham United co-owner, how amusing his appearance had seemed at the time. Listening back to those exchanges now, though, there's something less than generous about the way he was treated that day. Gold is a chronic dyslexic who left school with no qualifications. Outnumbered by university-educated BBC professionals, he sounded apprehensive, even daunted.

"I remember that interview," says the businessman. "At the time I did laugh, but afterwards, when I was going home, I thought that maybe it wasn't a very nice thing to say to me."

"So are you greedy?"

"I don't believe so. I don't think 'greedy' is a fair word. I am guilty of pursuing success. In the main I am at ease with people. In that studio, I didn't really feel comfortable."

David Gold is not a difficult man to mock. We live in an age in which many privileged figures strive to disguise their public-school accents by injecting a hint of estuary English. Gold, on the other hand, grew up in Green Street, opposite West Ham United's stadium and, even today, you can tell that he is at pains to speak as properly as he can; to the point that he will use a word like "whom", where appropriate, and generally maintains a level of grammatical perfection that many of his more formally educated contemporaries have long abandoned.

West Ham, the team Gold has supported for more than six decades, and now jointly owns, stand at a crucial point in their history. Having returned to the Premier League this season, they can contemplate the possibility – should they succeed in their stated ambition to take over the 2012 Olympic Stadium – of rising to join the elite names in English football, playing as they would at a ground holding 60,000 spectators. (The subject of the Olympic Stadium, I was warned by Gold's publicists, is one that I must on no account raise during this interview.)

Some people are born with the name they deserve (Keith Moon and Ed Balls spring to mind). Gold, in the minds of many, is another. The love of bling might be considered a forgivable – even enviable – trait in the young. When you're 75 and a permanent fixture in the Sunday Times Rich List, it's a different matter.

This mid-19th-century mansion, where he lives with fiancée Lesley Manning, 18 years his junior, is imposing, but not untastefully decorated. The interior, give or take the odd china swan and grand piano, is, if anything, understated. The 55 acres of grounds, though, are on a regal scale. His rolling lawns are immaculately kept. From the closest window I can see two spectacular ponds without even trying. I have to admit to an instinctive belief that a man who's a goldfish enthusiast, and has springer spaniels romping around the grounds, can't be all bad.

Gold appears wearing a yellow short-sleeved shirt and black casual trousers. The only elements of his outfit that might be designed to impress are the famous watch, the black patent-leather shoes, and a ruby ring. He wears this last accessory on the little finger of his right hand where, you can't help thinking, it would be most effective in enhancing the effect of an uppercut, should our conversation render one necessary. So why is it that some people accuse Gold (whose business empire, founded as it was on the sale of titillating fiction, has had him described as a "Porn Baron") of ostentation?

"I got a tweet the other day," he replies. "It said, 'Why, in every interview that you do, is your helicopter in the background?' It ended, '#show-off'. I replied: 'When I was a boy, every picture of me had, in the background, an outside toilet and a tin bath.' My helicopter normally sits on the front lawn. I don't leave it there now, because I was affected by that criticism. I didn't read that message and say, 'Piss off. I don't care what you think,' as you could imagine Alan Sugar might do. I do care. I am what I am," says Gold, in a phrase that will recur. "And I want to do the right thing."

Gold's main business collaborators are his brother Ralph, and David Sullivan; men who have also amassed huge fortunes from the marketing of erotica. Investigative journalist Mark Killick's unauthorised biography of Sullivan (creator of, among many other publications, the Sunday Sport) has the title The Sultan of Sleaze. David Gold's introspective tendencies, and sensitivity to criticism, are qualities less conspicuous in the character of Sullivan, who, in 1981, was found guilty of living off immoral earnings (relating to prostitutes operating in saunas). He appealed against his nine-month sentence, and was released – though not pardoned – after having served 71 days in prison.

Prime among the joint ventures of the three businessmen are the Ann Summers chain, and West Ham, whose vice-chairman is Karren Brady. Brady is a long-standing ally of the triumvirate, notably in their previous football adventure at Birmingham City, where she was managing director. The Gold brothers and Sullivan bought that club for £1 in 1993 and sold in 2009. David Sullivan took a profit of £30m; the Gold brothers emerged with £15m each.

David Gold is writing an online autobiography, updated every week or so. The prototype was his published life story, Pure Gold, which appeared as a hardback in 2005.

Pure Gold leaves the reader in little doubt as to the privations he endured as an infant. The prologue includes two paragraphs dealing with his childhood; they are too long to include in full, so I have abridged them as follows.

"Stench of poverty… poor, hungry, cold… awful smell… strength-sapping cold… stench of poverty… stench of poverty… stink… poverty… hunger… biting chill… stomach-cramping hunger… poverty… poverty… despair… dysentery… hunger… poverty… stench of poverty."

At one point in the book, Gold notes that the comforts afforded by his family's house were eclipsed by the facilities in an air-raid shelter that had been excavated in his neighbour's yard. It's a moment that enemies might seize on as being reminiscent of the classic Monty Python parody of romanticised poverty, "The Four Yorkshiremen", in which, to misquote the script slightly, one of the speakers remembers how, "We used to dream of living in a hole in the ground."

The true extent of Gold's suffering as a boy was no laughing matter. Diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of five, he spent months in Black Notley sanatorium, close to Braintree, Essex.

"My best friend there was Jimmy," he says. "We slept in this dormitory. One night, there's this commotion. Our curtains are hurriedly closed for us. Lights come on. I can hear they're trying to save Jimmy. The lights go out. Next morning, I said to the nurse, 'E's dead, inne?' 'No,' she said, 'Jimmy's gone to heaven. I'll get your porridge. I'll see if I can get you some treacle in it, as a treat.' I remember thinking: my best friend is dead. And I've got treacle."

Deprivation, I suggest to Gold, was not unfamiliar to Britain's urban population in the 1940s. But he, clearly, had it tougher than most. "That was because of my father. [Godfrey, known as Goddy.] He wasn't often around. He was a philanderer and he was often in prison. You had to be destitute to get help. There was this thing called RO. You got tokens that you took to shops. You were given RO boots" – footwear, Gold says, which invited contempt, especially when worn by a boy who was half-Jewish, on his father's side.

He has a younger sister, Marie; his brother Ralph, the middle child, is two years David's junior. The tensions between Godfrey, and their mother Rose, are described in each of the Gold brothers' autobiographies. (Good as Gold, Ralph's story, appeared in 1997.)

A gifted footballer, David was twice invited to sign apprentice forms: first by his beloved West Ham, then Fulham. His father withheld consent, and David trained as a bricklayer.

"What made him refuse? Envy?"

"Possibly. I remember once I was kicking a ball against our shed. My father was reading the paper. He said: 'Why don't you stop showing off?' There was nobody there except him. I was only practising. That sticks in my mind. If I see my daughters excel, I brim with pride."

Godfrey's criticism seems especially vindictive, given that his son had found something he really excelled at. Years later, when his daughter Jacqueline was a child, David's English was still so poor that, in her words, "He used to copy out words from the dictionary, and stick them to the dashboard of his car. He was that keen to better himself."

Gold did not become aware of his dyslexia "until I was 27. You carry around this feeling of, everybody else is clever, and you are a dummy."

David Gold married his first girlfriend, Beryl Hunt. He was 21. He says that he realised he'd made a mistake, even as he left for the honeymoon. The couple separated in 1972. Beryl, who died in 2003, was the mother of his only children: Vanessa (currently MD at Ann Summers ) and Jacqueline, the company's CEO, who was instrumental in building the Summers empire, through her introduction, in 1981, of salacious house parties, where ladies gather to compare notes on products such as PVC underwear, "Rampant Rabbit" vibrators and chocolate penises.

s I talk to Gold, I realise that I had arrived here with certain expectations, not all of which were fulfilled. "Modest" was one adjective I was not expecting to appear in this article, but if you read Ralph's book, you're struck by the number of David's achievements (as a builder, footballer and prize-winning aviator) that are downplayed in, or omitted from, the elder brother's own life story.

Undistinguished as he may have been by orthodox academic standards, Gold quickly demonstrated a flair for business. He was in his early twenties when he opened his first bookshop near Charing Cross, selling general fiction and "adult" titles by authors such as Hank Janson (Stephen Daniel Frances), the most popular British pulp-fiction author of the immediate post-war years.

For some reason, I tell Gold, I've never quite hit it off with the pornographers I've met; even a man with a strong sense of irony, such as Larry Flynt. Some of the publications in Flynt's Hustler stable, I suggest, resemble gynaecological course books.

"Well, Larry Flynt… he has to be disgusting… shocking, I mean. That's his mantra."

Pornographer is a title which, when applied to his own career, Gold contests with some vigour. It would be difficult to overstate the innocuousness of the magazines which got him into trouble in his early years as a publisher. In the interests of research I procured copies of his 1970s magazine New Direction (the stress is on the first syllable); a periodical that, today, would scarcely require elevating to the top shelf. Gold was tried (and acquitted) three times on charges relating to handling indecent material; books which, today, would only be destroyed by purchasers, on the grounds of primness and tedium.

"I watched a programme about Fifty Shades of Grey recently," Gold says. "All of the people involved would have risked prison 50 years ago, including the author."

"I came across a bizarre cutting from The Telegraph, dated September 1972," I tell him. "It complains that, at your company, adult books were stored in the same warehouse as children's annuals. 'The covers of the children's books show teddy bears and bunny rabbits,' the reporter complains. 'The sex books feature naked photographs.' It sounds as if the Telegraph had caught you storing Wensleydale next to raw pork."

"I remember that article. I think there was a fear in the ruling classes that sex would infect young people and turn them into monsters." k

One judge who tried Gold, Lord King Hamilton, was informed, during proceedings, that studies showed that 97 per cent of young men masturbate.

"He removed his glasses," Gold recalls, "raised his hand to his brow, and said, 'Whatever happened to restraint?' I could see the jury thinking: we know the real world. This man doesn't."

"Where would you draw the line now?"

"I think we all know it."

"You mean paedophilia?"

"Yes, and other things that are disgusting. The real problem is deciding at what age children can see certain images."

"You argued for a British Board of Book Censors 40 years ago, didn't you?"

"Yes. They could have made rules and we could have obeyed them. As long as the board didn't include someone like [prominent anti-obscenity crusader] Lord Longford, who was potty. If you don't separate soft and hardcore material, if you embrace it all, like Longford did, the silly sod, everything becomes pornography."

Gold has, he insists, "high moral standards".

Ironically – or, his critics might argue, appropriately – the intimate lives of David Gold and his family have been subject to gruesome turbulence. As a small boy he was molested by his mother's stepbrother, Johnny Cenci. He recalls three instances of serious sexual abuse.

"My mother was loyal to Cenci," he says. "Years later, I was giving her money every week. One day she is in tears. She says, 'I've got no money'. It turned out that she was paying £200 a week to keep Cenci – my abuser – in a nursing home. I couldn't bear her to be upset. Anyhow, he's blind and he's got cancer. I thought, how long can he live? I gave her an extra £10,000 a year. The bastard," Gold laughs, "lived for 11 years."

By the time he was 32, David Gold was prospering as a partner with brother Ralph and father Godfrey in their publishing business. This collaboration ended when Godfrey attempted an illegal manoeuvre that would have given him control of the company. The brothers terminated his involvement. "I never spoke to him again. He died at 92, four years ago."

"Did you go to the funeral?"

"Yes. I hadn't spoken to him for nearly 40 years. I suppose I was there to mourn the father I wish I'd had. My pals all had fantastic dads. Dads who encouraged them. Playing football, say. Where was mine?"

On the day he parted company with his father, Gold drove home early and saw Beryl having sex with his best friend, in the swimming pool. The couple were unaware that they had been observed. There followed a bizarre situation, described by his daughter Jacqueline in her first autobiography, whereby Beryl and her lover occupied the Golds' double bed, while David and the wife of Beryl's lover slept together in the spare room. (After he separated from Beryl, Gold spent 25 years with another girlfriend, Penny.) He met Lesley, the love of his life, at a tapas bar in Purley in 1998 .

Beryl, meanwhile, married her lover, and was awarded custody of Vanessa and Jacqueline. The latter, as the title of her first book (Please Let it Stop) would indicate, endured years of sexual abuse perpetrated by her stepfather.

"Jacqueline says that you only learnt of this when you read her book; she recalls that you said, 'I feel like killing the guy.' Is that correct?"

"Yes. I'd stayed in the family home for several years knowing that my wife was having an affair, for the sake of the children. Should I have stayed longer?"

"You must have had to restrain yourself. I imagine that you'd have known people who, once you discovered what had happened to Jacqueline, could have sorted that situation out for you?"

(In the mid-1960s, Gold met at least one member of the notorious Richardson gang, though there is no suggestion that he was ever connected with them either professionally or socially.)

"However," he replies, "had anything happened to him, the first suspect would have been me. And that is not a good way to resolve things, ever. But when the anger boils, there is definitely a tipping point."

"And her abuser is still alive?"

"Yes."

"How do you deal with that, emotionally, now?"

"If I'm at work, I'm not thinking about it. But talking about it to you now, I feel the anger, the remorse and the desire for revenge on my daughter's behalf."

"And on your own behalf, I imagine."

"Yes."

"Jacqueline fled to your house once, didn't she, and you, unaware of what was happening, drove her back to her mother."

"And had I known, I could have changed everything. Her mother was aware, which is not uncommon, as I have discovered, researching the subject of abuse. It was a tragedy. But hopefully it can inspire other people to believe that you can overcome this sort of trauma."

"Tony Soprano persuaded himself to see a psychoanalyst; did you?"

"I am not a psychoanalyst kind of a man," Gold replies. "I also hate hypnotists. And astrologers. I'll see both Jackie and Vanessa today and hug them, and I will be aware of what a lucky man I am."

Swift generation of wealth has never been a problem for Gold. By 1972, Gold Star Productions had a £1m turnover, 100 people on the payroll and an office in New York. Titles such as Lesbian Love and A Woman's Look at Oral Love were written by Sue Caron. Miss Caron, who matched the prolific output, if not the literary invention, of Charles Dickens, also edited magazines including New Directions and In Depth.

"Am I talking to Sue Caron now?"

Gold laughs. "No. She wasn't me. She was my brother's assistant."

"Somebody told me that [one of the saddest periodicals of all time] Readers' Wives is one of yours."

"No. That is [fellow top-shelf mogul and current owner of Express Newspapers] Richard Desmond."

"What do you think of him?"

"You have to say he is a remarkable success. He was competing with us – I say 'us' because we joined forces with David Sullivan – but at one time there were the Golds, Sullivan, Desmond, and Paul Raymond. We were the four main players in top-shelf magazines."

David Gold's business portfolio expanded to include sex-chat lines, and a company chartering luxury jets, which was sold in 2006. Probably his most felicitous business decision was the purchase of Ann Summers, in 1972. The company – now a vastly successful global brand – had been started by an eccentric bohemian, Michael "Dandy Kim" Caborn-Waterfield. An occasional actor and jockey, Waterfield was the lover of Diana Dors and, it seems likely, Princess Margaret. He ran guns to Cuba during the 1959 revolution, served a prison term in France after stealing £25,000 from the Riviera villa of American film producer Jack Warner and, in 1970, launched Ann Summers "for a laugh". A year later, the company, named after Waterfield's secretary Annice Summers, was heading for bankruptcy.

Dandy Kim is not unrelentingly sympathetic when he talks about his former friend. Gold, however, recalls Waterfield as "an amazing character; a genius who would make incredibly poor financial decisions".

"Like trousering that £25,000."

"Yes."

Some have suggested that he completed an autobiography and was dissuaded from publishing by you."

"He got beaten up. The implication was that I had arranged it. Of course that was not true."

"So what did happen?"

Gold alleges that Dandy Kim spoke to him on the subject of his book, and that he is not sure the manuscript was even completed. Waterfield's testimony on these matters differs radically, but he insisted that he could not be quoted on the record on any matter concerning the Golds, because (he added) legal action is pending.

Gold adds that he believes Waterfield's book would have suggested that "he could destroy the myth that the Ann Summers story revolved only around Jacqueline. But who would care?"

"Exactly. No libellous stories about you, then, involving wild parties?"

"I wish it had been the case. It might make me sound more interesting."

George Orwell," I remind Gold, "once wrote that every regional accent carries its own message, and that the Cockney accent implies meanness with money."

"I think that, in the main, is true."

And, Gold adds, he can understand that West Ham's famously dedicated supporters, Londoners though they themselves mainly are, may mistrust businessmen "coming into the club and talking about loyalty. But this is my manor. I worked on Stratford Market, where the Olympic Stadium sits now. I remember the bomb falling on West Ham football ground and thinking: my God, they're coming after me. West Ham is my passion."

The cost of buying the club, in Gold's words, was "madness. The place was a car crash. The worst set of figures I'd ever seen."

"Still, I guess you made enough money out of Birmingham City."

"Because we got lucky. When we sold Birmingham, we planned to take a rest from football. Then we heard West Ham were in trouble."

"You probably know that I was asked not to talk to you about the Olympic site; but could you just confirm that West Ham are still interested in moving there?"

"Absolutely. Under the right circumstances. I am very hopeful that West Ham will end up at the Olympic Stadium. The reason why that move is so important to us – and I say this on the record – is that, if we're fortunate enough to be awarded the stadium, then the players we currently have, if they are approached by a bigger club, face losing the opportunity to play at the Olympic Stadium."

"Can you fill it?"

"Our research says so."

"The snag at West Ham," I say, "as at huge clubs such as Manchester United or Barcelona, is that tradition requires you to play attractive, attacking football. I belong to a minority which believes that [current manager] Sam Allardyce is capable of achieving that."

"I believe that too."

"What if you get relegated?"

"Well in that case, of course we couldn't fill it. But I believe that, with the Olympic Stadium comes the opportunity for greater success."

"I imagine a lot of taxpayers being pretty hacked off by all this. You'll know that Manchester City [who lease the 2002 Commonwealth Games stadium] are widely derided as the richest council house tenants on the planet. Couldn't you at least buy the stadium?"

"No. We tried to buy it. That was challenged by Tottenham Hotspur, whose model was to pull the stadium down."

s I say goodbye to Gold, I find myself wondering why a person born into poverty who develops a taste for luxurious accessories should be automatically mocked, with all the contempt that the English aristocracy traditionally reserve for "new money".

He is troubled by a recurring nightmare, in which "I arrive at my childhood home in my Bentley – bizarrely because, in the nightmare, I've lost everything. My mum is waiting for me. I take out my tool bag. I drive to the building site and see the face of Ben, the hod carrier, who can't understand why I'm there, especially with my Bentley. I'm wet and cold. It's the same dream every time. You fear slipping back. The fear of losing everything is a driving force."

Is it racist or patronising to note that, when you're socialising with black residents of the Southern states of the US, you quickly notice that, the more impoverished their upbringing, the more likely they are to be immaculately dressed at all times? I tell Gold how, some years ago, I visited an interviewee whose impeccable, slightly garish clothes, like the dazzling perfection of his property's décor, just screamed, to me at least, that he had been raised (as he had) in squalor. If poverty really is a trap, then Gold's diamond watches, dazzling patent-leather shoes and helicopter are, I imagine, simply his proud badges of escape.

I can see from Gold's face that this kind of talk, which might imply that he instinctively follows Zero Mostel's advice, in The Producers ("If you've got it baby, flaunt it! Flaunt it!"), isn't going down especially well.

"I am what I am," he replies. "I can teach myself to stop saying 'an 'ouse'. And learn words by writing them down 50 times, or sticking them to the car dashboard. But there are many things I can't change. I can't change the fact that I was brought up in poverty, by a petty criminal. I can't change the fact I was sexually abused as a boy. I regret that I didn't have a better education. But I do have experience. I do have opinions. And I am," he repeats, "what I am."

His remaining ambitions, aside from avoiding a return to his childhood address, are "for my family and businesses to thrive. For West Ham to be challenging at the top of the Premier League. And to play, and win, in Europe."

He might have added, but doesn't, that he'd quite like to shed the reputation he's acquired, in the minds of some, as an object of derision. But if his other hopes are realised, and he finds himself in the Olympic Stadium one evening, hosting Juventus or Real Madrid, you would have to ask yourself who – as the grammatically punctilious Gold would phrase it – will be sneering at whom.

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He's like Platt! Allardyce compares matchwinner Nolan to England legend
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 19:31, 18 August 2012 | UPDATED: 22:27, 18 August 2012
Daily Mail

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce compared Kevin Nolan to David Platt after his goal secured the Hammers' 1-0 win over Aston Villa. Nolan's close-range strike five minutes before the interval was enough for West Ham to make a successful return to the Barclays Premier League. The goal came with a hint of controversy after Ricardo Vaz Te had been flagged off-side in the build-up, only for the linesman to change his mind. Allardyce felt his side could have won by more - Carlton Cole had a penalty claim turned down and substitute Modibo Maiga saw a late shot cleared off the line. But he was relieved that West Ham had made a strong start to the season. Allardyce said: 'Kevin Nolan is like David Platt because he ghosts into the box without anyone knowing how he got there. 'We might have won by more. It was a good performance with a clean sheet. 'It was a very good decision by the referee because the ball clearly came off the Villa player (when it was flicked on to Vaz Te) but refs don't always question their linesmen. 'We should have had a penalty when Carlton Cole was shoved to the ground. 'I was a bit nervous because you never quite know how it's going to go after pre-season. A good start is so important to a team such as us because it helps secure your Premier position as early as possible.

'It takes the pressure off the players and the fans, and it makes everyone enjoy their football.' Allardyce hailed the Hammers' defensive performance, which was marshalled by man of the match James Collins. The Wales centre-back was making his second debut for West Ham against his old team, after returning to Upton Park in the summer from Villa. 'It's been a very, very good day for us today because we won our first game of the season and kept a clean sheet as well,' Allardyce said. 'To limit Darren Bent to three touches speaks volumes of our defensive performance and it seems we've hit the ground running.' Aston Villa players initially appealed against the decision to award the goal - but manager Paul Lambert accepted the right decision had been made.

Mark Noble's free kick glanced off the head of a Villa defender - not Collins as the linesman first thought - en route to Vaz Te, who cut the ball back for Nolan.
'I wasn't sure at the time but I saw a tape afterwards and it came off one of our lads so I can't fault the ref,' Lambert said. 'We started well but it's all very well having lots of ball but not if you don't score. 'We need to be able to service Darren Bent. Losing Gaby (Agbonlahor) was a big blow to us before this game. 'You've got about three and a half milliseconds to hit the ground running in the Premiership.'

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Nolan ignites the flames of hope and history
West Ham United 1 Aston Villa 0: Beating Villa 1-0 brings early joy to the Upton Park traditionalists, faced with the prospect of moving to an Olympic Stadium bereft of intimacy
MICHAEL CALVIN SUNDAY 19 AUGUST 2012
Independent.co.uk
17 August 2012 01:50 PM

The faithful trotted out the old anthems while the powerbrokers peered through the heat haze at West Ham's proposed new home on the horizon. The Olympic Stadium is little more than two miles away from Upton Park, but on days such as these it belongs on a different planet.

When the noise rolls around the main stand, which is bookended by huge portraits of Bobby Moore and Trevor Brooking, the game comes alive and the ghosts come calling. Kevin Nolan's goal, five minutes before half-time, was enough to guarantee the observation of celebratory traditions which unite the generations.

It mattered little that West Ham were unfortunate not to secure a more comfortable victory when Nathan Baker cleared off the line from the substitute Modibo Maiga in the last seconds of added time. A capacity crowd was in a mood to excuse the inelegant muscularity of a trademark Sam Allardyce team.

The Boleyn is unashamedly old- fashioned. Even the six bubble-blowers clustered around the dug-outs seem an unnecessary concession to modernity. It is an authentic English football ground. Its intimacy and intensity expose the artificiality of the modern, multi-tiered mausoleums which have transformed the landscape of the Premier League.

The fans are drawn into the action as participants in a passion play rather than as observers at a social function. They get up close and very personal. That may not be entirely good news for Allardyce, who is tolerated rather than admired, but it is a reminder of what West Ham are in danger of sacrificing in the name of financial opportunism. The Olympic flame had barely been extinguished when the club launched a PR campaign to acquire squatter's rights at a reconstituted Stadium in Stratford Park. No East End legend, real or imagined, was spared. Celluloid mobsters, celebrity comedians and athletic icons, in the form of Ray Winstone, James Corden and Sally Gunnell, were wheeled out to pledge allegiance to the cause. The rower Mark Hunter circulated before kick-off, allowing a succession of children to wear his Olympic silver medal. Boxer Nicola Adams, by all accounts a Leeds supporter, was nevertheless swathed in a West Ham flag. Boxing and mini-tennis demonstrations were staged at half-time, and the PA announcer shoehorned the L word – Legacy – into as many announcements as possible. Subtle it was not.

Allardyce has previous in the promotion of delusions of grandeur – his insistence he would be a natural Real Madrid manager was a classic of its kind. He has gone on record suggesting the move would elevate West Ham to the levels of Arsenal and Manchester United. His implication that only "a club with the history, fanbase and potential of West Ham" suit the Olympic site captured the hyperbolic mood.

Joint owner David Sullivan, never knowingly upstaged, believes it is "morally" right to install them as tenants. Oblivious to the dangers of using such a word in a football context, he subsequently suggested "it would be wonderful for the country". Repayment for West Ham winning the World Cup for England in 1966, presumably.

David Gold, his partner, used the start of the new season to unveil his plan to save the Premier League's soul: a debt cap to prevent clubs spending beyond their means. "Top- level football in this country is on the brink of diving into a financial abyss," he announced, ignoring inconvenient home truths.

West Ham have hardly been prudent since winning promotion. They have discarded 12 underachievers, but they have been a one-club transfer rumour mill. Allardyce has recruited eight new players, on substantial wages, and is agitating to sign at least another three.

Paul Lambert, by contrast, has a more difficult search for compensations. Villa lacked penetration and the manager will doubtlessly be reminding the owner, Randy Lerner, of the wisdom of reinvesting some of his billion-dollar windfall from the sale of his NFL team.

The frustrations were obvious – one misjudged cross prompted Lambert to pirouette across his technical area and punch the back of his seat – but he is at least attempting to fashion a team who play in the right way. The popularity of his appointment was crystallised by the travelling fans, who delivered a tart farewell to Alex McLeish.

"We're passing the ball," they sang in mock disbelief. "We're Aston Villa. We're passing the ball." This went down well with the locals, whose most cherished values were being vindicated by the opposition.

Allardyce's functional football is justified only by results. Villa were bombarded by a succession of high balls in a sterile first half, enlivened only by Nolan's contentious goal. The home fans didn't care about its lack of clarity. Linesman Simon Long put his flag up for offside against Ricardo Vaz Te, then changed his mind before the striker pulled the ball back for Kevin Nolan to score. The protests were long, loud, and tinged with desperation, but would not have made an Olympian blush.

Even the managers were on their best behaviour afterwards. Both praised referee Mike Dean for his diligence in spotting that Villa's Ciaran Clark got a fateful touch before the ball reached Vaz Te in the build-up to the goal. Whether they will be so even-handed as the season progresses remains to be seen.

West Ham 1 (Nolan 40) Aston Villa 0

West Ham (4-1-2-3): Jaaskelainen; Demel, Reid, Collins, McCartney (O'Brien, 70); Diamé; Nolan (Tomkins, 72), Noble; Vaz Te, Cole (Maiga, 80), Taylor.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Given; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Baker; El Ahmadhi, Delph (Bannan, 76); Holman (Weimann 60), Ireland, N'Zogbia (Gardner, 72); Bent.

Referee: Mike Dean

Attendance: 34,172

Man of the match: Nolan (West Ham)

Match rating: 4/10

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West Ham United 1 Aston Villa 0: match report
Read a full match report of the Premier League game between West Ham United and Aston Villa at Upton Park on Saturday Aug 18 2012.
By Ben Findon, Upton Park
5:00PM BST 18 Aug 2012

The decisive goal was tinged with controversy, with an assistant referee's flag raised for offside, though television replays suggested that referee Mike Dean was correct to allow the West Ham captain's crucial interventon to stand. Newly-promoted West Ham started encouragingly, rarely looking under any threat from Villa's forward line. In fact, the visitors attacking was so limited that debut-making goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen could scarcely have hoped for a quieter opening 45 minutes.

Although the perceptive Stephen Ireland, always looking to thread in the clever through pass, was busy in the heart of Villa's midfielder, few options presented themselves in front of him, with Darren Bent finding little room between the outstanding James Collins, who moved between the two clubs during the summer, and Winston Reid.

Not that there was exactly a glut of action at the other end of the pitch on a sweltering day in east London. But Aston Villa were given a warning after Carlton Cole was fouled by Dutch debutant Ron Vlaar 20 yards from goal. Mark Noble rolled the ball for Nolan, whose low shot whistled narrowly wide of Shay Given's right-hand post.

There was to be no such reprieve when West Ham won another free-kick, four minutes later, when Ciaran Clark body-checked Mohamed Diame. Clark received a yellow card and there was further punishment for the visitors when Noble's deep free-kick was headed back by Ricardo Vaz Te for Nolan to side-foot past Given.
Although a linesman's flag was raised for a perceived offside, Villa's appeals were overruled by referee Mike Dean, who appeared to have made the right call, especially as Noble's free-kick seemed to brush Clark's head en route to Vaz Te.

Villa's response came within 40 second from the start of the second half, Ireland drawing a save from Jaaskelainen, but the greater alarm came at the visitors' end four minutes later when Cole went down under Vlaar's challenge but referee Dean waved away appeals for a penalty. West Ham continued to look the more likely to strike again, and some 66th-minute trickery by Vaz Te on the right led to a cut back that Nolan drilled goalwards, only to be blocked by Vlaar. The Dutchman powered a 30-yarder at Jaaskelainen but it ony served to underline the lack of attacking variations for the visitors. Cole headed Matt Taylor's cross wide with 12 minutes remaining and the West Ham striker's departure three minutes later gave the home support a first glimpse of Modibo Maiga, a £4.7 million signing from Sochaux. Maiga should have scored in added time but after rounding Given, saw his shot cleared by Nathan Baker.

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http://vyperz.blogspot.com

Daily WHUFC News - 18th August 2012

Development Squad 3-1 Reading
WHUFC.com
The Development Squad got off to a winning start in the Barclays Under-21
Premier League
17.08.2012

The Development Squad made the perfect start in the Barclays Under-21
Premier League by beating Reading 3-1 at Rush Green. Paul McCallum opened
the scoring in the 42nd minute, tapping home the rebound from Rob Hall's
initial effort. The forward then got his second ten minutes into the second
half. Hall twisted and turned before bursting into the box and crossing to
McCallum, who dispatched the ball expertly into the corner. Reading rarely
threatened, but pulled one back in the 72nd minute, but a trialist made sure
of the win for the hosts four minutes from time, clinically finishing over
the stranded Jonathan Henly. Speaking post-match, Development Squad manager
Ian Hendon revealed his delight after a near flawless performance from his
young side. "I'm delighted with the result because it gives us an excellent
platform going into the season," explained Hendon. "We had a mixed
pre-season and played a lot of experienced, physical teams but it has
prepared us well for tonight's game. "Reading are a big team who tried to
knock the ball long up to the front three and I felt we dealt with that, and
we of course did extremely well going forward scoring three good goals."

Hendon often admitted his side had lacked a little focus defensively during
pre-season so he was very pleased at the way his side organised themselves.
"It's something that I have highlighted recently so it's good to see the
lads respond and take it on board. "It was a little disappointing conceding
from a corner, but that may have more to do with a little lapse in
concentration due to being 2-0 up. "It's early days and that is something we
can focus on ironing out on the training ground, but as I say I'm delighted
with the result and to have got off to a winning start."

McCallum was the star turn, scoring two and grabbing an assist, leading
Hendon to praise him and his support trio of Hall, Blair Turgott and Dominic
Vose. "They are very talented, forward-thinking players as you can see, Dom
has done really well for the first goal and Rob has shown his talent with
the second and that is another thing that is pleasing. "We worked hard this
week on getting the ball to the back post for Paul because he is very good
at attacking that, so it's very pleasing as a coach to see something you
have worked on come to fruition."

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Joey's joy
WHUFC.com
Joey O'Brien has expressed his delight at returning to international duty
18.08.2012

Joey O'Brien has revealed his delight after playing for the Republic of
Ireland for the first time in over four years. Speaking ahead of West Ham
United's Barclays Premier League opener with Aston Villa on Saturday -
Tickets will be available on the day at the Boleyn Ground - O'Brien
expressed his pride at pulling on the green shirt once again. The Hammers
star appeared as a 79th-minute substitute in Wednesday's goalless
international friendly draw in Serbia and is now targeting a place in
Giovanni Trapattoni's squad on a regular basis as Ireland begin their quest
to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. "It was brilliant. It's
obviously it was a long time since the last time I had played at an
international level so it was great to meet up with the lads again," he
confirmed. The 26-year-old also admitted he didn't think he would play a
part in Belgrade, and he now hopes he can kick on and earn another call-up.
"I didn't expect to come on, I was delighted to get on the pitch and I think
we played really well and got a good result. "We had certain players who
don't usually start and they came in and did very well, I thought we were
unlucky not to get the win. "Hopefully I can keep playing well at West Ham
United and play a part in the World Cup qualifiers."

Ireland travel to Kazakhstan for their opening World Cup qualifier in
September before welcoming Oman to Fulham's Craven Cottage for a friendly
four days later.
O'Brien has endured a torrid few years after being blighted with a knee
injury, but he revealed that his religious faith played and will continue to
play a big role in his positive outlook on life. "Yeah definitely, over the
past few years I have endured a difficult time and had a big operation on my
knee. Everybody has their highs and lows and luckily for me I had my family,
my faith and great players around me who hoped everything was going to work
out. Luckily it did. "I was brought up around religion, my ma and da used to
take me to mass when I was a kid and when I went to the academy they also
made sure I would go to say my prayers and ask god to look after me and my
family. "It is just something we have in Ireland, it's a central part of my
life, I like to live a good life, keep the Catholic faith near to it."

O'Brien is in the squad for Saturday's Barclays Premier League visit of
Villa - a fixture that could see him come up against recently-retired
Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given. While Given will be missed, the No17 thinks
the Boys in Green have the strength in depth to move on from his departure -
perhaps in the shape of West Ham's own Irish stopper Stephen Henderson.
"Shay has just retired from international football. He has done everything
and played in a lot of games. Without him between the posts we may not have
qualified for the tournaments we have. "It's going to be hard without him,
but the lads we have are more than capable and going forward we have got
players who can score a lot of goals."

Concentrating on Saturday's kick-off, O'Brien believes both teams itching to
get started at the Boleyn Ground. "We're new coming into the league, but
looking at their squad they will pretty much be a new team as well. "It will
hopefully be two good teams having a good go at it on the first day of the
season, hopefully we can do the business, all the lads are raring to go and
we have had a good pre-season. "Everything has been building up to the first
game of the season, and we want to get off to a good start."

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Montano joins Oldham
WHUFC.com
Academy graduate Cristian Montano has joined npower League One side Oldham
Athletic
17.08.2012

West Ham United Academy graduate Cristian Montano has joined npower League
One side Oldham Athletic on a two-year contract for an undisclosed fee. The
Colombia-born 20-year-old joined the Hammers as an Under-12 and was named
Academy Player of the Year for 2008/09. Montano spent time on loan at npower
Football League clubs Notts County, Swindon Town, Dagenham and Redbridge and
Oxford United last season. Everyone at West Ham United would like to wish
Montano well in his future career

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West Ham allow Cristian Montano to join Oldham Athletic
BBC.co.uk

Oldham have signed Cristian Montano from West Ham for an undisclosed fee.
The 20-year-old midfielder has agreed a two-year deal, with the option to
extend it by a further year. Montano, who can also play as a striker, could
feature at MK Dons on Saturday, as long as the necessary paperwork is
completed in time. Last season, he had two loan spells with Notts County, as
well as temporary stints with Swindon Town, Dagenham & Redbridge and Oxford
United. But he never featured at first-team level for the Hammers.

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West Ham v Aston Villa
KO 15:00
17 August 2012
By John Motson
BBC Match of the Day commentator
BARCLAYS PREMIER LEAGUE
Venue: Upton Park Date: Saturday, 18 August

West Ham will hand a second debut to centre-back James Collins but Jack
Collison is out with a knee problem. Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has revealed
new signings Modibo Maiga and Alou Diarra are not yet fit enough to start.

Aston Villa's Brett Holman has shaken off a knee injury and should start
alongside fellow new recruits Karim El Ahmadi, Ron Vlaar and Matthew Lowton.
Injured trio Richard Dunne, Gabriel Agbonlahor and Marc Albrighton all miss
Paul Lambert's first match in charge.

MATCH PREVIEW

West Ham's return to the Premier League takes place within the shadow of the
Olympic Stadium, fresh from all the excitement, euphoria and global
attention of the London Games over last few weeks. The Olympic Stadium could
well be West Ham's future new home if the Hammers board get their way but
their first priority above anything else this season must be to stay up.

To do this the Hammers are going to have to work on their home form, which
was a patchy last season despite their eventual promotion. The fans also
need to unite behind Sam Allardyce. Some may not like his methods but he is
a man who knows what the Premier League is all about, knows how to fire up a
newly-promoted side and most importantly knows how to keep clubs away from a
relegation battle.
Allardyce has made eight new signings so far, three of them goalkeepers as
he looks to replace loyal servant Rob Green. The experienced Jussi
Jaaskelainen and Stephen Henderson will fight it out to be the club's new
number one and a reliable goalkeeper is a vital for any newly-promoted side.
Resolute centre-back James Collins has returned to Upton Park from Aston
Villa to strengthen the defence, while the arrivals of Alou Diarra and
Mohamed Diame should add foreign industry to the British steel that already
exists in the Hammers midfield. I believe another new player Modibo Maiga
will eventually play as part of a front three alongside Carlton Cole and
Ricardo Vaz Te.
It must surely be a more stable campaign for Aston Villa under Paul
Lambert's management than they experienced during Alex McLeish's
uncomfortable season-long tenure. Hiring the manager of your most fierce
rivals is always risky, but especially in this case after he was relegated
with Birmingham the previous year. The slate is now wiped clean and this is
Lambert's Villa, although it may be small steps of recovery at first.
Lambert is a thoughtful manager, not frightened to switch his squad around.
I saw Villa play a friendly at Nottingham Forest and judging by what I saw
I'm expecting an adventurous 4-4-2 from them this season. Three of the four
new signings over the summer have come in from Holland, continuing a trend
from Lambert of unearthing gems rather than buying superstars.
I think they will need an immediate return from new centre-back Ron Vlaar,
who has already endeared himself to the Villa fans and won comparisons with
club legend Paul McGrath. Of the existing players I believe Charles N'Zogbia
owes Villa a good season, be it on the wing or as a second striker. Stephen
Ireland's role may have to adapt despite winning the club's Player of the
Year title last year, while Shay Given's decision to retire from
international football with the Republic of Ireland will see him dedicate
more time to his club commitments and he may need to with the impressive
Brad Guzan breathing down his neck.
I expect to see both sides battling it out for mid-table honours this
season, with perhaps a draw the most likely result to get both their
campaign up and running.

MATCH FACTS

Head-to-head

Half of the 16 Premier League matches Aston Villa have played at Upton Park
have ended in draws.

West Ham have won only two of their last 11 Premier League home meetings
with Villa; a 2-1 triumph in 2009 and a 4-0 win in 2005.

The home side has won on eight of nine previous between the clubs in August,
including 7-2 and 5-2 West Ham wins in 1958 and 1960 respectively. The only
result to buck this trend was the 2-2 draw at Villa Park in 1999.

West Ham began their 2010-11 Premier League campaign against Aston Villa.
They lost 3-0 at Villa Park and went on to be relegated at the end of the
season.

West Ham

West Ham have lost their last two opening day fixtures since beginning with
a 2-0 win at Wolves three years ago.

Sam Allardyce's West Ham ended last season with seven wins in their last
nine matches and just one defeat in 21 games. This run included all three
play-off matches.

The Hammers ended the 2010-11 Premier League campaign with nine winless
matches. Their last top-flight victory was a 3-0 home triumph against Stoke
in March 2011.

Allardyce is taking charge of his 324th Premier League match - the only
Englishmen with more are Harry Redknapp (593) and Alan Curbishley (328).

Aston Villa

Villa have failed to win in their last five away opening Premier League
fixtures of the season, since a 1-0 victory at Newcastle in 1999.

Aston Villa ended last season with just one victory in their last 16 league
matches.

Villa recorded just seven league wins last term, their fewest in a
top-flight season since the 1890-91 campaign - when only 12 teams competed.

Darren Bent is two away from scoring his 150th league goal. The club won
only twice in 17 league matches without him last season.

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Der Hammer wishes West Ham United well
WHUFC.com
Thomas Hitzlsperger will be a keen viewer when the Hammers take on Aston
Villa
17.08.2012

Thomas Hitzlsperger will be keeping a close eye on events at the Boleyn
Ground this weekend. The ex-West Ham United and Aston Villa midfielder moved
back to his native Germany after leaving the Hammers in the summer of 2011,
but 'Der Hammer' remains a keen fan of his two former clubs. Still only 30,
Hitzlsperger also revealed in an exclusive interview with whufc.com that he
is eager to return to English football after an injury-affected season with
Bundesliga side VfL Wolsfburg.
As for West Ham and Aston Villa, the Munich-born Germany international
believes the abilities of managers Sam Allardyce and Paul Lambert will see
both thrive in the Barclays Premier League this season. "It's always
difficult to predict how a team is going to do, especially after promotion.
I wish the West Ham team all the best that they stay in the Premier League
and don't have to fight for survival all season long. Sam Allardyce is
experienced enough to get the job done. "Paul Lambert has had a good season
with Norwich City [last season] and I am sure he will bring some stability
to Villa. The club has big potential."

Hitzlsperger, who spent four seasons with Aston Villa between 2001 and 2005
before playing 13 times for West Ham during the 2010/11 campaign, believes
both clubs need to adopt a positive approach this season. With Villa
finishing 16th last term and the Hammers being newly-promoted, the
temptation may be to target 'winnable' games, but the former VfB Stuttgart
player believes every Barclays Premier League fixture represents a potential
three points. "Of course, any game is winnable and therefore I would always
try to achieve the maximum. However, international players sometimes need a
rest. It's important to have a balanced squad."

As for Hitzlsperger himself, he revealed that he would love to return to the
Barclays Premier League himself and make up for lost time. The midfielder
injured his thigh while on international duty just days before his scheduled
West Ham debut in August 2010. Last season, knee problems restricted him to
just six Bundesliga appearances for VfL Wolfsburg, but he is now returning
to full fitness and hoping to start a new chapter in his career. Last week,
he spent time training with MLS club San Jose Earthquakes in the United
States, but he told reporters there and whufc.com that he sees his future on
this side of the Atlantic Ocean. "I didn't have a good season, because I was
out for most of the time. Two operations on my knee allowed me only six
appearances. "I just hope that I can play regular football again. After two
years with little football, I just want to get back to playing, preferrably
in England."

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West Ham United v Aston Villa
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 17th August 2012
By: Preview Percy

It's a new season and that can mean only one thing. Ten more months of
visits to the Marco Boogers wing of the Avram Grant Rest Home For The
Bewildered to pick up the usual mad ramblings of Preview Percy, a prospect
we find about as appealing as the idea of being forced to sit and watch the
Olympic Closing Ceremony again.

Here's his opening salvo of the season, a look at Saturday's visit of Aston
Villa. At least he's cheap. By way of compensation there's statistical input
from John Northcutt to jog the memory cells…

So here we are once more, back upstairs in the penthouse apartment with the
big screen telly and the stunning river views having moved up from the
bedsit with the two-bar electric fire and rising damp. A home opener against
Aston Villa starts the Premier League ball rolling in a 3pm kick off on a
Saturday. Which is precisely as it should be of course.

All engineering activity on the tubes having ceased for the last few weeks
whilst the school sports were going on, the good people at TfL have
forgotten their usual habit of making it difficult for us to get to matches
and you should get a clear run on the modern electric underground railway
thing. You can ignore the special games lanes for the time being as well.

It's all change for our opponents at the start of this season. Last term the
faithful appeared less than happy at the appointment of Alex McLeish whose
previous employers just happened to be Birmingham City. This particular sin
might have been forgiven had McLeish actually been any good.

Unfortunately, it was a pretty undistinguished season for the Villains who
finished in 16th spot with 38 points – a slightly worrying two points clear
of Bolton who occupied the final relegation place. They failed to make any
meaningful impression in the cups either, Arsenal seeing them off in the 4th
round of the FA Cup whilst the aforementioned Bolton knocked them out of the
League Cup at the third round stage.

All of which was served up with a heavy dose of perspective as it was
announced that midfielder Stiliyan Petrov was suffering from leukaemia.
Happily his treatment has gone well enough for the club to be able to
announce recently that the player's condition is in remission and, whilst
there is a long way to go yet, the outlook is good.

Back on less serious matters, a relegation battle was never going to be good
enough for the club's owner, Randy Lerner (apparently his real name) and
barely 24 hours had elapsed after the final day 2-0 defeat to Norwich when
McLeish picked up his P45.

It was back to Carrow Road that Lerner went and, following a cuppa and
presumably some wonderfully light home-made cake with Delia the
highly–regarded Paul Lambert came in. Lambert had tried to resign at the end
of the season but the resignation had been rejected, presumably in order to
ensure compensation for any forthcoming departure.

Lambert is regarded as something of a thinker amongst coaches (much in the
same way that Harry Redknapp isn't) and it was back to Germany, where he won
the so-called Champions League with Borussia Dortmund, that Lambert
travelled to study for the coaching badges that are required to take office
these days. Look out for Villa in the Cups then in any go to penalty
shootouts.

Lambert's relatively early close-season appointment has afforded him the
time to go shopping and to rebuild the squad in his own image. Amongst those
through the exit door was the released Emile Heskey. Blackpool reportedly
offered Heskey £90 per week plus bonuses (that'll be £90 per week then) to
join. Heskey rejected the deal on the grounds that he felt insulted by the
offer and wanted a contract that reflected his worth (that'll be £85 per
week then).

They also sold James Collins back to us, the reported £2.5m fee meaning that
we're still in profit on 'The Ginger Pele'. Collins blotted his Villa Park
copybook towards the end of last season, picking up a club fine for being
involved in a nightclub incident a few days before a match with Spurs.
Still, hangover and all they still managed to mess up Spurs' so-called
Champions League prospects by drawing 1-1, so it wasn't all bad news.

Collins' replacement in the back four is Dutch International Ron Vlaar.
Vlaar came in on a deal worth around £3.3m having originally failed to agree
terms earlier in the window. Vlaar missed a couple of seasons a few years
ago with a cruciate ligament problem, followed by a bacterial infection
(sounds like one of those things go to those 'special' clinics for. Er, so
I'm told).

When he'd got over that, he did the same cruciate ligament again in a
training ground accident so it's fair to say that the player won't look back
on 2007/08 or 2008/09 with an awful lot of fondness. Having missed out on
the 2010 World Cup Vlaar made a couple of starts in Euro 2012 – which seems
so long ago now, doesn't it.

Vlaar was Lambert's second signing of the summer from Feyenoord, with him
having earlier popped over to Rotterdam to sign Dutch-Moroccan midfielder
Karim El Ahmadi. Feyenoord have spent most of the past couple of seasons
trying to offload the player in an attempt to raise funds for player
purchases and he spent the back end of 2010/11 in the United Arab Emirates
on loan, an experience that he likened to playing in and against the weakest
teams in the Dutch league.

Things might have got interesting had Feyenoord been able to agree a fee
with Al Ahli FC but 'twas not to be which is why El Ahmadi now finds himself
in the slightly less warmer climes of Birmingham. Although the player
represented the Dutch national side at junior age levels, when the Moroccans
came knocking at the door with competitive football on offer he went to his
family roots and now has full caps for the North African country.

They also brought in right back Matt Lowton, the £3.3m fee presumably going
some way to keeping parasite whingers Sheffield United afloat following
their inexplicable failure to be in the Premier League when it was
completely our fault that they went down.

At the end of last season Villa let 'keeper Brad Guzan go, his contract
having expired. Exit McLeish and enter Lambert and lo and behold, Guzan
re-signs. He's still likely to play second fiddle in the onion-bag guardian
pecking order to Shay Given, who has just announced his retirement from
international football.

Given must be having an attack of the 'what might have beens' as he looks up
at Man City's Premier League title, his career there never really having
taken off after his move from Newcastle. There's never a right time to pick
up an injury I suppose, but if there's a wrong time, just as your club is
beginning to hit the jackpot would probably be it.

Up front there's Darren Bent. Bent is a younger and less 'robust' version of
Emile Heskey and has never, ever impressed anyone. How he's managed to get
caps for England when Bert, who has the room next to mine here at the Avram
Grant Rest Home for the Bewildered doesn't get selected I'll never know.
(Actually we think it's something to do with Bert not being able to get the
oxygen tank he needs these days through the airport metal detectors).

What makes the thing so damned annoying is the fact Bent, who has played for
Ipswich, Spurs, Sunderland and Villa in his time has scored against us for
all of those clubs (except Sunderland – but it would only have been a matter
of time). I mean I know Michael Owen always scores against us but you can
sort of take it from him.

File him in the section marked 'annoying'. Bent picked up a brace in a
recent friendly against Werder Bremen so he'll be full of beans. Maybe it's
something about clubs beginning with the letter 'W'.

And so to us. Well as one might expect following a promotion there's been a
few changes in personnel. It's farewell to Rob Green who was always going to
leave once his contract was up, having got the hump previously over how
small his salary was in comparison to some other players whose contribution
to the cause was nowhere near his own. It's to his credit that he never let
his annoyance with the owners affect his game and he's one ex-Hammer who
I'll willingly applaud on his return.

The other notable departure was that of Julien Faubert who's off to
somewhere not particularly well-known in Turkey (ie not Fenerbahce or
Galatasaray). Faubert carried on with the time-honoured tradition of picking
up an awful pre-season injury when he signed for us and was probably nowhere
near the player we signed following his return. His time with us included a
surreal spell on loan at Real Madrid where the most notable thing he did was
fall asleep on the subs bench!

To replace Green in comes Jussi Jaaskelainen (Message to editors: if you
want me to type that out every flipping week I want a pay rise) and Stephen
Henderson, whose loan spell from Pompey has been made permanent. Hopefully
JJ (told you) will repeat the form for us that he always seemed to display
when playing against us.

In front of him we welcome back to the fold the aforementioned James
Collins. If we keep selling him then buying him back for half the price we
sold him for we'll be rolling in it.

So far this window we have operated on the "you can never have enough
midfielders" principle. Diame, one of two guys called Mo that we've signed,
has come in from Wigan to whom we didn't have to pay a fee. Which hopefully
will have annoyed child slave labourer Dave Whelan. Diame tends to play a
defensive midfield role, as does Alou Diarra to whom we also say, er, 'allo.

Diarra has come in from Marseilles, has captained France and his previous
spell in English football is noteworthy for his having arrived at Liverpool
and returned to France on loan before the ink on the transfer documents had
dried. I suppose that's something that we can all relate to – everytime I
pitch up on Merseyside I take one look at the state of the place and
immediately wish I was somewhere else. Possibly even France.

The second guy called Mo to arrive is Modibo Maiga from Mali. He's supposed
to have failed a medical with Newcastle before Christmas but is now
seemingly fit and ready for the rigours of Premier League life at the
Boleyn.

The new signings and the fact that we seem capable of fielding ten
midfielders (it'd have been eleven had Lansbury not gone back to Arsenal)
makes it difficult to establish what the line-up is likely to look like. We
do have injuries though. Jack Collison's knee has seen him spend pre-season
in the Kieron Dyer Memorial Treatment Facility.

Against Braga – which I suppose is as good a clue as any - we started off
with Reid and Ginge pairing up at the back, pushing Tomkins into that
auxiliary midfield role we kept trying him in only for someone to be sent
off requiring him to play in a more orthodox midfield position. Ginge missed
the midweek international with a pelvic/groin injury. The word is that
Ginge's injury may eventually require an op but that he is likely to be
available for selection this weekend.

In Portugal, Demel and O'Brien made up the full backs; hopefully Demel will
improve on his last competitive match for us where he had a 'mare against
Blackpool before getting injured. After the play-off Final I heard one of
our supporters go on the wireless the morning after suggesting full backs
ought to be a priority. I agree with that man.

In midfield, despite the apparent embarrassment of numbers one notable
absentee will be Jack Collison. Collison has apparently been unable to train
properly since the win over Blackpool all those aeons ago and rest is the
order of the day.

Up front in Braga we had Carlton Cole and Mo Maiga being augmented by Vaz Te
and, if I had to guess that would be my prediction of how we'll start out
this weekend, though given the manager's habit of preparing for each
opponent differently it wouldn't be too much of a surprise to see something
else.

Villa will be missing three important players themselves - in addition to
club captain Petrov (for obvious reasons). Richard Dunne has picked up
'Gilmore's Groin' which is a genuine injury that Mark Noble once suffered
from, and not, as some of you may be thinking, a piece of scurrilous gossip.

Marc (note to his family – don't be flash it's spelt 'Mark') Albrighton will
miss this one with a broken metatarsal. If ever you needed proof of our
being back in the Premier League it's the fact that the boring old broken
toes that people suffered from in the Championship have suddenly
metamorphosed back to the infinitely more trendy 'metatarsals' that we've
become used to in recent years.

Up front, Gabriel Agbonlahor will also miss out with a cruciate knee
ligament problem. Knees aren't what they used to be – when I was a lad
ligaments stood the test of time and it was cartilage operations that were
all the rage. Nowadays you rarely hear of cartilage ops. Unless that was in
the episode of Holby City that we missed in the TV room here at the Rest
Home I threatened to put my foot through the screen unless something else,
anything else, was shown.

The absence of Dunne will mean an unfamiliar back four for them, with the
main man having no English league experience. Also, without Agbonlahor they
seem to lack a bit of depth in attack so, for my first prediction of the
season I'll take us to turn the first game feel good factor into three
points.

The rest home's Olympic Celebration budget (£2.50) has therefore been
liberated from the secret place where Matron keeps it and placed firmly on a
home win to occur by a 3-1 margin. We might even be top of the league if
that happens.

For a bit.

Enjoy the game!


Referee: Mike Dean. Loves to be the centre of attention and if the players
aren't giving him anything to do he is not above making controversial
decisions for the sake of it. Actually had a half-decent match when last we
saw him in the 3-0 play-off semi-final defeat of Cardiff, which suggests
that he saves his self-promotion for the bigger TV audiences.

Some other referees rate him – which is not something to boast about.
Consider this: the last time we were in the top flight we had this ref twice
for every time he was entrusted with a match involving Man Utd. In fact we
only had him for one less match (2) than the Salford whingers (3) last
season – when we were in the Championship. Now call me suspicious but…..

When Last We Met: April 2011 (lost 1-2). A horrible, horrible match. Robbie
Keane (remember him?) gave us an early lead but we sat back and invited them
on to us. Darren Bent (qv) stuck away his customary goal whilst Gabriel
Agbonlahor added a stoppage time winner. Worse still, a shocking tackle from
Nigel Reo-Coker nearly ended Gary O'Neil's career. A lousy day all round
that was just another nail in the relegation coffin.

Danger Men: Mike Dean (obviously) and Darren Bent . Neither of this week's
danger men is particularly good at his job. Despite this both have an
irritating habit of putting in a match-winning performance against us.

Daft facts of the week: Villa didn't score a single goal from a corner last
season, apparently.

Additionally, apart from being home to Villa, Aston is also the surname
adopted by actress Anne Lloyd part of the way through her run as hostess of
seminal 1960's Birmingham-based TV game show 'The Golden Shot' when she
discovered that there was already an actress registered with that name.

For those of you too young to remember, Aston was a sort of anti-Carol
Vorderman: "Our next contestant is, er, I've forgotten your name. Oh yes,
Ronald from Birchfield. I mean Gloucester". "Ronald scored five points on
the static target and 20 points on the moving target making a total of (long
pause) er, 24 points. No 25. I think".

And Bernie The Bolt's real name was Derek - and he was no relation to Usain.


Stat man John: Northcutt's corner

Head to Head
Pld 103; West Ham Utd 37, Aston Villa 36, Draws 30.

Biggest Win
30th August 1958: West Ham Utd 7-2 Aston Villa (Boleyn Ground, Division One)

Heaviest Defeat
6th September 1930: Aston Villa 6-1 West Ham Utd (Villa Park, Division One)

First Meeting
1t February 1913: Aston Villa 5-0 West Ham Utd (Villa Park, FA Cup)

Last Five Meetings
16th April 2011: West Ham Utd 1-2 Aston Villa (Boleyn Ground, Premier
League)
14h August 2010: Aston Villa 3-0 West Ham Utd (Villa Park, Premier League)
17th January 2010: Aston Villa 0-0 West Ham Utd (Villa Park, Premier League)
4th November 2009: West Ham Utd 2-1 Aston Villa (Boleyn Ground, Premier
League)
18th April 2009: Aston Villa 1-1 West Ham Utd (Boleyn Ground, Premier
League)

Memorable Match
8th March 1980: West Ham Utd 1-0 Aston Villa (Boleyn Ground, FA Cup)

Second division West Ham were huge underdogs in this FA Cup quarter Final
against a first division Aston Villa side who were to be crowned European
Champions within two years. With the game entering the final minute of
normal time Ken McNaught's hand struck Trevor Brooking's corner. Referee
David Richardson had no doubt and pointed immediately to the penalty spot -
to the delight of more than 36,000 fans crammed into the Boleyn Ground.

With several of his team mates unable to watch, 20-year-old full-back Ray
'Tonka' Stewart - at Second Division West Ham for less than a year following
his £400,000 move from Dundee United - stepped up to smash the ball into
Jimmy Rimmer's bottom right corner to send the happy Hammers through to a
semi-final clash with another First Division team, Everton.

Video: http://youtu.be/bmDijc0Oc5U

Seeing Red
4th December 1982: Ray Stewart for body-checking Mark Walters

They Played For Both
Bill Askew; John Carew; Carlton Cole; James Collins; Alan Curbishley; Mervyn
Day; Marlon Harewood; Ray Houghton; Thomas Hitzlsperger; David James; Frank
McAvennie; Fred Norris; Nigel Reo-Coker; Tony Scott; Les Sealey; Phil
Woosnam.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Latics sign up Hammers winger
Last Updated: August 17, 2012 5:25pm
SSN

Oldham Athletic boss Paul Dickov has signed winger or striker Cristian
Montano from West Ham on a two-year deal. The 20-year-old, who had been at
West Ham since the age of 10 and signed his first professional contract in
2010, has the option of a third year at Boundary Park. He will be available
for the Latics' opening fixture against MK Dons as his paperwork was
registered in time. Montano, who can play as a striker or on the wing, spent
loan spells at Notts County, Swindon, Dagenham and Oxford last season,
scoring 10 goals in 39 appearences. Dickov believes his new signing can
provide his Oldham team with a variety of attacking options this season. The
Colombian joined the Latics after training at Boundary Park during
pre-season. Montano received interest from clubs in Italy and France but
opted for Greater Manchester instead - a decision Dickov puts down to the
20-year-old's desire to play first-team football. "It wasn't so much
Cristian being on trial, but him coming in and getting a feel for the club
and for us to do likewise," Dickov told the club's official website.
"Cristian is another piece of the jigsaw and a left-sided player who is
quick and talented. "He is left footed, but can play on either wing and he
loves to take on opponents and to get in crosses and shots. He can also play
up front so he gives us lots of options. "I gather he could have stayed at
West Ham, but he was keen to move because of his wish to play football
rather than being a squad player."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce caution over Villa
Hammers boss not expecting a comfortable return to the top flight
Last Updated: August 17, 2012 5:22pm
SSN

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce is hopeful of getting off to a winning start
but admits he is apprehensive ahead of the visit of Aston Villa. The Hammers
return to the Premier League on Saturday after a one-season absence thanks
to Allardyce leading the club back to the top flight at the first attempt.
The experienced boss is confident of three points against Villa at Upton
Park but acknowledges it is difficult to judge how prepared his team will be
for the Premier League challenge. And he rejects the notion that the fixture
list has been kind on West Ham. "Everybody thought that Cardiff City at home
was a comfortable start last season and we got beat 1-0 in the last minute,"
he said. "I don't think there is any kind of comfortable start in the
Premier League. "I think there is a possibility that we can get off to a
good start if we give a good performance.

Chance

"What we are looking for is a good performance by our players and that might
give us a chance to win the first game here at Upton Park at the start of a
new Premier League season. "I think we all need to be a little apprehensive,
certainly myself because it doesn't matter how good or bad I think we are, I
won't really know until we play Barclays Premier League games." The match at
the Boleyn Ground will be Paul Lambert's first in charge of Villa since
leaving Norwich in the summer and Allardyce is expecting a tough game. "I am
expecting a pretty determined and well organised side," added Allardyce.
"Paul's record in terms of moving into a new club and producing results
almost immediately stands there in front of everybody. "I think that he will
get them playing a system that suits the players and playing the best they
possibly can play. "For us it's about making sure we are on top of our game
because we're obviously playing a well-established Premier League side.

Experience

"While we have got some players with Premier League experience, it's been a
year since we have been there. "We are looking forward to getting back there
and hopefully we can deliver in terms of expectations and, of course, try
and win as many games as we can, starting with the first one. "The first
game is as important as the last game, and if you can win the first game it
gets everybody off to a nice, pleasant start. "You try and get three points
in the bag and try and move forward. "It builds the confidence of all the
players at a club and it gets rid of any anxiety anybody may have, or at
least reduce what they have of 'can they really reproduce in the Premier
League and produce performances', as last time we were there we were
relegated."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham v Aston Villa preview
New dawn for both returning Hammers and Lambert's Villa
Last Updated: August 17, 2012 12:55pm
SSN

Newly-promoted West Ham are looking to make a winning Premier League return
when they host Aston Villa at Upton Park on Saturday. But there is also a
new dawn for the Birmingham club with recently-appointed manager Paul
Lambert taking charge of a competitive game for the first time. The Hammers
bounced back to the top-flight at the first time of asking, despite many
supporters having an uneasy relationship with manager Sam Allardyce amid
criticism of his team's style of play. Ultimately, Allardyce achieved the
club's sole aim of promotion with a 2-1 win over Blackpool in May's
Championship play-off final to silence his critics - for the time being.
However, a poor start to their Premier League campaign is likely to see fans
jump on his back again. Expectations of a raft of big-name signings have not
materialised, but Allardyce has added two seasoned top-flight campaigners in
goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen and centre-half James Collins, who joined from
Saturday's opponents Villa, to bring experience to his defensive line. And
Mali striker Modibo Maiga could prove to be an inspired signing for the
Hammers, who missed out on an ambitious move for England striker Andy
Carroll.

Meanwhile, Lambert's arrival has given Villa fans a renewed sense of
optimism after a traumatic campaign which nearly ended in relegation last
season. Former boss Alex McLeish was never a popular figure following his
switch from bitter rivals Birmingham and it was unsurprising when he was
sacked after a dreadful season where Villa finished 16th. Lambert was
immediately targeted by chairman Randy Lerner as the man to rebuild the
former European Cup winners after leading Norwich to a 12th-placed Premier
League finish following back-to-back promotions. He has brought in four new
faces, Australia midfielder Brett Holman, Netherlands central defender Ron
Vlaar, right-back Matthew Lowton and midfielder Karim El Ahmadi, who will be
eager to prove themselves in their debut Premier League seasons. Added to
the experience already in the squad, their arrivals should bring a new
hunger to Villa Park as Lambert aims for a top-half finish.

Midfielder Jack Collison is missing but defender Collins will be fit to face
his former club. Collison, 23, played a key part in the Hammers' promotion
but aggravated an existing knee injury in the process, which has seen him
miss pre-season. Fellow Wales international Collins is fit again after a
groin injury, while Allardyce has revealed his overseas signings, Maiga and
Alou Diarra, will not start.

Villa's Holman has shaken off a knee problem sustained in Australia's
midweek friendly defeat by Scotland and the midfielder is included in
Lambert's squad. Other newcomers Vlaar, Lowton and El Ahmadi are also in
contention to make their Premier League debuts at Upton Park. However,
striker Gabriel Agbonlahor (knee), defender Richard Dunne (groin) and winger
Marc Albrighton (foot) are still sidelined.

Opta Facts

Only relegated Wolves (23) dropped more points from winning positions than
Aston Villa (22) in 2011/12
West Ham have won just one of their last 10 Premier League meetings with
Aston Villa
Aston Villa's points total in the 2011-12 season was their lowest since
1986/87 (36) when they were relegated

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Allardyce out to match Arsenal
Hammers boss dreaming of walking out at Olympic Stadium
Last Updated: August 17, 2012 9:42am
SSN

Sam Allardyce believes becoming the new tenants at the Olympic Stadium would
allow West Ham to move onto a level playing field with the likes of Arsenal.
The Hammers are hoping a lengthy application process will see them given the
green light to move into the Stratford arena once the London Games come to a
close. The events which have unfolded in the stadium over the last few
weeks, and are set to continue over the course of the Paralympic Games, have
inspired a generation. West Ham hope they can buy into that feel-good factor
and inherit a world-class sporting venue. An 80,000-seater stadium would
allow them to bring in extra matchday revenue, offering a considerable boost
to their bank balance and spending power.

Atmosphere

In time, the Hammers feel they would then be able to stand alongside their
more illustrious capital rivals. "When you feel the atmosphere created in
that arena, then you dream about walking out there the way you dreamed about
walking out at Wembley when you were a kid," said Allardyce. "Everyone looks
forward to playing Arsenal at the Emirates. We could be the same size in
that stadium. "It would be awesome to walk a team out on that pitch."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carlton Cole Interview (Part 3): 'I Want to Stay at West Ham - I Don't Like
Change'
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

ID: Who's been your best strike partner over the years at West Ham?
CC: Well there are many to choose from!

ID: But you're still there!
CC: I know, I don't know how I'm still here! [laughs]. It's hard for me to
say because I have enjoyed playing with a load of strikers. Demba Ba took a
lot of pressure off me. He scored a load of goals. We had Craig Bellamy, Di
Michele, Franco. Franco was really good as well. We have had quite our fair
share of good players who have moved on now. If I have to pick one, I would
say Di Michele.

ID: Really???
CC: Yup, he was such a clever player. He played with the striker. He wasn't
greedy. He wanted me to do well. He always talked to me and tried to help me
through. He was a good player to play with.

ID: Do you set yourself targets? I seem to remember last season it was 15
goals, which you achieved. What's your target this season. It's got to be 25
surely?!
CC: [giggles]. I've got to sit down with the manager again. We're going to
go through it. The way we did it last year was to talk just before the games
started. He sat us all down individually and we agreed targets, he told us
what he wanted from us. I think that will be happening on Thursday or
Friday. I didn't actually start the season last year, I was on the bench.
Freddie Piquionne started against Cardiff so our focus kind of changed
during the season.

ID: Do you do a lot of stat work. Sam Allardyce is known to be obsessed by
it. Your goals to games ratio is actually a lot lower than people think. Do
you look at stats like that and use them to inspire you to do better?
CC: I've not actually looked it, I should do. I go with games I start. If
you do that I think it's OK. I need to have a look. When I was younger, at
Chelsea, I was always looking at my stats, but with starting games. When you
come on as a sub it's really hard to get into the game, especially for my
type of player. I have never seen myself as a game changer, but maybe
sometimes I am.

ID: Have you ever consciously changed the way you play? Zola or Clarke once
said that you were so nice off the pitch but you needed to be more
aggressive on it.
CC: I have had that criticism from a few managers. I go through stages, I
think. It's more of a mental thing than just my character. When I am on it,
you can see I'm on it. I'm aggressive. In training today I was aggressive.
James Collins was complaining, so I was obviously doing something right, and
he's an aggressive player! I'm in the right frame of mind now to get
aggressive and when I am like that I know I am hard to control for a
defender.

ID: I think sometimes people look at a player and they see a body style
which is quite languid and laconic, but that doesn't mean to say they are
not giving their all.
CC: I always give my all. You can't hide nowadays. As the manager says, he's
got all the stats there. He knows what you're supposed to be doing so you
can't hide anymore. Maybe back in the day before all the stattos came out
with all these little machines you could get away with not working hard, but
now you can't get away with it at all.

ID: Earlier in your career you were a bit of a nomad. Chelsea sent you out
on loan a lot. When you first came not many people though you would stay 6
years. Would you like to see your career out at West Ham?
CC: Of course, yes. I am not really a guy that likes change. I just don't
like it. I like things as I know them. As long as I'm doing what I am
supposed to be doing, and not getting in the way, and I feel welcome, I will
continue to give my all for the cause. Not many people like change in their
jobs and it's the same for a footballer. You like to know what's expected of
you so it's the same pressure all the time.

ID: Which of the young players at the club do you think will push forward
this season?
CC: I am looking forward to see Robert Hall do well.

ID: I remember Scott Duxbury was waxing lyrical about him when I interviewed
him several years ago. I think he was 14 at the time – not Scott, Robert!
CC: Robert is a good, handy player. Really nippy. Daniel Potts is another
one. He's been travelling with us. He made a pretty good debut and hopefully
he can progress now and get the experience he needs. We've got the people
too help him here – players, staff, coaching staff. Young Blair Turgott is
another one who's doing really well. They all train with us and that's so
important. It makes them feel part of it and gives them experience. They
came with us on the pre-season tour too. I'm quite happy with all of them at
the moment.

ID: What are you hoping for this season? I suppose avoiding relegation has
to be the aim.
CC: I'm expecting more than that to be honest with you. We had a lot of
Premiership players playing the Championship last year. We have some great
players here. Hopefully we can build on what we did last year and do even
better. We have Premiership quality here. I'm aiming for mid table – eighth
to tenth. That might be a pipedream but if you aim any lower you're going to
be fighting relegation and we don't want to do that. I'd rather aim high and
come up a little short.

ID: How much is Robert Green's departure going to affect the side? We have
two new goalkeepers. What do they bring to the side?
CC: With Jussi I have seen vast experience. He knows what he is doing.
Obviously he's the oldest player in our squad. He talks to you, gives you
advice. Especially someone likes me. You've then got the young maverick in
'Hendo'. He's got quality as well.

ID: Why is he a maverick?
CC: I don't know. I just call him that.

ID: You mean he comes to play alongside you up front sometimes?
CC: [laughs]. He's wild. If you know his personality you'll understand.

ID: Right, he's the next player I want to interview then!
CC: He's young and he's raring to go. He can't wait to get into the team. So
we've got youth and vast experience. We'll see where that takes us, but from
what I have seen so far, I can't see any problems. Rob Green was massive for
us in goal and you could always rely on him, but time moves on and we have
got to adapt.

ID: Who's the best defender you've ever played against, apart from James
Collins, obviously!
CC: In my younger days I played a friendly against Nesta. Stam was a
monster. Nowadays in the Premiership I'd say Vidic and Rio Ferdinand are the
best pairing. They are really hard to get by.

The final part of the interview will be posted later today.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carlton Cole Interview (Part 4): 'Ashley Cole is Actually a Nice Guy!'
By Iain Dale
West Ham Till I Die

ID: Who inspired you to become a professional footballer?
CC: My uncle, Duncan King, used to play football who used to play for
Chelsea when he was younger, but he got led astray a little. He floated
about a bit and went to QPR and Tottenham. He wasn't focussed on what he had
to do. But you've got to remember, he was a young kid coming from Africa so
he had other things on his mind. It was hard for him. When I was younger he
would take me to training, he would talk to me and make sure I stayed
positive and analyse my games with me and tell me what I needed to do better
or what I was good at. There was another guy called Richard Butler. I used
to play for a team around the Hounslow and Ealing area. He used to take me
to practice all the time as well and he got me involved me with Chelsea. A
real inspiration. I have had a lot of influential and good people around me
who helped me make it, and I am very privileged to be here.

ID: When you joined West Ham how aware were you of their history of brining
on black players going right back to the 1960s with John Charles and then
later Clyde Best, Ade Coker?
CC: I wasn't aware of it until I got here. I had known West Ham for being
the Academy of Football and bringing England players through and having that
kind of quality and the youth setup, but I didn't know about Clyde Best and
all the others. But they helped paved the way for us, and as a black boy I
am really grateful.

ID: You're quite famous on Twitter – not always for the right reasons! Well,
one time a wrong reason [alluding to whe he was fined £20k for a joke remark
made about immigration]…
CC: [laughs] Yes, for a stupid joke.

ID: Is social media a good way to keep in touch with fans?
CC: It's the best way, I think. Since I have been on Twitter I have been
fined £20k and I don't want to do that again so I have to manage what I say
properly, so I have Laura here to help me [points to Laura Burkin, a West
Ham press officer]

ID: She's your brake mechanism.
CC: She tells me to take it down quickly!

ID: Too late. These things are there somewhere for ever!
CC: Yeah, cos someone will retweet it straightaway. Yeah, it's a great way
to stay in touch with the fans – not necessarily to talk about football but
to keep in touch about general stuff. I think there's been a culture of
footballers not being in touch with the fans and people complaining about
that, saying 'oh they've got too much money', 'they don't talk to the fans',
'they won't sign programmes'…

CARLTON IS INTERRUPTED BY DAVID GOLD WHO WALKS OVER…

DG: Carlton good to see you in fine form today, good to see you again Iain…
CC: Good to see you chairman!
DG: Don't be late on Saturday!

CC: I think Twitter is one of the best ways of communicating with the fans,
so they can see what kind of personality you have got. I had to convince
Ashley Cole to join Twitter. He's actually a nice guy but people don't
realise that They just see him as 'the cheat'. I think Craig Bellamy needs
to go on Twitter so people can see where's he coming from. He's such a nice
guy as well. He does a lot of stuff for where my Mum is from – Sierra Leone.
He does a lot of charity work there. People don't see that side to him. But
he's just not interested. He says 'why should I have to explain myself, that
I'm a nice guy?' At the end of the day people will never know unless you
show them how it is – not to toot your own horn or anything. At the end of
the day you've got a personality, but people don't realise you do. They just
think you're a robot.

ID: Have you changed your seat on the team coach now? [Carlton had tweeted
earlier in the week that he wants to change his seat on the team coach as he
sits by the toilet and it reeks!]
CC: [laughs] I haven't yet! As I said, I don't like change! But that toilet
is getting out of hand! It's not smelling too good. I have already had a
word with Pete, the driver, and he's already looking into the air
conditioning.

ID: David Gold just walked over. How much do you have to do with him, David
Sullivan and Karren Brady? Do they have much to do with the players?
CC: On Friday's David Gold is always at the training ground and mingles in.
He wants to see what is going on, where the injuries are at. He mingles in
so all the players are familiar with him. David Sullivan not so much. He
used to come down, but he is not as hands on at the training ground. I think
Karren Brady has only been to the training ground just once. She's not
interested in that part, she's interested in us keeping safe, the finance,
the business part. But I have a good relationship with all of them.

ID: Right, some quickfire questions now… [Laura, the press officer looks
rather nervous at this point!]. What do you eat before a match?
CC: Pasta, Broccoli, that's my favourite. I love Broccoli, and I'll have
some chicken with that.

ID: Where do you like to go on holiday?
CC: My new favourite destination is Marrakesh. I took my family there. The
people, the country, everything's lovely there.

ID: If you weren't a footballer, what do you think you'd be doing?
CC: I'd probably be a DJ or something in the music industry. I love DJing in
my spare time, I love music.

ID: What kind of music do you like? Stuff I'd never have heard of, no doubt.

CC: Yeah, you'd never have heard of it.

ID: No Roxette, Abba, Dire Straits…
CC: Nah, although I don't mind listening to it, but I wouldn't be doing it
myself!

ID: Favourite footballer of all time?
CC: That's a really hard question. Probably Ronaldo. The real one. The
Brazilian one.

ID: Last book you read…
CC: [laughs] I'm not going to say what I was going to say…

ID: I bet it was 5 Shades of Grey…
CC: I'm not going to say that! I love comics. So I'm going to say The
Avengers.

ID: Funniest thing you have heard from the crowd?
CC: Baldock's chant! I heard it for the first time last year at the train
station. We were coming back from somewhere up north and the crowd just
started chanting, 'Baldock, Baldock, he's got a massive cock!' I was in
pieces. I was crying.

ID: Best away fans?
CC: I like going to Fulham. They give me a hard time, all the time. And I
usually end up scoring against them!

ID: And the worst fans?
CC: Got to be Millwall!

ID: Five dinner party guests. Living or dead.
CC: Bob Marley, Oprah Winfrey, John F Kennedy, Michael Jackson and Eddie
Murphy because I know he's make me laugh.

ID: I was going to ask for your favourite politician, but you've said JFK.
Are there any current politicians you have any respect for?
CC: No, not really, not at the moment. I don't really follow politics. I
don't really know why. My Grandmother does and she tries to keep me up to
date with what's going on but I'm not really into politics. Only football
politics!

ID: Best player you've ever played with at West Ham?
CC: Scott Parker would be up there.

ID: Favourite App?
CC: Right now it's got to be Shazam. I've got my own App actually, but it's
not working at the moment so I've got to get them to fix it. It's going to
be really good. Shazam is a music app. If a song is playing, it identifies
what it is and who it's by.

ID: That's it! Great to talk to you Carlton and good luck luck for the
season!

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Big Sam expects
The Sun
Published: 17th August 2012

SAM ALLARDYCE says the pressure is on West Ham to do better than the other
promoted sides because of the club's history and fan expectation. But the
boss insists he thrives on pressure and goes into the opener against Aston
Villa with new signings James Collins and Jussi Jaaskelainen set to start.
Allardyce said: "We're expected to stay up. The pressure is constant but I
put myself under more pressure. "My life is about winning and standards, and
demanding standards from everybody who works with me."

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Don't expect miracles from my Hammers
The Sun
Published: 17th August 2012

SAM ALLARDYCE has warned the West Ham faithful not to expect miracles this
season. Hopes are high in the East End with the area still basking in the
glow of the feel-good factor from London 2012. But while Allardyce is
quietly confident of picking up three points against Aston Villa tomorrow,
he insists his side will be taking nothing for granted as they find their
feet in the Premier League. He said: "Everybody thought Cardiff City at home
was a comfortable start last season and we got beat 1-0 in the last minute.
"I don't think there is any kind of comfortable start in the Premier League.
"I think there is a possibility that we can get off to a good start if we
give a good performance. "What we are looking for is a good performance by
our players and that might give us a chance to win the first game here at
Upton Park at the start of a new Premier League season. "I think we all need
to be a little apprehensive, certainly myself because it doesn't matter how
good or bad I think we are, I won't really know until we play Premier League
games."

Allardyce admits the Hammers will be in for a hard afternoon with the
visitors looking to make an immediate impression under new boss Paul
Lambert.
And Big Sam is well aware of the qualities Lambert will have instilled in
his squad. He added: "I am expecting a pretty determined and well organised
side. "Paul's record in terms of moving into a new club and producing
results almost immediately stands there in front of everybody. "I think that
he will get them playing a system that suits the players and playing the
best they possibly can. "For us it's about making sure we are on top of our
game because we're obviously playing a well-established Premier League side.
"While we have got some players with Premier League experience, it's been a
year since we have been there. "We are looking forward to getting back there
and hopefully we can deliver in terms of expectations and, of course, try
and win as many games as we can, starting with the first one. "The first
game is as important as the last game. If you can win the first game it gets
everybody off to a nice, pleasant start. "You try and get three points in
the bag and try and move forward. "It builds the confidence of all the
players at a club and it gets rid of any anxiety anybody may have."

Alladyce will be without midfielder Jack Collison, who misses tomorrow's
game after sitting out pre-season with a knee injury. James Collins is fit
to face his former club following a groin problem, but fellow summer
signings Alou Diarra and Modibo Maiga will not start.

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We'll be Hammered: West Ham must win new boys' mini-league or else - Big Sam
The Mirror

Sam Allardyce says the pressure is on West Ham to finish above their fellow
Premier League new boys Southampton and Reading. With a much bigger fan base
and an esteemed history of being in the top flight, boss Allardyce knows the
­expectation levels will be far higher for his east London club. The Hammers
kick off their season at home to Aston Villa on Saturday and Allardyce
insisted: "There's a greater ­expectation here than at Reading or
Southampton, even though we went up through the play-offs. "There's a bigger
­pressure. We are expected not to be ­relegated. Not just from the fan-base
but also the history and tradition.
"That's not quite the case with Reading or ­Southampton, with respect. "But
if you get off to a good start, some of the ­anxieties diminish and it
becomes a little easier than you thought it was."

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