Manchester United match postponed
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's home fixture with Manchester United will be re-arranged
for a new date
13.02.2013
West Ham United's Barclays Premier League home fixture with Manchester
United, originally scheduled for Saturday 9 March, has been postponed. The
Red Devils' visit to east London will now be re-arranged after Sir Alex
Ferguson's side reached the FA Cup with Budweiser sixth round courtesy of a
2-1 fifth-round victory over Reading. A new date for the fixture has yet to
be agreed and a further announcement will follow in due course. Match
tickets previously purchased for the original match will still be valid for
the re-arranged fixture.
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Jarvo relishing Chelsea challenge
WHUFC.com
Matt Jarvis says West Ham United will go to Stamford Bridge full of
confidence on Sunday afternoon
08.03.2013
Matt Jarvis says West Ham United will go to Chelsea full of confidence after
recording a valuable 1-0 Barclays Premier League success at Stoke City. The
winger was in fine form as the Hammers chalked up their third away win of
the campaign courtesy of a resilient performance and Jack Collison's
pinpoint finish.
The No7, who came close to scoring with a low shot at the Britannia Stadium,
says victory in the Potteries will send West Ham to Stamford Bridge
believing they can beat the Blues and record a first league 'double' over
Rafael Benitez's side since 2002/03.
"Stoke is always a tough place to go and we all had to work extremely hard
to pick up the three points," confirmed Jarvis. "It's been hard for us on
the road but we did extremely well and came away with the win. "Obviously it
was disappointing to lose two players early in the game [in the injured Joe
Cole and Matt Taylor] but the two players who came on made a massive impact
in the game - one, Ricardo Vaz Te, set up the goal and the other one, Jack
Collison, scored!
"We knew Stoke's strengths and we had to really concentrate and work hard to
stop any set pieces or long throws into the box and make sure we were
positive in the way we approached the game and when we attacked. We also had
to make sure that when we had a chance, we punished them. "It's always going
to be a very tough game away at Stamford Bridge, but I'm sure we'll have
this weekend off and be prepared to go there and put in another good
performance and hopefully get a good result."
While it may now be tempting to look further ahead following Saturday's
success at Stoke, Jarvis said everyone at the club is focused on the next
game and collecting enough points to guarantee Barclays Premier League
football next season. "First things first, we want to make sure we guarantee
our safety. Once we've done that, then we're going to push on and look how
far we can go."
For Jarvis personally, he is more than happy to be part of a positive squad
at West Ham, having joined the club from relegated Wolverhampton Wanderers
last August. "It's hard to change clubs. I was at Wolves for five years
before moving clubs and settling in. Everyone at the club has been fantastic
since I joined so I really do feel at home at West Ham now."
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Page ready for Stoke test
WHUFC.com
Lewis Page is looking forward to Saturday's Barclays U18 Premier League
visit of Stoke City
08.03.2013
First-year scholar Lewis Page is looking forward to Saturday's Barclays U18
Premier League Tier One visit of Stoke City to Little Heath. The West Ham
United youngster, who does not turn 17 until May, has already chalked up 13
appearances for the Under-18s this term and is looking to make another start
when the Potters arrive in east London on Saturday. Kick-off at Little Heath
is at 11am, with admission and parking both free of charge. Steve Potts'
team have lost each of their previous three league matches, including a
disappointing 3-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend. However, Page
says the Hammers have got it in them to return to winning ways against
Stoke. "Performance-wise, we have been doing well apart from last Saturday's
defeat by Tottenham. That was our worst performance of the season, but the
rest of the season we have been playing well without getting the results. We
haven't finished our chances as well as we could have done and have made a
few mistakes at the back, but overall we've done well."
West Ham have played Spurs three times in six matches since Christmas,
winning the home league game before being knocked out of the FA Youth Cup at
the Boleyn Ground and going down to the aforementioned league defeat in
north London last weekend. While Page said the Hammers enjoy locking horns
with their local rivals, the players are relishing the opportunity to test
themselves against a different style of play this time around. "We enjoy
playing against Tottenham because it's a challenge. I think we can beat
them, as we showed in January, but it hasn't worked out in the last few
weeks. We have got Stoke on Saturday, which will be a tough game and a
different sort of game. Hopefully, we can deal with them. "Stoke have got a
good Academy and have brought quite a lot of players through. They will be a
big team so we've got to deal with them in the air and just compete.
Footballing-wise, I think we can win the game by doing that."
With second-year scholar Frazer Shaw now a regular in the Development Squad
at left-back, the path has opened up for Page to make the same position his
own in the U18s - an opportunity he is determined to take advantage of
between now at the end of the current campaign. "I'm a left-back who likes
to attack. I get forward and put crosses in and I also like to think I'm a
decent defender. I am from Bishop's Stortford originally but I stay at the
West Ham Academy House as it makes things a lot easier to get into training
and college in the mornings and takes the stress out of it. "I was playing
for my local team Bishop's Stortford Swifts when I got spotted by one of the
West Ham scouts. I came down for a trial and I started from there as an
Under-10."
"I think we've all settled in well and are all enjoying it. We've all had
good pitch-time and we're all sticking together as a team, so hopefully we
can get some results in our next few games. My personal ambition is to keep
playing, getting the minutes and play well."
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Becky sees Merritt in Ladies Academy
WHUFC.com
West Ham TV caught up with the Hammers' Ladies at training ahead of
International Women's Day
08.03.2013
These are exciting times for West Ham United Ladies. September will mark the
launch of their Youth Academy, while the club's application to join Women's
Super League Two is currently pending.
If that weren't enough to occupy the mind, Julia Setford's side are in the
throngs of a title challenge, with none other than league leaders Millwall
Lionesses to play on Sunday. In support of International Women's Day, West
Ham United are to run a three-part feature on the Ladies, starting with a
closer look at the forward-thinking plans for an Academy programme. When she
is not scoring goals in claret and blue, Hammers forward Becky Merritt is
usually to be found coaching the next generation, on behalf of SCL (Schools
Coaching Ltd). It is they who will run the Ladies' Academy and Merritt who
is spearheading the campaign. Merritt is in no doubt of the importance of
the plans, if West Ham are to compete with the biggest and the best in the
game. Merritt told West Ham TV: "The Academy will run alongside an education
system, whereby girls from the age of 16 to 18 can incorporate education,
while still training and playing on a competitive basis. They will be
training every day and playing against the colleges in the league. So it
will virtually be a professional set up, but one where they can gain
qualifications as well. "It's massive for us because we don't have a
development side, so it's a huge step for the girls from Under-16s to come
and step into senior football. Hopefully this will bridge the gap. It will
give us the opportunity to develop those players further, even if they are
not quite ready for senior football. We'll be able to retain those players,
where in the past we've lost them to other clubs that can offer these
facilities. "With the management here they are very keen to focus on the
youth. So bringing the youngsters through will give them a great
opportunity. They will be training every day, developing at a pace and
hopefully coming to try and steal my shirt."
The Academy is likely to take on 24 girls in its first year, with that
number expected to double for the following season should all go to plan.
Merritt and her colleagues are busy getting the word out there and Merritt
expects the club to reap the benefits of the very welcome publicity.
"It's a massive advertising tool for us. Getting us out there among the
bigger clubs who already have these set ups in place. By putting these
things in place it gives us an extra chance to be in contention with the big
guns. "It's all very exciting, especially for me being involved as much as I
am. It's a bit of a guinea pig project for the company I work for, so, no
pressure then! But we're really trying to progress into women's football and
hopefully all being well this is will be the start of something brilliant.
"There are already some girls coming through now who are looking very
promising. It can only get better for us."
Trials for the Academy are to be held at 60a Albatross Close, Beckton,
London E6 5NX on Wednesday 10 April and Wednesday 29 May from 3pm until 5.
For further details, see the following information pack. Meanwhile, to keep
up to date with all the latest goings on at West Ham United Ladies, visit
their official website.
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O'Brien named in provisional Ireland squad
WHUFC.com
West Ham United defender Joey O'Brien named in squad to take on Sweden and
Austria
08.03.2013
West Ham United defender Joey O'Brien has been named in the provisional
Republic of Ireland squad for their FIFA 2014 World Cup Qualifiers against
Sweden and Austria later this month. Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has
selected the 27-year-old in his 29-man squad for the double header.
Trapattoni's men first travel to Stockholm to take on Sweden on Friday 22
March before returning to Dublin to face Austria on Tuesday 26 March. They
currently sit third in their group, four points off leaders Germany having
played a game less.
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Piquionne departs by mutal consent
WHUFC.com
West Ham United striker ends Boleyn Ground spell after three years with the
club
08.03.2013
Frederic Piquionne has ended his spell with West Ham United by mutual
consent. The 34-year-old striker spent nearly three years with the Hammers
after joining the club in July 2010 from Lyon. He scored 11 goals in 62
games for the club but did not make a first team appearance this season.
West Ham United would like to thank Freddie for his service and wish him
well for his future career.
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McCallum joins Aldershot on loan
WHUFC.com
West Ham United youngster Paul McCallum signs for Aldershot Town on loan
08.03.2013
Hammers youngster Paul McCallum has joined npower League 2 side Aldershot
Town on a month-long loan. The 19-year-old forward recently completed a
similar spell with AFC Wimbledon, where he notched four goals in nine games
and earned a nomination for the League 2 Player of the Month award. His loan
spell with the Shots, who are currently 19th in their division, will run
until 7 April. McCallum said: "My spell at Wimbledon went well. I was a bit
nervous at the start, playing against people who had been playing in League
2 for a very long time, but the gaffer put me in and I scored four goals in
four starts. "The loan made me believe in myself that I can score goals in
senior football and I'm looking forward to going out again to prove I can
score more goals."
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West Ham winger Matt Jarvis sets sights on win over Chelsea and securing
safety
Last Updated: March 8, 2013 9:12pm
SSN
Matt Jarvis says West Ham United are focused on guaranteeing Premier League
survival and is confident they can challenge Chelsea at Stamford Bridge next
weekend. The Hammers are enjoying a fortnight off after beating Stoke City
1-0 away from home last time out, and Jarvis admits confidence will be high
when they head to Chelsea on 17th March. "Stoke is always a tough place to
go and we all had to work extremely hard to pick up the three points,"
Jarvis told the club's official website. "It's been hard for us on the road
but we did extremely well and came away with the win. "It's always going to
be a very tough game away at Stamford Bridge, but I'm sure we'll have this
weekend off and be prepared to go there and put in another good performance
and hopefully get a good result."
The victory over Stoke lifted West Ham on to 33 points, nine clear of the
relegation zone, but Jarvis insists they will continue to work hard to
ensure they stay up. He said: "First things first, we want to make sure we
guarantee our safety. Once we've done that, then we're going to push on and
look how far we can go."
Jarvis, who made the move to Upton Park from Wolves last summer, added:
"It's hard to change clubs. I was at Wolves for five years before moving
clubs and settling in. "Everyone at the club has been fantastic since I
joined so I really do feel at home at West Ham now."
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Karren Brady's football diary
The Sun
By KARREN BRADY
SunSport columnist
Published: 7 hrs ago
SAT, MARCH 2
HARRY REDKNAPP is hopping mad about a report that his players were living it
up during a break in Dubai. It can be tough when such stories appear and you
know they are untrue. One manager I worked with bought drinks for the office
staff and was surprised to see it reported as practically a player orgy.
SUN, MARCH 3
I DON'T see a takeover of Arsenal as much of a runner. The owners don't need
the money and have no intention of selling. Some fans will see sultans
wishing to spray oil wealth as an easy way to buy the best players. I'm far
less sure. They could be as lucky as West Ham who believed they had
uncovered a treasure trove of ice lolly and, instead, landed a huge debt
when Iceland went bust.
MON, MARCH 4
WHATEVER next. The tattooed man in tight underpants with a smile to light up
even Victoria Beckham has landed a part-time job as ambassador to Chinese
football. This is like spreading lotus flowers on a dung heap. Calling on
David Beckham is purely a publicity stunt and all he'll get from it is
buckets of money, poor sod.
TUES, MARCH 5
IT'S pretty clear Sir Alex is in such a Nani-state he doesn't trust himself
to talk to the press so soon after the forward's red card leaves Man U
unable to defend their lead against Real Madrid. I received a text from a PL
manager, whose club is in far closer proximity to Man U than mine. "I guess
now he knows how we managers feel when we go to man u and get our players
sent off in ridiculous red-card decisions." There will be a few sly smiles
among the managers who have felt that winning a penalty at Old Trafford was
less likely than landing the EuroMillions jackpot.
WED, MARCH 6
IN the Scottish Third Division there is a football club that gets average
gates of 44,000. Glasgow Rangers supporters have demonstrated the true
impact of loyalty on a football club. They have ensured that it retains its
stature and dignity regardless of what happens to it outside of the actual
football pitch. A giant of a club, who don't deserve to be playing in the
Third Division, have now turned their sights south, considering a move to
play in England. I hear that there's one club in England that's up for a
ground share. Leyton Orient.
THURS, MARCH 7
CARLOS TEVEZ remains an idol around Upton Park. For me, his name is
associated with a pain in the pocket. Premier League chief executive Richard
Scudamore reminds us in an interview that he was lied to by the West Ham
executives who were there in 2006 over the terms of the Argentinian's
agreement.
The outcome was first a fine of £5.5million and that was followed by massive
compensation to Sheffield United — this season alone our burden is a £10m
instalment and none of the current owners or I were even at the club.
Contrast this with the behaviour of Brescia, the Italian club who have been
ordered to pay West Ham for the transfer of Alessandro Diamanti two years
ago and won't cough up the £1m-plus they owe.
FRIDAY, MARCH 8
AN EMAIL arrives from a PL director, with a link to a website, the message
saying 'I saw this and thought of you'. I open the link which informs me
that I can get a brow lift in Croatia for £71 a month. Two minutes later I
get another email. 'Ignore that email, it wasn't meant for you, it was meant
for my wife. Sorry'. He and his wife have had quite a bit of work done. His
wife in particular has had two big pieces of work done, if you get my drift.
I reply and say 'I don't know much about plastic surgery but a good rule of
thumb is that it's time to stop when you look permanently frightened'. Why
some people will spend more on footballs than their face is anyone's guess!
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Saturday, March 9
Friday, March 8
Daily WHUFC News - 8th March 2013
West Ham United statement
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have issued a short clarification in relation to comments on
third-party ownership
07.03.2013
West Ham United would like to clarify that Richard Scudamore's comments in
relation to third-party ownership refer to the actions of former Directors
of the club during investigations into third-party ownership in 2007 and
have no link to current Board members David Sullivan, David Gold or Karren
Brady, who only joined the club in January 2010.
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Andy aiming to please
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll wants to do his very best for West Ham United for the final ten
games of the season
07.03.2013
As there seems to be with any striker who stands over a certain height,
there has been endless debate over Andy Carroll's strengths as a footballer.
Throughout his career, West Ham United's No8 has had to fight to be
recognised as more than just a 6'4 frontman who can head the ball, hold it
up and bring his team-mates into the game. While he is undoubtedly superb at
all three of those disciplines, Carroll can certainly play a bit on the
ground too, as was evidenced by the left-foot strike he blasted past Ghana
goalkeeper Richard Kingson for his first England goal at Wembley in March
2011. When asked how he would assess himself as a footballer, Carroll shows
characteristic humility in summing up his attributes. "It's a hard question
to answer," said the 24-year-old. "I would just say I'm hard-working and
determined to do well and put myself about, really. Everyone thinks I can
just jump the ball and head it, but I think I am more than that. I am able
to do well with my feet and most of my goals have been scored with those
feet, to be honest!"
As West Ham supporters have seen during Carroll's 15 appearances in claret
and blue, he takes as much satisfaction from setting up goals as he does
from scoring them - something he has done in each of the club's previous two
home matches. "I'm not a selfish centre forward - if someone else is in a
better position to score then I'll put him in, even if I have a chance to
score myself. I like creating chances as well and that's the kind of player
I am. "Being up there by yourself is hard so you have to keep going.
Sometimes you don't get much of the ball and it is hard work, so when you do
get the ball you want to keep it and bring other players into the game. "You
cannot score every time you have the ball, so you have to try to create
chances for others."
With ten games to go between now and the end of the season, Carroll
naturally wants to play his part in as many goals and victories as possible
before his loan spell from Liverpool comes to an end. "It's the same with
every game and it doesn't matter how many games we have left this season - I
go into every game the same wanting to work my hardest and to come off at
the end thinking I've given everything I can. I don't want to watch a game
back thinking 'I could have done that better'."
Carroll certainly feels he is in the right place to get the best out of
himself. "Everyone here has been great and is behind one another, which
makes everything a lot better."
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Haycock laments slow start
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock blamed a sluggish start for the Hammers' 2-0 reverse against
Manchester United
07.03.2013
Nick Haycock admitted a slow start had cost his side dearly as the
Development Squad slipped to a 2-0 Barclays Under-21 Premier League Elite
Group defeat against Manchester United at Altrincham FC. Former Crewe
Alexandra youngster Nick Powell opened the scoring inside just five minutes,
as West Ham United struggled to find their feet at a sodden Moss Lane. It
was 18-year-old Powell who settled matters a minute from full-time,
profiting from a defensive muddle to double his tally for the evening and
send Manchester United second in the Elite Group table. Haycock subsequently
conceded that he was none too impressed with the Hammers' first-half showing
and accepts his side are perhaps short of inspiration in the final third,
having struck just once in their last four outings.
"We can definitely do more creatively," he told West Ham TV. "I just think
there might be a slight lack of spark at the minute, due to the volume of
games. But we've got goalscorers in the team and as you saw in the second
half, once we started to get the ball in the box a little more, we looked
more of a threat.
"Maybe for the first 20 minutes Manchester United got on top. You know
they're going to have plenty of the football, because you're playing away
from home, like you would do if you were at Old Trafford. We were expecting
that. "We came in at half time and there were one or two who I was
disappointed with, who didn't actually give me what I know they're capable
of. I made it known at half time that I wasn't happy with the performance.
"In the second half I thought we came out and responded. They are a good set
of lads and I knew I'd get that reaction. The plan was to try and stay in
the game and obviously try to sneak something towards the end. Had we got
the game's second goal it would have been game on but unfortunately there's
a little mix up at the end which killed it."
The Hammers' task was made all the more difficult by the late withdrawal of
Pelly Ruddock, who pulled up in the warm-up. It was a second injury blow in
as many days, as midfielder Sebastian Lletget, too, had been ruled out with
a slight knock. Haycock, however, was not about to bemoan his ill-fortune
and instead hoped his side would make the best of a late reshuffle. "Losing
Pelly in the warm-up wasn't an ideal situation but that's part and parcel of
football and we had to deal with it," he added. "I told the boys in the
dressing room, 'The first team lost two players in the first eleven minutes
but ultimately those two players came on and delivered the winning goal
between them'. Sometimes things like that happen in football and you've got
to be ready to slide people in.
"Callum Driver is only just back into his rehab so we knew he only had 60
minutes in him. We had only planned to play him for 30 or at most 45
minutes, but obviously we had to push it a bit longer. Leading up to the
game, we lost Seb Lletget who has been an integral part of the midfield. So
we've had to change the shape of the team as well in preparing for the game.
"People have got to bear in mind, we've got a young squad and one or two are
finding the going tough with the back to back games. We'll patch ourselves
up again and we've got to go again against Liverpool on Monday."
The Development Squad return to action on Monday 11 March, when they make
another journey to the North West to take on Liverpool at the Reds' Kirby
Training Ground.
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Ow gawd he's at it again!
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 7th March 2013
By: Mr Preview Percy
Preview Percy is at a loose end, what with there being no match this
weekend. So to fill in the time until the bunion lady arrives he returns to
a particular irritant of his. He still hasn't forgiven Barry Hearn for
Snooker Loopy you know....
So the deal to sort out the Olympic Stadium is nearly done and we can expect
an announcement any day/week/month/year now. So what happens? Yup our old
mate (and I use that word quite wrongly) Barry Hearn pops up and starts up
with the legal stuff again.
Now I wrote about Mr Hearn back in the summer whilst similarly at a loose
end. At the risk of repeating myself, lest I be accused of being pro or anti
anything I'm a committed "don't know" on the subject of the Olympic Stadium
move. I still haven't got enough information on which to base a proper
decision so until then I'll reserve judgement.
However, I do have enough information to make a judgement call on Barry
Hearn. Unfortunately the editors won't print that type of language in an
article so let's just say that I'm far from impressed.
His current move is to seek a judicial review of the latest bid process on
the grounds that not enough consideration was given to his proposal of a
ground share between Leyton Orient and West Ham United. This was one of the
four bids considered by the powers that be. To be fair the other two were
pretty much non-starters. The University College for Football Business
currently operate out of a broom cupboard at Turf Moor so what they were
going to with a whole stadium was never quite explained. As it happens
they've decided to rent some space at Wembley so they've got their room with
a view after all.
The other bid came from a company wanting to stage Formula 1 races there.
That would have left the stadium scrabbling around for use for much of the
year other than the few weeks for which the British Grand Prix was taking
place. No doubt the proposers had something in mind but when compared to
9-10 months of guaranteed football a year it all seemed a bit woolly and
vague.
Our bid we know all about (or as much as we're allowed to know) so let's
look at the Hearn bid then. The gist of it was "we'll move in and share it
with West Ham". It didn't seem to matter that we didn't actually want to
share a ground with them something that was made pretty clear to the world
in the club's statement that:
West Ham United has not held talks with Leyton Orient in respect of ground
sharing and nor is it our intention to do so
No, Hearn proceeded with the bid on the assumption that we could be made to
ground share against our wishes. Even for someone as arrogant as Hearn that
was a bit presumptuous.
I imagine that the conversation with the Legacy people went something like:
"Mr Hearn I see you propose to share the place with West Ham – have you
spoken with them at all?" "Er, not spoken as such but, er, oh look over
there is that a kitten?…."
So, having put in a bid that fell apart as soon as somebody read it, Hearn's
reaction when it failed was predictable : There's nothing wrong with the bid
it's the process that's wrong!
There's no real pattern to Hearn's continuingly shifting position. Our
moving to within 1 mile 890 yards of Brisbane Road (roughly three and a half
times the 750 yard distance Hearn loves to try and mislead the world with),
will apparently put his club out of existence whilst our staying put 2 miles
1687 yards away will see them thrive. On that logic you'd have thought that
moving to 0.0 miles away would result in an instant meeting of matter and
anti-matter that, whenever I watch Star Trek, seems to result in the end of
the known universe as we know it. Perhaps Mr Hearn would like to tell us the
optimum yardage available so that we don't need to call on the services of
whichever of the crew of the Enterprise are still able to walk.
Key to all this is, of course, the future of Brisbane Road (I hate sponsored
names) which I understand is owned by Mr Hearn (or businesses controlled by
him). Were his club to move from the ground that they nicked from Leyton FC
all those years ago that would free up a lot of real estate. As it stands
Hearn has been nibbling at the edges already, bits of the place having been
sold off piece by piece to effectively surround the ground with flats.
Hearn had promised to reinvest the profit from any sale of Brisbane Road
back into the playing side – though presumably this would be after repayment
of any sums owed by the club to him. And of course the level of "profit"
would depend on exactly who bought the place. A sale to another Hearn
company might raise a few eyebrows for example.
All of which is rather academic since, without a move, Mr Hearn is sitting
on an asset which isn't realisable. Which, presumably, is the reason for
this latest rather desperate move. Still his lawyers seem to think he has a
case – and no lawyer ever urged a client into unnecessary litigation from
which fees could be made, did they?
In the meantime I'm off to Mr Hearn's bank to propose a unique
account-sharing opportunity. Mr Hearn hasn't agreed but that apparently
doesn't matter……
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Would Watford's Scott Duxbury Care To Respond To Richard Scudamore's
Comments On Third Party Agreements?
http://thegamesgonecrazy.blogspot.co.uk
Now I have to be careful here. Watford Football Club don't take kindly to
criticism and their lawyers are especially protective of Scott Duxbury if
emails I have received are to be believed. However, Watford and West Ham
fans might be interested in listening to an interview with Richard Scudamore
and, I am sure, West Ham fans would love to hear Mr Duxbury's response.
According to Mr Scudamore, "What West Ham did and what actually happened was
wrong and those players should not have been entered into the league on that
basis. However, having said that, on the rules as drafted then, WE COULD
HAVE EASILY WORKED WITH WEST HAM PROBABLY TO HAVE CRAFTED THOSE AGREEMENTS
SO THAT THEY DID FIT WITHIN THE RULES…HAD THEY COME TO US UPFRONT AND
DISCUSSED IT UPFRONT, WE COULD HAVE PROBABLY REGULARISED THOSE AGREEMENTS".
So the question arises, why didn't the club discuss it up front? Who advised
the owners not to do so exactly? Now I may be wrong, but my memory tells me
that Scott Duxbury was the club's legal adviser at the time and I am certain
that he was at the club during the whole Tevez affair.
Mr Scudamore also says that the punishment meted out to West Ham was
appropriate and questions the legitimacy of Shafting United's compensation
claim. The question therefore arises as to why, exactly, Mr Duxbury agreed
to pay the Blunted Blades the huge compensation figure of, reportedly,
£20m+.
In the interview Mr Scudamore also objects to Third Party Agreements because
of the issue of "sporting integrity" clarifying this by saying that a player
should be at a club "primarily as a playing asset" and not with a view of
him being "moved on" for financial gain.
Now that is interesting given Watford's present policy. Fair enough if all
these "loanees" sign permanently for the club, but if Vydra and co are sold
on, and the profit goes back to Udinese, then surely "sporting integrity",
by Scudamore's definition, is not being upheld. Or am I being stupid?
Now I am sure that Mr Duxbury is able to answer these points to everybody's
satisfaction. I am not suggesting that he did anything dishonest, nor that
the compensation paid to Sheffield United was designed to cover his own
back. Nor am I suggesting that such an eminent legal expert acted
incompetently, gave bad advice to the club, and later compounded that by
acting still more incompetently. Any such suggestion would be absurd.
However, in the interests of clarity, it would be wonderful to hear Mr
Duxbury's response to Mr Scudamore's comments. Based on what Mr Scudamore
has said, every West Ham fan would, I am sure, like to hear why:
1) The club broke the rules in the first place.
2) Why there was not an honest admittance of rule breaking and an attempt to
find the common ground that Mr Scudamore suggests could have been
negotiated.
3) Why the compensation was agreed with Sheffield United.
Further, football fans up and down the land would probably like to hear Mr
Duxbuury's view on "sporting integrity" and the present arrangement between
Watford and Udinese in the light of Mr Scudamore's definition.
As I have already said, I am sure Mr Duxbury can explain this to everybody's
satisfaction, but idiots like myself would appreciate hearing that
explanation because, quick frankly, we are bemused. Why, given what Mr
Scudamore has said, did we ever get into the mess we got into at West Ham;
and are Watford currently breaching "sporting integrity" whilst exploiting,
in Mr Holloway's words, "a loophole".
You can hear Mr Scudamore's interview by following this link:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/scudamore-says-player-funds-risk-soccer-s-int
egrity-5msQPl4CThW6UcFzFBYY6g.html
(With thanks to Stani!)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan sets sights on injury return against Chelsea
By talkSPORT | Thursday, March 7, 2013
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is hoping he can overcome a broken toe to play
in the London derby against Chelsea on March 17. Nolan was forced to miss
the Hammers' 1-0 win over Stoke last weekend after he picked up the injury
following a collision with Mousa Dembele during the recent defeat by
Tottenham.
There were fears that the influential midfielder could face up to eight
weeks on the sidelines. But with West Ham not playing this weekend due to
Manchester United's involvement in the FA Cup quarter finals, Nolan has been
receiving intensive treatment at the club's training ground and hopes the
extra time will allow him to make a first-team return. Nolan could even play
with a painkilling injection to help him get through the ninety minutes at
Stamford Bridge. The news will come as a major boost to manager Sam
Allardyce who looks set to be without Joe Cole, who has a hamstring injury.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole tells Liverpool fans what they already know: you're not that big
http://www.anorak.co.uk
HOW football reporting works, with West Ham's Joe Cole:
This is what Cole said when he joined Liverpool:
"I could have stayed at Chelsea because the fans loved me and I won things,
but I wanted to challenge myself and when I knew Liverpool were interested
it was a no-brainer because they are the biggest club in the country."
He now explains:
"When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've joined the biggest club
in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd won," said Cole. "I just
said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right' and Liverpool
used that as the headline to the interview. I didn't want to upset anyone so
I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the biggest club in the
country any more. How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won
the European Cup twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea. I didn't
want to upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not
the biggest club in the country anymore."
West Ham, of course, won the World Cup. They're the biggest.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Scudamore slams West Ham´s Tevez conduct
7 March 2013
UKSOCCERWAY.COM
English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has hit out at West
Ham United for their dishonesty during the Carlos Tevez saga. The striker
moved to Upton Park in August 2006 along with fellow Argentine Javier
Mascherano in a transfer that was eventually found to have broken
regulations regarding third-party ownership. The players' contracts, then
partly owned by agent Kia Joorabchian's business Media Sport Investment, saw
the east London club receive only a small portion of the fee when they moved
on. And Scudamore has now blasted the club's previous executives for lying
to him. "It is quite simple - you are completely undone by an act of bad
faith," he told Bloomberg in a TV interview. "If a club, through its
executives, chooses to lie straight to your face, there is a great deal of
damage that can be done from that. "Ultimately, the Tevez saga goes down to
people not being honest. With any regularity body, if people are not honest
there is very little you can do about it and that is why the whole thing
unravelled. "It ranks up there as the number one act of bad faith that any
club has ever done towards me during my time here. After that, it was dealt
with under our rule book and the rest is history."
Despite West Ham's five-and-a-half-million-pound fine being labelled lenient
in some quarters at the time, Scudamore believes the amount was significant,
especially compared to other punishments meted out by governing bodies.
"When you consider what certain Football Associations get fined for racist
abuse in Europe, 5.5 million pounds is a huge fine," he said. "Our rules say
that if you break them then a commission hears the case and decides. We are
glad English football has stopped these transactions happening.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Big Sam Seeking Assurances?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
There is a peice in this morning's Telegraph that suggests Sam Allardyce
will seek assurances regarding the transfer budget for next season. The
story is that Allardyce wants to oversee a major restructing of his
strikeforce, with the likes of Carlton Cole and Maiga being shown the exit.
The question is whether the club will fund the acquisition of replacements
of sufficiently improved quality? The article claims to be based on a
source, no doubt close to the club, but who knows if there is any truth to
it?
Talking of new strikers, the link to Southampton's Ricky Lambert keeps
persistly re-emerging. The latest story is that West Ham will make a £6m bid
for Lambert's services. There is no doubt that Lambert is a consistent goal
scorer and has proven this season that he can convert regularly at PL level.
However, is he the right choice of striker for the club? Will Southampton
agree to the transfer of their prolific centre forward or is the offer, if
true, of £6m for a 30 year old too good an offer to turn down?
Of course, it does beg the question, what is likely to happen with regard to
Andy Carroll's future? The latest situation is that West Ham have first
option on signing Carroll for an estimated £17m fee. Will West Ham take up
the option? One thing is fairly certain and that is that Carroll's time at
Liverpool is up and he will be leaving his parent club this summer. And if
West Ham do not exercise their first option, then Newcastle Utd are likely
to pursue their much publicised interest in the player. Carroll has been
very unlucky with injuries, but a return of two goals this season is
disappointing. Regardless, Carroll needs to apply himself in the final 10 PL
matches and find some goal scoring form. If he finds that form then he will
increase the chance of the board agreeing to commitment a large proportion
of next season's increased TV proceeds to securing Carroll on a permanent
deal.
So, Leyton Orient are contemplating taking the 'powers that be' to Judicial
Review over the fairness of latest procurement process to decide the tenancy
of the Olympic Stadium. Rumour had it that all parties are very close to
clinching a deal on a 99 year lease deal. Now Barry Hearn is seeking to
de-rail the process once again by challenging the procurement process in the
courts. Apparently, West Ham being in Stratford will destroy the club
because of its geographical closeness to Orient's Leyton Stadium; yet, if
they actually share the same location everything will be ok, because there
will be a 'level playing field.' Hopefully, the procurement process this
time around is legally water tight and the challenge will be rejected. As
for Mr Hern's rationale, who can square that particular circle?
Finally, well done to the club for granting Hammers great, Billy Bonds, an
award for his outstanding service. It has been confirmed that Bonds will be
honoured at the end of season club dinner. Bonds was a great all action
player, of considerable skill. He was also the best tackler I have ever
seen. His career was marked by the ability to play in a number of positions.
He started off as a right-back, converted to central midfield and then,
latterly, he played at centre back and was superb in all three positions. A
man who should have played for his country on multiple occasions and graced
the first team well in to his 40s. They just do not make them like Bonzo
anymore!
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham fan barred from Stoke City stadium because he was carrying a
NEWSPAPER
The Mirror
8 Mar 2013 00:00
A fan was barred from a Premier League ground – because his newspaper was
branded a weapon. Security guards at Stoke City ordered stunned West Ham
supporter Chris Barmby, to bin it, claiming he might set it on fire and
start a riot. Ex-fireman Chris, 57, of Claines, Worcs, said: "It was
ridiculous. They were letting in fans with programmes. What is stopping
someone setting light to a club programme? The worst thing was I hadn't even
read it. "I've been following football for years and years and I have never
heard anything so ridiculous." No one at Stoke's Britannia Stadium was
available for comment. Newspapers are not on its website list of banned
items, but it states that any article that might be used as a weapon and/or
compromise public safety would not be allowed into the ground.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sam Allardyce puts future as West Ham manager on the line over summer
transfer funds for new strikers
The West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, will seek assurances over his transfer
budget before committing his long-term future to the club.
By John Percy10:30PM GMT 07 Mar 2013
The Telegraph
Allardyce's contract at Upton Park expires in the summer but he is facing
the prospect of being left with only one senior forward for next season,
with a substantial clear-out of attacking options expected at the end of
this campaign. Carlton Cole, Modibo Maiga, Marouane Chamakh and Wellington
Paulista are all set to leave West Ham United and it is believed Allardyce's
decision on whether to sign a deal will depend on the size of his transfer
budget for replacements.
Talks over a new contract for Allardyce have been suspended until Premier
League survival is secured. However, Telegraph Sport understands Allardyce
has serious concerns regarding the shortage of forwards should he agree to
stay, and will want assurances that funds will be made available to address
the issue.
Andy Carroll's future is also uncertain, and he could return to parent club
Liverpool if West Ham's board opt against signing the England international
permanently for a fee of around £17million. Cole is set to leave West Ham
after seven years on a free transfer, while Chamakh will go back to Arsenal
after failing to impress since signing on loan in January. There are also
doubts over whether £4.7million summer signing Maiga will remain with West
Ham for next season. The Mali international is understood to have annoyed
Allardyce by playing in the Africa Cup of Nations despite insisting he would
not do so when he completed his move from the French club Sochaux in July.
West Ham even considered selling Maiga in January and will listen to offers
this summer, with Newcastle believed to be interested. Brazilian forward
Paulista, who arrived from Cruzeiro on loan, has not made a single
appearance and will also depart. The exits of four senior strikers could
leave only Ricardo Vaz Te on the books. West Ham have scored only 32 league
goals this season but are nine points clear of the bottom three, with 10
games remaining, and face Chelsea a week on Sunday.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have issued a short clarification in relation to comments on
third-party ownership
07.03.2013
West Ham United would like to clarify that Richard Scudamore's comments in
relation to third-party ownership refer to the actions of former Directors
of the club during investigations into third-party ownership in 2007 and
have no link to current Board members David Sullivan, David Gold or Karren
Brady, who only joined the club in January 2010.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy aiming to please
WHUFC.com
Andy Carroll wants to do his very best for West Ham United for the final ten
games of the season
07.03.2013
As there seems to be with any striker who stands over a certain height,
there has been endless debate over Andy Carroll's strengths as a footballer.
Throughout his career, West Ham United's No8 has had to fight to be
recognised as more than just a 6'4 frontman who can head the ball, hold it
up and bring his team-mates into the game. While he is undoubtedly superb at
all three of those disciplines, Carroll can certainly play a bit on the
ground too, as was evidenced by the left-foot strike he blasted past Ghana
goalkeeper Richard Kingson for his first England goal at Wembley in March
2011. When asked how he would assess himself as a footballer, Carroll shows
characteristic humility in summing up his attributes. "It's a hard question
to answer," said the 24-year-old. "I would just say I'm hard-working and
determined to do well and put myself about, really. Everyone thinks I can
just jump the ball and head it, but I think I am more than that. I am able
to do well with my feet and most of my goals have been scored with those
feet, to be honest!"
As West Ham supporters have seen during Carroll's 15 appearances in claret
and blue, he takes as much satisfaction from setting up goals as he does
from scoring them - something he has done in each of the club's previous two
home matches. "I'm not a selfish centre forward - if someone else is in a
better position to score then I'll put him in, even if I have a chance to
score myself. I like creating chances as well and that's the kind of player
I am. "Being up there by yourself is hard so you have to keep going.
Sometimes you don't get much of the ball and it is hard work, so when you do
get the ball you want to keep it and bring other players into the game. "You
cannot score every time you have the ball, so you have to try to create
chances for others."
With ten games to go between now and the end of the season, Carroll
naturally wants to play his part in as many goals and victories as possible
before his loan spell from Liverpool comes to an end. "It's the same with
every game and it doesn't matter how many games we have left this season - I
go into every game the same wanting to work my hardest and to come off at
the end thinking I've given everything I can. I don't want to watch a game
back thinking 'I could have done that better'."
Carroll certainly feels he is in the right place to get the best out of
himself. "Everyone here has been great and is behind one another, which
makes everything a lot better."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Haycock laments slow start
WHUFC.com
Nick Haycock blamed a sluggish start for the Hammers' 2-0 reverse against
Manchester United
07.03.2013
Nick Haycock admitted a slow start had cost his side dearly as the
Development Squad slipped to a 2-0 Barclays Under-21 Premier League Elite
Group defeat against Manchester United at Altrincham FC. Former Crewe
Alexandra youngster Nick Powell opened the scoring inside just five minutes,
as West Ham United struggled to find their feet at a sodden Moss Lane. It
was 18-year-old Powell who settled matters a minute from full-time,
profiting from a defensive muddle to double his tally for the evening and
send Manchester United second in the Elite Group table. Haycock subsequently
conceded that he was none too impressed with the Hammers' first-half showing
and accepts his side are perhaps short of inspiration in the final third,
having struck just once in their last four outings.
"We can definitely do more creatively," he told West Ham TV. "I just think
there might be a slight lack of spark at the minute, due to the volume of
games. But we've got goalscorers in the team and as you saw in the second
half, once we started to get the ball in the box a little more, we looked
more of a threat.
"Maybe for the first 20 minutes Manchester United got on top. You know
they're going to have plenty of the football, because you're playing away
from home, like you would do if you were at Old Trafford. We were expecting
that. "We came in at half time and there were one or two who I was
disappointed with, who didn't actually give me what I know they're capable
of. I made it known at half time that I wasn't happy with the performance.
"In the second half I thought we came out and responded. They are a good set
of lads and I knew I'd get that reaction. The plan was to try and stay in
the game and obviously try to sneak something towards the end. Had we got
the game's second goal it would have been game on but unfortunately there's
a little mix up at the end which killed it."
The Hammers' task was made all the more difficult by the late withdrawal of
Pelly Ruddock, who pulled up in the warm-up. It was a second injury blow in
as many days, as midfielder Sebastian Lletget, too, had been ruled out with
a slight knock. Haycock, however, was not about to bemoan his ill-fortune
and instead hoped his side would make the best of a late reshuffle. "Losing
Pelly in the warm-up wasn't an ideal situation but that's part and parcel of
football and we had to deal with it," he added. "I told the boys in the
dressing room, 'The first team lost two players in the first eleven minutes
but ultimately those two players came on and delivered the winning goal
between them'. Sometimes things like that happen in football and you've got
to be ready to slide people in.
"Callum Driver is only just back into his rehab so we knew he only had 60
minutes in him. We had only planned to play him for 30 or at most 45
minutes, but obviously we had to push it a bit longer. Leading up to the
game, we lost Seb Lletget who has been an integral part of the midfield. So
we've had to change the shape of the team as well in preparing for the game.
"People have got to bear in mind, we've got a young squad and one or two are
finding the going tough with the back to back games. We'll patch ourselves
up again and we've got to go again against Liverpool on Monday."
The Development Squad return to action on Monday 11 March, when they make
another journey to the North West to take on Liverpool at the Reds' Kirby
Training Ground.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ow gawd he's at it again!
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 7th March 2013
By: Mr Preview Percy
Preview Percy is at a loose end, what with there being no match this
weekend. So to fill in the time until the bunion lady arrives he returns to
a particular irritant of his. He still hasn't forgiven Barry Hearn for
Snooker Loopy you know....
So the deal to sort out the Olympic Stadium is nearly done and we can expect
an announcement any day/week/month/year now. So what happens? Yup our old
mate (and I use that word quite wrongly) Barry Hearn pops up and starts up
with the legal stuff again.
Now I wrote about Mr Hearn back in the summer whilst similarly at a loose
end. At the risk of repeating myself, lest I be accused of being pro or anti
anything I'm a committed "don't know" on the subject of the Olympic Stadium
move. I still haven't got enough information on which to base a proper
decision so until then I'll reserve judgement.
However, I do have enough information to make a judgement call on Barry
Hearn. Unfortunately the editors won't print that type of language in an
article so let's just say that I'm far from impressed.
His current move is to seek a judicial review of the latest bid process on
the grounds that not enough consideration was given to his proposal of a
ground share between Leyton Orient and West Ham United. This was one of the
four bids considered by the powers that be. To be fair the other two were
pretty much non-starters. The University College for Football Business
currently operate out of a broom cupboard at Turf Moor so what they were
going to with a whole stadium was never quite explained. As it happens
they've decided to rent some space at Wembley so they've got their room with
a view after all.
The other bid came from a company wanting to stage Formula 1 races there.
That would have left the stadium scrabbling around for use for much of the
year other than the few weeks for which the British Grand Prix was taking
place. No doubt the proposers had something in mind but when compared to
9-10 months of guaranteed football a year it all seemed a bit woolly and
vague.
Our bid we know all about (or as much as we're allowed to know) so let's
look at the Hearn bid then. The gist of it was "we'll move in and share it
with West Ham". It didn't seem to matter that we didn't actually want to
share a ground with them something that was made pretty clear to the world
in the club's statement that:
West Ham United has not held talks with Leyton Orient in respect of ground
sharing and nor is it our intention to do so
No, Hearn proceeded with the bid on the assumption that we could be made to
ground share against our wishes. Even for someone as arrogant as Hearn that
was a bit presumptuous.
I imagine that the conversation with the Legacy people went something like:
"Mr Hearn I see you propose to share the place with West Ham – have you
spoken with them at all?" "Er, not spoken as such but, er, oh look over
there is that a kitten?…."
So, having put in a bid that fell apart as soon as somebody read it, Hearn's
reaction when it failed was predictable : There's nothing wrong with the bid
it's the process that's wrong!
There's no real pattern to Hearn's continuingly shifting position. Our
moving to within 1 mile 890 yards of Brisbane Road (roughly three and a half
times the 750 yard distance Hearn loves to try and mislead the world with),
will apparently put his club out of existence whilst our staying put 2 miles
1687 yards away will see them thrive. On that logic you'd have thought that
moving to 0.0 miles away would result in an instant meeting of matter and
anti-matter that, whenever I watch Star Trek, seems to result in the end of
the known universe as we know it. Perhaps Mr Hearn would like to tell us the
optimum yardage available so that we don't need to call on the services of
whichever of the crew of the Enterprise are still able to walk.
Key to all this is, of course, the future of Brisbane Road (I hate sponsored
names) which I understand is owned by Mr Hearn (or businesses controlled by
him). Were his club to move from the ground that they nicked from Leyton FC
all those years ago that would free up a lot of real estate. As it stands
Hearn has been nibbling at the edges already, bits of the place having been
sold off piece by piece to effectively surround the ground with flats.
Hearn had promised to reinvest the profit from any sale of Brisbane Road
back into the playing side – though presumably this would be after repayment
of any sums owed by the club to him. And of course the level of "profit"
would depend on exactly who bought the place. A sale to another Hearn
company might raise a few eyebrows for example.
All of which is rather academic since, without a move, Mr Hearn is sitting
on an asset which isn't realisable. Which, presumably, is the reason for
this latest rather desperate move. Still his lawyers seem to think he has a
case – and no lawyer ever urged a client into unnecessary litigation from
which fees could be made, did they?
In the meantime I'm off to Mr Hearn's bank to propose a unique
account-sharing opportunity. Mr Hearn hasn't agreed but that apparently
doesn't matter……
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Would Watford's Scott Duxbury Care To Respond To Richard Scudamore's
Comments On Third Party Agreements?
http://thegamesgonecrazy.blogspot.co.uk
Now I have to be careful here. Watford Football Club don't take kindly to
criticism and their lawyers are especially protective of Scott Duxbury if
emails I have received are to be believed. However, Watford and West Ham
fans might be interested in listening to an interview with Richard Scudamore
and, I am sure, West Ham fans would love to hear Mr Duxbury's response.
According to Mr Scudamore, "What West Ham did and what actually happened was
wrong and those players should not have been entered into the league on that
basis. However, having said that, on the rules as drafted then, WE COULD
HAVE EASILY WORKED WITH WEST HAM PROBABLY TO HAVE CRAFTED THOSE AGREEMENTS
SO THAT THEY DID FIT WITHIN THE RULES…HAD THEY COME TO US UPFRONT AND
DISCUSSED IT UPFRONT, WE COULD HAVE PROBABLY REGULARISED THOSE AGREEMENTS".
So the question arises, why didn't the club discuss it up front? Who advised
the owners not to do so exactly? Now I may be wrong, but my memory tells me
that Scott Duxbury was the club's legal adviser at the time and I am certain
that he was at the club during the whole Tevez affair.
Mr Scudamore also says that the punishment meted out to West Ham was
appropriate and questions the legitimacy of Shafting United's compensation
claim. The question therefore arises as to why, exactly, Mr Duxbury agreed
to pay the Blunted Blades the huge compensation figure of, reportedly,
£20m+.
In the interview Mr Scudamore also objects to Third Party Agreements because
of the issue of "sporting integrity" clarifying this by saying that a player
should be at a club "primarily as a playing asset" and not with a view of
him being "moved on" for financial gain.
Now that is interesting given Watford's present policy. Fair enough if all
these "loanees" sign permanently for the club, but if Vydra and co are sold
on, and the profit goes back to Udinese, then surely "sporting integrity",
by Scudamore's definition, is not being upheld. Or am I being stupid?
Now I am sure that Mr Duxbury is able to answer these points to everybody's
satisfaction. I am not suggesting that he did anything dishonest, nor that
the compensation paid to Sheffield United was designed to cover his own
back. Nor am I suggesting that such an eminent legal expert acted
incompetently, gave bad advice to the club, and later compounded that by
acting still more incompetently. Any such suggestion would be absurd.
However, in the interests of clarity, it would be wonderful to hear Mr
Duxbury's response to Mr Scudamore's comments. Based on what Mr Scudamore
has said, every West Ham fan would, I am sure, like to hear why:
1) The club broke the rules in the first place.
2) Why there was not an honest admittance of rule breaking and an attempt to
find the common ground that Mr Scudamore suggests could have been
negotiated.
3) Why the compensation was agreed with Sheffield United.
Further, football fans up and down the land would probably like to hear Mr
Duxbuury's view on "sporting integrity" and the present arrangement between
Watford and Udinese in the light of Mr Scudamore's definition.
As I have already said, I am sure Mr Duxbury can explain this to everybody's
satisfaction, but idiots like myself would appreciate hearing that
explanation because, quick frankly, we are bemused. Why, given what Mr
Scudamore has said, did we ever get into the mess we got into at West Ham;
and are Watford currently breaching "sporting integrity" whilst exploiting,
in Mr Holloway's words, "a loophole".
You can hear Mr Scudamore's interview by following this link:
http://www.bloomberg.com/video/scudamore-says-player-funds-risk-soccer-s-int
egrity-5msQPl4CThW6UcFzFBYY6g.html
(With thanks to Stani!)
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan sets sights on injury return against Chelsea
By talkSPORT | Thursday, March 7, 2013
West Ham captain Kevin Nolan is hoping he can overcome a broken toe to play
in the London derby against Chelsea on March 17. Nolan was forced to miss
the Hammers' 1-0 win over Stoke last weekend after he picked up the injury
following a collision with Mousa Dembele during the recent defeat by
Tottenham.
There were fears that the influential midfielder could face up to eight
weeks on the sidelines. But with West Ham not playing this weekend due to
Manchester United's involvement in the FA Cup quarter finals, Nolan has been
receiving intensive treatment at the club's training ground and hopes the
extra time will allow him to make a first-team return. Nolan could even play
with a painkilling injection to help him get through the ninety minutes at
Stamford Bridge. The news will come as a major boost to manager Sam
Allardyce who looks set to be without Joe Cole, who has a hamstring injury.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole tells Liverpool fans what they already know: you're not that big
http://www.anorak.co.uk
HOW football reporting works, with West Ham's Joe Cole:
This is what Cole said when he joined Liverpool:
"I could have stayed at Chelsea because the fans loved me and I won things,
but I wanted to challenge myself and when I knew Liverpool were interested
it was a no-brainer because they are the biggest club in the country."
He now explains:
"When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've joined the biggest club
in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd won," said Cole. "I just
said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right' and Liverpool
used that as the headline to the interview. I didn't want to upset anyone so
I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the biggest club in the
country any more. How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won
the European Cup twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea. I didn't
want to upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not
the biggest club in the country anymore."
West Ham, of course, won the World Cup. They're the biggest.
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Scudamore slams West Ham´s Tevez conduct
7 March 2013
UKSOCCERWAY.COM
English Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has hit out at West
Ham United for their dishonesty during the Carlos Tevez saga. The striker
moved to Upton Park in August 2006 along with fellow Argentine Javier
Mascherano in a transfer that was eventually found to have broken
regulations regarding third-party ownership. The players' contracts, then
partly owned by agent Kia Joorabchian's business Media Sport Investment, saw
the east London club receive only a small portion of the fee when they moved
on. And Scudamore has now blasted the club's previous executives for lying
to him. "It is quite simple - you are completely undone by an act of bad
faith," he told Bloomberg in a TV interview. "If a club, through its
executives, chooses to lie straight to your face, there is a great deal of
damage that can be done from that. "Ultimately, the Tevez saga goes down to
people not being honest. With any regularity body, if people are not honest
there is very little you can do about it and that is why the whole thing
unravelled. "It ranks up there as the number one act of bad faith that any
club has ever done towards me during my time here. After that, it was dealt
with under our rule book and the rest is history."
Despite West Ham's five-and-a-half-million-pound fine being labelled lenient
in some quarters at the time, Scudamore believes the amount was significant,
especially compared to other punishments meted out by governing bodies.
"When you consider what certain Football Associations get fined for racist
abuse in Europe, 5.5 million pounds is a huge fine," he said. "Our rules say
that if you break them then a commission hears the case and decides. We are
glad English football has stopped these transactions happening.
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Big Sam Seeking Assurances?
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
There is a peice in this morning's Telegraph that suggests Sam Allardyce
will seek assurances regarding the transfer budget for next season. The
story is that Allardyce wants to oversee a major restructing of his
strikeforce, with the likes of Carlton Cole and Maiga being shown the exit.
The question is whether the club will fund the acquisition of replacements
of sufficiently improved quality? The article claims to be based on a
source, no doubt close to the club, but who knows if there is any truth to
it?
Talking of new strikers, the link to Southampton's Ricky Lambert keeps
persistly re-emerging. The latest story is that West Ham will make a £6m bid
for Lambert's services. There is no doubt that Lambert is a consistent goal
scorer and has proven this season that he can convert regularly at PL level.
However, is he the right choice of striker for the club? Will Southampton
agree to the transfer of their prolific centre forward or is the offer, if
true, of £6m for a 30 year old too good an offer to turn down?
Of course, it does beg the question, what is likely to happen with regard to
Andy Carroll's future? The latest situation is that West Ham have first
option on signing Carroll for an estimated £17m fee. Will West Ham take up
the option? One thing is fairly certain and that is that Carroll's time at
Liverpool is up and he will be leaving his parent club this summer. And if
West Ham do not exercise their first option, then Newcastle Utd are likely
to pursue their much publicised interest in the player. Carroll has been
very unlucky with injuries, but a return of two goals this season is
disappointing. Regardless, Carroll needs to apply himself in the final 10 PL
matches and find some goal scoring form. If he finds that form then he will
increase the chance of the board agreeing to commitment a large proportion
of next season's increased TV proceeds to securing Carroll on a permanent
deal.
So, Leyton Orient are contemplating taking the 'powers that be' to Judicial
Review over the fairness of latest procurement process to decide the tenancy
of the Olympic Stadium. Rumour had it that all parties are very close to
clinching a deal on a 99 year lease deal. Now Barry Hearn is seeking to
de-rail the process once again by challenging the procurement process in the
courts. Apparently, West Ham being in Stratford will destroy the club
because of its geographical closeness to Orient's Leyton Stadium; yet, if
they actually share the same location everything will be ok, because there
will be a 'level playing field.' Hopefully, the procurement process this
time around is legally water tight and the challenge will be rejected. As
for Mr Hern's rationale, who can square that particular circle?
Finally, well done to the club for granting Hammers great, Billy Bonds, an
award for his outstanding service. It has been confirmed that Bonds will be
honoured at the end of season club dinner. Bonds was a great all action
player, of considerable skill. He was also the best tackler I have ever
seen. His career was marked by the ability to play in a number of positions.
He started off as a right-back, converted to central midfield and then,
latterly, he played at centre back and was superb in all three positions. A
man who should have played for his country on multiple occasions and graced
the first team well in to his 40s. They just do not make them like Bonzo
anymore!
SJ. Chandos.
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West Ham fan barred from Stoke City stadium because he was carrying a
NEWSPAPER
The Mirror
8 Mar 2013 00:00
A fan was barred from a Premier League ground – because his newspaper was
branded a weapon. Security guards at Stoke City ordered stunned West Ham
supporter Chris Barmby, to bin it, claiming he might set it on fire and
start a riot. Ex-fireman Chris, 57, of Claines, Worcs, said: "It was
ridiculous. They were letting in fans with programmes. What is stopping
someone setting light to a club programme? The worst thing was I hadn't even
read it. "I've been following football for years and years and I have never
heard anything so ridiculous." No one at Stoke's Britannia Stadium was
available for comment. Newspapers are not on its website list of banned
items, but it states that any article that might be used as a weapon and/or
compromise public safety would not be allowed into the ground.
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Sam Allardyce puts future as West Ham manager on the line over summer
transfer funds for new strikers
The West Ham manager, Sam Allardyce, will seek assurances over his transfer
budget before committing his long-term future to the club.
By John Percy10:30PM GMT 07 Mar 2013
The Telegraph
Allardyce's contract at Upton Park expires in the summer but he is facing
the prospect of being left with only one senior forward for next season,
with a substantial clear-out of attacking options expected at the end of
this campaign. Carlton Cole, Modibo Maiga, Marouane Chamakh and Wellington
Paulista are all set to leave West Ham United and it is believed Allardyce's
decision on whether to sign a deal will depend on the size of his transfer
budget for replacements.
Talks over a new contract for Allardyce have been suspended until Premier
League survival is secured. However, Telegraph Sport understands Allardyce
has serious concerns regarding the shortage of forwards should he agree to
stay, and will want assurances that funds will be made available to address
the issue.
Andy Carroll's future is also uncertain, and he could return to parent club
Liverpool if West Ham's board opt against signing the England international
permanently for a fee of around £17million. Cole is set to leave West Ham
after seven years on a free transfer, while Chamakh will go back to Arsenal
after failing to impress since signing on loan in January. There are also
doubts over whether £4.7million summer signing Maiga will remain with West
Ham for next season. The Mali international is understood to have annoyed
Allardyce by playing in the Africa Cup of Nations despite insisting he would
not do so when he completed his move from the French club Sochaux in July.
West Ham even considered selling Maiga in January and will listen to offers
this summer, with Newcastle believed to be interested. Brazilian forward
Paulista, who arrived from Cruzeiro on loan, has not made a single
appearance and will also depart. The exits of four senior strikers could
leave only Ricardo Vaz Te on the books. West Ham have scored only 32 league
goals this season but are nine points clear of the bottom three, with 10
games remaining, and face Chelsea a week on Sunday.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Thursday, March 7
Daily WHUFC News - 7th March 2013
Two local youngsters handed WHU trial
WHUFC.com
Two youngsters on a West Ham United Community Sports Trust half term course were invited for a trial
06.03.2013
Two lucky local youngsters are one step closer to realising their dreams of becoming Premier League footballers after being invited to a trial at West Ham United's Academy.The two schoolchildren were both selected by the Academy's Head of Recruitment Dave Hunt following last month's half term football coaching courses at the Community Sports Trust facility in Beckton. The youngsters were put through their paces throughout the half term course, participating in both passing and receiving exercises, individual attacking and defending exercises, goal scoring and finishing drills and group combination play. Sessions were tailored to develop each individual's natural ability, awareness and decision making. Football Development officer Bryan Glover said, "The new syllabus is proving to be a great success and credit goes to Tony Carr MBE for his input in designing and implementing the courses. "I would also like to thank Dave Hunt and his recruitment team for attending the courses in search for new talent. I want to wish both Austin and Sam good luck for their trial but I am sure they will do well." For full details or to book your place on a range of exciting football courses being held near you over the Easter holidays email
community@westhamunited.co.uk.
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Stephenson sings Academy's praises
WHUFC.com
Former Hammers defender Stephenson spoke of his enduring fondness for all things West Ham
06.03.2013
Once West Ham United's record signing, Alan Stephenson, who joined for £80,000 from Crystal Palace in 1968, would go on to distinguish himself at the Boleyn Ground in 118 outings in claret and blue. Stephenson's four-year stint with West Ham United saw the Chesham-born defender line up alongside World Cup-winning trio Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. Some 40 years on, Stephenson remembers his time in east London with great affection and still holds the club and its Academy in the very highest esteem. "The club to me means the way to play football," he told whufc.com. "It has always had a tradition of good football and the team at the moment are trying to play some special football. It's just quality that this club stands for and whenever anyone goes to watch West Ham play, they know they're going to get a good game."
Though Stephenson learned his trade as a teenager at Crystal Palace, he is still every bit an admirer of the Hammers' famous Academy, one that he expects will continue to hone some of the game's brightest young talents. "Academies are very special places to learn the game and over here, no doubt, they have got one of the best there is. You only need to look at the players that have come through. Hopefully some new faces can come through the Youth Team and make their names just as the players did in the 60s, after all, Hurst, Peters and Moore all came through the Academy. "Hopefully that will continue to happen and I'm sure it will under the management of Tony Carr. I just wish them all success, I wish the club success and mainly the supporters at this club deserve the best."
Looking back upon his own time at the club, Stephenson recalled three particularly memorable outings in claret and blue, while he was effusive in his praise of West Ham United and England legend Bobby Moore. "The league debut is always special. Though it was only a 0-0 draw at Southampton, it was a very special occasion for me to be signing for a big club in London. "A game I really enjoyed was the 5-1 away win at Manchester City, when Jimmy Greaves made his league debut. We beat them on a quagmire of a pitch and they had just won the First Division championship prior to that as well. Also, the 8-0 victory over Sunderland, when Geoff Hurst scored six at home, that was another special occasion. "I have fantastic memories of Bobby Moore. He made the game look so simple. He was never flustered, he never lost his temper. He led by example. It's sad that he went so early in his life. He helped me out as a player. I played over 100 games with him, so I learned a lot from playing with him. He was a very special person and a very special footballer. "He has left a huge legacy for this club to carry on into the future and hopefully some of the youngsters coming through the club will equal what he achieved in world football and go on to be special players for West Ham United."
As for the current crop, Stephenson is suitably impressed with what he has seen of Sam Allardyce's side in the Barclays Premier League. "I'm hoping they can achieve a mid-table finish. Having come up from the Championship last year, this is not an easy league. A lot of clubs are struggling at the moment, even quality clubs, but for West Ham to maintain their Premier League status is the number one criterion. Then hopefully the club can build from that success and go on to even better things next year."
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Olympic Stadium: Barry Hearn calls for judicial review
BBC.co.uk
Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn will mount a legal challenge over the future of the Olympic Stadium. London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has named West Ham United as the preferred bidder to move into the venue and said the process had been "robust, fair and transparent". But Hearn told BBC London: "We believe the rules of the bidding process set out by the LLDC have not been followed. "We are challenging them by asking the High Court to issue a judicial review."
In a statement LLDC said: "We have been notified that Leyton Orient have made the decision to issue proceedings for judicial review. "Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived." League One side Leyton Orient and West Ham were among four parties to bid for tenancy of the £429 million venue, along with UCFB College of Football Business and a consortium linked to Formula 1. This is the second attempt to resolve the stadium's future use after the initial process which identified West Ham as preferred bidders collapsed in October 2011 following a legal challenge by Tottenham Hotspur and other difficulties. Hearn argues that the current process carried out by the LLDC has ignored the possibility of Orient and West Ham sharing the stadium. The O's chairman proposed a possible ground share with the Premier League side when the bidding process re-opened last summer but shortly afterwards West Ham announced they were not considering such an arrangement. "All parties signed up to the principle of 'teaming' and we don't think that serious consideration has been given to Leyton Orient sharing or 'teaming' with West Ham in the occupancy of the Olympic Stadium. "Our legal advice is that there is a fundamental flaw in the LLDC's bidding process that has to be rectified. "I went to two Queen's Counsels to be instructed on this and they both agreed that this whole operation has been a massive mistake by LLDC. "Those are their words, not mine.
"As such we are very confident the judicial review will show us to be correct and the bidding process will have to take into account the teaming principles.
"We know we are fighting for our future and survival. We have to follow the rules as laid down and other parties have to follow them as well. "Clearly that has not been done and we want to know why."
The chief executive of the LLDC announced in November last year that the Olympic Stadium would not re-open until August 2015 at the earliest following delays in the bidding process. The London Legacy Development Corporation board is set to meet on 26 March but earlier this week West Ham co-owner David Gold said they were closing in on agreeing a deal with them. However, an extraordinary general meeting of the LLDC could be called if an agreement over the venue is reached before then. Hearn believes that West Ham moving into the Olympic Stadium on their own would eventually force Orient out of business, and he has repeated his calls for the two clubs to occupy the stadium together. "A major club can ground share with a smaller one," Hearn said. "I don't think occupancy by West Ham and Leyton Orient hurts either team. "It prolongs and extends the legacy of the Olympic Park and makes it vibrant. "West Ham moving to the Olympic Park will put a huge amount of pressure on Leyton Orient to survive at all. "We are 750 yards away [from the Park] trying to compete with Premiership football. We have no chance in the long term. "The common sense way out is; why don't we share the ground? "I don't understand why this principle of 'teaming' is being ignored by the LLDC and West Ham. "Unfortunately and because of the intransigence of certain people we have to go back to court to have the original bid process disqualified."
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Leyton Orient return to court to challenge Olympic Stadium bidding process
Last Updated: March 6, 2013 3:27pm
SSN
Leyton Orient have asked for a judicial review of the process which made West Ham preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium. The Premier League club's co-owner David Gold said this week he expects the move to be officially confirmed on March 16 - more than three months after the bidding process went West Ham's way. Orient's chairman Barry Hearn has long argued the decision threatens his club's existence and wants the possibility of a groundshare to be fully considered. And he told Sky Sports News the London Legacy Development Corporation had breached its own rules by failing to explore that option. "Do we want to share with West Ham? Ideally, we wouldn't like West Ham there to start with. But taking that as a gimme - and I think the Mayor's office have made it clear from day one West Ham are their preferred bidder - we'd like to enter into the teaming process."
Barry Hearn
"We believe the bidding process is fundamentally flawed," he said, "and that LLDC have not followed their own rules. All parties involved signed up to the principle of 'teaming' and yet our bid has been turned down without consideration of a groundshare with West Ham. "Our legal advice is very convinced this is a fundamental flaw, and I'm afraid the saga looks set to continue. "We believe it's a point of law, but our overriding principle is that we're keen on sharing the stadium simply because if we don't, the additional competition will put Leyton Orient out of business. "Do we want to share with West Ham? Ideally, we wouldn't like West Ham there to start with. But taking that as a gimme - and I think the Mayor's office have made it clear from day one West Ham are their preferred bidder - we'd like to enter into the teaming process. "I don't see any harm to West Ham or anyone else to allow a small community club like Leyton Orient to benefit from the Olympic legacy by surviving in the future."
Orient to block West Ham stadium move
Challenged on whether he would accept compensation from West Ham, Hearn said: "I'm not interested in the money, I'm interested in us having a dream as well. I'm looking for a real legacy, not just a legacy in words where we fall over backwards to help a multi-million pound company like West Ham United."
A statement from the LLDC in response to Orient's decision read: "We believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived."
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Cole admits Liverpool move a mistake
ESPN staff
March 6, 2013
Joe Cole admits his decision to join Liverpool in 2010 was a mistake, claiming his only other option was an unthinkable move to Tottenham. Cole, 31, spent two-and-a-half years as a player at Anfield but failed to become a regular in the first team, being sent out on loan to Lille last season before rejoining his boyhood club West Ham in January. The England international says he never felt comfortable at Livepool but was forced to take up the only offer that appealed to him. "I can only play for teams that I'm passionate about and I think that's what went wrong for me at Liverpool," Cole said. "I didn't feel a connection with the club or the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham. "I had seven great years at Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn't involved. So I was left with two real options - Liverpool or Spurs. "Spurs was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings. "But I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't see myself pulling that Spurs shirt over my head. With the rivalry between Spurs and West Ham and Chelsea, it felt a bit mercenary."
Cole believes the mentality at Liverpool made it difficult for him to settle in, with their insistence on being known as the "biggest club in the country" catching him off guard. "When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've joined the biggest club in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd won," he said. "I just said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right' and Liverpool used that as the headline to the interview. "I didn't want to upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the biggest club in the country any more. How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea."
Although issues with match time plagued Cole at Chelsea, he seemed more motivated to break into the Blues' line-up than he did at Liverpool. "I rolled in at Chelsea on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'," he added. "Then Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position as me, costing three or four times as much. "As soon as I signed, (former owner Ken) Bates said to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'. I just thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron was off."
And his decision to return to Upton Park was not only buoyed by an unhappy stint with the Reds. "I was missing London and my family and I had a personal tragedy in December when my brother-in-law died. I got an opportunity to go back to West Ham and I don't want to move any more."
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Tony Cottee Column: Fantastic Stoke win makes West Ham almost safe
London 24
Tony Cottee Writes, Recorder Columnist
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Stoke City's Asmir Begovic saves from West Ham United's Jack Collison during the Barclays Premier League match at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke.
I am going out on a limb here and I know that it is a dangerous thing to do, but I think that Saturday's magnificent victory at Stoke City all but guarantees Premier League football at Upton Park next season. I think it was a fantastic win. Stoke is never an easy place to go and we have a bad record there over the years and I did fear the worst when we went up there. Sam would have done all his preparations during the week, but when you then lose two players in the first 11 minutes that can often throw the whole team off and can quickly turn into a nightmare. So all credit to the players and to the boss. He brought on two very different players in Jack Collison and Ricardo Vaz Te and it was those two who combined for the winning goal. It will not have been easy for either of them. They have not been playing and then you get thrown in at the deep end and you can't be 100 per cent fit, but they both did superbly. I have to say I am absolutely delighted for Jack. He has so much talent, but has had so many problems with his knee. He is a really good lad too and it is great to see him doing so well and scoring goals.
Saturday's win puts us on 33 points and I really think we only need four or five more. Everyone talks about the magical 40-point mark, but if you look back at the Premier League statistics, most of the time you don't need that many and I think it will be the same this year. We are not playing at the weekend which will give us a chance to get some players back for the Chelsea game and though our rivals will be in action, some are playing each other so they can't all win.
Let's play Man United in May
This weekend's scheduled clash with Manchester United has been postponed because of their FA Cup match and if I was the Hammers secretary I would be doing everything I could to arrange that match for sometime in May. With United so far clear at the top, they should be champions by the time it comes to May and they could also still be in the Champions League. That could mean Sir Alex tinkering with his line-up and that could work to our advantage. They have been brilliant this season, but we should have beaten them in the FA Cup and we would fancy our chances against a weakened team towards the end of the season.
It is Chelsea next though and the good news is that the game is on Sunday and the United game will be a midweek clash and that means I can go to both matches. The bad news though is that I haven't seen the Hammers win all season!
Let's hope that changes.
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West Ham weigh up £6m striking Plan B
Football Fancast
Date: 6th March 2013 at 3:51 pm
Written by Kike Muniz
West Ham United could be weighing up a £6m summer move for Southampton attacker Rickie Lambert, The Sun reports. The 31 year-old is making an impact on his first Premier League season and could move to Upton Park at the end of the season. The Hammers' interest in the 2011-12 Championship Player of the Year arise after reports indicate the club will not look to secure a permanent deal for Liverpool's on-loan striker Andy Carroll. It is understood the Londoners would have to pay a £17m transfer fee, along with wages in excess of £84k a week in order to keep the England international at Upton Park; the kind of numbers that could hardly be justified given his performance shown to date. The former Bristol Rovers striker, on the other hand, is completing an outstanding season, keeping alive Southampton's hopes to maintain their top flight status with 12 goals in 24 games. Lambert, who recently scored his 100th goal for Southampton, is proving vital to Mauricio Pochettino's side as he has netted a 32.5% of the league goals the team has scored. However, it remains to be seen whether Southampton survival within the Premier League will prove a decisive factor for the club to retain its prolific striker.
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Joe Cole on boxing: Noble fancies himself as a fighter, that would be a good match-up!
By MARTIN DOMIN
PUBLISHED: 14:38, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 15:26, 6 March 2013
Daily Mail
Joe Cole plans to pull on a pair of boxing gloves when he hangs up his boots - and wants to meet West Ham team-mate Mark Noble in the ring. The midfielder recently returned to his first club after spells with Chelsea, Liverpool and Lille. And while he has no plans to retire just yet, Cole admits boxing has long been a fascination. 'I messed around as a kid down the local club,' he said. 'I had a couple of spars but didn't like getting hit! I might do some White Collar. 'Mark Noble is good on the pads. He fancies himself as a bit of a fighter so that could be a good match-up!' Cole will be ringside at Wembley Arena on Saturday when Chelsea fan and former European champion Darren Barker takes on Simone Rotolo. 'I watch more boxing than football,' he admitted. 'I go as often as I can. When I was out for a year [at Chelsea], I was at every show.' 'The boxing crowd is amazing. They get right behind the boxers and give them an extra 10 per cent.' Cole also revealed that footballers would struggle with the demands of a boxer's training regime. 'It's more intense,' he added. 'With football, you play and you've got to recover for the next game but with boxing the training is more intense. 'I quite like training but it does sound bit strong. It would be too much for a footballer. 'We do it mainly in pre-season to keep ourselves ticking over. It's hard but it's fun punching the bag.'
Barker, who hopes to earn a second shot at a world title after he fell short against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in 2011, is a familiar face at Chelsea after launching his own fitness class at Stamford Bridge. 'I respect any professional in any walk of life,' he said. 'It's an individual sport so if we're not properly prepared we don't have 10 other players to carry us through. It's our heath on the line, it's important to be properly conditioned. Its good to have the big players supporting your career, it pulls you along and gives you more encouragement. I had Jody Morris on the pads and he was really good.'
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Kevin Nolan will have to go if West Ham are to move forward
Big Sam has to ponder dropping his beloved Captain.
Givemefootball.com
Published 4 hours ago by Darren Oh.
Many fans recognise West Ham more from a certain hooligan movie rather than as the club who has produced more English internationals than any other club. The Academy of Football is a crucial institution for England's future, and West Ham's future thus remains inevitably crucial to England. West Ham United has suffered in recent years. Once a competitive mid-table team, the club rode a steady decline riddled with bad luck all the way down to the Championship. Irresponsible ownership and stints of poor management led to the downfall and reinvention of a club that is so vital to England. Since their downfall in 2011, astute financial management by new English owners and experienced management under "Big Sam" Allardyce have led to promotion. Furthermore, the Club's performance in the current season shows a respectable point tally of 33 points from 28 rounds of football. But just as all seems well, and safety in the Premier League all but guaranteed, the Irons have come to a juncture where some critical questions have to be confronted and questioned. The Championship and the Premier League are different animals. What often functions so effectively in the second division tends to fail miserably in the first. Just ask Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Big Sam has continued his 4-2-3-1 from last season, where a rigid formation with two hardworking defensive midfielders, with a goal-scoring trequartista in Kevin Nolan served him respectably. Despite his claims that his methods are as updated as that of Arsene Wenger, he has shown limited tactical flexibility by continuing this formation against virtually every opponent this season.
The issue is that while this formation has achieved the objective of keeping West Ham up this season, the likelihood of its continued efficacy in the top flight is very low. Watching West Ham matches throughout the season have made for repeated feelings of precariousness.
Often, they can score directly and maintain leads, but the content of the games show a consistent vulnerability on counter attacks. This is largely due to the limited work rate of Captain Kevin Nolan, who maintains a long-standing relationship and trust with Big Sam. As he contributes little to nothing to the team defence, it is imperative that the industrious Mark Noble and the powerful Mohamed Diame have to play behind him for the team to be able to maintain its shape.
This kind of sacrifice by West Ham's workhorses is justified if the team is winning somewhat consistently. But this is not the case. West Ham finishing above the bottom three this year will suffice and justify any tactical decisions, but for the club to truly move forward, the formation must change, and Nolan must be dropped. No team in the Premier League can afford to have half-a-player in a squad simply because he is the likeliest to hit the second shots.
Every player needs to play both sides of the game for a team to be successful in the modern game and particularly in the Premier League, where the ability to challenge others physically is necessary. With his most recent injury, it is interesting to see what Big Sam will do to create a formation without his star man. What it is sure to do is force him to explore other options and build more mobile and agile attacks. A first game without him has already resulted in a win.
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Leyton Orient contest West Ham's Olympic Stadium sole tenancy rights
• 'LLDC have not stuck by their own rules,' says Hearn
• Orient want West Ham to share Olympic Stadium
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 March 2013 14.21 GMT
Leyton Orient have started a legal fight to have the decision to allow West Ham to move into the Olympic Stadium struck out. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
The Leyton Orient chairman, Barry Hearn, has launched proceedings for a judicial review over the decision to allow West Ham to seek sole tenancy rights to the Olympic Stadium.
Hearn believes the London Legacy Development Corporation has broken its own rules in now allowing the League One club to be "teamed" with the Hammers in the bidding process. Hearn, who wants his own club and the Hammers to become joint tenants of the £429m stadium, has repeated his claim that the O's will have no future if the Hammers move in.
Hearn told his club's official website: "I was concerned that this was a done deal for West Ham before the bidding began, but the fact that both clubs had to commit to teaming made me believe that we were getting involved in a fair process. However, the LLDC have not stuck by their own rules and have left Orient with no option but to challenge their decision in the Courts.
"We don't intend to interfere with West Ham's residency at the stadium, but maintain the position that if they are going to be there, then we need to be there too. As I have said many times before, if West Ham move to the stadium and we are left a mile up the road, Leyton Orient will not survive."
Hearn was also part of a judicial review in 2011, which included Tottenham and resulted in the process of awarding tenancy rights to the stadium being abandoned. The LLDC board, which is tasked with sorting out the stadium's future, named West Ham as the number one choice to move into the Olympic Stadium in December.
An LLDC spokesman said: "We have been notified that Leyton Orient have made the decision to issue proceedings for judicial review. Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived."
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Hearn seeking judicial review
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 6th March 2013
By: Staff Writer
Orient Chairman Barry Hearn has announced his latest bid to prevent West Ham United from moving into the Olympic Stadium.
Hearn, who in tandem with Tottenham Hotspur successfully challenged the first 'preferred bidder' process back in 2011 is hoping to repeat that success, having raised objections over the validity of the recent decision to once again grant use of the Stratford arena to United.
Hearn argues that the possibility of a 'ground share' between West Ham and his club, Orient, was never considered by the London Legacy Development Corporation - something that he believes constitutes foul play.
"All parties signed up to the principle of 'teaming' and we don't think that serious consideration has been given to Leyton Orient sharing or 'teaming' with West Ham in the occupancy of the Olympic Stadium," he told BBC London.
"We believe the rules of the bidding process set out by the LLDC have not been followed. We are challenging them by asking the High Court to issue a judicial review.
"Our legal advice is that there is a fundamental flaw in the LLDC's bidding process that has to be rectified. I went to two Queen's Counsels to be instructed on this and they both agreed that this whole operation has been a massive mistake by LLDC."
News of Hearn's latest legal challenge led the LLDC to respond via official statement: "Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived," they said.
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Scudumore blasts liars at West Ham over Tevez affair
Scud: Irons 'lies' hurt me
By DAN KING
Published: 06th March 2013
The Sun
PREMIER LEAGUE chief Richard Scudamore has blasted the 'liars' at West Ham who caused the Carlos Tevez scandal. The Hammers broke third-party investment rules to sneak in Tevez in 2006 — and his goals kept them in the Premier League. Scudamore said: "It is the No 1 act of bad faith that anyone ever did towards me here. "If a club chooses, through its executives, to lie to you to your face, there is a good deal of damage that can flow from that." West Ham were fined £5.5million and made to pay relegated Sheffield United £18m. Third-party ownership was outlawed in 2008. Scudamore — in an interview with Bloomberg Television — added: "The feeling is 'speculators' owning the economic rights of players is wrong."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Two youngsters on a West Ham United Community Sports Trust half term course were invited for a trial
06.03.2013
Two lucky local youngsters are one step closer to realising their dreams of becoming Premier League footballers after being invited to a trial at West Ham United's Academy.The two schoolchildren were both selected by the Academy's Head of Recruitment Dave Hunt following last month's half term football coaching courses at the Community Sports Trust facility in Beckton. The youngsters were put through their paces throughout the half term course, participating in both passing and receiving exercises, individual attacking and defending exercises, goal scoring and finishing drills and group combination play. Sessions were tailored to develop each individual's natural ability, awareness and decision making. Football Development officer Bryan Glover said, "The new syllabus is proving to be a great success and credit goes to Tony Carr MBE for his input in designing and implementing the courses. "I would also like to thank Dave Hunt and his recruitment team for attending the courses in search for new talent. I want to wish both Austin and Sam good luck for their trial but I am sure they will do well." For full details or to book your place on a range of exciting football courses being held near you over the Easter holidays email
community@westhamunited.co.uk.
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Stephenson sings Academy's praises
WHUFC.com
Former Hammers defender Stephenson spoke of his enduring fondness for all things West Ham
06.03.2013
Once West Ham United's record signing, Alan Stephenson, who joined for £80,000 from Crystal Palace in 1968, would go on to distinguish himself at the Boleyn Ground in 118 outings in claret and blue. Stephenson's four-year stint with West Ham United saw the Chesham-born defender line up alongside World Cup-winning trio Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. Some 40 years on, Stephenson remembers his time in east London with great affection and still holds the club and its Academy in the very highest esteem. "The club to me means the way to play football," he told whufc.com. "It has always had a tradition of good football and the team at the moment are trying to play some special football. It's just quality that this club stands for and whenever anyone goes to watch West Ham play, they know they're going to get a good game."
Though Stephenson learned his trade as a teenager at Crystal Palace, he is still every bit an admirer of the Hammers' famous Academy, one that he expects will continue to hone some of the game's brightest young talents. "Academies are very special places to learn the game and over here, no doubt, they have got one of the best there is. You only need to look at the players that have come through. Hopefully some new faces can come through the Youth Team and make their names just as the players did in the 60s, after all, Hurst, Peters and Moore all came through the Academy. "Hopefully that will continue to happen and I'm sure it will under the management of Tony Carr. I just wish them all success, I wish the club success and mainly the supporters at this club deserve the best."
Looking back upon his own time at the club, Stephenson recalled three particularly memorable outings in claret and blue, while he was effusive in his praise of West Ham United and England legend Bobby Moore. "The league debut is always special. Though it was only a 0-0 draw at Southampton, it was a very special occasion for me to be signing for a big club in London. "A game I really enjoyed was the 5-1 away win at Manchester City, when Jimmy Greaves made his league debut. We beat them on a quagmire of a pitch and they had just won the First Division championship prior to that as well. Also, the 8-0 victory over Sunderland, when Geoff Hurst scored six at home, that was another special occasion. "I have fantastic memories of Bobby Moore. He made the game look so simple. He was never flustered, he never lost his temper. He led by example. It's sad that he went so early in his life. He helped me out as a player. I played over 100 games with him, so I learned a lot from playing with him. He was a very special person and a very special footballer. "He has left a huge legacy for this club to carry on into the future and hopefully some of the youngsters coming through the club will equal what he achieved in world football and go on to be special players for West Ham United."
As for the current crop, Stephenson is suitably impressed with what he has seen of Sam Allardyce's side in the Barclays Premier League. "I'm hoping they can achieve a mid-table finish. Having come up from the Championship last year, this is not an easy league. A lot of clubs are struggling at the moment, even quality clubs, but for West Ham to maintain their Premier League status is the number one criterion. Then hopefully the club can build from that success and go on to even better things next year."
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Olympic Stadium: Barry Hearn calls for judicial review
BBC.co.uk
Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn will mount a legal challenge over the future of the Olympic Stadium. London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) has named West Ham United as the preferred bidder to move into the venue and said the process had been "robust, fair and transparent". But Hearn told BBC London: "We believe the rules of the bidding process set out by the LLDC have not been followed. "We are challenging them by asking the High Court to issue a judicial review."
In a statement LLDC said: "We have been notified that Leyton Orient have made the decision to issue proceedings for judicial review. "Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived." League One side Leyton Orient and West Ham were among four parties to bid for tenancy of the £429 million venue, along with UCFB College of Football Business and a consortium linked to Formula 1. This is the second attempt to resolve the stadium's future use after the initial process which identified West Ham as preferred bidders collapsed in October 2011 following a legal challenge by Tottenham Hotspur and other difficulties. Hearn argues that the current process carried out by the LLDC has ignored the possibility of Orient and West Ham sharing the stadium. The O's chairman proposed a possible ground share with the Premier League side when the bidding process re-opened last summer but shortly afterwards West Ham announced they were not considering such an arrangement. "All parties signed up to the principle of 'teaming' and we don't think that serious consideration has been given to Leyton Orient sharing or 'teaming' with West Ham in the occupancy of the Olympic Stadium. "Our legal advice is that there is a fundamental flaw in the LLDC's bidding process that has to be rectified. "I went to two Queen's Counsels to be instructed on this and they both agreed that this whole operation has been a massive mistake by LLDC. "Those are their words, not mine.
"As such we are very confident the judicial review will show us to be correct and the bidding process will have to take into account the teaming principles.
"We know we are fighting for our future and survival. We have to follow the rules as laid down and other parties have to follow them as well. "Clearly that has not been done and we want to know why."
The chief executive of the LLDC announced in November last year that the Olympic Stadium would not re-open until August 2015 at the earliest following delays in the bidding process. The London Legacy Development Corporation board is set to meet on 26 March but earlier this week West Ham co-owner David Gold said they were closing in on agreeing a deal with them. However, an extraordinary general meeting of the LLDC could be called if an agreement over the venue is reached before then. Hearn believes that West Ham moving into the Olympic Stadium on their own would eventually force Orient out of business, and he has repeated his calls for the two clubs to occupy the stadium together. "A major club can ground share with a smaller one," Hearn said. "I don't think occupancy by West Ham and Leyton Orient hurts either team. "It prolongs and extends the legacy of the Olympic Park and makes it vibrant. "West Ham moving to the Olympic Park will put a huge amount of pressure on Leyton Orient to survive at all. "We are 750 yards away [from the Park] trying to compete with Premiership football. We have no chance in the long term. "The common sense way out is; why don't we share the ground? "I don't understand why this principle of 'teaming' is being ignored by the LLDC and West Ham. "Unfortunately and because of the intransigence of certain people we have to go back to court to have the original bid process disqualified."
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Leyton Orient return to court to challenge Olympic Stadium bidding process
Last Updated: March 6, 2013 3:27pm
SSN
Leyton Orient have asked for a judicial review of the process which made West Ham preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium. The Premier League club's co-owner David Gold said this week he expects the move to be officially confirmed on March 16 - more than three months after the bidding process went West Ham's way. Orient's chairman Barry Hearn has long argued the decision threatens his club's existence and wants the possibility of a groundshare to be fully considered. And he told Sky Sports News the London Legacy Development Corporation had breached its own rules by failing to explore that option. "Do we want to share with West Ham? Ideally, we wouldn't like West Ham there to start with. But taking that as a gimme - and I think the Mayor's office have made it clear from day one West Ham are their preferred bidder - we'd like to enter into the teaming process."
Barry Hearn
"We believe the bidding process is fundamentally flawed," he said, "and that LLDC have not followed their own rules. All parties involved signed up to the principle of 'teaming' and yet our bid has been turned down without consideration of a groundshare with West Ham. "Our legal advice is very convinced this is a fundamental flaw, and I'm afraid the saga looks set to continue. "We believe it's a point of law, but our overriding principle is that we're keen on sharing the stadium simply because if we don't, the additional competition will put Leyton Orient out of business. "Do we want to share with West Ham? Ideally, we wouldn't like West Ham there to start with. But taking that as a gimme - and I think the Mayor's office have made it clear from day one West Ham are their preferred bidder - we'd like to enter into the teaming process. "I don't see any harm to West Ham or anyone else to allow a small community club like Leyton Orient to benefit from the Olympic legacy by surviving in the future."
Orient to block West Ham stadium move
Challenged on whether he would accept compensation from West Ham, Hearn said: "I'm not interested in the money, I'm interested in us having a dream as well. I'm looking for a real legacy, not just a legacy in words where we fall over backwards to help a multi-million pound company like West Ham United."
A statement from the LLDC in response to Orient's decision read: "We believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived."
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Cole admits Liverpool move a mistake
ESPN staff
March 6, 2013
Joe Cole admits his decision to join Liverpool in 2010 was a mistake, claiming his only other option was an unthinkable move to Tottenham. Cole, 31, spent two-and-a-half years as a player at Anfield but failed to become a regular in the first team, being sent out on loan to Lille last season before rejoining his boyhood club West Ham in January. The England international says he never felt comfortable at Livepool but was forced to take up the only offer that appealed to him. "I can only play for teams that I'm passionate about and I think that's what went wrong for me at Liverpool," Cole said. "I didn't feel a connection with the club or the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham. "I had seven great years at Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn't involved. So I was left with two real options - Liverpool or Spurs. "Spurs was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings. "But I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't see myself pulling that Spurs shirt over my head. With the rivalry between Spurs and West Ham and Chelsea, it felt a bit mercenary."
Cole believes the mentality at Liverpool made it difficult for him to settle in, with their insistence on being known as the "biggest club in the country" catching him off guard. "When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've joined the biggest club in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd won," he said. "I just said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right' and Liverpool used that as the headline to the interview. "I didn't want to upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the biggest club in the country any more. How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea."
Although issues with match time plagued Cole at Chelsea, he seemed more motivated to break into the Blues' line-up than he did at Liverpool. "I rolled in at Chelsea on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'," he added. "Then Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position as me, costing three or four times as much. "As soon as I signed, (former owner Ken) Bates said to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'. I just thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron was off."
And his decision to return to Upton Park was not only buoyed by an unhappy stint with the Reds. "I was missing London and my family and I had a personal tragedy in December when my brother-in-law died. I got an opportunity to go back to West Ham and I don't want to move any more."
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Tony Cottee Column: Fantastic Stoke win makes West Ham almost safe
London 24
Tony Cottee Writes, Recorder Columnist
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Stoke City's Asmir Begovic saves from West Ham United's Jack Collison during the Barclays Premier League match at the Britannia Stadium, Stoke.
I am going out on a limb here and I know that it is a dangerous thing to do, but I think that Saturday's magnificent victory at Stoke City all but guarantees Premier League football at Upton Park next season. I think it was a fantastic win. Stoke is never an easy place to go and we have a bad record there over the years and I did fear the worst when we went up there. Sam would have done all his preparations during the week, but when you then lose two players in the first 11 minutes that can often throw the whole team off and can quickly turn into a nightmare. So all credit to the players and to the boss. He brought on two very different players in Jack Collison and Ricardo Vaz Te and it was those two who combined for the winning goal. It will not have been easy for either of them. They have not been playing and then you get thrown in at the deep end and you can't be 100 per cent fit, but they both did superbly. I have to say I am absolutely delighted for Jack. He has so much talent, but has had so many problems with his knee. He is a really good lad too and it is great to see him doing so well and scoring goals.
Saturday's win puts us on 33 points and I really think we only need four or five more. Everyone talks about the magical 40-point mark, but if you look back at the Premier League statistics, most of the time you don't need that many and I think it will be the same this year. We are not playing at the weekend which will give us a chance to get some players back for the Chelsea game and though our rivals will be in action, some are playing each other so they can't all win.
Let's play Man United in May
This weekend's scheduled clash with Manchester United has been postponed because of their FA Cup match and if I was the Hammers secretary I would be doing everything I could to arrange that match for sometime in May. With United so far clear at the top, they should be champions by the time it comes to May and they could also still be in the Champions League. That could mean Sir Alex tinkering with his line-up and that could work to our advantage. They have been brilliant this season, but we should have beaten them in the FA Cup and we would fancy our chances against a weakened team towards the end of the season.
It is Chelsea next though and the good news is that the game is on Sunday and the United game will be a midweek clash and that means I can go to both matches. The bad news though is that I haven't seen the Hammers win all season!
Let's hope that changes.
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West Ham weigh up £6m striking Plan B
Football Fancast
Date: 6th March 2013 at 3:51 pm
Written by Kike Muniz
West Ham United could be weighing up a £6m summer move for Southampton attacker Rickie Lambert, The Sun reports. The 31 year-old is making an impact on his first Premier League season and could move to Upton Park at the end of the season. The Hammers' interest in the 2011-12 Championship Player of the Year arise after reports indicate the club will not look to secure a permanent deal for Liverpool's on-loan striker Andy Carroll. It is understood the Londoners would have to pay a £17m transfer fee, along with wages in excess of £84k a week in order to keep the England international at Upton Park; the kind of numbers that could hardly be justified given his performance shown to date. The former Bristol Rovers striker, on the other hand, is completing an outstanding season, keeping alive Southampton's hopes to maintain their top flight status with 12 goals in 24 games. Lambert, who recently scored his 100th goal for Southampton, is proving vital to Mauricio Pochettino's side as he has netted a 32.5% of the league goals the team has scored. However, it remains to be seen whether Southampton survival within the Premier League will prove a decisive factor for the club to retain its prolific striker.
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Joe Cole on boxing: Noble fancies himself as a fighter, that would be a good match-up!
By MARTIN DOMIN
PUBLISHED: 14:38, 6 March 2013 | UPDATED: 15:26, 6 March 2013
Daily Mail
Joe Cole plans to pull on a pair of boxing gloves when he hangs up his boots - and wants to meet West Ham team-mate Mark Noble in the ring. The midfielder recently returned to his first club after spells with Chelsea, Liverpool and Lille. And while he has no plans to retire just yet, Cole admits boxing has long been a fascination. 'I messed around as a kid down the local club,' he said. 'I had a couple of spars but didn't like getting hit! I might do some White Collar. 'Mark Noble is good on the pads. He fancies himself as a bit of a fighter so that could be a good match-up!' Cole will be ringside at Wembley Arena on Saturday when Chelsea fan and former European champion Darren Barker takes on Simone Rotolo. 'I watch more boxing than football,' he admitted. 'I go as often as I can. When I was out for a year [at Chelsea], I was at every show.' 'The boxing crowd is amazing. They get right behind the boxers and give them an extra 10 per cent.' Cole also revealed that footballers would struggle with the demands of a boxer's training regime. 'It's more intense,' he added. 'With football, you play and you've got to recover for the next game but with boxing the training is more intense. 'I quite like training but it does sound bit strong. It would be too much for a footballer. 'We do it mainly in pre-season to keep ourselves ticking over. It's hard but it's fun punching the bag.'
Barker, who hopes to earn a second shot at a world title after he fell short against middleweight champion Sergio Martinez in 2011, is a familiar face at Chelsea after launching his own fitness class at Stamford Bridge. 'I respect any professional in any walk of life,' he said. 'It's an individual sport so if we're not properly prepared we don't have 10 other players to carry us through. It's our heath on the line, it's important to be properly conditioned. Its good to have the big players supporting your career, it pulls you along and gives you more encouragement. I had Jody Morris on the pads and he was really good.'
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Kevin Nolan will have to go if West Ham are to move forward
Big Sam has to ponder dropping his beloved Captain.
Givemefootball.com
Published 4 hours ago by Darren Oh.
Many fans recognise West Ham more from a certain hooligan movie rather than as the club who has produced more English internationals than any other club. The Academy of Football is a crucial institution for England's future, and West Ham's future thus remains inevitably crucial to England. West Ham United has suffered in recent years. Once a competitive mid-table team, the club rode a steady decline riddled with bad luck all the way down to the Championship. Irresponsible ownership and stints of poor management led to the downfall and reinvention of a club that is so vital to England. Since their downfall in 2011, astute financial management by new English owners and experienced management under "Big Sam" Allardyce have led to promotion. Furthermore, the Club's performance in the current season shows a respectable point tally of 33 points from 28 rounds of football. But just as all seems well, and safety in the Premier League all but guaranteed, the Irons have come to a juncture where some critical questions have to be confronted and questioned. The Championship and the Premier League are different animals. What often functions so effectively in the second division tends to fail miserably in the first. Just ask Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. Big Sam has continued his 4-2-3-1 from last season, where a rigid formation with two hardworking defensive midfielders, with a goal-scoring trequartista in Kevin Nolan served him respectably. Despite his claims that his methods are as updated as that of Arsene Wenger, he has shown limited tactical flexibility by continuing this formation against virtually every opponent this season.
The issue is that while this formation has achieved the objective of keeping West Ham up this season, the likelihood of its continued efficacy in the top flight is very low. Watching West Ham matches throughout the season have made for repeated feelings of precariousness.
Often, they can score directly and maintain leads, but the content of the games show a consistent vulnerability on counter attacks. This is largely due to the limited work rate of Captain Kevin Nolan, who maintains a long-standing relationship and trust with Big Sam. As he contributes little to nothing to the team defence, it is imperative that the industrious Mark Noble and the powerful Mohamed Diame have to play behind him for the team to be able to maintain its shape.
This kind of sacrifice by West Ham's workhorses is justified if the team is winning somewhat consistently. But this is not the case. West Ham finishing above the bottom three this year will suffice and justify any tactical decisions, but for the club to truly move forward, the formation must change, and Nolan must be dropped. No team in the Premier League can afford to have half-a-player in a squad simply because he is the likeliest to hit the second shots.
Every player needs to play both sides of the game for a team to be successful in the modern game and particularly in the Premier League, where the ability to challenge others physically is necessary. With his most recent injury, it is interesting to see what Big Sam will do to create a formation without his star man. What it is sure to do is force him to explore other options and build more mobile and agile attacks. A first game without him has already resulted in a win.
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Leyton Orient contest West Ham's Olympic Stadium sole tenancy rights
• 'LLDC have not stuck by their own rules,' says Hearn
• Orient want West Ham to share Olympic Stadium
guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 6 March 2013 14.21 GMT
Leyton Orient have started a legal fight to have the decision to allow West Ham to move into the Olympic Stadium struck out. Photograph: Anna Gowthorpe/PA
The Leyton Orient chairman, Barry Hearn, has launched proceedings for a judicial review over the decision to allow West Ham to seek sole tenancy rights to the Olympic Stadium.
Hearn believes the London Legacy Development Corporation has broken its own rules in now allowing the League One club to be "teamed" with the Hammers in the bidding process. Hearn, who wants his own club and the Hammers to become joint tenants of the £429m stadium, has repeated his claim that the O's will have no future if the Hammers move in.
Hearn told his club's official website: "I was concerned that this was a done deal for West Ham before the bidding began, but the fact that both clubs had to commit to teaming made me believe that we were getting involved in a fair process. However, the LLDC have not stuck by their own rules and have left Orient with no option but to challenge their decision in the Courts.
"We don't intend to interfere with West Ham's residency at the stadium, but maintain the position that if they are going to be there, then we need to be there too. As I have said many times before, if West Ham move to the stadium and we are left a mile up the road, Leyton Orient will not survive."
Hearn was also part of a judicial review in 2011, which included Tottenham and resulted in the process of awarding tenancy rights to the stadium being abandoned. The LLDC board, which is tasked with sorting out the stadium's future, named West Ham as the number one choice to move into the Olympic Stadium in December.
An LLDC spokesman said: "We have been notified that Leyton Orient have made the decision to issue proceedings for judicial review. Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived."
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Hearn seeking judicial review
KUMB.com
Filed: Wednesday, 6th March 2013
By: Staff Writer
Orient Chairman Barry Hearn has announced his latest bid to prevent West Ham United from moving into the Olympic Stadium.
Hearn, who in tandem with Tottenham Hotspur successfully challenged the first 'preferred bidder' process back in 2011 is hoping to repeat that success, having raised objections over the validity of the recent decision to once again grant use of the Stratford arena to United.
Hearn argues that the possibility of a 'ground share' between West Ham and his club, Orient, was never considered by the London Legacy Development Corporation - something that he believes constitutes foul play.
"All parties signed up to the principle of 'teaming' and we don't think that serious consideration has been given to Leyton Orient sharing or 'teaming' with West Ham in the occupancy of the Olympic Stadium," he told BBC London.
"We believe the rules of the bidding process set out by the LLDC have not been followed. We are challenging them by asking the High Court to issue a judicial review.
"Our legal advice is that there is a fundamental flaw in the LLDC's bidding process that has to be rectified. I went to two Queen's Counsels to be instructed on this and they both agreed that this whole operation has been a massive mistake by LLDC."
News of Hearn's latest legal challenge led the LLDC to respond via official statement: "Whilst this is disappointing, we believe that our processes have been robust, fair and transparent and that the challenge is misconceived," they said.
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Scudumore blasts liars at West Ham over Tevez affair
Scud: Irons 'lies' hurt me
By DAN KING
Published: 06th March 2013
The Sun
PREMIER LEAGUE chief Richard Scudamore has blasted the 'liars' at West Ham who caused the Carlos Tevez scandal. The Hammers broke third-party investment rules to sneak in Tevez in 2006 — and his goals kept them in the Premier League. Scudamore said: "It is the No 1 act of bad faith that anyone ever did towards me here. "If a club chooses, through its executives, to lie to you to your face, there is a good deal of damage that can flow from that." West Ham were fined £5.5million and made to pay relegated Sheffield United £18m. Third-party ownership was outlawed in 2008. Scudamore — in an interview with Bloomberg Television — added: "The feeling is 'speculators' owning the economic rights of players is wrong."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
Wednesday, March 6
Daily WHUFC News - 6th March 2013
Blair bids to build on Bantams success
WHUFC.com
Blair Turgott is back at West Ham United and ready to knuckle down in the
Development Squad
05.03.2013
Blair Turgott expects his adventures at Bradford City to steer him towards
success, as he settles back into life at West Ham United. The 18-year-old
winger turned out eleven times for the Bantams in a three-month stint that
culminated in Bradford's historic Capital One Cup final appearance. Though
Turgott would remain an unused substitute in a 5-0 defeat by Swansea City,
the Academy graduate is not likely to forget his Wembley day out in a hurry.
Now back in east London and bolstered by his Football League exploits,
Turgott was straight back into the action on Friday night, as he helped the
Development Squad to a goalless draw with Manchester United. "It's good to
see all the boys again and all of the staff, so I'm definitely happy to be
back now," he told West Ham TV. "Bradford City was a great experience for
me. When the opportunity came, it was something I was happy to do. I've
learned a lot as a player, which can steer me in good stead for the future.
It has definitely been a good experience. "For anyone, to go to Wembley like
that, the national stadium and to take in the atmosphere of a full sell-out
stadium is great. It's a great memory but I've just got to put in my pocket
and move on to bigger and better things now hopefully."
The England U19 international, who had not played a full 90 minutes since 15
January, confessed to being slightly ring rusty, though he expects Friday's
run-out to do him the power of good. "It was different, that was my first 90
minutes in like a month," he added. "So it was good personally for me to get
through the game and I thought I did alright. At first it was more about
getting 90 minutes under my belt and seeing how I fared. "Now it's about
getting games under my belt. I've got to keep performing every week and
getting a good performance level. Whatever happens going forward, I think
first and foremost it's about playing with the Development Squad and getting
minutes under my belt."
As for Friday's Barclays Under-21 Premier League stalemate, Turgott had no
complaints whatever, insisting that the point gives West Ham an excellent
platform from which to tackle Wednesday's reverse fixture in Altrincham. "I
think in games like that, you have to respect the point. At half-time we had
a chat and we felt we could win the game but obviously as the game went on,
we stuck together as a team. I think our shape was good and we limited them
to as few chances as possible. In the end it was good to get something out
of the game and get a point. "We've got them again on Wednesday. It will be
another good game, another tough game. That's what you want ultimately, big
games and to play against the better teams. This is why we're in this
league. That's what it's all about and should be a good test on Wednesday.
We know what we've got to do and if we do that I think we'll get the win."
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Matt on the mend
WHUFC.com
Hammers midfielder Matt Taylor is feeling better after suffering a
concussion at Stoke City
05.03.2013
Matt Taylor is on the mend after suffering concussion in Saturday's Barclays
Premier League victory at Stoke City. The No14 was caught on the jaw by
Peter Crouch's right boot when he bravely headed the ball clear as the
Potters striker attempted an acrobatic overhead kick. Taylor was knocked out
by the impact and there were initial concerns all-round when the midfielder
lay prone on the Britannia Stadium turf. However, thanks to the rapid
actions of the players, referee and medical staff, the 31-year-old was
tended to quickly. After being driven home by club doctor Dr Richard Weiler,
Taylor spent the remainder of the weekend resting at home before returning
to Chadwell Heath for further assessment The official website checked up on
his wellbeing on Tuesday and was delighted to hear that he is feeling a lot
better.
Matt, first things first, how are you?
MT: "I'm OK. I'm not too bad. My head is fine and I'm feeling a lot better.
It's the first time I have been knocked out in my career, or in my life for
that matter, that I can recall. If it was going to happen anywhere, then on
a football pitch is not a bad place because of all the medical staff being
there. It was a good place for it to happen, if it was going to happen."
We have all seen the footage and the photographs of what looked like a
horrible impact with Peter Crouch's right boot, but what is your
recollection of what happened?
MT: "I don't have any recollection of heading the ball. My only memory I
have is the ball going over my head [from the corner] and following my
runner. I then remember waking up in their treatment room on the treatment
table. I don't have any other memory. I don't remember walking off or
anything, which was a bit scary."
It just shows that you will literally put your head on the line for the
cause...
MT: "I don't remember going for the ball, but I have seen the video and it's
something that I had to go for. It's not something I couldn't do in terms of
going for the header. I don't think there is anyone else in the league who
would have tried an overhead kick from there, but Crouchy is obviously very
good at them and it might have hit the target. "It was just one of those
things and he clearly didn't mean to do it. There was no malice on his
behalf. It was just one of those occupational hazards. I know Crouchy and
played for England Under-21s with him and he came to see me afterwards, but
I'd already left for home with the doctor. There was no malice and you could
see that, as soon as it happened, he held his hands up and was very
apologetic so I don't hold any grudges. It's just one of those things."
What was the medical process after the incident?
MT: "Their doctor and one of our physios sat with me for about 40 minutes
until just after half-time and I felt a lot better. I just laid on the bed
there. It was ironic because Jack [Collison] scored and, where we were, we
heard a roar and thought Stoke had scored. One of the guys then came in and
said we were 1-0 up and I thought 'Oh good!'. "I let the manager do his team
talk and lads go back out for the second half and then I had a shower and
went out to watch the game from the dugout. I had a headache, but not a big
one. I slept for an hour and a half in the car on the way home, so I wasn't
great company for the doctor! I put the seat back and went straight to sleep
which, by all accounts, is quite normal after such an incident. "We got home
and ordered a Chinese because I really fancied one, but I couldn't eat any
of it because my jaw was so sore, which was a bit of a pain! My wife was
eating her dinner and I could only eat the noodles! It was the same on
Sunday and Monday and I managed to eat a little bit more on Tuesday. "Seeing
the incident again, I was very fortunate that I don't have any lasting head
damage. I feel fine and it is just a protocol to follow now to get back
training. Obviously with no game this weekend, I can take my time and get
fit to return to training next week, all things being well."
It was a worrying scene for all of us at the Britannia Stadium, so
presumably it would have been the same for your family and friends?
MT: "I don't have any recollection of this, but as soon as it happened I am
told I asked Frazer Young the physio to get my phone and call my wife. My
Dad and my sister were at the game and the fact that I wobbled off the
pitch, they probably thought I was OK. The fact I wasn't stretchered off and
I was laughing and joking made it seem less serious. "I couldn't answer any
of the questions that the medical team asked me because the concussion had
knocked me about a bit. I didn't have the correct answers so that was the
end of the game for me, but I can only commend everybody and hopefully there
won't be any lasting damage."
Lastly, although you were only on the pitch for eleven minutes, you must be
delighted with the result you achieved at Stoke?
MT: "It's a fantastic result. I text Jack on Saturday night as I was over
the moon for him for scoring and playing well. Jack is a really nice guy and
a good footballer, but he's had a difficult few months so I'm genuinely
really happy that he came on and scored the winning goal. It showed a lot
about the sort of character he has got and what he brings to the team. "It's
a fantastic result for everybody and now we have a nice trip to Chelsea to
look forward to. Let's hope we can be the first team this season to do the
'double' over Chelsea as that would be nice."
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Captain Reid relishing role
WHUFC.com
Stand-in skipper Winston Reid was delighted to lead West Ham United to
victory at Stoke City on Saturday
05.03.2013
The role of West Ham United captain has been filled by some legendary names
in the history of the club - Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, Malcolm Allison,
George Kay and Alvin Martin among them. On Saturday, Winston Reid pulled on
the armband for the first time at the start of a Barclays Premier League
fixture, standing in after regular captain Kevin Nolan and vice-captain Mark
Noble were ruled out by injury. The No2 did the coveted role proud,
inspiring his team to a vital 1-0 Barclays Premier League victory at Stoke
City. Afterwards, the New Zealand centre-back told of his pride at being
handed the captaincy by manager Sam Allardyce. "It's a great privilege,"
said Reid, who has started all 28 league games this season. "We have Kevin
as a great captain and Mark right after him, so if I can do a job when they
are not available then it is fine by me. Otherwise, I just go about my
business as usual and don't try to really change myself.
"As a captain, I just try to give 100 per cent and try to help out my
team-mates. I try to be a good role model and try to do my best and
encourage everyone to try their hardest and be a winner."
Reid was nursing a bloodied lip following Saturday's visit to the Britannia
Stadium - an illustration of just what a stern physical test he and his
team-mates had withstood. Stoke bombarded the West Ham penalty area with
crosses, free-kicks, long balls and long throws, but the Hammers' back-four
and goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen stood firm - even after Potters manager
Tony Pulis had sent on substitute Kenwyne Jones to join fellow strikers
Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome in the closing stages. "We needed the three
points. Stoke is a hard place to come so the boys did really well and got
the win, so it was good. At the end, they had about four big boys up there.
We had enough to deal with, but at the end we got a clean sheet and the win,
which were important. "I think it's a challenge to go to a place like Stoke.
It's not easy, but you just have to be up for it and try your best. I
thought everyone did that and we got the win."
The battle did claim two victims, however, with Matt Taylor and Joe Cole
leaving the pitch with concussion and a tight hamstring within the opening
eleven minutes. While some teams would have crumbled, with circumstances
conspiring against them, West Ham grew into the game and chalked up a
thoroughly deserved success. "We have been a bit down on numbers recently,
so it was good that the boys got together well and I thought we showed great
spirit as a team."
Having got to grips with Stoke's direct approach, West Ham struck the
all-important winner just before half-time. Ricardo Vaz Te and Jack Collison
- on for the injured Cole and Taylor - combined for the Wales midfielder to
shoot low past Asmir Begovic. The move impressed the skipper. "The goal was
a good one and a great finish from Jack. He came in and obviously wanted to
prove himself as well and he did that, so I'm pleased for him. Vaz did well
as well and we had a couple of other chances that maybe we could have
scored. "I thought we did well defensively, too, to keep them away from
creating big chances. They are very good on set pieces, so we had to be
careful but I think we limited them very well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole Admits that his Liverpool Move was a Mistake!
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
In an interview with ESPN, Joe Cole has admitted that his 2010 move to
Liverpool was a mistake. But states that he agreed to the move, as the only
viable alternative to the offer of a 5 year deal from Spurs! That statement
might raise a few eye brows, but Cole makes the admission that after playing
for West Ham and Chelsea it did not feel right to pull on a Spurs shirt.
However, the Liverpool move never worked out and he admited to feeling
uncomfortable at Liverpool, both the club and the city.
He also provides an interesting insight in to his experience on joining
Chelsea. After cole signed, the West London club then went out and bought
Argentinian international midfielder, Sebastian Veron, basically to play in
the same position. Former Chairman, Ken Bates, allegedly welcomed Joe to
Chelsea by declaring, well done, 'you have signed to sit on our bench.' What
a motivational and inspiring welcome to Chelsea that must have been.
Regardless, Joe Cole rose to the challenge and established himself as a
first team regular, although I do clearly recall him not always being in
favour with the 'special one' during the latter's tenure as manager.
Joe Cole maintains that he needs to feel passionate about playing for a
club. And he has that passion for West Ham, as demonstrated by his
comiitment since returning and the demonstrative goal celebraton against
Spurs. It would have been nice for him to have returned in 2010, but it is
better later than never, as they say. At 31 years of age, Cole still has gas
in the tank and can really make up for lost time. He, unfortunately, picked
up an hamstring strain in the match against Stoke City, but hopefully he
will be fit and back in contention sooner rather than later. We need his
vision, guile and commitment to the cause in our midfield.
Well done Jack Collison for coming on and scoring the match winning goal on
Saturay. As I said, Jack has all the assets to become a top, goal scoring,
midfielder. His knee condition obviously requires managing, but if they can
keep him fit, then there is no reason why collison cannot score 10 plus
goals a season. It was interesting to see Tom's statstical analysis of the
Stoke City match. One statistic that caught the eye was he 80% plus pass
completion rate of Gary O'Neill. O'Neill never sems to get the credit that
he deserves for his workrate and covering ability, and that is even more the
case with his neat passing game. I have read previously that O'Neill
consistently has this high pass completion rate, which should really make
him stand out as a good and technically accomplished player. Unfortunately,
those stats are not widely acknowledged and that is a shame for a genuine
professional.
From missed player attributes to missing players, the African Cup of Nations
ended some time ago and yet Maiga appears to have disappeared without trace.
Hopefully he did nor return to the PL carying an injury secured on
international duty. At least Maiga has had his first team opporunities.
Unlike Welington Paulista, who must wonder why he travelled thousands of
miles, from his native Brasil, to play with the club's youngsters in the
Development Squad. Surely Paulista will get his opportunity before too much
longer?
Chelsea away might be the opportunity to 'blood' our Brazilian marvel in te
making? Probably from the bench? One thing is certain, both Collison and Vaz
Te must start. I was certainly very pleased to see both players do so well
in the Stoke City match. Surely, its got to be a case of 'play it (them)
again sam?'
SJ. Chandos.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Liverfool
Cole regrets Kop move
By MARK IRWIN
Published: 6 hrs ago
The Sun
JOE COLE has admitted he was wrong to move to Liverpool — but could not bear
the thought of signing for Spurs. The midfielder spent over two years in the
Anfield wilderness before returning to first club West Ham in January. And
the ex-England player admits he never adapted to life at the Kop and regrets
calling Liverpool 'the biggest club in the country'. Cole, 31, revealed: "I
can only play for teams that I'm passionate about and I think that's what
went wrong for me at Liverpool. "I didn't feel a connection with the club or
the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham. "I had seven great years at
Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn't
involved. So I was left with two real options — Liverpool or Spurs. "Spurs
was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal
and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings. "But I just couldn't do
it, I just couldn't see myself pulling that Spurs shirt over my head. "With
the rivalry between Spurs and West Ham and Chelsea, it felt a bit
mercenary."
Yet Cole soon realised he was not going to fit in at Liverpool after signing
in 2010. He said: "When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've
joined the biggest club in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd
won. "I just said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right'
and Liverpool used that as the headline to the interview. "I didn't want to
upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the
biggest club in the country any more.
"How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won the European Cup
twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea."
Cole, in an interview with the Chelsea fanzine cfuk, also recalls how former
Stamford Bridge chairman Ken Bates mocked him for joining the club at the
start of the Roman Abramovich era in 2003. He said: "I rolled in at Chelsea
on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'. "Then
Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position
as me, costing three or four times as much. "As soon as I signed, Bates said
to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'. "I just
thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron
was off." Now Cole admits West Ham will be his last club. He said: "I was
missing London and my family and I had a personal tragedy in December when
my brother-in-law died.
"I got an opportunity to go back to West Ham and I don't want to move any
more."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy scrap
Exclusive
By CARL LONG
Published: 6 hrs ago
The Sun
WEST HAM are set to send Andy Carroll back to Liverpool at the end of the
season. The Hammers have decided the England striker has not done enough to
clinch a permanent £17million switch and justify wages of £84,000 a week.
Instead, boss Sam Allardyce will turn his attention to Southampton striker
Rickie Lambert, who would cost around £6m. Carroll's hopes of clinching a
permanent move to Upton Park have been hit by a series of injuries and a
tally of just three goals in 15 appearances. However, the on-loan Geordie,
24, would face an uncertain future back at Anfield. Kop boss Brendan Rodgers
signed Daniel Sturridge in January and has made it clear there is no room
for the £35m striker. A Hammers source insisted: "The move for Carroll is
just too expensive.
"In the current economic climate, £17m plus £84k-a-week over four years
would add up to around £33m and we need to cut our cloth."
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
WHUFC.com
Blair Turgott is back at West Ham United and ready to knuckle down in the
Development Squad
05.03.2013
Blair Turgott expects his adventures at Bradford City to steer him towards
success, as he settles back into life at West Ham United. The 18-year-old
winger turned out eleven times for the Bantams in a three-month stint that
culminated in Bradford's historic Capital One Cup final appearance. Though
Turgott would remain an unused substitute in a 5-0 defeat by Swansea City,
the Academy graduate is not likely to forget his Wembley day out in a hurry.
Now back in east London and bolstered by his Football League exploits,
Turgott was straight back into the action on Friday night, as he helped the
Development Squad to a goalless draw with Manchester United. "It's good to
see all the boys again and all of the staff, so I'm definitely happy to be
back now," he told West Ham TV. "Bradford City was a great experience for
me. When the opportunity came, it was something I was happy to do. I've
learned a lot as a player, which can steer me in good stead for the future.
It has definitely been a good experience. "For anyone, to go to Wembley like
that, the national stadium and to take in the atmosphere of a full sell-out
stadium is great. It's a great memory but I've just got to put in my pocket
and move on to bigger and better things now hopefully."
The England U19 international, who had not played a full 90 minutes since 15
January, confessed to being slightly ring rusty, though he expects Friday's
run-out to do him the power of good. "It was different, that was my first 90
minutes in like a month," he added. "So it was good personally for me to get
through the game and I thought I did alright. At first it was more about
getting 90 minutes under my belt and seeing how I fared. "Now it's about
getting games under my belt. I've got to keep performing every week and
getting a good performance level. Whatever happens going forward, I think
first and foremost it's about playing with the Development Squad and getting
minutes under my belt."
As for Friday's Barclays Under-21 Premier League stalemate, Turgott had no
complaints whatever, insisting that the point gives West Ham an excellent
platform from which to tackle Wednesday's reverse fixture in Altrincham. "I
think in games like that, you have to respect the point. At half-time we had
a chat and we felt we could win the game but obviously as the game went on,
we stuck together as a team. I think our shape was good and we limited them
to as few chances as possible. In the end it was good to get something out
of the game and get a point. "We've got them again on Wednesday. It will be
another good game, another tough game. That's what you want ultimately, big
games and to play against the better teams. This is why we're in this
league. That's what it's all about and should be a good test on Wednesday.
We know what we've got to do and if we do that I think we'll get the win."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Matt on the mend
WHUFC.com
Hammers midfielder Matt Taylor is feeling better after suffering a
concussion at Stoke City
05.03.2013
Matt Taylor is on the mend after suffering concussion in Saturday's Barclays
Premier League victory at Stoke City. The No14 was caught on the jaw by
Peter Crouch's right boot when he bravely headed the ball clear as the
Potters striker attempted an acrobatic overhead kick. Taylor was knocked out
by the impact and there were initial concerns all-round when the midfielder
lay prone on the Britannia Stadium turf. However, thanks to the rapid
actions of the players, referee and medical staff, the 31-year-old was
tended to quickly. After being driven home by club doctor Dr Richard Weiler,
Taylor spent the remainder of the weekend resting at home before returning
to Chadwell Heath for further assessment The official website checked up on
his wellbeing on Tuesday and was delighted to hear that he is feeling a lot
better.
Matt, first things first, how are you?
MT: "I'm OK. I'm not too bad. My head is fine and I'm feeling a lot better.
It's the first time I have been knocked out in my career, or in my life for
that matter, that I can recall. If it was going to happen anywhere, then on
a football pitch is not a bad place because of all the medical staff being
there. It was a good place for it to happen, if it was going to happen."
We have all seen the footage and the photographs of what looked like a
horrible impact with Peter Crouch's right boot, but what is your
recollection of what happened?
MT: "I don't have any recollection of heading the ball. My only memory I
have is the ball going over my head [from the corner] and following my
runner. I then remember waking up in their treatment room on the treatment
table. I don't have any other memory. I don't remember walking off or
anything, which was a bit scary."
It just shows that you will literally put your head on the line for the
cause...
MT: "I don't remember going for the ball, but I have seen the video and it's
something that I had to go for. It's not something I couldn't do in terms of
going for the header. I don't think there is anyone else in the league who
would have tried an overhead kick from there, but Crouchy is obviously very
good at them and it might have hit the target. "It was just one of those
things and he clearly didn't mean to do it. There was no malice on his
behalf. It was just one of those occupational hazards. I know Crouchy and
played for England Under-21s with him and he came to see me afterwards, but
I'd already left for home with the doctor. There was no malice and you could
see that, as soon as it happened, he held his hands up and was very
apologetic so I don't hold any grudges. It's just one of those things."
What was the medical process after the incident?
MT: "Their doctor and one of our physios sat with me for about 40 minutes
until just after half-time and I felt a lot better. I just laid on the bed
there. It was ironic because Jack [Collison] scored and, where we were, we
heard a roar and thought Stoke had scored. One of the guys then came in and
said we were 1-0 up and I thought 'Oh good!'. "I let the manager do his team
talk and lads go back out for the second half and then I had a shower and
went out to watch the game from the dugout. I had a headache, but not a big
one. I slept for an hour and a half in the car on the way home, so I wasn't
great company for the doctor! I put the seat back and went straight to sleep
which, by all accounts, is quite normal after such an incident. "We got home
and ordered a Chinese because I really fancied one, but I couldn't eat any
of it because my jaw was so sore, which was a bit of a pain! My wife was
eating her dinner and I could only eat the noodles! It was the same on
Sunday and Monday and I managed to eat a little bit more on Tuesday. "Seeing
the incident again, I was very fortunate that I don't have any lasting head
damage. I feel fine and it is just a protocol to follow now to get back
training. Obviously with no game this weekend, I can take my time and get
fit to return to training next week, all things being well."
It was a worrying scene for all of us at the Britannia Stadium, so
presumably it would have been the same for your family and friends?
MT: "I don't have any recollection of this, but as soon as it happened I am
told I asked Frazer Young the physio to get my phone and call my wife. My
Dad and my sister were at the game and the fact that I wobbled off the
pitch, they probably thought I was OK. The fact I wasn't stretchered off and
I was laughing and joking made it seem less serious. "I couldn't answer any
of the questions that the medical team asked me because the concussion had
knocked me about a bit. I didn't have the correct answers so that was the
end of the game for me, but I can only commend everybody and hopefully there
won't be any lasting damage."
Lastly, although you were only on the pitch for eleven minutes, you must be
delighted with the result you achieved at Stoke?
MT: "It's a fantastic result. I text Jack on Saturday night as I was over
the moon for him for scoring and playing well. Jack is a really nice guy and
a good footballer, but he's had a difficult few months so I'm genuinely
really happy that he came on and scored the winning goal. It showed a lot
about the sort of character he has got and what he brings to the team. "It's
a fantastic result for everybody and now we have a nice trip to Chelsea to
look forward to. Let's hope we can be the first team this season to do the
'double' over Chelsea as that would be nice."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Captain Reid relishing role
WHUFC.com
Stand-in skipper Winston Reid was delighted to lead West Ham United to
victory at Stoke City on Saturday
05.03.2013
The role of West Ham United captain has been filled by some legendary names
in the history of the club - Bobby Moore, Billy Bonds, Malcolm Allison,
George Kay and Alvin Martin among them. On Saturday, Winston Reid pulled on
the armband for the first time at the start of a Barclays Premier League
fixture, standing in after regular captain Kevin Nolan and vice-captain Mark
Noble were ruled out by injury. The No2 did the coveted role proud,
inspiring his team to a vital 1-0 Barclays Premier League victory at Stoke
City. Afterwards, the New Zealand centre-back told of his pride at being
handed the captaincy by manager Sam Allardyce. "It's a great privilege,"
said Reid, who has started all 28 league games this season. "We have Kevin
as a great captain and Mark right after him, so if I can do a job when they
are not available then it is fine by me. Otherwise, I just go about my
business as usual and don't try to really change myself.
"As a captain, I just try to give 100 per cent and try to help out my
team-mates. I try to be a good role model and try to do my best and
encourage everyone to try their hardest and be a winner."
Reid was nursing a bloodied lip following Saturday's visit to the Britannia
Stadium - an illustration of just what a stern physical test he and his
team-mates had withstood. Stoke bombarded the West Ham penalty area with
crosses, free-kicks, long balls and long throws, but the Hammers' back-four
and goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen stood firm - even after Potters manager
Tony Pulis had sent on substitute Kenwyne Jones to join fellow strikers
Peter Crouch and Cameron Jerome in the closing stages. "We needed the three
points. Stoke is a hard place to come so the boys did really well and got
the win, so it was good. At the end, they had about four big boys up there.
We had enough to deal with, but at the end we got a clean sheet and the win,
which were important. "I think it's a challenge to go to a place like Stoke.
It's not easy, but you just have to be up for it and try your best. I
thought everyone did that and we got the win."
The battle did claim two victims, however, with Matt Taylor and Joe Cole
leaving the pitch with concussion and a tight hamstring within the opening
eleven minutes. While some teams would have crumbled, with circumstances
conspiring against them, West Ham grew into the game and chalked up a
thoroughly deserved success. "We have been a bit down on numbers recently,
so it was good that the boys got together well and I thought we showed great
spirit as a team."
Having got to grips with Stoke's direct approach, West Ham struck the
all-important winner just before half-time. Ricardo Vaz Te and Jack Collison
- on for the injured Cole and Taylor - combined for the Wales midfielder to
shoot low past Asmir Begovic. The move impressed the skipper. "The goal was
a good one and a great finish from Jack. He came in and obviously wanted to
prove himself as well and he did that, so I'm pleased for him. Vaz did well
as well and we had a couple of other chances that maybe we could have
scored. "I thought we did well defensively, too, to keep them away from
creating big chances. They are very good on set pieces, so we had to be
careful but I think we limited them very well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole Admits that his Liverpool Move was a Mistake!
By S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
In an interview with ESPN, Joe Cole has admitted that his 2010 move to
Liverpool was a mistake. But states that he agreed to the move, as the only
viable alternative to the offer of a 5 year deal from Spurs! That statement
might raise a few eye brows, but Cole makes the admission that after playing
for West Ham and Chelsea it did not feel right to pull on a Spurs shirt.
However, the Liverpool move never worked out and he admited to feeling
uncomfortable at Liverpool, both the club and the city.
He also provides an interesting insight in to his experience on joining
Chelsea. After cole signed, the West London club then went out and bought
Argentinian international midfielder, Sebastian Veron, basically to play in
the same position. Former Chairman, Ken Bates, allegedly welcomed Joe to
Chelsea by declaring, well done, 'you have signed to sit on our bench.' What
a motivational and inspiring welcome to Chelsea that must have been.
Regardless, Joe Cole rose to the challenge and established himself as a
first team regular, although I do clearly recall him not always being in
favour with the 'special one' during the latter's tenure as manager.
Joe Cole maintains that he needs to feel passionate about playing for a
club. And he has that passion for West Ham, as demonstrated by his
comiitment since returning and the demonstrative goal celebraton against
Spurs. It would have been nice for him to have returned in 2010, but it is
better later than never, as they say. At 31 years of age, Cole still has gas
in the tank and can really make up for lost time. He, unfortunately, picked
up an hamstring strain in the match against Stoke City, but hopefully he
will be fit and back in contention sooner rather than later. We need his
vision, guile and commitment to the cause in our midfield.
Well done Jack Collison for coming on and scoring the match winning goal on
Saturay. As I said, Jack has all the assets to become a top, goal scoring,
midfielder. His knee condition obviously requires managing, but if they can
keep him fit, then there is no reason why collison cannot score 10 plus
goals a season. It was interesting to see Tom's statstical analysis of the
Stoke City match. One statistic that caught the eye was he 80% plus pass
completion rate of Gary O'Neill. O'Neill never sems to get the credit that
he deserves for his workrate and covering ability, and that is even more the
case with his neat passing game. I have read previously that O'Neill
consistently has this high pass completion rate, which should really make
him stand out as a good and technically accomplished player. Unfortunately,
those stats are not widely acknowledged and that is a shame for a genuine
professional.
From missed player attributes to missing players, the African Cup of Nations
ended some time ago and yet Maiga appears to have disappeared without trace.
Hopefully he did nor return to the PL carying an injury secured on
international duty. At least Maiga has had his first team opporunities.
Unlike Welington Paulista, who must wonder why he travelled thousands of
miles, from his native Brasil, to play with the club's youngsters in the
Development Squad. Surely Paulista will get his opportunity before too much
longer?
Chelsea away might be the opportunity to 'blood' our Brazilian marvel in te
making? Probably from the bench? One thing is certain, both Collison and Vaz
Te must start. I was certainly very pleased to see both players do so well
in the Stoke City match. Surely, its got to be a case of 'play it (them)
again sam?'
SJ. Chandos.
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Liverfool
Cole regrets Kop move
By MARK IRWIN
Published: 6 hrs ago
The Sun
JOE COLE has admitted he was wrong to move to Liverpool — but could not bear
the thought of signing for Spurs. The midfielder spent over two years in the
Anfield wilderness before returning to first club West Ham in January. And
the ex-England player admits he never adapted to life at the Kop and regrets
calling Liverpool 'the biggest club in the country'. Cole, 31, revealed: "I
can only play for teams that I'm passionate about and I think that's what
went wrong for me at Liverpool. "I didn't feel a connection with the club or
the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham. "I had seven great years at
Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn't
involved. So I was left with two real options — Liverpool or Spurs. "Spurs
was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal
and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings. "But I just couldn't do
it, I just couldn't see myself pulling that Spurs shirt over my head. "With
the rivalry between Spurs and West Ham and Chelsea, it felt a bit
mercenary."
Yet Cole soon realised he was not going to fit in at Liverpool after signing
in 2010. He said: "When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've
joined the biggest club in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd
won. "I just said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right'
and Liverpool used that as the headline to the interview. "I didn't want to
upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the
biggest club in the country any more.
"How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won the European Cup
twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea."
Cole, in an interview with the Chelsea fanzine cfuk, also recalls how former
Stamford Bridge chairman Ken Bates mocked him for joining the club at the
start of the Roman Abramovich era in 2003. He said: "I rolled in at Chelsea
on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'. "Then
Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position
as me, costing three or four times as much. "As soon as I signed, Bates said
to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'. "I just
thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron
was off." Now Cole admits West Ham will be his last club. He said: "I was
missing London and my family and I had a personal tragedy in December when
my brother-in-law died.
"I got an opportunity to go back to West Ham and I don't want to move any
more."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy scrap
Exclusive
By CARL LONG
Published: 6 hrs ago
The Sun
WEST HAM are set to send Andy Carroll back to Liverpool at the end of the
season. The Hammers have decided the England striker has not done enough to
clinch a permanent £17million switch and justify wages of £84,000 a week.
Instead, boss Sam Allardyce will turn his attention to Southampton striker
Rickie Lambert, who would cost around £6m. Carroll's hopes of clinching a
permanent move to Upton Park have been hit by a series of injuries and a
tally of just three goals in 15 appearances. However, the on-loan Geordie,
24, would face an uncertain future back at Anfield. Kop boss Brendan Rodgers
signed Daniel Sturridge in January and has made it clear there is no room
for the £35m striker. A Hammers source insisted: "The move for Carroll is
just too expensive.
"In the current economic climate, £17m plus £84k-a-week over four years
would add up to around £33m and we need to cut our cloth."
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