Duo represent England U18s
WHUFC.com
Kyle Knoyle and Reece Burke played as England U18s beat Belgium at St
George's park on Tuesday
18.02.2014
Two of West Ham United's Academy players were involved as England Under-18s
beat Belgium 4-0 at St George's Park on Tuesday afternoon. Reece Burke
played the whole match at centre-back while defensive partner Kyle Knoyle
played 65 minutes at right-back before being substituted. It's not the first
time the pair have represented their country, with both players having
featured for the Three Lions on 14 October 2013 in a 4-0 win against
Hungary. Burke and Knoyle have been regulars for the Academy side this
season and have helped their ascent up the Barclays Under-18 Premier League
in recent weeks. This season has also seen a first team debut for Burke who
appeared from the substitutes bench against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup
with Budweiser third round.
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Adrian's Wall
WHUFC.com
Adrian and his defensive partners will be looking for another clean sheet
this weekend
18.02.2014
West Ham United boast the highest number of clean sheets in the Barclays
Premier League this season and will be looking for another when they
entertain Southampton on Saturday. Last Tuesday's shutout against Norwich
City was the Hammers' fourth in succession - their best run of clean sheets
since the Boys of '86 season. Adrian has been a key part of the defensive
solidity - ably assisted by his 'wall' in front of him - and you could be
there this weekend to see the Hammers as they look to extend their fine run.
Tickets are available for the match from www.whufcboxoffice.com - with adult
prices starting at £37 for members (£42 non-member) and just £24 concessions
(£14 Youth Academy Members). Adrian said: "It's only my job! It's my job to
stop everything. Four in a row is really, really difficult in the Premier
League and I am really happy. We have to keep going in this direction. "As a
goalkeeper, when you have confidence, confidence in the manager and in the
other players, you are happy on the pitch. Sometimes I have to help my
teammates and other times, not too much, but against Norwich I made three or
four saves to help the team. "It's really, really amazing. The clean sheets
are important for the team and it's even more important for me, because I'm
the goalkeeper.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce reiterates the need for a winter break
Last Updated: 18/02/14 4:30pm
SSN
West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has reiterated calls for a mid-season break
despite an upsurge in form from his side. The Hammers, who have been on a
warm-weather training trip to Dubai, have won their last three Premier
League games and kept four clean sheets in a row to help them move up into
mid-table. Although results have gone the Londoners' way in January,
Allardyce has again expressed his belief that there should be a winter
break. "I've said for many, many years that our country needs to close down
at some stage in mid-season for a few days. I think the data and the stats
prove that," he told Sky Sports. "The rest of Europe do it but we, because
of our fixture list, find it impossible to do which is obviously putting
players at greater risk. "I've been doing it for 12-13 years now and
everything when you come back indicates that it's the right thing to do." If
you look at the injury count over Christmas and New Year, it's shot up
immensely because of the extra games in that particular period. "With all
the data and the period of time, the Premier League feel they can't fit it
in, so as a manager I have to find the time to fit it in and find the
opportunity to take my players away. "I've been doing it for 12-13 years now
and everything when you come back indicates that it's the right thing to do.
"You get an increase in fitness, you get an increase in output and hopefully
that helps you get an increase in results so let's hope it works this time."
Asked if anything has changed in the Hammers' camp following their upturn in
fortunes, Allardyce replied: "Nothing special really. Just getting the
players fit again. "There were that many players devastated by injury it
became very difficult for us to compete at this level of football. "We
always felt that once we got those players fit again that they would
increase that level of performance and of course new players coming in the
(January) window has helped us and that's why results have got better."
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WINSTON REID - A LITMUS TEST OF RESOLVE AND AMBITION
By S J Chandos 18 Feb 2014 at 12:00
West Ham Till I Die
There are lingering rumours in the media that Arsenal have made Winston Reid
a £8m priority transfer target for the summer. These rumours originally
commenced before Reid picked up his ankle injury and it was anticipated that
a approach would be made in the winter transfer window. As far as I am
aware, Wenger has never actually confirmed an interest in signing the
player, but who could blame him if he was interested. Winston Reid is a top
class central defender and a leader on the pitch.
That last statement is one that most Hammers fans would now warmly endorse.
However, that was not always the case and many will clearly recall his
deeply unconvincing debut season of 2010-11. A (undisclosed fee) signing
from Danish club, FC Midtjylland, Winston had a disastrous PL debut, in an
abject 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa, and went on to make a mere 12 first team
appearances throughout that relegation season. At the time, Reid's signing
was often put forward as evidence of yet another negative aspect of the
Avram Grant managerial regime. Yet Ironically, over time the contrary has
proven true, Reid's capture is the one major positive legacy of Grant's
period of management.
Reid stayed with the club in the Championship and rebuilt his confidence and
reputation with some outstanding defensive displays. In that 2011-12
promotion season, He flourished under Sam Allardyce's management and become
a regular first teamer, as the club were promoted 'at the first time of
asking' via the Play-off Final victory over Blackpool. There were some who
thought that he may have just found his level and that he would struggle on
the club's return to the top flight. All such thoughts were dispelled by
Reid's outstanding performances last season, as the Hammers secured a very
creditable 10th place finish. And he started the current, 2013-14 season, in
a similiar vein, until an ankle injury, sustained in training, in November
2013 resulted in a three month absence. It is no coincidence that the West
Ham's results seriously declined with Reid's absence and his return on 1
February 2014 was certainly a factor directly contributing to our recent
revival.
Winston Reid is an excellent all-round defender, strong in the air and the
tackle, with good positional sense and distribution and a decent turn of
pace. Moreover, he demonstrates good leadership qualities and could very
well be a future club captain. He always strikes one as a dedicated
professional, who works on his game and seeks continual improvement. It is a
great testimony to the player that he forewent the opportunity to play for
New Zealand in their 2012 Olympics team and instead chose to participate in
West Ham's pre-season. It is also to his credit that he so successfully
manages the periodic long haul trips to play for his country, without it
seeming to adversely impact upon his West Ham performances.
At 25 years of age, Reid has not yet reached his peak as a central defender.
He can only get better and must be one of the key building blocks that we
use to build a team worthy of West Ham's move to the iconic Olympic Stadium.
If the previously expressed ambitions of the board are to be believed, that
they wish to incrementally build a top class team, then Reid must be signed
on a new long-term contract. The rumours are that Arsenal are prepared to
offer £8m for Reid, a figure that does not nearly compensate for the loss of
such an important player. There is further conjecture that a raised bid of
£10m plus could convince the club to accept the bid. Once again, so
influential is Reid, even an increased fee of that level would be a
sufficient catalyst to justify a deal.
The West Ham board should not wait for Arsenal, or anyone else, to submit a
bid. They should, as a matter of urgency, sign him on a new improved,
long-term deal and kill off their interest. We need to show ambition and
build a team that can compete for honours and Champions League football. If
we are to do that then we must keep our best players as a foundation upon
which to build. Only in that way can we hope to challenge for a top six
finish and eventually aspire to Champions qualification. It is always
difficult when a top four side shows an interest in one of your players,
particularly in terms of managing the player's ambitions. Champions League
football is of great attraction for most players and one can fully
understand that. However, Reid is a good professional, who has hitherto
shown considerable commitment to the club. As such, it should be possible to
sell him an improved deal, linked to the club's future ambitions and his
central role in achieving them.
To me, retaining Reid is a litmus test of the board's prior rhetoric about
its future ambitions. I am not totally sure about Winston Reid's current
contract position. But some sources state that he will be entering the final
year of his current contract in 2014-15. If that is true, then West Ham
should seek to get a new contract in place now, as a matter of urgency. One
may well question whether Reid would sign before West Ham's PL status is
secure this season? If necessary, offer a new contract with a transfer
clause in the event of relegation, if that is what it takes to get his
signature on a new contract ahead of the conclusion of the current campaign.
SJ. Chandos.
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Wednesday, February 19
Tuesday, February 18
Daily WHUFC News - 18th February 2014
A fitting farewell to the Boleyn Ground
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are calling on supporters to offer their views on a fitting
finale for the Boleyn Ground
17.02.2014
As West Ham United prepare for a future at the Olympic Stadium, the Club are
pressing on with plans to finalise a fitting farewell to the Club's home of
110 years. With two-and-a-half years to give the Boleyn Ground the perfect
send-off, the Hammers are calling on supporters to leave their mark on
proceedings.
The Hammers' Supporter Advisory Board (SAB) members have already got the
ball rolling and this is your chance to tell them how you envisage the
Club's final Upton Park season taking shape. So should you know an SAB
member and would like to share your ideas and memories, please get in touch
with them. During a recent meeting, the SAB discussed the prospect of themed
matches for each and every game of the final season and the celebrations
surrounding the very last game. The Club is also collating opinion on a
grand final-curtain event. Meanwhile, the SAB showed a great deal of
interest in the auction of Boleyn Ground memorabilia, as well as
commemorative tours in the final season. As it stands, the SAB has already
offered the following suggestions and the Club is keen to compile many more.
· A countdown clock in the Boleyn, ticking down to the first whistle of the
final game.
· Breaking the world record for the most people simultaneously blowing
bubbles on the last day at the Boleyn.
· A commemorative programme similar to the very first ever issued.
· Guard of honour of both former and current players as part of the last
moments at the Boleyn.
As expected, there were differing views on how exactly the final Boleyn
Ground game might shape up and similarly on the look of a commemorative home
shirt. With that in mind, the wider consultation of the fan base is even
more important, so make sure your voice is heard.
For the full report of the SAB's last meeting, click here, while the
Farewell to the Boleyn Ground focus group is set to reconvene on Tuesday 25
February. Future consultation topics will include:
· What would supporters like the commemorative kit to look like? Should it
be the traditional claret and blue or a limited edition kit?
· Suggestions on possible themed matches, allowing supporters to vote for
their favourites.
· Detailed list of what Boleyn Ground tours should include in the lead-up to
the move.
· Begin to outline and elaborate on plans for a closing ceremony at the
Boleyn Ground.
· Thoughts on how the Club can best collate fan stories and memories through
the years at the Boleyn.
· Conduct a detailed discussion of possible items to be included in the
auction.
The SAB is your platform and the Club looks forward to hearing from as many
supporters as possible in the coming weeks and months,not least with the
prospect of celebrating the Club's 120th anniversary next season.
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Macca looking forward to Open Training
WHUFC.com
West Ham United assistant boss is looking forward to welcoming Season Ticket
Holders to training
17.02.2014
West Ham United will swap their warm-weather training camp for a setting
closer to home when they host an exclusive open training session for Season
Ticket Holders and Corporate Members at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday. The
Hammers will train in front of the fans as the preparations for Saturday's
Barclays Premier League clash with Southampton continue. Gates open at 10am,
with training scheduled to begin at 10.30am, and assistant boss Neil
McDonald is looking forward to allowing the supporters a behind-the-scenes
look at how the first team squad prepares for a game. McDonald said: "The
fans have been fantastic, even when we haven't been performing to where we
thought we would. They stood by the team, so it's great that our form is
improving as it sends people home with smiles on their faces. "We'll try and
show them what we do, all the way from pre warm-up to warm-up, a little bit
of possession and finishing. It just gives them a little outline of how we
work."
McDonald believes the week of training in Dubai has set his team up for a
strong end to the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League campaign. The Hammers have
visited the Middle East for similar trips the last two years, with promotion
to the Premier League and a top-half finish last season being secured upon
their return to action. "I thought it was a great camp," he continued. "It
was perfect timing for us, as leading up to the last few weeks, we hadn't
been getting good results, so fixing the trip up in itself had a motivation
for the lads as they had something to look forward to. "We got some good
results, beating Norwich, Aston Villa and Swansea, and drawing with Chelsea.
The results have been fantastic over the last three or four weeks and that's
just cemented the good week we had in Dubai. Hopefully we can get the same
results when we come back. "We hope this trip has a positive impact on
results like it has done the previous two seasons. Everybody coming back
from injury has given everyone a boost. The signings that the manager has
made have done the same and there's lots of competition for places. "That's
certainly shown at the moment - we have Winston Reid who was at the heart of
the defence before who can't get in the team because we're keeping clean
sheets and playing well. "The bar has been set a little bit higher, which is
great, and everybody is full of confidence - that has shown on the field in
the last four games. When the confidence comes back everyone performs that
little bit better and everyone has a smile on their face.
"Certainly Dubai has made everyone happier too, because it was beautiful
weather, we were staying in a beautiful place and training was at a
fantastic facility, so hopefully that will kick us on for the rest of the
season."
The Hammers made the most of the conditions in Dubai to train with the sun
on their backs and McDonald says the benefits will be both physical and
mental in nature. He continued: "You can see from the photographs that we
were able to train in t-shirts and shorts. The weather, as everybody knows,
has been horrendous at home over the last few weeks, so it has been good for
them to get some vitamin D in their bodies. "We were still doing a little
bit of technical work and work in the gym. It was time for them to relax
their aching bodies, because the majority of them have played a lot of games
over the Christmas and January periods."
West Ham returned to London on Sunday, although Andy Carroll and Joey
O'Brien remained in Dubai for additional warm-weather work as they remain
unavailable for first team selection due to suspension and injury
respectively. McDonald explained: "With Joey's shoulder injury, it's good
for him to do some work in the sea. It's good for him to have the sun on his
back when he's working, so that will try to cheer him up because you know
what players are like when they're injured. He's been out with the rest of
the lads and that's fantastic for him. "For Andy it's just a continuation of
his rehabilitation, really. He's worked very, very hard to get himself fit
and he's made an impact since coming back. "Unfortunately he got sent-off
against Swansea, and we still can't believe that happened. He's still got
one more game of his suspension against Southampton, so we decided to leave
him out there with the rehab fitness coach Eduardo Garcia. He's there with
both of them to do some work in the sun, and Andy will come back ready and
raring to go for Everton."
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The public gets what the public wants
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 17th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
Referee Mark Clattenburg is to take charge of West Ham United's Premier
League clash with Southampton this weekend - his first Saints appointment
since they filed a complaint against him last year.
The south coast club reported Clattenburg to the Professional Game Match
Officials Board back in December when it was claimed he told Saints captain
Adam Lallana: "You are very different now, since you've played for England -
you never used to be like this". The complaint was later dismissed by the
FA.
It will also be the first time that Clattenberg - who West Ham supporters
ironically chanted for during the 3-1 victory against Chelsea in December
2012 - has officiated a United game since New Years' Day, when he dismissed
Kevin Nolan in the 2-1 defeat at Fulham. That was the most recent incident
in a long charge sheet for Clattenburg where the Hammers are concerned.
On New Years' Day 2013, the Durham official angered Norwich boss Chris
Hughton for refusing to either of two penalty appeals - correctly, so it was
later proved - in a 2-1 win for the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground. Earlier
that season he was criticised for being "card happy" when booking ten
players in a 2-1 win for West Ham at QPR.
In 2010 Clattenburg left fans questioning his parentage on no less than
three occasions. A 4-0 Carling Cup quarter final win against Manchester
United would have been even more emphatic had he spotted a clear foul on
substitute Zavon Hines in the game's closing stages, whilst his decision to
rule out Freddie Piquionne's perfectly legal injury time 'winner' at Wolves
baffled many.
The FA Cup 3rd round tie with Arsenal in January at that year also ended
controversially when Clattenburg ignored a clear infringement on Alessandro
Diamanti with the score at 0-0. West Ham went on to lose the game 2-1.
Clattenburg had previously left Gianfranco Zola fuming during a 3-3 draw at
Hull in November 2009 when awarding a soft penalty against Julien Faubert -
though Zola's mood improved somewhat when the 38-year-old failed to spot a
far worse offence by Matthew Upson later in the same game. Zola was less
forgiving three months previously when Clattenburg refused to award a
penalty when Luis Jimenez was tripped inside the box by Spurs' Essou-Ekotto.
Lee Bowyer was another victim of Clattenburg's back in 2008, when he was
dismissed for what appeared to be an innocuous challenge during a 1-1 draw
against Birmingham. The FA agreed and rescinded the card on appeal.
Then-manager Alan Curbishley had also criticised the referee in January of
that year for denying Bowyer (again) a clear penalty at Manchester City.
West Ham's biggest away win in recent years - a 5-0 thrashing of Derby
County at Pride Park back in 2007 - was also marred (very slightly,
admittedly) by Clattenburg's decision to award a free kick instead of a
penalty when Luis Boa Morte was felled inside the area during the first
half.
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Getting mean
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 17th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham required 17 points from their remaining 12 Premier League fixtures
to match the mean number of points accrued by the Club in the Premier League
since the turn of the century.
The Hammers have spent ten seasons in the top flight since 2000, since when
the various teams - managed by Harry Redknapp, Glenn Roeder, Alan Pardew,
Alan Curbishley, Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant and now Sam Allardyce - have
averaged 45 points over the course of the campaign with an average
13th-place finish.
Currently, West Ham have accrued 28 points from their first 26 games, just
slightly lower than the average tally of 30 points (with an average position
of 14th) for the same period at this stage.
However Sam Allardyce will be hoping his team can continue their excellent
recent form, which has earned West Ham ten vital points from their last four
outings - keeping clean sheets in all four - for the remainder of the
2013/14 season.
In order to achieve the average points tally of 45, West Ham need to take
1.4 points per game for the remainder of the season.
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Go on my sun!
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 17th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce will be hoping the mid-season trip to Dubai will have a
similar effect on his team's fortunes to that in the last two seasons. Since
first making the now-annual trip with his squad at the end of February 2012,
Allardyce's West Ham have posted generally favourable results immediately
after returning to the UK. Two years ago, when still a Championship side,
the Hammers returned from Dubai at the end of February before embarking on a
seven-match unbeaten run that finally ended with a 4-2 home defeat against
Reading on the final day of March - the only defeat they suffered prior to
the end of the campaign. And last year the Hammers guaranteed their Premier
League place thanks to another decent run of form that followed the trip.
Despite losing 3-2 at home to Spurs - thanks to a last-minute Gareth Bale
'worldy' - in their first game back on British soil, only one of the seven
subsequent fixtures was to end in defeat (a 2-0 reversal at Chelsea) as West
Ham went on the secure a top ten finish in their first season back in the
top flight. Speaking about the 2011/12 promotion push last year, Allardyce
recalled: "We had a fantastic finish to the season and I still think the
trip that we had at this time last year was a big benefit in the end for
getting us promoted into the Premier League. "Nearly everybody does it today
which obviously is a benefit to you and the team, and the results when you
come back."
Allardyce will be hoping his team can emulate that form in the next few
weeks, when Southampton (h), Everton (a), Hull City (h) and Stoke (a) await.
West Ham are currently 11th in the Premier League with 28 points from 26
games - just two points shy of last season's tally at the same stage.
First five back
How a rejuvenated West Ham performed after returning from Dubai
2011/12 (February 2012)
Spurs (h) 2-3
Stoke (a) 1-0
Chelsea (a) 0-2
West Brom (h) 3-1
Liverpool (a) 0-0
2012/13 (February 2013)
Cardiff (a) 2-0
Watford (h) 1-1
Doncaser (h) 1-1
Leeds Utd (a) 1-1
Middlesbrough (h) 1-1
2013/14 (February 2014)
Southampton (h)
Everton (a)
Hull City (h)
Stoke City (a)
Man Utd (h)
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Antonio Nocerino joined West Ham to aid World Cup push
Last Updated: 17/02/14 4:00pm
SSN
Antonio Nocerino is hoping to enjoy a productive loan spell at West Ham
United and force his way into Italy's World Cup squad. The combative
midfielder completed a move from AC Milan towards the end of the January
transfer window and will see out the season at Upton Park. He has been eased
into English football by Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, making four substitute
appearances so far. It is the 28-year-old's intention to soon step off the
bench and into the starting XI, with a desire to take in regular football
having driven his switch from Serie A. Nocerino believes that if he can
convince Allardyce that he is deserving of a prominent role in his Premier
League plans, than a seat on the plane to Brazil this summer could also be
within his reach. A man who has been capped on 15 occasions by his country
told Radio Deejay: "I hope this spell with help me get back into the Italian
squad. "One of the reasons I came to West Ham and to the Premier League is
to play on a regular basis. "My first objective is to play for West Ham and
help the club move up the table. "From that, if I am playing well and I get
picked to go to the World Cup in Brazil, that will be an added bonus."
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INTERVIEW: JONJO HEUERMAN - A TRUE INSPIRATION.
By ExWHUemployee 17 Feb 2014 at 22:05
West ham Till I Die
"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes
life meaningful". –Joshua J. Marine.
I like to think I set myself challenges and that I have met the majority
that I have. However, I have never set challenges as great as Jonjo Heuerman
or achieved as much as he has and all by the age of 12. I have followed
Jonjo's work from the very start as he raises money for charities very close
to my own heart and of course is a fellow Hammer. As Jonjo is about to
embark on his next challenge on Tuesday 18th Feb, I thought it was the
perfect time to ask him some questions and find out more about his work.
I am sure most people who follow West Ham know of your work but could you
please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am 12 years old and I was my Nanny's only grandson when she passed away
from bowel cancer. I started secondary school in September and I have only
just told my school that I fundraise. I like to keep my school life and my
friends separate from my fundraising. I really like meeting people and I
love football.
What else do you like to do when you are not raising money?
I love to be at West Ham United, I have been a season ticket holder since I
was 4 years old. I also collect 1966 World Cup and West Ham United football
memorabilia. I'm just a normal kid and I do normal things. I play on my Xbox
and I love to play football and see my friends. My favourite time is playing
football with my dog. She is a great goalkeeper. I am really interested in
cooking and I would like to be a chef when I am older.
Which charities do you raise money for?
I fund raise for The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. I chose this
charity because my Nanny and Bobby Moore both died from bowel cancer.
When and how did your charity work start?
When my Nanny died my sister did some fundraising. She raised £10,000 for
our local hospice. I watched what she did and I helped her. I wanted to do
something for my Nanny's memory too so I asked my Mum if I could walk from
Wembley to West Ham United. She is not very good at directions and she
thought because they were in London they were close. My first walk took me 3
days and was 27 miles and I way 9 years old. I started on my own with my
family and I was on TV a lot and when I finished lots of people came to walk
with me.
I do my walk every year in February half term because it's the same week as
my Nanny and Bobby's anniversary. People from around the world come to walk
with me and people send me angel names of people who they lost to cancer
too. I put all the names on my walk Tshirt and I read out the names on the
last day of my challenge at a special memorial ceremony. I have walked
almost 200 miles now for nearly 300 angels. I also help by organising events
all year too.
Can you tell me about some of your biggest fundraising events?
My biggest event was The Big Football Tag. I asked every one of the 92
English Football League club captains to give me a signed captains armband.
I then organised a tag event where fans from each club took their club
captain's armband to the next club in the tag. The armbands were attached to
sashes with GPS trackers attached. On the first day of my 2013 challenge I
waited at the gates of Upton Park to wait for the armbands to arrive on foot
and to tag me. It was amazing, from all around the country they came and
within half an hour I had every armband. I carried them to Wembley to get
the England captain's armband for Bobby and bring it back to Upton Park. My
walk took me 6 days and I walked 66 miles. All of the armbands are being
auctioned for the charity.
I have seen many West Ham greats and other famous people support your work,
have you any special memories from any dealings with them?
I was invited to meet David Cameron at Downing Street. That was pretty
special. He is an Aston Villa supporter and I told him he supported the
wrong claret and blue and he thought it was funny. Speaking at events at the
House of Lords was great too.
I have met Billy Bonds a lot and last time he was telling me off for not
eating properly. I am a really bad eater and he was trying to get me to eat
chicken with him. He made me promise and to train properly for my challenge.
All of The Boys of 86 are kind to me and is the first team squad, the owners
and staff at West Ham too. A lot of celebrity fans follow me on Twitter and
they are kind too and Stephanie Moore is very proud of me. I have had a
great time meeting people.
You are due to start another event this Tuesday, could you tell me more
about it?
I am starting a 50 mile 5 day football dribble from the centre circle of
Southend United to the centre circle of West Ham United before kick off
against Southampton. I start the day after my nanny's anniversary and I
finish the day before Bobby's anniversary. I have two footballs and I am
inviting people to come and dribble with me. Lots of people are joining in
and I am trying to raise £50,000 for The Bobby Moore Fund.
How can readers support you and contribute to the cause?
They can support me by visiting my Website and buying my charity badges and
wristbands or by donating on JustGiving or by coming and joining in. I am
trying to get fans to walk the last mile with me – One Moore Mile. They can
meet me at the junction of Romford Road and Green Street on 22nd February
2014 at 1:30pm. There is a lot of information about my challenge on my
website and I will be wearing a GPS tracker so people can watch my progress
or find me to join in. There are maps on my website too.
If fans cannot walk with me they can meet me at the Barking Road statue at
2pm on 22nd February for my memorial service. There is a lot of people
coming and it's going to be really special this year. They can also follow
me on Facebook and Twitter. I like reading the messages on there because it
encourages me.
What are your future ambitions?
I want to be a chef and I want to keep fundraising and help find a cure one
day. I am walking in Ireland in April and I have been asked to walk to The
Vatican, and to walk in New York but I don't know how or when because of my
school work.
Is there anything you would like to say to the readers out there?
I want to say a big thank you to West Ham fans and the club for helping me.
I have raised £150,000 so far and the charity estimates that I have
generated over £1m in awareness too and I couldn't do it without lots of
help. Thank you for helping me Make Bobby Proud
I would really like to thank Jonjo for taking the time to answer these
questions for me, the day before such a big event. I am sure, like me, you
find his work inspirational and would encourage you all to support Jonjo and
help him reach his fundraising targets. Good luck Jonjo from the West Ham
family!!
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EXCLUSIVE: THE PLAN TO BECOME DEBT FREE BEFORE WE MOVE
By Sean Whetstone 17 Feb 2014 at 08:46
West Ham Till I Die
When the recent West Ham company accounts were published it showed an
outstanding bank debt of £44m in 2013. The re-financing of that debt on 1st
July last year appears to have reduced the current bank debt from £44m to
£32m not including the £5m short term season pay day loan from Vibrac. The
new refinancing deal was secured as a mortgage against the Boleyn Ground and
the other freehold land held by the club. The terms of the new loans are the
bank debts need to be paid off or refinanced by the end of 2016.
Interestingly the new bankers are named as CB Holding ehf and David Sullivan
replacing the previous syndicate of five banks from the Icelandic days.
I can exclusive reveal the terms of the re-financing deal for the first
time.
In May/June 2013 David Sullivan bought a further 25% of the shares in the
club from CB holdings on condition they used the money David paid them to
loan back to the club to replace the main bank debt for 3 years by paying
off the existing bankers. David Sullivan paid £25.5m for these shares which
ultimately ended back in the club to refinance the bank debt. However, there
remained a 15% hole of £3.8m in cash needed to pay off the syndicate of five
banks, so David Sullivan personally took 15% of the main bank debt so that
it could be paid off. It was the only way it could be done as no other banks
were prepared to loan us the money. Effectively, David Sullivan become one
of our bankers and is named as such in the 2013 financial accounts. It means
he invested another £25.5m last year on top of the £10.5m Gold and himself
loaned the club last season as shareholder loans. CB Holdings have also
loaned West ham £6.7m to take the total bank debt to £32.2m.
With the sale of the Boleyn ground announced last week the chairmen have a
plan to be almost debt free by May 2016 when we move to the Olympic Stadium.
The current plan is to pay off £5m per year off the bank debt over the next
two remaining years at the Boleyn. This reduces the bank debt to £22m by
which time we will need to move out and pay off the loans secured against
the Boleyn ground. The proceeds of the sale of the Boleyn ground to Galliard
Homes will pay the £15m we owe to the LLDC towards Olympic Stadium
transformation costs and the surplus of the sale will be used to pay off the
remaining bank debt.
I understand Galliard homes were not the highest bidder in the tender
process by some distance but considered by the directors as the best fit to
preserve the history of the area. Hopes that there would be a surplus from
the sale to invest in redeveloping Rush Green or investing in new players
now appear to be unfounded. This debt reduction plan relies on West Ham
remaining in Premier League until 2016. If we get relegated in the next 3
years all bets and plans to be debt free are off!
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Is Ravel Morrison really the problem?
James Jones
February 17, 2014
WestHamWorld.co.uk
Ravel Morrison's high profile loan switch to QPR has uncovered a number of
'conspiracies' behind his rise and fall at West Ham this season.
When things started going pear shaped and we began seeing less and less of
Morrison in the starting line-up, and then the match day squad, the
automatic feeling was that the player himself had been causing trouble
behind the scenes.
His reputation of being a bad boy automatically meant that he was the one
orchestrating the trouble in the dressing room, apparently pushing for a
move to Fulham and frequently missing training.
Such accusations, along with the Fulham debacle, sparked fans giving
Morrison abuse on Twitter and Instagram, some of which was quite disgusting
and uncalled for.
Of course, a lot of the bad comments people made towards him were out of
frustration more than anything. Hearing that your club's most promising
youngster has been pushing for a move and causing trouble in the dressing
room is obviously going to frustrate and upset the fans who had enjoyed
watching him play earlier in the season, and had also given him hero-like
status for his goal in the 3-0 win over Spurs at White Hart Lane.
But after all of that and all of the accusations towards Ravel, stories have
emerged this week that suggest it's actually Sam Allardyce who has played a
big part in Ravel being sent out on loan and potentially going AWOL.
On the back of Allardyce's claims that Morrison is refusing to play with a
groin injury that he has 100% recovered from, Morrison's agent Nick Rubery
went public to claim Morrison had fallen out with the manager due to
attempts to get him to switch agents.
According to Rubery, Allardyce asked Morrison to ditch him for his own agent
Mark Curtis. The trouble is, Morrison sees Rubery as a very close friend and
is unwilling to ditch him under the orders of Allardyce. And why should he?
To help line the pockets of Allardyce? Perhaps Big Sam is looking for one
last pay day before the owners tell him to pack his bags in the summer?
Maybe we'll never know.
But this is, in a nutshell, the reason behind the fall-out. We may never
find out the truth behind what has happened over the last couple of months,
but what I think is vital to all of this is that we shouldn't be publicly
attacking Morrison for his apparent trouble making when, in fact, he may not
have actually done anything wrong at all.
Yes, he has a history and a reputation but, given how successful and grown
up he had become early on this season, it does seem a bit strange that
suddenly it's all been ruined and he's off to QPR. Surely something must
have sparked the current situation? Why would he have thrown away what was
promising to be a successful and popular West Ham career for a loan move to
a Championship side?
Underneath one of Morrison's recent Instagram posts he reacted to an angry
comment towards by saying something like 'You wait until the truth comes
out.' To me, that suggests there was behind this than just him being the bad
boy he is always being made out to be.
So with all of that in mind, perhaps it's time to stop hounding the player
and wait to see if the actual truth does come out. Let Morrison go to QPR
and continue his development as a player – he'll certainly do that under
Harry Redknapp – and then assess the situation once he returns in the
summer.
If we are going to hold on to Ravel by offering him a new contract and him
agreeing to pen-to-paper, he is going to need to feel wanted not just by the
club, but by the fans.
So until we learn all the ins and outs about this, we should support
Morrison and wish him all the best at Loftus Road.
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http://vyperz.blogspot.com
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WHUFC.com
West Ham United are calling on supporters to offer their views on a fitting
finale for the Boleyn Ground
17.02.2014
As West Ham United prepare for a future at the Olympic Stadium, the Club are
pressing on with plans to finalise a fitting farewell to the Club's home of
110 years. With two-and-a-half years to give the Boleyn Ground the perfect
send-off, the Hammers are calling on supporters to leave their mark on
proceedings.
The Hammers' Supporter Advisory Board (SAB) members have already got the
ball rolling and this is your chance to tell them how you envisage the
Club's final Upton Park season taking shape. So should you know an SAB
member and would like to share your ideas and memories, please get in touch
with them. During a recent meeting, the SAB discussed the prospect of themed
matches for each and every game of the final season and the celebrations
surrounding the very last game. The Club is also collating opinion on a
grand final-curtain event. Meanwhile, the SAB showed a great deal of
interest in the auction of Boleyn Ground memorabilia, as well as
commemorative tours in the final season. As it stands, the SAB has already
offered the following suggestions and the Club is keen to compile many more.
· A countdown clock in the Boleyn, ticking down to the first whistle of the
final game.
· Breaking the world record for the most people simultaneously blowing
bubbles on the last day at the Boleyn.
· A commemorative programme similar to the very first ever issued.
· Guard of honour of both former and current players as part of the last
moments at the Boleyn.
As expected, there were differing views on how exactly the final Boleyn
Ground game might shape up and similarly on the look of a commemorative home
shirt. With that in mind, the wider consultation of the fan base is even
more important, so make sure your voice is heard.
For the full report of the SAB's last meeting, click here, while the
Farewell to the Boleyn Ground focus group is set to reconvene on Tuesday 25
February. Future consultation topics will include:
· What would supporters like the commemorative kit to look like? Should it
be the traditional claret and blue or a limited edition kit?
· Suggestions on possible themed matches, allowing supporters to vote for
their favourites.
· Detailed list of what Boleyn Ground tours should include in the lead-up to
the move.
· Begin to outline and elaborate on plans for a closing ceremony at the
Boleyn Ground.
· Thoughts on how the Club can best collate fan stories and memories through
the years at the Boleyn.
· Conduct a detailed discussion of possible items to be included in the
auction.
The SAB is your platform and the Club looks forward to hearing from as many
supporters as possible in the coming weeks and months,not least with the
prospect of celebrating the Club's 120th anniversary next season.
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Macca looking forward to Open Training
WHUFC.com
West Ham United assistant boss is looking forward to welcoming Season Ticket
Holders to training
17.02.2014
West Ham United will swap their warm-weather training camp for a setting
closer to home when they host an exclusive open training session for Season
Ticket Holders and Corporate Members at the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday. The
Hammers will train in front of the fans as the preparations for Saturday's
Barclays Premier League clash with Southampton continue. Gates open at 10am,
with training scheduled to begin at 10.30am, and assistant boss Neil
McDonald is looking forward to allowing the supporters a behind-the-scenes
look at how the first team squad prepares for a game. McDonald said: "The
fans have been fantastic, even when we haven't been performing to where we
thought we would. They stood by the team, so it's great that our form is
improving as it sends people home with smiles on their faces. "We'll try and
show them what we do, all the way from pre warm-up to warm-up, a little bit
of possession and finishing. It just gives them a little outline of how we
work."
McDonald believes the week of training in Dubai has set his team up for a
strong end to the 2013/14 Barclays Premier League campaign. The Hammers have
visited the Middle East for similar trips the last two years, with promotion
to the Premier League and a top-half finish last season being secured upon
their return to action. "I thought it was a great camp," he continued. "It
was perfect timing for us, as leading up to the last few weeks, we hadn't
been getting good results, so fixing the trip up in itself had a motivation
for the lads as they had something to look forward to. "We got some good
results, beating Norwich, Aston Villa and Swansea, and drawing with Chelsea.
The results have been fantastic over the last three or four weeks and that's
just cemented the good week we had in Dubai. Hopefully we can get the same
results when we come back. "We hope this trip has a positive impact on
results like it has done the previous two seasons. Everybody coming back
from injury has given everyone a boost. The signings that the manager has
made have done the same and there's lots of competition for places. "That's
certainly shown at the moment - we have Winston Reid who was at the heart of
the defence before who can't get in the team because we're keeping clean
sheets and playing well. "The bar has been set a little bit higher, which is
great, and everybody is full of confidence - that has shown on the field in
the last four games. When the confidence comes back everyone performs that
little bit better and everyone has a smile on their face.
"Certainly Dubai has made everyone happier too, because it was beautiful
weather, we were staying in a beautiful place and training was at a
fantastic facility, so hopefully that will kick us on for the rest of the
season."
The Hammers made the most of the conditions in Dubai to train with the sun
on their backs and McDonald says the benefits will be both physical and
mental in nature. He continued: "You can see from the photographs that we
were able to train in t-shirts and shorts. The weather, as everybody knows,
has been horrendous at home over the last few weeks, so it has been good for
them to get some vitamin D in their bodies. "We were still doing a little
bit of technical work and work in the gym. It was time for them to relax
their aching bodies, because the majority of them have played a lot of games
over the Christmas and January periods."
West Ham returned to London on Sunday, although Andy Carroll and Joey
O'Brien remained in Dubai for additional warm-weather work as they remain
unavailable for first team selection due to suspension and injury
respectively. McDonald explained: "With Joey's shoulder injury, it's good
for him to do some work in the sea. It's good for him to have the sun on his
back when he's working, so that will try to cheer him up because you know
what players are like when they're injured. He's been out with the rest of
the lads and that's fantastic for him. "For Andy it's just a continuation of
his rehabilitation, really. He's worked very, very hard to get himself fit
and he's made an impact since coming back. "Unfortunately he got sent-off
against Swansea, and we still can't believe that happened. He's still got
one more game of his suspension against Southampton, so we decided to leave
him out there with the rehab fitness coach Eduardo Garcia. He's there with
both of them to do some work in the sun, and Andy will come back ready and
raring to go for Everton."
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The public gets what the public wants
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 17th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
Referee Mark Clattenburg is to take charge of West Ham United's Premier
League clash with Southampton this weekend - his first Saints appointment
since they filed a complaint against him last year.
The south coast club reported Clattenburg to the Professional Game Match
Officials Board back in December when it was claimed he told Saints captain
Adam Lallana: "You are very different now, since you've played for England -
you never used to be like this". The complaint was later dismissed by the
FA.
It will also be the first time that Clattenberg - who West Ham supporters
ironically chanted for during the 3-1 victory against Chelsea in December
2012 - has officiated a United game since New Years' Day, when he dismissed
Kevin Nolan in the 2-1 defeat at Fulham. That was the most recent incident
in a long charge sheet for Clattenburg where the Hammers are concerned.
On New Years' Day 2013, the Durham official angered Norwich boss Chris
Hughton for refusing to either of two penalty appeals - correctly, so it was
later proved - in a 2-1 win for the Hammers at the Boleyn Ground. Earlier
that season he was criticised for being "card happy" when booking ten
players in a 2-1 win for West Ham at QPR.
In 2010 Clattenburg left fans questioning his parentage on no less than
three occasions. A 4-0 Carling Cup quarter final win against Manchester
United would have been even more emphatic had he spotted a clear foul on
substitute Zavon Hines in the game's closing stages, whilst his decision to
rule out Freddie Piquionne's perfectly legal injury time 'winner' at Wolves
baffled many.
The FA Cup 3rd round tie with Arsenal in January at that year also ended
controversially when Clattenburg ignored a clear infringement on Alessandro
Diamanti with the score at 0-0. West Ham went on to lose the game 2-1.
Clattenburg had previously left Gianfranco Zola fuming during a 3-3 draw at
Hull in November 2009 when awarding a soft penalty against Julien Faubert -
though Zola's mood improved somewhat when the 38-year-old failed to spot a
far worse offence by Matthew Upson later in the same game. Zola was less
forgiving three months previously when Clattenburg refused to award a
penalty when Luis Jimenez was tripped inside the box by Spurs' Essou-Ekotto.
Lee Bowyer was another victim of Clattenburg's back in 2008, when he was
dismissed for what appeared to be an innocuous challenge during a 1-1 draw
against Birmingham. The FA agreed and rescinded the card on appeal.
Then-manager Alan Curbishley had also criticised the referee in January of
that year for denying Bowyer (again) a clear penalty at Manchester City.
West Ham's biggest away win in recent years - a 5-0 thrashing of Derby
County at Pride Park back in 2007 - was also marred (very slightly,
admittedly) by Clattenburg's decision to award a free kick instead of a
penalty when Luis Boa Morte was felled inside the area during the first
half.
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Getting mean
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 17th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
West Ham required 17 points from their remaining 12 Premier League fixtures
to match the mean number of points accrued by the Club in the Premier League
since the turn of the century.
The Hammers have spent ten seasons in the top flight since 2000, since when
the various teams - managed by Harry Redknapp, Glenn Roeder, Alan Pardew,
Alan Curbishley, Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant and now Sam Allardyce - have
averaged 45 points over the course of the campaign with an average
13th-place finish.
Currently, West Ham have accrued 28 points from their first 26 games, just
slightly lower than the average tally of 30 points (with an average position
of 14th) for the same period at this stage.
However Sam Allardyce will be hoping his team can continue their excellent
recent form, which has earned West Ham ten vital points from their last four
outings - keeping clean sheets in all four - for the remainder of the
2013/14 season.
In order to achieve the average points tally of 45, West Ham need to take
1.4 points per game for the remainder of the season.
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Go on my sun!
KUMB.com
Filed: Monday, 17th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
Sam Allardyce will be hoping the mid-season trip to Dubai will have a
similar effect on his team's fortunes to that in the last two seasons. Since
first making the now-annual trip with his squad at the end of February 2012,
Allardyce's West Ham have posted generally favourable results immediately
after returning to the UK. Two years ago, when still a Championship side,
the Hammers returned from Dubai at the end of February before embarking on a
seven-match unbeaten run that finally ended with a 4-2 home defeat against
Reading on the final day of March - the only defeat they suffered prior to
the end of the campaign. And last year the Hammers guaranteed their Premier
League place thanks to another decent run of form that followed the trip.
Despite losing 3-2 at home to Spurs - thanks to a last-minute Gareth Bale
'worldy' - in their first game back on British soil, only one of the seven
subsequent fixtures was to end in defeat (a 2-0 reversal at Chelsea) as West
Ham went on the secure a top ten finish in their first season back in the
top flight. Speaking about the 2011/12 promotion push last year, Allardyce
recalled: "We had a fantastic finish to the season and I still think the
trip that we had at this time last year was a big benefit in the end for
getting us promoted into the Premier League. "Nearly everybody does it today
which obviously is a benefit to you and the team, and the results when you
come back."
Allardyce will be hoping his team can emulate that form in the next few
weeks, when Southampton (h), Everton (a), Hull City (h) and Stoke (a) await.
West Ham are currently 11th in the Premier League with 28 points from 26
games - just two points shy of last season's tally at the same stage.
First five back
How a rejuvenated West Ham performed after returning from Dubai
2011/12 (February 2012)
Spurs (h) 2-3
Stoke (a) 1-0
Chelsea (a) 0-2
West Brom (h) 3-1
Liverpool (a) 0-0
2012/13 (February 2013)
Cardiff (a) 2-0
Watford (h) 1-1
Doncaser (h) 1-1
Leeds Utd (a) 1-1
Middlesbrough (h) 1-1
2013/14 (February 2014)
Southampton (h)
Everton (a)
Hull City (h)
Stoke City (a)
Man Utd (h)
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Antonio Nocerino joined West Ham to aid World Cup push
Last Updated: 17/02/14 4:00pm
SSN
Antonio Nocerino is hoping to enjoy a productive loan spell at West Ham
United and force his way into Italy's World Cup squad. The combative
midfielder completed a move from AC Milan towards the end of the January
transfer window and will see out the season at Upton Park. He has been eased
into English football by Hammers boss Sam Allardyce, making four substitute
appearances so far. It is the 28-year-old's intention to soon step off the
bench and into the starting XI, with a desire to take in regular football
having driven his switch from Serie A. Nocerino believes that if he can
convince Allardyce that he is deserving of a prominent role in his Premier
League plans, than a seat on the plane to Brazil this summer could also be
within his reach. A man who has been capped on 15 occasions by his country
told Radio Deejay: "I hope this spell with help me get back into the Italian
squad. "One of the reasons I came to West Ham and to the Premier League is
to play on a regular basis. "My first objective is to play for West Ham and
help the club move up the table. "From that, if I am playing well and I get
picked to go to the World Cup in Brazil, that will be an added bonus."
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INTERVIEW: JONJO HEUERMAN - A TRUE INSPIRATION.
By ExWHUemployee 17 Feb 2014 at 22:05
West ham Till I Die
"Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes
life meaningful". –Joshua J. Marine.
I like to think I set myself challenges and that I have met the majority
that I have. However, I have never set challenges as great as Jonjo Heuerman
or achieved as much as he has and all by the age of 12. I have followed
Jonjo's work from the very start as he raises money for charities very close
to my own heart and of course is a fellow Hammer. As Jonjo is about to
embark on his next challenge on Tuesday 18th Feb, I thought it was the
perfect time to ask him some questions and find out more about his work.
I am sure most people who follow West Ham know of your work but could you
please tell us a little bit about yourself?
I am 12 years old and I was my Nanny's only grandson when she passed away
from bowel cancer. I started secondary school in September and I have only
just told my school that I fundraise. I like to keep my school life and my
friends separate from my fundraising. I really like meeting people and I
love football.
What else do you like to do when you are not raising money?
I love to be at West Ham United, I have been a season ticket holder since I
was 4 years old. I also collect 1966 World Cup and West Ham United football
memorabilia. I'm just a normal kid and I do normal things. I play on my Xbox
and I love to play football and see my friends. My favourite time is playing
football with my dog. She is a great goalkeeper. I am really interested in
cooking and I would like to be a chef when I am older.
Which charities do you raise money for?
I fund raise for The Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK. I chose this
charity because my Nanny and Bobby Moore both died from bowel cancer.
When and how did your charity work start?
When my Nanny died my sister did some fundraising. She raised £10,000 for
our local hospice. I watched what she did and I helped her. I wanted to do
something for my Nanny's memory too so I asked my Mum if I could walk from
Wembley to West Ham United. She is not very good at directions and she
thought because they were in London they were close. My first walk took me 3
days and was 27 miles and I way 9 years old. I started on my own with my
family and I was on TV a lot and when I finished lots of people came to walk
with me.
I do my walk every year in February half term because it's the same week as
my Nanny and Bobby's anniversary. People from around the world come to walk
with me and people send me angel names of people who they lost to cancer
too. I put all the names on my walk Tshirt and I read out the names on the
last day of my challenge at a special memorial ceremony. I have walked
almost 200 miles now for nearly 300 angels. I also help by organising events
all year too.
Can you tell me about some of your biggest fundraising events?
My biggest event was The Big Football Tag. I asked every one of the 92
English Football League club captains to give me a signed captains armband.
I then organised a tag event where fans from each club took their club
captain's armband to the next club in the tag. The armbands were attached to
sashes with GPS trackers attached. On the first day of my 2013 challenge I
waited at the gates of Upton Park to wait for the armbands to arrive on foot
and to tag me. It was amazing, from all around the country they came and
within half an hour I had every armband. I carried them to Wembley to get
the England captain's armband for Bobby and bring it back to Upton Park. My
walk took me 6 days and I walked 66 miles. All of the armbands are being
auctioned for the charity.
I have seen many West Ham greats and other famous people support your work,
have you any special memories from any dealings with them?
I was invited to meet David Cameron at Downing Street. That was pretty
special. He is an Aston Villa supporter and I told him he supported the
wrong claret and blue and he thought it was funny. Speaking at events at the
House of Lords was great too.
I have met Billy Bonds a lot and last time he was telling me off for not
eating properly. I am a really bad eater and he was trying to get me to eat
chicken with him. He made me promise and to train properly for my challenge.
All of The Boys of 86 are kind to me and is the first team squad, the owners
and staff at West Ham too. A lot of celebrity fans follow me on Twitter and
they are kind too and Stephanie Moore is very proud of me. I have had a
great time meeting people.
You are due to start another event this Tuesday, could you tell me more
about it?
I am starting a 50 mile 5 day football dribble from the centre circle of
Southend United to the centre circle of West Ham United before kick off
against Southampton. I start the day after my nanny's anniversary and I
finish the day before Bobby's anniversary. I have two footballs and I am
inviting people to come and dribble with me. Lots of people are joining in
and I am trying to raise £50,000 for The Bobby Moore Fund.
How can readers support you and contribute to the cause?
They can support me by visiting my Website and buying my charity badges and
wristbands or by donating on JustGiving or by coming and joining in. I am
trying to get fans to walk the last mile with me – One Moore Mile. They can
meet me at the junction of Romford Road and Green Street on 22nd February
2014 at 1:30pm. There is a lot of information about my challenge on my
website and I will be wearing a GPS tracker so people can watch my progress
or find me to join in. There are maps on my website too.
If fans cannot walk with me they can meet me at the Barking Road statue at
2pm on 22nd February for my memorial service. There is a lot of people
coming and it's going to be really special this year. They can also follow
me on Facebook and Twitter. I like reading the messages on there because it
encourages me.
What are your future ambitions?
I want to be a chef and I want to keep fundraising and help find a cure one
day. I am walking in Ireland in April and I have been asked to walk to The
Vatican, and to walk in New York but I don't know how or when because of my
school work.
Is there anything you would like to say to the readers out there?
I want to say a big thank you to West Ham fans and the club for helping me.
I have raised £150,000 so far and the charity estimates that I have
generated over £1m in awareness too and I couldn't do it without lots of
help. Thank you for helping me Make Bobby Proud
I would really like to thank Jonjo for taking the time to answer these
questions for me, the day before such a big event. I am sure, like me, you
find his work inspirational and would encourage you all to support Jonjo and
help him reach his fundraising targets. Good luck Jonjo from the West Ham
family!!
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EXCLUSIVE: THE PLAN TO BECOME DEBT FREE BEFORE WE MOVE
By Sean Whetstone 17 Feb 2014 at 08:46
West Ham Till I Die
When the recent West Ham company accounts were published it showed an
outstanding bank debt of £44m in 2013. The re-financing of that debt on 1st
July last year appears to have reduced the current bank debt from £44m to
£32m not including the £5m short term season pay day loan from Vibrac. The
new refinancing deal was secured as a mortgage against the Boleyn Ground and
the other freehold land held by the club. The terms of the new loans are the
bank debts need to be paid off or refinanced by the end of 2016.
Interestingly the new bankers are named as CB Holding ehf and David Sullivan
replacing the previous syndicate of five banks from the Icelandic days.
I can exclusive reveal the terms of the re-financing deal for the first
time.
In May/June 2013 David Sullivan bought a further 25% of the shares in the
club from CB holdings on condition they used the money David paid them to
loan back to the club to replace the main bank debt for 3 years by paying
off the existing bankers. David Sullivan paid £25.5m for these shares which
ultimately ended back in the club to refinance the bank debt. However, there
remained a 15% hole of £3.8m in cash needed to pay off the syndicate of five
banks, so David Sullivan personally took 15% of the main bank debt so that
it could be paid off. It was the only way it could be done as no other banks
were prepared to loan us the money. Effectively, David Sullivan become one
of our bankers and is named as such in the 2013 financial accounts. It means
he invested another £25.5m last year on top of the £10.5m Gold and himself
loaned the club last season as shareholder loans. CB Holdings have also
loaned West ham £6.7m to take the total bank debt to £32.2m.
With the sale of the Boleyn ground announced last week the chairmen have a
plan to be almost debt free by May 2016 when we move to the Olympic Stadium.
The current plan is to pay off £5m per year off the bank debt over the next
two remaining years at the Boleyn. This reduces the bank debt to £22m by
which time we will need to move out and pay off the loans secured against
the Boleyn ground. The proceeds of the sale of the Boleyn ground to Galliard
Homes will pay the £15m we owe to the LLDC towards Olympic Stadium
transformation costs and the surplus of the sale will be used to pay off the
remaining bank debt.
I understand Galliard homes were not the highest bidder in the tender
process by some distance but considered by the directors as the best fit to
preserve the history of the area. Hopes that there would be a surplus from
the sale to invest in redeveloping Rush Green or investing in new players
now appear to be unfounded. This debt reduction plan relies on West Ham
remaining in Premier League until 2016. If we get relegated in the next 3
years all bets and plans to be debt free are off!
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Is Ravel Morrison really the problem?
James Jones
February 17, 2014
WestHamWorld.co.uk
Ravel Morrison's high profile loan switch to QPR has uncovered a number of
'conspiracies' behind his rise and fall at West Ham this season.
When things started going pear shaped and we began seeing less and less of
Morrison in the starting line-up, and then the match day squad, the
automatic feeling was that the player himself had been causing trouble
behind the scenes.
His reputation of being a bad boy automatically meant that he was the one
orchestrating the trouble in the dressing room, apparently pushing for a
move to Fulham and frequently missing training.
Such accusations, along with the Fulham debacle, sparked fans giving
Morrison abuse on Twitter and Instagram, some of which was quite disgusting
and uncalled for.
Of course, a lot of the bad comments people made towards him were out of
frustration more than anything. Hearing that your club's most promising
youngster has been pushing for a move and causing trouble in the dressing
room is obviously going to frustrate and upset the fans who had enjoyed
watching him play earlier in the season, and had also given him hero-like
status for his goal in the 3-0 win over Spurs at White Hart Lane.
But after all of that and all of the accusations towards Ravel, stories have
emerged this week that suggest it's actually Sam Allardyce who has played a
big part in Ravel being sent out on loan and potentially going AWOL.
On the back of Allardyce's claims that Morrison is refusing to play with a
groin injury that he has 100% recovered from, Morrison's agent Nick Rubery
went public to claim Morrison had fallen out with the manager due to
attempts to get him to switch agents.
According to Rubery, Allardyce asked Morrison to ditch him for his own agent
Mark Curtis. The trouble is, Morrison sees Rubery as a very close friend and
is unwilling to ditch him under the orders of Allardyce. And why should he?
To help line the pockets of Allardyce? Perhaps Big Sam is looking for one
last pay day before the owners tell him to pack his bags in the summer?
Maybe we'll never know.
But this is, in a nutshell, the reason behind the fall-out. We may never
find out the truth behind what has happened over the last couple of months,
but what I think is vital to all of this is that we shouldn't be publicly
attacking Morrison for his apparent trouble making when, in fact, he may not
have actually done anything wrong at all.
Yes, he has a history and a reputation but, given how successful and grown
up he had become early on this season, it does seem a bit strange that
suddenly it's all been ruined and he's off to QPR. Surely something must
have sparked the current situation? Why would he have thrown away what was
promising to be a successful and popular West Ham career for a loan move to
a Championship side?
Underneath one of Morrison's recent Instagram posts he reacted to an angry
comment towards by saying something like 'You wait until the truth comes
out.' To me, that suggests there was behind this than just him being the bad
boy he is always being made out to be.
So with all of that in mind, perhaps it's time to stop hounding the player
and wait to see if the actual truth does come out. Let Morrison go to QPR
and continue his development as a player – he'll certainly do that under
Harry Redknapp – and then assess the situation once he returns in the
summer.
If we are going to hold on to Ravel by offering him a new contract and him
agreeing to pen-to-paper, he is going to need to feel wanted not just by the
club, but by the fans.
So until we learn all the ins and outs about this, we should support
Morrison and wish him all the best at Loftus Road.
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Monday, February 17
Daily WHUFC News - 17th February 2014
Hammers complete Dubai stay
WHUFC.com
West Ham United ended their four-day trip to the UAE with a lively training
session at Dubai Sports City
16.02.2014
West Ham United ended their four-day trip to the UAE with a lively training
session at Dubai Sports City on Saturday afternoon. The players pulled on
their training kit and boots for the final time for a practice match at the
facility as they completed a hugely beneficial visit to the Emirate. Manager
Sam Allardyce, who organised the trip through his friendship with Dubai
Sports City Football Academy director of football and former Blackburn
Rovers defender Michel Salgado, said the players enjoyed the opportunity to
train in shorts and t-shirts, rather than the hats, gloves and tracksuits
needed back home at Chadwell Heath. "You can see from the mood of the
players how much they enjoy it," said Big Sam. "The amount of games we have
to play in December and January is our peak time so the players, physically
and mentally, are very tired. So getting out in the sun, relaxing in the
sun, training in the sun and enjoying each other's company is extremely
important. "We are the only country in Europe that does not have a
mid-season break sadly, so we have to try and fit the trip to Dubai in at
times like this. "The lads can recharge their batteries and experience has
taught me that after trips like this the lads' energy levels have
increased."
Big Sam has brought the Hammers to Dubai in each of the last three seasons,
with the team going on to achieve big things on their return in each of the
past two years. In 2012, West Ham went on to gain promotion via the
Championship Play-Offs. A year ago, they went on to finish tenth in the
Barclays Premier League. The manager said the use of state-of-the-art
facilities in Dubai for the past few days will, hopefully, lead to his squad
completing a hat-trick of strong finishes. "We contacted Michel and asked if
we could come and train here and, as always with Michel, he has been more
than helpful giving us these good facilities and in particular the grass,"
said Big Sam. "As everyone knows, it is not easy to grow grass in Dubai but
this is a very good surface for us. "Now the training facilities are
exceptionally good and with the warm weather you are guaranteed the sun as
well as the exceptional service."
Dubai Sports City were equally happy to welcome West Ham to the Emirate for
another successful trip. Salgado was proud to welcome a couple of very
familiar faces in Big Sam and assistant Neil McDonald, saying: "It was easy.
I worked with both the manager and the assistant manager at Blackburn
Rovers, they called me, told me they were coming to Dubai and asked if we
could organise training at our facilities. "I told them 'Look, we have got
amazing facilities, the best in Dubai, I think', and of course it is great
to have them here. Having West Ham United here after Swansea City and
(Russian side) Anzhi Makhachkala, it is one of the reasons why we have got
these facilities. "Having sides like this here makes the Dubai Sports City
Football Academy talked about and stand out - and rightly so given what we
have got here. We are absolutely delighted."
Dubai Sports City General Manager (Sports Business) Maqbul Dudhia explained:
"We are extremely proud to be hosting West Ham United at the Dubai Sports
City Football Academy and I know they have been delighted with what they
have found here - with world-class turf and artificial pitches and, of
course, perfect weather."The club's presence with us is another illustration
of Dubai Sports City's growing reputation around the sporting world and we
look forward to hosting more top clubs in the future. "The Dubai Sports City
Football Academy is just one of a host of outstanding, world-class
facilities we have, with others including the ICC Academy, The Els Club, the
Butch Harmon School of Golf and the Dubai International Stadium. All of them
are available to everyone, but the fact elite athletes are using them in
greater and greater numbers tells you all you need to know about the quality
of what we have to offer."
Having won their previous three matches without conceding, West Ham return
to action on Saturday 22 February, when they host Southampton at the Boleyn
Ground in the Barclays Premier League. Tickets are still available here.
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Lennox lauds Hammers' fight
WHUFC.com
West Ham United had Lennox Lewis in their corner as they floored the
Canaries on Tuesday evening
16.02.2014
Lennox Lewis has praised the battling qualities of his boyhood team West Ham
United after they went toe-to-toe with Norwich City on Tuesday. Lewis was at
the Boleyn Ground to cheer on the Hammers as they won 2-0 thanks to James
Collins' header and Mo Diame's last-minute sucker punch. Big Sam's side's
quick one-two pleased the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the
world, who was invited in to the dressing room to deliver some words of
encouragement before the game. "It felt great coming back," Lewis said.
"I've been away from West ham for a long time and I'm finally back. The guys
looked focused and pumped. "[When I went in the dressing room] I told the
boys that they should go out there and knock this team out, simple as that,
and if they need any help I'm here!"
Lewis' affection for West Ham can be traced back to his formative days
growing up as a youngster just around the corner from the Boleyn Ground.
Although he is now based in Jamaica, the 43-year-old insists his love for
the Club has not diminished and he will be a member of the Claret and Blue
Army for life. "I grew up in West Ham and I used to love West Ham United -
they were always my team. Just because I've got older it doesn't mean
they're not my team any more. I am West Ham for life! "Even if I'm in
Jamaica or in Miami I'm trying to find where I can watch a game so it
doesn't matter where I am, I'll always follow West Ham."
Lewis made his name by becoming Olympic Champion in 1988 before moving on to
a professional career that delivered an outstanding 41 wins from 44 fights.
His football team have Olympic ambitions of their own, with a move to the
iconic Olympic Stadium in 2016 on the horizon - a switch that excites the
most recent undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. "I'm very excited
about the move to the Olympic Stadium. I'm glad they got it - I don't know
what all the fuss was about," he concluded.
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Cole unveils new MRI scanner
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Joe Cole has officially opened a new 3-Tesla MRI scanner
at Holly House Hospital
16.02.2014
West Ham United midfielder Joe Cole has officially opened a new £1.5m
3-Tesla MRI scanner at Holly House Hospital in Buckhurst Hill. The
revolutionary machine is the first of its kind in Essex and the surrounding
area and means Holly House can provide more detailed images with greater
resolution and also scan smaller lesions and anatomy, particularly in
musculoskeletal, oncology and brain imaging. Cole cut the ribbon to open the
scanner, making Holly House one of only a handful of independent hospitals
outside central London to have a 3-Tesla - tesla is the unit of magnet
strength - MRI scanner. The Hammers use diagnostic services at Holly House
to assess the fitness and health of players through diagnostic
investigation, meaning Cole has been a regular visitor since his return to
the Club in January 2013. He said: "On behalf of West Ham United Football
Club, I would like to thank Holly House for all the help they have given us
over the years. We know how the MRI scanner can help with hamstring strain,
ankle problems and so on. But, we also understand how important the scanner
is to the local community's health."
Patients can enter the new MRI either feet or head first, so along with the
larger magnet bore the whole experience of having an MRI is far more
comfortable and less claustrophobic for patients. The process is also far
quicker and faster on a 3-Tesla scanner. The higher resolution imaging means
that it will no longer always be necessary to inject a dye into patients to
pick up internal images for certain examinations. Holly House imaging
services manager Michele Fox said: "The 3T MRI scanner is a new generation
in imaging technology - the imaging quality is very advanced and enables us
to see very fine bone and joint detail. We can even look at fine detailed
imaging of the brain. "Cancer patients will benefit from this advanced
technology greatly and for the first time ever our diagnostics team will now
be able to undertake cardiac work - which opens up a whole new world of
imaging for us."
This additional investment follows a major £20m expansion project at Holly
House in 2013, which doubled the size of the hospital's premises. New
facilities within the £20m development include a new outpatients department,
with 23 consulting rooms, as well as three new integrated theatres, a
pharmacy, pathology lab and endoscopy unit.
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It's time to mobilise
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 13th February 2014
By: Tom Kilbey
The scene is being set for the real conversation about safe standing in
English football grounds to begin.
Bristol City have this week become the first team to install safe standing
at their stadium, Ashton Gate. While the facilities will only initially be
used for rugby games that are played at the venue, it is another small step
in the journey. As a result of this, as well as some good work from lobbying
groups, the Football League have agreed to take up the discussion with the
government.
It's a start, albeit a small one.
It's time that fans come together to make it happen. What we lack in
legislative power, we make up for in numbers. Multiple groups have been set
up, and have collected signatures on various e-petitions. A quick Google
search took me to an e-petition which has collected 12,000 signatures from
football fans in support of safe standing at football grounds. This may
sound respectable at first glance, but I argue that this is a drop in the
ocean when compared to the number of fans who actually are in favour of safe
standing.
Consider for instance, that at every game at Upton Park, around 5,000 fans
stand throughout the entire game – and that's not even including away
supporters. It is safe to assume that each of them would be in favour of
safe standing, for multiple reasons which I shall come to in a moment.
Considering Upton Park is an average-sized Premier League ground, as an
extremely rough estimate, 20 lots of 5,000 fans is 100,000. And that's
before you factor in the thousands of fans from outside the Premier League,
and the inevitable thousands of fans who wish they could stand up at games,
and are forbidden to do so by stewards.
So while this is an appeal that applies to football fans across the country,
us West Ham fans have the potential to make the biggest difference. We have
a chairman who is fiercely in favour of introducing safe standing. We have a
body of hugely passionate fans who stand every game anyway. And most
importantly, we are moving into a new football stadium in the coming years,
which will require the building of new seating to incorporate the innovative
solution which will bring fans closer to the pitch. We have the potential to
lead the charge in making something happen.
Signing e-petitions is a start, but there's something hollow about adding
your name and email address to a list. You don't really have to be
passionate about something to sign an e-petition, and politicians and public
figures know this. Nor will complaining on Twitter make a difference. No
number of re-tweets will make your view heard by the people who really
matter. What's important is that we target those concerned directly. Local
MP's are a fantastic place to start. Plenty of clubs would, in theory, be in
support of the scheme. However, the reason it is not discussed is that it is
currently against the law to do so.
We can follow suit and take the "it's illegal so why waste time discussing
it?" approach. Or we can do something about it.
The main concerns with the lobbying attempts thus far are two fold; the
first, which I have already mentioned, is that not enough is being done to
target those who matter – in particular MP's. Secondly, there still appears
to be some misconception among fans about what safe standing will involve.
There remains a negative stigma attached to the phrase.
Some people envisage the idea as a return to the 1980s, a time when
hooliganism was rife in football and 96 people lost their lives on that
fateful afternoon of 15th April 1986. It is completely understandable why
people may have reservations, and the important thing is to acknowledge
these issues, and explaining why these would not be a problem under the
proposed solution by continuing to emphasise the key word – "safe".
The misconceptions of safe standing have been well emphasised by the
Football Supporters Federation. They key point regarding the Hillsborough
Tragedy is that standing fans did not cause the disaster per se. A report
cited overcrowding and poor policing as the main causes. This clearly would
not apply with safe standing, as the numbers of people being let into the
stadium would be just as regulated as for anywhere else in the stadium.
One key point that I would add is that, as I mentioned earlier, tens of
thousands stand at football games in areas designed for seating every single
week. This is caused by an overwhelming dismissal of current regulations
which forbids standing. In short, the current system is broken, and clearly,
standing in areas designed for sitting is far more dangerous than standing
in areas which are designed for standing. Introducing safe seating into
areas of some stadiums would surely make them a safer place to be.
The Football Supporters' Federation claim that every notable survey on the
issue has conclusively shown that fans are in favour of safe standing at
football ground. It is the perfect way to galvanise home atmospheres in a
safe and regulated environment. They cite a recent survey which was
completed by over 4,000 fans. 92 per cent of fans said that supporters
should have the option the stand at football grounds. The issue is that this
majority does not voice their opinion enough on the issue, and while groups
such as the FSF are pro-actively trying to change that, so much more needs
to be done.
This evening, I plan to write a letter to my local MP, Angela Watkinson,
asking for her support in the issue. I pledge for other West Ham fans who
are passionate about the issue to do the same. We need to bring the issue
into the limelight, and start to win over the people who have the potential
to make a difference. If we can do so, in 2016, when West Ham move into
their new home at the Olympic Stadium, we could be in a safe standing area
of the stadium.
And we can be proud that we helped make it happen.
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Reality Finally Kicks In
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 11th February 2014
By: Paul Walker
It all came as a bit of a shock in the end, something you always knew was
going to happen but up until now it had been a rather remote, distant dream.
So when that annoying little yellow strap-line across the bottom of the SSN
channel kicked into life, I was only half paying attention. More interested
in my morning coffee and a good old laugh at Manchester United's painful
decline.
But there it was. West Ham have sold the Boleyn ground. Ouch! I must admit
to feeling like I had been stabbed, and I was momentarily overcome by a
cold, sinking feeling. So my second home for more than 50 years was really
going to be bulldozed, the football ground that has been so very special to
four generations of my family, has been flogged off, seemingly not even to
the highest bidder.
Reality is such a painful thing. We all know that nobody really wants to go
to Stratford, but the vast majority of us have accepted the need for growth,
expansion and a bigger modern, new home. And yes, I voted that way too.
I have listened to Ms Torygirl CBE waffling on about how wonderful it will
be, well 'she would say that, wouldn't she?' with us paying her £1.6m for
seemingly doing her job… Planning and organising our move to the Olympic
Park was part of the job description so why the vast bonus? Wish I'd been
paid a bonus whenever I did my job properly.
I sense dear Karren will be around just long enough for the final details to
be sorted out before she is off to become the prospective Tory party
candidate for Cannock Chase, just up the road from where she lives. She
could even find herself with Stan Collymore as her very own constituent. Now
there's a thought.
Of course I see the sense in the move to Stratford, I just hope the £40m
plus we will get from the sale is used to pay off our debts. But there are
still nagging worries.
With the detail of the financial fair play regulations making it clear that
a small club will no longer be able to find a rich sugar daddy to pump in
Manchester City style billions, and with Barry Hearn still an annoying
sideshow, I just hope we get to the Olympic Stadium without any more
hiccups. And, of course, when we get there we will have sold our home, our
land and our memories.
And that is the real point for me. I had the chance recently to drive past
what used to be Manchester City's old Maine Road site, somewhere I have not
visited for ten years. It is a shock really, the place is a mess of tiny
white boxes (sorry, modern estate social housing) with bricked up roads
stopping traffic flow through it, and those rather nasty allyways that cut
through the area. Absolutely no Manchester City heritage.
We can only trust that the developers of Upton Park and Green Street will
provide a very different legacy, the say they will and it all sounds very
nice with statues and green space with buildings named after our past
heroes.
It is hard to visualise it parachuted into the space between the flats
behind the east stand and the old north bank, the school, church and
supporters club premises.
So while we are on the subject of legacy, I challenge our club not to make a
mess of three very important anniversaries coming up in the next few years,
dates that really underline exactly what our true history is.
One of them, the 50th anniversary of our first trophy victory, the 1964 FA
Cup Final win over Preston, is just a few weeks away now and so far I have
only noted Tony McDonald's excellent Ex magazine showing, not surprisingly,
any real interest.
But May 2 this year, the day before our final home game of the season
against Spurs, should be marked with every respect. It was the first great
occasion of our golden 60s era, for me a magical day watching the heroes of
my youth triumph at Wembley.
This weekend, in fact, will be the exact day 50 years ago that West Ham won
3-1 at Swindon in the fifth round. Of course we are just watching this
season's tournament from the sidelines after abdicating all interest in
proceedings after that shameful third round defeat at Nottingham Forest,
when the youth team were made to look silly on TV.
But I can remember that '64 run in detail. We had already beaten Charlton
and Leyton Orient--after a replay--when the Os were still a proper football
club that saw 36,000 crammed into Brisbane Road when it was still a real
stadium rather than Hearn's lego ground.
The Swindon victory was followed by a stunning 3-2 quarter final victory
over Burnley, when I can still see John Sissons squeezing the ball home from
a ridiculous acute angle, two goal Johnny Byrne did the rest.
The memorable mud lark in Sheffield followed when a truly great Manchester
United side were beaten 3-2 in the semi-finals, Ronnie Boyce's double doing
the damage that time. The Preston final did not live up to the billing, but
it was still a memorable day.
I didn't have a ticket until a few hours before kick-off, but my late father
got a phone call from a mate and we drove like lunatics from west London to
Slough to lay hands on the precious ticket(it had come south with a friend
of former Burnley owner Bob Lord).
So I found myself being driven at breakneck speed back to Wembley, dumped
there by my dad at the top of Wembley Way, only to find myself the only
person in claret and blue in the Preston end. I was still all on my own
there when Sir Bobby and the boys paraded the cup round the ground,
seemingly just for me in a near-empty section.
I was too excited to be properly grateful to my dad. It was only a long
while after that it dawned on me that he had given me his ticket for the
final and gone home to watch it on TV with mum, who had also been to Slough
and Wembley just for the ride! Not sure I could have done that.
That season saw Hurst and Byrne score 59 goals between them, with Sir Geoff
scoring seven in the cup run. And we only managed to finish 14th. A really
remarkable partnership.
The next 50th anniversary will be on May 19 next year, the day of our
European Cup Winners' Cup final victory over TSV Munich at Wembley. Dad even
got mum a ticket for that one, the only time she ever went to a football
match, when seemingly the whole of east London was there.
Dad and me saw all the home matches of the European run, tremendous
occasions that will live me forever.
Now there are six players left alive of the seven who played in both cup
final victories, Jim Standen, Jack Burkett, Ken Brown, Ronnie Boyce, Geoff
Hurst and John Sissons. Sadly Mooro is no longer with us. To me these seven
players are truly the greatest in our history by virtue of being in those
two final line-ups, 12 fantastic months apart.
They need to be remembered in the planned memorial gardens at the Boleyn
when we have all moved to Stratford, as well as in our new home. We used 15
players in those two finals, they must never be forgotten.
The final 50th anniversary will be on July 30, 2016 which marks the day we
won the World Cup. It is hard to believe those wonderful days were 50 years
ago, and I can recall them in great detail.
It should not be lost on our owners that the World Cup glory co-incides with
our move to the Olympic Stadium, give or take a couple of months. It surely
is not beyond the talents of our owners to build a tribute to our World Cup
heroes into the celebrations that will mark our move to Stratford. It should
nicely mark our legacy to England and to our great club.
I leave it in your hands lady and gentlemen. You need to get these three
days spot on, anything else will disrespect the legacy of our club you keep
on about.
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Sam Allardyce hopes West Ham will be raring to go after 'relaxing' Dubai
trip
Feb 16, 2014 16:07 By Alex Richards
The Mirror
West Ham's players have been put through their paces at Dubai Sports City in
the UAE in the last four days, a move which manager Sam Allardyce says will
rejuvenate them ahead of their final 12 Premier League matches. The Hammers
headed to Dubai on a trip organised by former Blackburn and Real Madrid
defender Michel Salgado, as they went for warm weather training ahead of the
season's run-in. The Irons went to the Emirates in high spirits after three
successive wins - which have moved them into 11th, four points clear of the
drop zone. And Allardyce believes that the enjoyment and relaxation enjoyed
in Dubai will help his players recharge after a busy New Year period. "You
can see from the mood of the players how much they enjoy it," said
Allardyce, speaking to West Ham's official website. "The amount of games we
have to play in December and January is our peak time so the players,
physically and mentally, are very tired. "So getting out in the sun,
relaxing in the sun, training in the sun and enjoying each other's company
is extremely important. "We are the only country in Europe that does not
have a mid-season break sadly, so we have to try and fit the trip to Dubai
in at times like this. "The lads can recharge their batteries and experience
has taught me that after trips like this the lads' energy levels have
increased."
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THE TWO SIDES OF RAVEL MORRISON & WHY HE IS OFF TO QPR
By ExWHUemployee 16 Feb 2014 at 19:50
West Ham Till I Die
It was yesterday that I brought my version of the Ravel Morrison story in my
Ironviews column. For those of you who haven't seen it, it may be a good
start point before reading this article. Here is the link at Ironviews
I wrote the article knowing that The Guardian were planning to release a
story that evening. I was informed that their column would be very one sided
and be backing the "mistreatment" of Morrison. I am led to believe that the
information provided for the article had been passed on via someone very
close to Ravel, so naturally it will be written to support their side to the
story and not the club's. The agent story has been around for at least two
months so you have to question how and why The Guardian has only just got
hold of the story as Ravel is due to leave. Read The Guardian story and make
up your own mind. I intend to give a more balanced view to the debate.
As I stated in yesterday's Ironviews article, Mark Curtis is the agent for
Big Sam as well as Nolan, Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Collison, Demel, Jarvis,
Tomkins and Andy Carroll. As well as this, he is also credited with being
the man who brought our new goalkeeping sensation Adrian to the club. You do
not have to look far for articles on Sam's relationship with Mark Curtis. A
simple search on Google brings up a list of allegations dating back way
before Sam's spell at West Ham.
So according to The Guardian, Ravel's imminent departure to QPR has been
blamed on the fact that Big Sam and Nolan (amongst others) have been putting
constant pressure on Ravel to switch agents. As I have stated previously
Ravel (and of course his agent) found this to be very offensive and
unprofessional such is the close relationship of Nick Rubery and Ravel
Morrison. The Guardian says West Ham have put this to the relevant people
and they strenuously deny it. Mark Curtis says it is "nonsense", and there
is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
As has been well documented Ravel had been through a lot previous to joining
West Ham and during his time here and he feels Mr Rubery has helped him
through this. The pressure was apparently constant with threats of not being
picked for the team if he didn't change and promises of big contracts if he
did.
Of course if this is true, and I am merely speculating, then it is a very
worrying position for us to be in as a club. In my opinion no signing should
be dictated by who their agent is. The sheer amount of money spent on agents
in the game in itself is wrong, let alone if it is dictating transfer
policy.
It has been well documented that Ravel has had some difficulties before he
joined the club, which it was felt were behind him but almost immediately he
joined there was an incident which the club understandably tried to 'hush
up'. It occurred at a pre-season training camp in Germany where there was an
altercation between Morrison and one of the coaches, in which there was a
physical bust-up. Ravel was then sent home to get "his teeth fixed" and
promptly moved on loan to Birmingham.
He settled down and did well during this loan spell and his talent meant he
was deservedly given a chance to impress this season and he did. After the
3-0 win at Spurs there were claims for him to be a surprise selection in the
World Cup team and things seemed to be going really well at the club.
Morrison and his agent have put his problems down to the agent situation but
I believe there are other reasons.
I was told that Ravel went to see the manager and demanded that he started
in front of Nolan, due to his captain's poor form. This naturally upset both
the manager and the captain and they believed this had been prompted by his
agent. Ravel was unhappy at never being played in Nolan's position and
having to settled for being on the wing or in a deeper role. I am also
informed that he questioned the team's style of play and this is backed up
by Nick Rubery's comments during the Chelsea game, where he tweeted that
only one team was trying to play football and it wasn't us.
I've just witnessed some serious anti-football tonight from one team. No
need to guess which one it was.
The tweet was promptly deleted.
Naturally these sorts of demands have turned a number of players against
Ravel. He has upset quite a few high profile players at the training ground,
one of which is Mr. West Ham, Mark Noble. You can also see players getting
frustrated during games. Matt Jarvis showing his frustration with during the
Nottingham Forest cup game being the last that I can remember. One or two
players voiced the view that they didn't want him in the team and that he
was having a negative impact.
Indeed, the straw which broke the camel's back for the West Ham management
was an alleged bustup in training last week between Winston Reid and Ravel
Morrison. It was a few days after this, a week ago tonight, that West Ham
Till I Die broke the exclusive that he would be sent out on loan.
There has also been speculation that some of Ravel's off-pitch antics have
continued. It has been said that after the Manchester United away game that
he didn't return to training like the other players and that he was
impossible to get hold of over Christmas. It has also been suggested that he
was recorded not being too complimentary about the manager in public and
that the video surfaced on the internet before being quickly removed,
although I didn't see it myself. This is not the only story that I have
heard regarding incidents off the pitch, but due to the nature of them and
not having concrete evidence I will not disclose them here.
It is clear that there is no "groin" injury. This has been an excuse used by
either the club or Ravel to hide the true goings on. The club may be using
it to hide why he isn't being selected, Ravel may be saying it in order to
prevent his selection. Either way of looking at it, it is hiding the real
reasons for his absence.
Ravel clearly has some attitude issues that I feel may always be with him,
possibly even medically related, but if you look at some of the best players
produced in Britain: George Best, Paul Gascoigne, John Terry and Tony Adams
all have had difficulties in their personal lives but their clubs stuck by
them and ultimately the benefits out-weighed the negatives.
The timing of the article in The Guardian is really unfortunate as always
seems to be the way with the club. There is a good positive mood at the club
and the results are showing this. We do not need these stories coming out
now. I had decided not to share these stories and a few others publicly
because I don't like the negative publicity that inevitably ensues, but in
light of The Guardian's story I felt I had to write. It would be interesting
to see what the club say in the coming days about the situation.
One thing is for certain the story really does split opinion.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Morrison departure confirmed
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 16th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
It was confirmed tonight that Ravel Morrison will join Queens Park Rangers
on loan for the rest of the season later this week. As revealed here last
week, the hugely-talented 21-year-old is on his way to the Championship a
mere matter of months after his stunning solo goal at White Hart Lane helped
West Ham United to a memorable 3-0 Premier League win. Jack Sullivan, son of
co-owner David Sullivan confirmed tonight [Sunday] that Morrison will join
Harry Redknapp and co at Loftus Road on a "93 day loan", which will coincide
with the Championship play-off Final on May 24.
The reasons behind Morrison's departure have been hotly debated across the
web all day following the publication of an article in the Guardian that
repeated claims first made here on KUMB.com last November revealing a rift
between the midfielder and manager Sam Allardyce. It was claimed that
Morrison - who has enjoyed a close relationship with agent Nick Rubery for
several years - reacted angrily to a suggestion that he should consider a
change of representation. Despite this, the England Under 21 international
was picked for a string of matches immediately following the incident in
question.
The relationship between Club and player/agent worsened when Rubery posted a
message on Twitter indirectly criticising West Ham's style of play under Sam
Allardyce, although this was removed shortly after. A proposed transfer
window move for Morrison to Fulham fell through after the Cottagers failed
with a derisory bid.
Since moving to Upton Park on the final day of the 2012 winter transfer
window, the former Manchester United youngster has made just 22 appearances
for West Ham (including six substitute appearances).
As well as scoring that memorable strike at Tottenham back in October,
Morrison also hit the target against Cheltenham, Everton, Cardiff and
Norwich prior to Christmas. His last appearance in a West Ham shirt came in
the 3-0 Capital One Cup semi final, second leg defeat at home to Manchester
City.
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WHUFC.com
West Ham United ended their four-day trip to the UAE with a lively training
session at Dubai Sports City
16.02.2014
West Ham United ended their four-day trip to the UAE with a lively training
session at Dubai Sports City on Saturday afternoon. The players pulled on
their training kit and boots for the final time for a practice match at the
facility as they completed a hugely beneficial visit to the Emirate. Manager
Sam Allardyce, who organised the trip through his friendship with Dubai
Sports City Football Academy director of football and former Blackburn
Rovers defender Michel Salgado, said the players enjoyed the opportunity to
train in shorts and t-shirts, rather than the hats, gloves and tracksuits
needed back home at Chadwell Heath. "You can see from the mood of the
players how much they enjoy it," said Big Sam. "The amount of games we have
to play in December and January is our peak time so the players, physically
and mentally, are very tired. So getting out in the sun, relaxing in the
sun, training in the sun and enjoying each other's company is extremely
important. "We are the only country in Europe that does not have a
mid-season break sadly, so we have to try and fit the trip to Dubai in at
times like this. "The lads can recharge their batteries and experience has
taught me that after trips like this the lads' energy levels have
increased."
Big Sam has brought the Hammers to Dubai in each of the last three seasons,
with the team going on to achieve big things on their return in each of the
past two years. In 2012, West Ham went on to gain promotion via the
Championship Play-Offs. A year ago, they went on to finish tenth in the
Barclays Premier League. The manager said the use of state-of-the-art
facilities in Dubai for the past few days will, hopefully, lead to his squad
completing a hat-trick of strong finishes. "We contacted Michel and asked if
we could come and train here and, as always with Michel, he has been more
than helpful giving us these good facilities and in particular the grass,"
said Big Sam. "As everyone knows, it is not easy to grow grass in Dubai but
this is a very good surface for us. "Now the training facilities are
exceptionally good and with the warm weather you are guaranteed the sun as
well as the exceptional service."
Dubai Sports City were equally happy to welcome West Ham to the Emirate for
another successful trip. Salgado was proud to welcome a couple of very
familiar faces in Big Sam and assistant Neil McDonald, saying: "It was easy.
I worked with both the manager and the assistant manager at Blackburn
Rovers, they called me, told me they were coming to Dubai and asked if we
could organise training at our facilities. "I told them 'Look, we have got
amazing facilities, the best in Dubai, I think', and of course it is great
to have them here. Having West Ham United here after Swansea City and
(Russian side) Anzhi Makhachkala, it is one of the reasons why we have got
these facilities. "Having sides like this here makes the Dubai Sports City
Football Academy talked about and stand out - and rightly so given what we
have got here. We are absolutely delighted."
Dubai Sports City General Manager (Sports Business) Maqbul Dudhia explained:
"We are extremely proud to be hosting West Ham United at the Dubai Sports
City Football Academy and I know they have been delighted with what they
have found here - with world-class turf and artificial pitches and, of
course, perfect weather."The club's presence with us is another illustration
of Dubai Sports City's growing reputation around the sporting world and we
look forward to hosting more top clubs in the future. "The Dubai Sports City
Football Academy is just one of a host of outstanding, world-class
facilities we have, with others including the ICC Academy, The Els Club, the
Butch Harmon School of Golf and the Dubai International Stadium. All of them
are available to everyone, but the fact elite athletes are using them in
greater and greater numbers tells you all you need to know about the quality
of what we have to offer."
Having won their previous three matches without conceding, West Ham return
to action on Saturday 22 February, when they host Southampton at the Boleyn
Ground in the Barclays Premier League. Tickets are still available here.
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Lennox lauds Hammers' fight
WHUFC.com
West Ham United had Lennox Lewis in their corner as they floored the
Canaries on Tuesday evening
16.02.2014
Lennox Lewis has praised the battling qualities of his boyhood team West Ham
United after they went toe-to-toe with Norwich City on Tuesday. Lewis was at
the Boleyn Ground to cheer on the Hammers as they won 2-0 thanks to James
Collins' header and Mo Diame's last-minute sucker punch. Big Sam's side's
quick one-two pleased the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the
world, who was invited in to the dressing room to deliver some words of
encouragement before the game. "It felt great coming back," Lewis said.
"I've been away from West ham for a long time and I'm finally back. The guys
looked focused and pumped. "[When I went in the dressing room] I told the
boys that they should go out there and knock this team out, simple as that,
and if they need any help I'm here!"
Lewis' affection for West Ham can be traced back to his formative days
growing up as a youngster just around the corner from the Boleyn Ground.
Although he is now based in Jamaica, the 43-year-old insists his love for
the Club has not diminished and he will be a member of the Claret and Blue
Army for life. "I grew up in West Ham and I used to love West Ham United -
they were always my team. Just because I've got older it doesn't mean
they're not my team any more. I am West Ham for life! "Even if I'm in
Jamaica or in Miami I'm trying to find where I can watch a game so it
doesn't matter where I am, I'll always follow West Ham."
Lewis made his name by becoming Olympic Champion in 1988 before moving on to
a professional career that delivered an outstanding 41 wins from 44 fights.
His football team have Olympic ambitions of their own, with a move to the
iconic Olympic Stadium in 2016 on the horizon - a switch that excites the
most recent undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. "I'm very excited
about the move to the Olympic Stadium. I'm glad they got it - I don't know
what all the fuss was about," he concluded.
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Cole unveils new MRI scanner
WHUFC.com
West Ham United's Joe Cole has officially opened a new 3-Tesla MRI scanner
at Holly House Hospital
16.02.2014
West Ham United midfielder Joe Cole has officially opened a new £1.5m
3-Tesla MRI scanner at Holly House Hospital in Buckhurst Hill. The
revolutionary machine is the first of its kind in Essex and the surrounding
area and means Holly House can provide more detailed images with greater
resolution and also scan smaller lesions and anatomy, particularly in
musculoskeletal, oncology and brain imaging. Cole cut the ribbon to open the
scanner, making Holly House one of only a handful of independent hospitals
outside central London to have a 3-Tesla - tesla is the unit of magnet
strength - MRI scanner. The Hammers use diagnostic services at Holly House
to assess the fitness and health of players through diagnostic
investigation, meaning Cole has been a regular visitor since his return to
the Club in January 2013. He said: "On behalf of West Ham United Football
Club, I would like to thank Holly House for all the help they have given us
over the years. We know how the MRI scanner can help with hamstring strain,
ankle problems and so on. But, we also understand how important the scanner
is to the local community's health."
Patients can enter the new MRI either feet or head first, so along with the
larger magnet bore the whole experience of having an MRI is far more
comfortable and less claustrophobic for patients. The process is also far
quicker and faster on a 3-Tesla scanner. The higher resolution imaging means
that it will no longer always be necessary to inject a dye into patients to
pick up internal images for certain examinations. Holly House imaging
services manager Michele Fox said: "The 3T MRI scanner is a new generation
in imaging technology - the imaging quality is very advanced and enables us
to see very fine bone and joint detail. We can even look at fine detailed
imaging of the brain. "Cancer patients will benefit from this advanced
technology greatly and for the first time ever our diagnostics team will now
be able to undertake cardiac work - which opens up a whole new world of
imaging for us."
This additional investment follows a major £20m expansion project at Holly
House in 2013, which doubled the size of the hospital's premises. New
facilities within the £20m development include a new outpatients department,
with 23 consulting rooms, as well as three new integrated theatres, a
pharmacy, pathology lab and endoscopy unit.
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It's time to mobilise
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 13th February 2014
By: Tom Kilbey
The scene is being set for the real conversation about safe standing in
English football grounds to begin.
Bristol City have this week become the first team to install safe standing
at their stadium, Ashton Gate. While the facilities will only initially be
used for rugby games that are played at the venue, it is another small step
in the journey. As a result of this, as well as some good work from lobbying
groups, the Football League have agreed to take up the discussion with the
government.
It's a start, albeit a small one.
It's time that fans come together to make it happen. What we lack in
legislative power, we make up for in numbers. Multiple groups have been set
up, and have collected signatures on various e-petitions. A quick Google
search took me to an e-petition which has collected 12,000 signatures from
football fans in support of safe standing at football grounds. This may
sound respectable at first glance, but I argue that this is a drop in the
ocean when compared to the number of fans who actually are in favour of safe
standing.
Consider for instance, that at every game at Upton Park, around 5,000 fans
stand throughout the entire game – and that's not even including away
supporters. It is safe to assume that each of them would be in favour of
safe standing, for multiple reasons which I shall come to in a moment.
Considering Upton Park is an average-sized Premier League ground, as an
extremely rough estimate, 20 lots of 5,000 fans is 100,000. And that's
before you factor in the thousands of fans from outside the Premier League,
and the inevitable thousands of fans who wish they could stand up at games,
and are forbidden to do so by stewards.
So while this is an appeal that applies to football fans across the country,
us West Ham fans have the potential to make the biggest difference. We have
a chairman who is fiercely in favour of introducing safe standing. We have a
body of hugely passionate fans who stand every game anyway. And most
importantly, we are moving into a new football stadium in the coming years,
which will require the building of new seating to incorporate the innovative
solution which will bring fans closer to the pitch. We have the potential to
lead the charge in making something happen.
Signing e-petitions is a start, but there's something hollow about adding
your name and email address to a list. You don't really have to be
passionate about something to sign an e-petition, and politicians and public
figures know this. Nor will complaining on Twitter make a difference. No
number of re-tweets will make your view heard by the people who really
matter. What's important is that we target those concerned directly. Local
MP's are a fantastic place to start. Plenty of clubs would, in theory, be in
support of the scheme. However, the reason it is not discussed is that it is
currently against the law to do so.
We can follow suit and take the "it's illegal so why waste time discussing
it?" approach. Or we can do something about it.
The main concerns with the lobbying attempts thus far are two fold; the
first, which I have already mentioned, is that not enough is being done to
target those who matter – in particular MP's. Secondly, there still appears
to be some misconception among fans about what safe standing will involve.
There remains a negative stigma attached to the phrase.
Some people envisage the idea as a return to the 1980s, a time when
hooliganism was rife in football and 96 people lost their lives on that
fateful afternoon of 15th April 1986. It is completely understandable why
people may have reservations, and the important thing is to acknowledge
these issues, and explaining why these would not be a problem under the
proposed solution by continuing to emphasise the key word – "safe".
The misconceptions of safe standing have been well emphasised by the
Football Supporters Federation. They key point regarding the Hillsborough
Tragedy is that standing fans did not cause the disaster per se. A report
cited overcrowding and poor policing as the main causes. This clearly would
not apply with safe standing, as the numbers of people being let into the
stadium would be just as regulated as for anywhere else in the stadium.
One key point that I would add is that, as I mentioned earlier, tens of
thousands stand at football games in areas designed for seating every single
week. This is caused by an overwhelming dismissal of current regulations
which forbids standing. In short, the current system is broken, and clearly,
standing in areas designed for sitting is far more dangerous than standing
in areas which are designed for standing. Introducing safe seating into
areas of some stadiums would surely make them a safer place to be.
The Football Supporters' Federation claim that every notable survey on the
issue has conclusively shown that fans are in favour of safe standing at
football ground. It is the perfect way to galvanise home atmospheres in a
safe and regulated environment. They cite a recent survey which was
completed by over 4,000 fans. 92 per cent of fans said that supporters
should have the option the stand at football grounds. The issue is that this
majority does not voice their opinion enough on the issue, and while groups
such as the FSF are pro-actively trying to change that, so much more needs
to be done.
This evening, I plan to write a letter to my local MP, Angela Watkinson,
asking for her support in the issue. I pledge for other West Ham fans who
are passionate about the issue to do the same. We need to bring the issue
into the limelight, and start to win over the people who have the potential
to make a difference. If we can do so, in 2016, when West Ham move into
their new home at the Olympic Stadium, we could be in a safe standing area
of the stadium.
And we can be proud that we helped make it happen.
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Reality Finally Kicks In
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 11th February 2014
By: Paul Walker
It all came as a bit of a shock in the end, something you always knew was
going to happen but up until now it had been a rather remote, distant dream.
So when that annoying little yellow strap-line across the bottom of the SSN
channel kicked into life, I was only half paying attention. More interested
in my morning coffee and a good old laugh at Manchester United's painful
decline.
But there it was. West Ham have sold the Boleyn ground. Ouch! I must admit
to feeling like I had been stabbed, and I was momentarily overcome by a
cold, sinking feeling. So my second home for more than 50 years was really
going to be bulldozed, the football ground that has been so very special to
four generations of my family, has been flogged off, seemingly not even to
the highest bidder.
Reality is such a painful thing. We all know that nobody really wants to go
to Stratford, but the vast majority of us have accepted the need for growth,
expansion and a bigger modern, new home. And yes, I voted that way too.
I have listened to Ms Torygirl CBE waffling on about how wonderful it will
be, well 'she would say that, wouldn't she?' with us paying her £1.6m for
seemingly doing her job… Planning and organising our move to the Olympic
Park was part of the job description so why the vast bonus? Wish I'd been
paid a bonus whenever I did my job properly.
I sense dear Karren will be around just long enough for the final details to
be sorted out before she is off to become the prospective Tory party
candidate for Cannock Chase, just up the road from where she lives. She
could even find herself with Stan Collymore as her very own constituent. Now
there's a thought.
Of course I see the sense in the move to Stratford, I just hope the £40m
plus we will get from the sale is used to pay off our debts. But there are
still nagging worries.
With the detail of the financial fair play regulations making it clear that
a small club will no longer be able to find a rich sugar daddy to pump in
Manchester City style billions, and with Barry Hearn still an annoying
sideshow, I just hope we get to the Olympic Stadium without any more
hiccups. And, of course, when we get there we will have sold our home, our
land and our memories.
And that is the real point for me. I had the chance recently to drive past
what used to be Manchester City's old Maine Road site, somewhere I have not
visited for ten years. It is a shock really, the place is a mess of tiny
white boxes (sorry, modern estate social housing) with bricked up roads
stopping traffic flow through it, and those rather nasty allyways that cut
through the area. Absolutely no Manchester City heritage.
We can only trust that the developers of Upton Park and Green Street will
provide a very different legacy, the say they will and it all sounds very
nice with statues and green space with buildings named after our past
heroes.
It is hard to visualise it parachuted into the space between the flats
behind the east stand and the old north bank, the school, church and
supporters club premises.
So while we are on the subject of legacy, I challenge our club not to make a
mess of three very important anniversaries coming up in the next few years,
dates that really underline exactly what our true history is.
One of them, the 50th anniversary of our first trophy victory, the 1964 FA
Cup Final win over Preston, is just a few weeks away now and so far I have
only noted Tony McDonald's excellent Ex magazine showing, not surprisingly,
any real interest.
But May 2 this year, the day before our final home game of the season
against Spurs, should be marked with every respect. It was the first great
occasion of our golden 60s era, for me a magical day watching the heroes of
my youth triumph at Wembley.
This weekend, in fact, will be the exact day 50 years ago that West Ham won
3-1 at Swindon in the fifth round. Of course we are just watching this
season's tournament from the sidelines after abdicating all interest in
proceedings after that shameful third round defeat at Nottingham Forest,
when the youth team were made to look silly on TV.
But I can remember that '64 run in detail. We had already beaten Charlton
and Leyton Orient--after a replay--when the Os were still a proper football
club that saw 36,000 crammed into Brisbane Road when it was still a real
stadium rather than Hearn's lego ground.
The Swindon victory was followed by a stunning 3-2 quarter final victory
over Burnley, when I can still see John Sissons squeezing the ball home from
a ridiculous acute angle, two goal Johnny Byrne did the rest.
The memorable mud lark in Sheffield followed when a truly great Manchester
United side were beaten 3-2 in the semi-finals, Ronnie Boyce's double doing
the damage that time. The Preston final did not live up to the billing, but
it was still a memorable day.
I didn't have a ticket until a few hours before kick-off, but my late father
got a phone call from a mate and we drove like lunatics from west London to
Slough to lay hands on the precious ticket(it had come south with a friend
of former Burnley owner Bob Lord).
So I found myself being driven at breakneck speed back to Wembley, dumped
there by my dad at the top of Wembley Way, only to find myself the only
person in claret and blue in the Preston end. I was still all on my own
there when Sir Bobby and the boys paraded the cup round the ground,
seemingly just for me in a near-empty section.
I was too excited to be properly grateful to my dad. It was only a long
while after that it dawned on me that he had given me his ticket for the
final and gone home to watch it on TV with mum, who had also been to Slough
and Wembley just for the ride! Not sure I could have done that.
That season saw Hurst and Byrne score 59 goals between them, with Sir Geoff
scoring seven in the cup run. And we only managed to finish 14th. A really
remarkable partnership.
The next 50th anniversary will be on May 19 next year, the day of our
European Cup Winners' Cup final victory over TSV Munich at Wembley. Dad even
got mum a ticket for that one, the only time she ever went to a football
match, when seemingly the whole of east London was there.
Dad and me saw all the home matches of the European run, tremendous
occasions that will live me forever.
Now there are six players left alive of the seven who played in both cup
final victories, Jim Standen, Jack Burkett, Ken Brown, Ronnie Boyce, Geoff
Hurst and John Sissons. Sadly Mooro is no longer with us. To me these seven
players are truly the greatest in our history by virtue of being in those
two final line-ups, 12 fantastic months apart.
They need to be remembered in the planned memorial gardens at the Boleyn
when we have all moved to Stratford, as well as in our new home. We used 15
players in those two finals, they must never be forgotten.
The final 50th anniversary will be on July 30, 2016 which marks the day we
won the World Cup. It is hard to believe those wonderful days were 50 years
ago, and I can recall them in great detail.
It should not be lost on our owners that the World Cup glory co-incides with
our move to the Olympic Stadium, give or take a couple of months. It surely
is not beyond the talents of our owners to build a tribute to our World Cup
heroes into the celebrations that will mark our move to Stratford. It should
nicely mark our legacy to England and to our great club.
I leave it in your hands lady and gentlemen. You need to get these three
days spot on, anything else will disrespect the legacy of our club you keep
on about.
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Sam Allardyce hopes West Ham will be raring to go after 'relaxing' Dubai
trip
Feb 16, 2014 16:07 By Alex Richards
The Mirror
West Ham's players have been put through their paces at Dubai Sports City in
the UAE in the last four days, a move which manager Sam Allardyce says will
rejuvenate them ahead of their final 12 Premier League matches. The Hammers
headed to Dubai on a trip organised by former Blackburn and Real Madrid
defender Michel Salgado, as they went for warm weather training ahead of the
season's run-in. The Irons went to the Emirates in high spirits after three
successive wins - which have moved them into 11th, four points clear of the
drop zone. And Allardyce believes that the enjoyment and relaxation enjoyed
in Dubai will help his players recharge after a busy New Year period. "You
can see from the mood of the players how much they enjoy it," said
Allardyce, speaking to West Ham's official website. "The amount of games we
have to play in December and January is our peak time so the players,
physically and mentally, are very tired. "So getting out in the sun,
relaxing in the sun, training in the sun and enjoying each other's company
is extremely important. "We are the only country in Europe that does not
have a mid-season break sadly, so we have to try and fit the trip to Dubai
in at times like this. "The lads can recharge their batteries and experience
has taught me that after trips like this the lads' energy levels have
increased."
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THE TWO SIDES OF RAVEL MORRISON & WHY HE IS OFF TO QPR
By ExWHUemployee 16 Feb 2014 at 19:50
West Ham Till I Die
It was yesterday that I brought my version of the Ravel Morrison story in my
Ironviews column. For those of you who haven't seen it, it may be a good
start point before reading this article. Here is the link at Ironviews
I wrote the article knowing that The Guardian were planning to release a
story that evening. I was informed that their column would be very one sided
and be backing the "mistreatment" of Morrison. I am led to believe that the
information provided for the article had been passed on via someone very
close to Ravel, so naturally it will be written to support their side to the
story and not the club's. The agent story has been around for at least two
months so you have to question how and why The Guardian has only just got
hold of the story as Ravel is due to leave. Read The Guardian story and make
up your own mind. I intend to give a more balanced view to the debate.
As I stated in yesterday's Ironviews article, Mark Curtis is the agent for
Big Sam as well as Nolan, Jaaskelainen, O'Brien, Collison, Demel, Jarvis,
Tomkins and Andy Carroll. As well as this, he is also credited with being
the man who brought our new goalkeeping sensation Adrian to the club. You do
not have to look far for articles on Sam's relationship with Mark Curtis. A
simple search on Google brings up a list of allegations dating back way
before Sam's spell at West Ham.
So according to The Guardian, Ravel's imminent departure to QPR has been
blamed on the fact that Big Sam and Nolan (amongst others) have been putting
constant pressure on Ravel to switch agents. As I have stated previously
Ravel (and of course his agent) found this to be very offensive and
unprofessional such is the close relationship of Nick Rubery and Ravel
Morrison. The Guardian says West Ham have put this to the relevant people
and they strenuously deny it. Mark Curtis says it is "nonsense", and there
is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
As has been well documented Ravel had been through a lot previous to joining
West Ham and during his time here and he feels Mr Rubery has helped him
through this. The pressure was apparently constant with threats of not being
picked for the team if he didn't change and promises of big contracts if he
did.
Of course if this is true, and I am merely speculating, then it is a very
worrying position for us to be in as a club. In my opinion no signing should
be dictated by who their agent is. The sheer amount of money spent on agents
in the game in itself is wrong, let alone if it is dictating transfer
policy.
It has been well documented that Ravel has had some difficulties before he
joined the club, which it was felt were behind him but almost immediately he
joined there was an incident which the club understandably tried to 'hush
up'. It occurred at a pre-season training camp in Germany where there was an
altercation between Morrison and one of the coaches, in which there was a
physical bust-up. Ravel was then sent home to get "his teeth fixed" and
promptly moved on loan to Birmingham.
He settled down and did well during this loan spell and his talent meant he
was deservedly given a chance to impress this season and he did. After the
3-0 win at Spurs there were claims for him to be a surprise selection in the
World Cup team and things seemed to be going really well at the club.
Morrison and his agent have put his problems down to the agent situation but
I believe there are other reasons.
I was told that Ravel went to see the manager and demanded that he started
in front of Nolan, due to his captain's poor form. This naturally upset both
the manager and the captain and they believed this had been prompted by his
agent. Ravel was unhappy at never being played in Nolan's position and
having to settled for being on the wing or in a deeper role. I am also
informed that he questioned the team's style of play and this is backed up
by Nick Rubery's comments during the Chelsea game, where he tweeted that
only one team was trying to play football and it wasn't us.
I've just witnessed some serious anti-football tonight from one team. No
need to guess which one it was.
The tweet was promptly deleted.
Naturally these sorts of demands have turned a number of players against
Ravel. He has upset quite a few high profile players at the training ground,
one of which is Mr. West Ham, Mark Noble. You can also see players getting
frustrated during games. Matt Jarvis showing his frustration with during the
Nottingham Forest cup game being the last that I can remember. One or two
players voiced the view that they didn't want him in the team and that he
was having a negative impact.
Indeed, the straw which broke the camel's back for the West Ham management
was an alleged bustup in training last week between Winston Reid and Ravel
Morrison. It was a few days after this, a week ago tonight, that West Ham
Till I Die broke the exclusive that he would be sent out on loan.
There has also been speculation that some of Ravel's off-pitch antics have
continued. It has been said that after the Manchester United away game that
he didn't return to training like the other players and that he was
impossible to get hold of over Christmas. It has also been suggested that he
was recorded not being too complimentary about the manager in public and
that the video surfaced on the internet before being quickly removed,
although I didn't see it myself. This is not the only story that I have
heard regarding incidents off the pitch, but due to the nature of them and
not having concrete evidence I will not disclose them here.
It is clear that there is no "groin" injury. This has been an excuse used by
either the club or Ravel to hide the true goings on. The club may be using
it to hide why he isn't being selected, Ravel may be saying it in order to
prevent his selection. Either way of looking at it, it is hiding the real
reasons for his absence.
Ravel clearly has some attitude issues that I feel may always be with him,
possibly even medically related, but if you look at some of the best players
produced in Britain: George Best, Paul Gascoigne, John Terry and Tony Adams
all have had difficulties in their personal lives but their clubs stuck by
them and ultimately the benefits out-weighed the negatives.
The timing of the article in The Guardian is really unfortunate as always
seems to be the way with the club. There is a good positive mood at the club
and the results are showing this. We do not need these stories coming out
now. I had decided not to share these stories and a few others publicly
because I don't like the negative publicity that inevitably ensues, but in
light of The Guardian's story I felt I had to write. It would be interesting
to see what the club say in the coming days about the situation.
One thing is for certain the story really does split opinion.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Morrison departure confirmed
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 16th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
It was confirmed tonight that Ravel Morrison will join Queens Park Rangers
on loan for the rest of the season later this week. As revealed here last
week, the hugely-talented 21-year-old is on his way to the Championship a
mere matter of months after his stunning solo goal at White Hart Lane helped
West Ham United to a memorable 3-0 Premier League win. Jack Sullivan, son of
co-owner David Sullivan confirmed tonight [Sunday] that Morrison will join
Harry Redknapp and co at Loftus Road on a "93 day loan", which will coincide
with the Championship play-off Final on May 24.
The reasons behind Morrison's departure have been hotly debated across the
web all day following the publication of an article in the Guardian that
repeated claims first made here on KUMB.com last November revealing a rift
between the midfielder and manager Sam Allardyce. It was claimed that
Morrison - who has enjoyed a close relationship with agent Nick Rubery for
several years - reacted angrily to a suggestion that he should consider a
change of representation. Despite this, the England Under 21 international
was picked for a string of matches immediately following the incident in
question.
The relationship between Club and player/agent worsened when Rubery posted a
message on Twitter indirectly criticising West Ham's style of play under Sam
Allardyce, although this was removed shortly after. A proposed transfer
window move for Morrison to Fulham fell through after the Cottagers failed
with a derisory bid.
Since moving to Upton Park on the final day of the 2012 winter transfer
window, the former Manchester United youngster has made just 22 appearances
for West Ham (including six substitute appearances).
As well as scoring that memorable strike at Tottenham back in October,
Morrison also hit the target against Cheltenham, Everton, Cardiff and
Norwich prior to Christmas. His last appearance in a West Ham shirt came in
the 3-0 Capital One Cup semi final, second leg defeat at home to Manchester
City.
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Sunday, February 16
Daily WHUFC News - 16th February 2014
Ashton happy with Hammers form
WHUFC.com
Former West Ham United striker Dean Ashton has been impressed with his old
club's recent performances
15.02.2014
Dean Ashton is backing West Ham United to maintain their recent run of form
and achieve Barclays Premier League safety. The former Hammers and England
striker was back at the Boleyn Ground to watch West Ham overcome another of
his former clubs, Norwich City, in midweek. During his visit, Ashton spoke
to West Ham TV about a wide range of subjects, including the relegation
battle, Andy Carroll's England chances and his own media career.
Dean, what have you made of West Ham's recent run of 13 points from 18 that
has lifted them away from the bottom three?
DA: "West Ham are on a very good run of form. Kevin Nolan has come back
into the goals with a couple of braces and it always helps when you have a
player like him in the team who can come into the team and get goals. A lot
has to be said about the defensive unit as well because they have been
absolutely outstanding. Adrian has come in and been outstanding, as have
James Collins and James Tomkins."
West Ham have been without Andy Carroll in their wins over Aston Villa and
Norwich, which shows they can win with or without him. That's encouraging?
DA: "After what happened with the red card and everything that went with it,
I think people probably thought that West Ham would have gone to Villa and
got beaten, but they went there and put in a great performance. Kevin Nolan
can score goals with or without Andy Carroll. It's easier when Andy is
playing, because he can feed off the knockdowns, but he showed he is a
quality finisher at this level with or without Andy."
Sam Allardyce said during our early-season injury crisis that he should only
be judged when he had his full squad available. Has the recent run proved
him right?
DA: "I have been saying in interviews that you could not really judge Sam
until he had his best players back. Any team, like Manchester United this
season, when they have been without Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, they
are not the same side. West Ham had four or five of their best players not
playing for quite a while. Anyone would miss that. It's been proven that now
they are back and results are starting to pick up and I could see why Sam
was complaining about the injury side of it. It was a fact that his best
players were injured."
Can West Ham stay away from the bottom three now?
DA: "I can see maybe two or three teams getting out of the relegation
battle, but I can see there being a good seven or eight teams being in it
right until the end. Obviously, for someone who isn't playing or a fan, it's
brilliant to watch. Obviously for the fans of those teams, it will be
difficult for them, and I think the next month or so will be really
important to see if any of those teams can get away from the pack and ease
their problems."
When he returns from suspension, can Andy Carroll force his way into
England's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad?
DA: "He's different to everyone else and that's what he's got in his favour.
He's unplayable at times. He's 6'5" but he's got a great leap as well and
he's competitive. I'd hate to play against him if I was a centre-half and I
know centre-halves hate playing against him. I'm gutted for him because,
after coming back from a long injury, all you want to do is play and now
he's out for three games but he's not injured. I'm sure he'll be champing at
the bit when he does get back. I'm pretty sure, if he can put a run of games
together, he can get in the England squad.
You may have retired in 2009, but you still get a great reception from West
Ham fans, don't you?
DA: "They have always ben superb with me. It's a real shame I didn't get to
show more of my talents, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Since I
have finished, I always get their support and it's unbelievable. It's the
same with the Norwich fans and I just want to see both teams stay up,
really."
Finally, how is your media career going? You appear to enjoy your role as a
commentator and summariser on TV and radio?
DA: "I mainly work in the media side of things now, commentating. I've tried
a bit of coaching but I'm not quite ready for that. I enjoy the commentating
and want to be as close to the action as I can be, without the same
pressures as playing. You're always looking for that edge and to give an
insight to people watching and listening into something they wouldn't know.
Being a player, I have the insight from inside the lines, which the likes of
Gary Neville are doing. You've got to be as honest as you can be, because
that's the nature of the job."
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U18s thrash Royals
WHUFC.com
West Ham United scored a comfortable 4-0 Barclays U18 Premier League win
over Reading at Little Heath
15.02.2014
West Ham United continued their excellent Barclays U18 Premier League South
form by overrunning Reading 4-0 at Little Heath on Saturday. Hammers
midfielder Moses Makasi popped up in the right place at the right time to
give the Hammers a one-goal lead at half-time, before second-half goals from
captain Kieran Bywater, striker Jaanai Gordon (pictured) and Amos Nasha
secured the points. U18 boss Steve Potts was without defenders Kyle Knoyle
and Lewis Page, along with midfielder Josh Cullen, who all featured in the
Hammers' Development Squad victory over Southampton U21s on Friday night.
Reece Burke covered in Page's absence at left-back, with former Peterborough
United striker Gordon returning from injury to be named on the substitutes'
bench. It was Reading who forced the ball into the back of the net first
early on, but visiting striker Harry Cardwell saw his headed goal ruled out
for a foul on West Ham goalkeeper Sam Howes. West Ham quickly responded to
the errors that almost saw them go behind and were soon ahead. Makasi was
allowed to wander into the Reading penalty area to finish after good team
play from Bywater, Djair Parfitt-Williams and Jordan Brown. After going
behind, Reading upped their performance and had several opportunities to
draw level, but neither Jake Sheppard, Nana Owusu nor Bogdan Vastsuk could
manage to finish past Howes.
The Hammers also had chances to double their lead, most noticeably when
Nathan Mavila had the ball at his feet in the penalty area late in the first
half, but he sliced it wide after rushing to take his shot. Into the second
half and it took the host's just ten minutes to double their advantage, when
Brown broke forward with pace, before sliding the ball into the path of
Bywater to finish for his 16th league goal of the season. Straight after
going 2-0 ahead, Potts decided to give Gordon a run out after a recent
injury and, just six minutes later, the powerful forward got on the end of
Mavila's right-wing cross to head in a third West Ham goal. West Ham
dominated the closing stages and, with just five minutes left on the clock,
Nasha scored a similar goal to Makasi's opener by strolling into the box and
finishing to rubberstamp the victory for West Ham. The victory keeps West
Ham in third place in the table, but they are now level on points with both
leaders Fulham, whose match on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion was
postponed, and second-place Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Leicester City 3-0.
U18s: Howes, Pike (Amoo), Harney, Onariase (Pask), Burke, Makasi, Nasha,
Mavila, Brown, Bywater, Parfitt-Williams (Gordon)
Subs not used: Guzman, Bailey
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Potts delighted with 'deserved' win
WHUFC.com
Steve Potts felt the Development Squad fully deserved their win against
Southampton on Friday night
15.02.2014
Steve Potts hailed Danny Whitehead's wonder goal after the Development Squad
saw off torrid conditions to beat Southampton at Rush Green on Friday night.
The midfielder struck with 52 minutes on the clock, sending a long-range
thunderbolt flying into the top corner of the net, to earn his side their
first win of 2014. Whitehead's strike lit up a contest which was badly
affected by swirling winds and driving rain and his super strike left Potts
raving about his second goal of the season. He told West Ham TV: "It was a
very good goal. The set-up was good, the ball came across to Danny, he got
the ball out of his feet and he struck the ball really well into the corner.
"I was watching him in the warm-up and he was hitting the ball really well,
he's got a good strike on him and luckily enough he connected very well for
the goal. "I think we deserved to win. The ball didn't fall kindly enough
for us in the box, had it have done then I think we might have got another
goal or two but overall I was very happy with them."
The Hammers played with the wind behind them in the first half and were
lucky not to go behind when Jake Sinclair scuffed a shot wide from just
eight yards out. That effort was a rare threat from Saints who couldn't cope
with the Hammers after the break, and Potts was left wondering how his side
hadn't won by a greater margin. "We mixed the game up fairly well second
half. We played it short when we had to and we also looked a threat behind
which was important because we said at half-time that any balls down the
sides were going to hold up more for us in the second half. "We created good
opportunities but it didn't quite fall for us. There were one or two
scrambles where I don't know how it didn't end up in the back of the net but
luckily we kept a clean sheet and one was enough."
Former Hammers defender Potts was standing in for Nick Haycock whilst the
coach is away with the first team and he was left impressed with how some of
his Under-18 contingent had handled the Barclays Under-21 Premier League.
Kyle Knoyle, Lewis Page, Josh Cullen and Vit Nemrava all featured against
the Saints and Potts believed they all showed they could handle the step-up.
"I think they've coped very well. It's not easy for a young player to
step-up, they can get a little bit nervous but I thought they coped with it
very well. "That's what it's all about, can they move to the next level.
Josh Cullen came in tonight and I thought he was excellent. "I'd like to
mention Vit as well, who was in goal for the second half, because that
wasn't easy to come on at half-time. Against the wind you think 'Ah we could
be penned in' and that he might have to save a lot of shots but I think he
coped very well with what he had to deal with and his kicking was
excellent."
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'It's amazing how quickly it changes'
WHUFC.com
The experienced Matt Taylor has enjoyed West Ham United's recent upturn in
fortunes
14.02.2014
Matt Taylor has been around football long enough not to take a three-match
winning streak for granted - but the midfielder is certainly enjoying West
Ham United's recent renaissance. The 32-year-old has played an influential
role in West Ham's run of 13 points from the last six matches, a sequence
that has lifted the Club away from the relegation zone and into mid-table.
However, with just a handful of points separating the bottom ten teams,
Taylor knows West Ham cannot afford to lose focus ahead of their final 12
league fixtures. "It's amazing how quickly football changes and in the space
of six weeks we've managed to turn our fortunes around in our favour," said
the No14. "We're sitting in tenth as I speak, but it's still really tight.
"Tuesday was a really gritty performance, Adrian made some great saves when
he had to and we took our chances when we had to. It was a wonderful home
win."
Taylor has played his part as West Ham secured vital victories at Cardiff
City and Aston Villa and at home to Swansea City and Norwich City, as well
as an impressive draw at Chelsea. All five matches saw the Hammers take a
different approach to gaining an ultimately positive result, culminating in
a hard-fought success against the Canaries on Tuesday. "I think what we did
on Tuesday was stay in the game at vital times. Adrian made some really
vital saves at the right times, we had some good chances ourselves and Mo
forced Ruddy into a wonderful save, then Ginge popped up with a great header
from a short free-kick which we'd worked on. "It's all about trying to win
football games in different ways and we've done that again on Tuesday night.
It probably wasn't the most pretty of performances, but it was a fantastic
win for the Club."
Taylor and his midfield colleagues know they need to keep playing well, with
fit-again Mo Diame, new boy Antonio Nocerino and Jack Collison all pushing
for starts in the engine room. Diame was used as a substitute left winger
against Norwich and responded superbly, setting up James Collins'
84th-minute opener before scoring himself deep into added time. "Mo was
brilliant," said Taylor. "It also highlights the depth we have in the squad
now everybody is fit and we're playing ever so well. We can't really
complain. There are obviously lots of players champing at the bit to come in
because everyone wants to play, but that can only bode well for the Club and
for future results. "We've got 12 games left now until the end of the season
and we've got to pick up some vital points to finish as high up the league
as possible. "We've picked up some momentum but we shouldn't get carried
away. We've had four good results on the trot and that's definitely the
first time we've strung three Premier League wins together, so it's
fantastic for everybody concerned. We've now got another huge game to look
forward to against Southampton."
Before the visit of Southampton on Saturday 22 February, the squad will
recharge their batteries at a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. Having
enjoyed positive effects from similar trips in each of the last two seasons,
Taylor believes the players will come back from the Middle East physically
refreshed and ready to take on the in-form Saints. "It's nice to get the sun
on your back when you're training so it'll be a good session for us out
there. It'll be nice to get the t-shirt and shorts on with the boots, and no
doubt we'll be doing some work on the beach as well. "It's something that
the manager thinks is vitally important. He knows his statistics and if he
knows it works and it will work, he will continue doing it."
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Hammers youngster nets for England
WHUFC.com
Academy player Jahmal Hector-Ingram helped England U16 see off Belgium on
Friday
15.02.2014
West Ham United Academy player Jahmal Hector-Ingram notched his second goal
in as many games for England U16 as they saw off Belgium in the final game
of the UEFA Development Tournament at St George's Park. After bouncing back
from defeat to Spain by beating Denmark, the Young Lions ended their
campaign with a hard fought 3-2 victory over Belgium. Hector-Ingram made it
2-0 shortly before half time, before being withdrawn at the break and
watching on as the visitors halved the deficit through Ismail Azzaoui.
Kaylen Hinds, who opened the scoring for England, then restored the two-goal
buffer, before Belgium's Christophe Janssens ensured a nervy finale. England
held on to ensure they would end the tournament in encouraging fashion.
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Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Goalkeeper coach Martyn Margetson is proud of his impressive group of
goalkeepers
14.02.2014
Hello everyone,
I must say, the performances of Adrian in recent matches have been a source
of great pride for me. It is all about the team, but goalkeepers do pride
themselves on keeping clean sheets, as do the outfield players. To be fair,
he has been there week-in, week-out, when we've needed him to make important
saves, he has made them. As a goalkeeper, that's what you're judged on.
Obviously, you might not be doing a lot for most of the game, so when you're
called upon, you need to be switched on and ready and able to make saves.
Adrian's decisions tactically have pleased me - how he has defended the goal
and he's taken on board things that we've been speaking about and working
on. He's certainly a star performer at the moment and he's taken his chance
brilliantly.
A lot of the foreign goalkeepers have a different mentaility - they either
catch or their objective is to get the ball as far away from the goal as
they can. He does that very well. He works hard, when he doesn't catch, so
that the ball goes into 'safe' areas, as we call them. That's part and
parcel of his game and he does it super.
I went out to watch Adrian three times in Spain last season and the manager
came with me on the last occasion. A lot of people wouldn't realise that
there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to get a player like Adrian to
the Football Club. We put the groundwork in and we managed to bring him here
for nothing, which is a bonus from the Club's point of view. We knew he was
an outstanding talent and an outstanding young 'keeper and I think he's
proving that now of late. He's mentally really strong, beyond his years, and
he will get better and better. It's important as a goalkeeper and massively
helps you if the fans are behind you. It's a difficult position because the
crowd can give you stick, but he has policed that situation brilliantly. The
fans have responded to him magnificently, which helps him massively. With
the backing of the supporters and his team-mates, everyone can see he has
grown into the position game by game We've still got lots more to come from
Adrian.
I can't speak any higher of Jussi Jaaskelainen and his attitude - that's why
he is still in the game at the age of 39, nearly 40. Obviously he is
disappointed that he isn't playing, but to be fair to him, he's been
absolutely first-class. He has supported Adrian every step of the way and
tried to mentor him, also. My heart goes out to Jussi for not playing, but
his attitude and his application have been fantastic, as has his support of
Adrian. He deserves a lot of credit. Finally, Stephen Henderson has had a
difficult time with a serious injury - a dislocated shoulder - and he has
done well to come back a little bit ahead of schedule, which we're very
pleased about. As a goalkeeper coach, I'm thrilled with the goalkeepers we
have at senior level at this Football Club. We have Adrian and Jussi and, in
my opinion, Hendo is a top-class young goalkeeper too. He has a big future
ahead of him, then we have young Raphael Spiegel who people know about and
his potential is frightening.
From my point of view, I'm very excited!
Marge
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Redknapp: Morrison's a gamble
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 14th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
Harry Redknapp has admitted that taking Ravel Morrison to QPR on loan could
backfire. The former West Ham manager is set to sign the 20-year-old on loan
for the remainder of the season next week - meaning that were Rangers to
make the play-offs, Morrrison would be eligible to feature. However Redknapp
told the press this morning that the move represents a huge gamble. "He's
got fantastic ability, there's no doubt about that," he said. "If we get the
best out of him it could make a big difference. "He's got ability but he's
got to do it. People say how good he can be, but he's got to come here and
show just what he can do. I just hope he's not one of those kids you look
back on and say: 'He could have been a great player'. "I'm not saying it's
not a gamble. He is a gamble. If he didn't have a problem somewhere he
wouldn't be coming to QPR, would he? He'd be at Man United. But sometimes in
life you have to take a gamble. If you don't buy a ticket you're never going
to win the lottery. "All the reports are that he's a decent lad and he's
certainly a talented lad. I spoke to Lee Clark and he loved him – he
couldn't speak highly enough of him. Maybe at this stage we need a maverick
– someone who does their own thing at times."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chief executive Richard Scudamore confirms plans for a Premier League 'B'
league
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: 14/02/14 10:50am
SSN
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has confirmed that there
are plans for a 'B' league to come into existence. The new league would
replace the current Under-21 league format, and would be for Under-23
players with four over age players allowed. The league would involve the
same teams that are in the Under-21 league - which is those who are classed
as category one in the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). That would mean
that current Premier League sides Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton,
Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Norwich,
Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom and West Ham would be
involved along with Football League clubs Bolton, Blackburn, Leicester,
Middlesbrough, Reading and Wolves. Other clubs such as Crystal Palace, who
aim to achieve category one status soon, would also be allowed to compete in
the competition - with the plan to broadcast the games played from the main
club stadiums. Scudamore outlined his hopes for what he believes will be a
much-needed component to youth development in English football. "We
understand the challenge of developing English talent good enough to play in
the Premier League first team is how do you get them to transition from
Under-18s into first-team squads? It is such a huge leap. You have to have
the transition phase, the 'professional development phase' we call it," he
explained to the Daily Telegraph.
"The Under-21 League is technically very good but not where it needs to be
in terms of meaningful competition for these youngsters. "The minute you
call it 'Under-21' people think it is no use. It needs a better name and a
better focus. All clubs recognise that. We need proper kick-off times, using
main stadiums, anything to create an experience that is more competitive and
more like the first team so it doesn't come as such a shock. And those
players in that group should be interchangeable with the first team. "They
should be category one clubs and we are happy for them to be in that league
with 16 of ours, and six of the Championship. If more cat one clubs come
along you structure it accordingly. "It should be in all our interests that
people have more cat one academies because that's the best it can be.''
Scudamore insisted that the new league would have no impact on the Football
League or its structure. "Having been chief executive of the Football
League, I believe in the pyramid. If you set up a club behind the Dog and
Duck, make your way up through those 44,000 others, and climb over enough to
get to us - brilliant, we'd love to have you," he continued. Scudamore
insists that the Premier League is firmly behind the Football Association's
drive to improve the youth development in England. "The night (in 2007) we
lost to Croatia 2-3, poor old Steve McClaren under the umbrella, I flipped.
I said: 'This can't go on, we aren't taking this reputational damage any
more.' It took a while to get this EPPP into place. "It is incongruous that
we have the (successful) league that we have and aren't seen to be doing
better on the international stage. The last eight of the World Cup is where
we naturally should be."
"It is incongruous that we have the (successful) league that we have and
aren't seen to be doing better on the international stage. The last eight of
the World Cup is where we naturally should be. The last four is bloody good.
To get to a final would be absolutely fantastic. It will happen in my
lifetime, that England will get to a final.''
Commission
FA chairman Greg Dyke has set up a Commission to look into the problems
within the English game and how they can build towards a successful England
side, and Scudamore feels that the Premier League will show they are doing
their bit.
"I know the Commission will be taking a very good look at EPPP and will be
pleasantly surprised as to what is in place already,'' said Scudamore.
"All our clubs are searching for that local boy who can make it, the Steven
Gerrard, the Jamie Carragher, born within the environs of that club. That's
the holy grail. Fans will love any player who is good for their club but
there is a special place that fans reserve for the local boy made good. "I
hope the Commission spend some considerable time in their report addressing
the biggest issue we've got which is the propensity of people to want to
play at grass-roots level. But it's fragile. "Grass roots is always fragile.
We mustn't kill the willing amateur. Are we sure that young people have
access to the facilities, to play regular football, in this winter of all
winters, when you hear of teams who haven't played since November? Put in a
decent 3G facility and you could play a whole league over the weekend.''
Scudamore believes Dyke needs to push the Government for better funding of
the game at grass roots level.
"The money we are putting into grass roots is never enough but it wouldn't
be beyond the wit of the FA to find some more of their resources and then
Government funding again,'' said Scudamore.
"The key objective for the FA chairman is to get that sorted. The urban
areas of Britain aren't well served. There are lots of young people living
in high density accommodation without an escape through football which is
why our clubs are trying to do their bit through their community schemes.
"We can only do so much. What we are doing could be scaled (up) with input
from the FA and more input from Government. It is happening. Sport England
have now come along part-funding Kickz programme; they see the power of
using our club brands and expertise to grow this engagement.
"Raheem Sterling and Wilfried Zaha came through a Kickz programme in a
pretty challenging area in this country (London) and there must be loads of
kids like them. I can't believe there aren't some more kids of 13, 14, 15,
16, living in these huge tower blocks, who if they had the facilities and a
safe coaching environment would become footballers.''
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE BLACK AND WHITE SEATED OLYMPIC STADIUM
By Sean Whetstone 15 Feb 2014 at 09:11
West Ham Till I Die
During recent conversations with fellow West Ham fans it became apparent to
me that many had an expectation that the seats in the transformed Olympic
Stadium would be Claret and Blue. This is not the case as the seats will
remain black and white as they did throughout the London Olympics of 2012 as
pictured below from the 2013 submitted planning documentation.
The official planning documentation makes it clear that the upper tier seats
will remain black and white and that any new seats procured for the lower
tier must be purchased to the same specification of the existing black and
white seat units, and must be arranged to blend into the existing Olympic
'fragment' pattern. There will actually be 60,000 permitted seats within the
transformed Olympic Stadium but 6,000 will be screened off in football mode
to comply with UEFA category 4 stadium standards.The maximum capacity for
concert events will grow to 80,000 people although this will vary depending
on stage size and positions.
What is not clear is what will happen to the other 8,000 seats in the upper
tier. The Olympic Stadium was built with a capacity of 80,000 made up of
25,000 in the lower tier and 55,000 in the upper tier. We know the lower
tier will reduce to 19,000 because of the design of retractable seating but
the upper tier will remain largely unchanged meaning it must reduce to
41,000 seats to make the 60,000 seats limit defined in the planning
permission. In reality this could mean up to 14,000 seats that need to be
removed or screened off in total in the upper tier. In the match segregation
section of the planning documentation it shows how West Ham must allocate
15% of the 54,000 seats to away fans if we remain in the Premier league
meaning we could see up to 8,100 away fans at our home matches. It indicates
that the away fans will have a vertical segregated section which includes
both the upper and lower retractable tiers. I was hoping the away fans would
be stuck up in the gods like Newcastle but this does not appear to be the
case. The 15% zone is clearly marked in the diagram at the bottom of this
article.
Although I know the colour of seats might bother some people, personally it
doesn't bother me as long as there is claret and blue and West Ham branding
elsewhere in the stadium. When I looked at my faded seat in the Sir Trevor
Brooking last Tuesday night it didn't look very claret in colour to me. Many
years ago the seats were wooden at the Boleyn. A fellow SAB member on the
Stadium Match Day experience group suggested the club told them that the
colour of the seats has yet to be determined. This planning documentation
approved last year appears to say otherwise and so appears wishful thinking
on the club's part.
I have shared this information in the spirit of transparency for our
impending Olympic Stadium move but remain firmly up for the move despite the
issues.
The sections below are straight from planning documents published in March
2013.
Seating Appearance
To achieve the transformed seating bowl, repositioning of the seats will be
required, particularly for the upper tier former press areas, as mentioned
above, and also to suit the revised allocations of hospitality and general
admission seating on the west side. It is intended that existing seat stocks
will be reused and repositioned, and some new seats will be procured to the
same specification of the existing black and white seat units, and be
arranged to blend into the existing 'fragment' pattern.
Seating Standards
The seating standards established for the Games mode stadium will be
retained, with 'best practice' 800 mm deep tread depths on the lower and
upper tiers and seats spaces at a minimum 480 mm centres. Seating
allocations for hospitality guests on the lower, mid and upper west stand
tiers will be set at a minimum of 600 mm centres, with some tread depths on
the mid-tier set at 850 mm.The new west stand mid-tier will have super-riser
platforms to the wheelchair accessible and amenity seating areas. Th e new
private suites will have two rows of seats in front of the glass enclosure,
raised to a super-riser condition above the three rows of hospitality seats
in front. For the Games mode scheme, all spectator seats were designed to
achieve a minimum C-60 sightline standard for the athletics event. This
sightline parameter will be maintained for all seats in the stadium
transformation in athletics mode; although there is a change in focal point
for rectangular pitch sports . The moving tier configurations maintain the
sightline to a minimum C-60, with approximately 90% of the 54,000 capacity
allocation exceeding aC-90 standard.It should be emphasised that the
sightline calculation is a diagrammatic abstraction of the view
characteristics, taken perpendicular to the FOP focal point, and that
diagonal views out across the arena generally improve as the head turns.The
accessible seating strategy for the transformed stadium is largely unchanged
from the Games mode, with wheelchair accessible viewing positions to the
back of the lower tier, back of the mid-tier, and front of the west stand
upper tier.Wheelchair user viewing platforms are inserted into the tiers,
and generally laid out as a pair of wheelchair spaces each with an adjacent
companion seat. The companion seats will match the design and quality of the
adjacent seating standard. Amenity seats, located close to vomitories will
also be provided and have a wider seat spacing than the standard seats.
Amenity seats are provided to all sides in the lower tier bowl, at the back
of the mid-tier, and at the front of the upper tier in the weststand. Where
there is lift access in the east stand, amenity seats are provided forward
of the adjacent tier vomitory positions. For further detail on the
provision, types and potential for accessible seating please refer section
9.4 of this document.
Match Segregation
If the stadium is used for football league, premier league or international
matches, then spectators may need to be physically separated into
segregation groups. Th e percentage of seating required for the away
supporters will vary from a minimum of 5% for football league, 15% for
premier league, and 50% for international matches. In order to allow for
away spectators to enter separately and have separate coach drop-off
facilities, a new set of stairs and lift are proposed to the southern edge
of the podium, connecting to the multi-purpose south parking area. This
allows for separate access to, and egress from, the podium in all match
modes. Should the venue be used for Champions League or similar
international events, then the segregation zones can be extended to a 50%
capacity division, by the introduction of a third segregation boundary to
the east side of the bowl. Segregation barriers will be used in the seating
bowl and internal concourses.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
RAVEL MORRISON CAN BE MY NEW DI CANIO SAYS REDKNAPP
By Sean Whetstone 14 Feb 2014 at 13:00
West Ham Till I Die
Harry Redknapp has been speaking at a press conference today about the
impending 93 day loan of West Ham's Ravel Morrison to QPR.
Harry said "We need someone who can unlock the door, I've always had someone
in my teams who can change a game. I had Di Canio and Merson at Portsmouth.
I've had someone special who can turn a game for you. Thought the other day
we dominated but Ravel may be one of those lads who can do that for us. It
is a gamble for us. He has got baggage or something else.If we didn't have a
problem somewhere he wouldn't be here, he would still be playing at
Manchester United. He has that talent. It's the chance you take. Somewhere
in life you have got to take a chance and take a gamble. Sometimes they come
off and sometimes they don't. Maybe we do need a little bit of a maverick on
the pitch. Someone who can do his own thing at time. Adel was the main
reason they got promoted. Talk to Clint he was the difference and the icing
on the cake that got them up. Hopefully Ravel can do the same.As far as I
know he is fit and ready to play. Hopefully he is ok."
The short term loan is not expected to include an automatic option to sign
the player permanently. It appears Ravel's long standing groin injury has
miraculously cleared up.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ravel Morrison's unravelling at West Ham United is a tremendous waste
Midfielder who gloriously waltzed through Tottenham Hotspur's defence is cut
loose by club and heading to QPR
Daniel Taylor
The Observer, Saturday 15 February 2014 22.37 GMT
West Ham United's Ravel Morrison is dropping down to the Championship in a
loan deal with QPR. Photograph: Stephen Pond/PA
There is a clip of Ravel Morrison, from an England Under-21s training
session, when a corner comes in from the right and no matter how many times
you watch it, even in slow motion, it is still almost implausible how he
creates that lovely sound of ball against net.
It is as if heading the ball, or going for the volley, is just too
straightforward and too bland for a player with his gifts. He twists his
body, his back leg flicks around and he is mid-air, facing away from goal,
when it connects. It is the kind of finish that would ordinarily be found
only on a computer game but Morrison saunters away as if it was the most
normal thing in the world.
Morrison had already had one round of applause on those blowy pitches in
Staffordshire, after chipping the goalkeeper with the delicacy of a champion
golfer pitching in and before anyone raises the obvious, nobody can say he
is just a training-ground player. His goal at Tottenham earlier this season,
waltzing past a couple of challenges and advancing from the halfway line,
was a demonstration of high skill and balance that suggested we were seeing
the flowering of the potential that once had Sir Alex Ferguson acclaiming
Morrison as the most talented youngster he had seen since the schoolboy Paul
Scholes.
The two he scored in his first full match for England's Under-21s were not
too shabby either and it does not feel too long ago since a group of us
journalists were breaking bread with Roy Hodgson in the Soho Hotel,
reflecting on the senior team qualifying for the World Cup after the
previous night's win against Poland, and the conversation turned to which
players could force their way into his squad. Morrison was one of the first
names the England manager mentioned and there was nothing at the time that
felt incongruous about it.
Hodgson met us for lunch again a few days ago but this time nobody brought
up Morrison. A player who was bewitching Premier League audiences before
Christmas will join QPR this week, dropping down into the Championship in a
three-month loan arrangement that pretty much takes a sledgehammer to any
chance of him being on the plane to Brazil. After that, it is unclear what
happens, other than to say it is amazing how quickly everything has
unravelled for him at West Ham. As it stands, it is difficult to imagine him
playing for the club again.
It is an unusual, complex story and, inevitably, football being the business
it is, there will be some who automatically assume he must have done
something wrong. In football, it has always been easier to get a bad name
than to lose one and Morrison's previous means there is an instinct,
sometimes, to apportion blame his way. It would be a lazy assumption.
Morrison has done some stupid things but it has been a few years now since
he knotted a tie for court. He is still paying the price for those juvenile
misdemeanours and he has had to get used to seeing his name prefaced in
print with words such as "wayward" and "bad boy". Yet everyone at West Ham
can confirm he has knuckled down and shown a level of dedication and
professionalism that was not always there. Morrison does not drink or go to
nightclubs. His diet is right. He has a steady girlfriend and better
influences outside the club than people realise. Of course, he still needs
guidance, but at 21 he is not the same impulsive kid of 17. Now, three
months after Sam Allardyce talked of Morrison reaching the very top of his
profession, he is being cut free. It is no wonder West Ham fans are feeling
confused.
The first thing to say is that it all feels like a tremendous waste, and
there is something deeply unsatisfactory about the chain of events that has
brought him to this point.
Towards the end of last year, Morrison was invited to a meeting with the
football agent Mark Curtis to see if he wanted to become one of his clients.
Curtis does this a fair bit with Allardyce's players. At West Ham, he either
represents or has links with Allardyce, Kevin Nolan, James Tomkins, Jack
Collison, Matt Jarvis, Andy Carroll, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Adrian. Look
through his history and there is a fairly astounding pattern of players
signing up to him from Allardyce teams. He also has a chequered past of his
own, with an official warning from the Football Association after the 2008
investigation into Luton Town's illegal transfer dealings.
Morrison was not keen but, since then, his complaint is that he has felt
under considerable pressure from Allardyce and Nolan to change his mind,
claiming it is brought up on an almost daily basis. His grievance is that he
wanted to go into training to learn and improve, not to have endless
conversations about an agent he did not want to employ.
West Ham have put this to the relevant people and they strenuously deny it.
Curtis says it is "nonsense", and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
But Morrison has become disillusioned with his manager and captain.
Allardyce has talked of Morrison complaining about a groin injury when the
medical staff could find no problem. Relationships have broken down. A few
months ago, Morrison appeared to have the keys to the football universe. Now
he cannot wait to get out of the club.
The issue has been discussed as high as it goes at Upton Park. Morrison was
advised by one senior figure to put in a transfer request but decided
against it. Fulham put in a £4m bid and West Ham reported them to the
Premier League for alleged tapping up because of René Meulensteen saying he
knew Morrison wanted to join them. The dispute may have put off Fulham from
making an improved offer – West Ham wanted £10m – but no one should be too
surprised if the complaint ultimately comes to nothing. The relevant people
at Craven Cottage believe they have hard evidence, in line with this
newspaper's information, that Morrison had been informed he should look for
another club. If that is proven, West Ham's complaint will look hollow, to
say the least. It will also leave their co-owners, David Sullivan and David
Gold, with some awkward questions to answer.
The really perplexing thing is that a club with West Ham's ambitions should,
surely, want to build their future around players of this refinement. It is
not going to be straightforward filling 54,000 seats when they move to the
Olympic Stadium in 2016. Morrison, playing as he was before Christmas, would
have helped the process enormously. Instead, if the paperwork goes through,
Morrison will not be at Upton Park when Allardyce's team play Southampton
next weekend. He will be a few miles across London, making his QPR debut at
Charlton Athletic, with a permanent deal possible in the summer.
His story is a reminder of how quickly everything can change in football.
Except Morrison's belief is that little of this is actually about football.
His emergence at West Ham was probably the most exciting since the early
years of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick. He was the club's leading scorer and
outstanding player. It seems strange, to say the least, for West Ham to
shuffle that player out of the back door, especially when they are a club
who normally pride themselves on looking after their own.
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WHUFC.com
Former West Ham United striker Dean Ashton has been impressed with his old
club's recent performances
15.02.2014
Dean Ashton is backing West Ham United to maintain their recent run of form
and achieve Barclays Premier League safety. The former Hammers and England
striker was back at the Boleyn Ground to watch West Ham overcome another of
his former clubs, Norwich City, in midweek. During his visit, Ashton spoke
to West Ham TV about a wide range of subjects, including the relegation
battle, Andy Carroll's England chances and his own media career.
Dean, what have you made of West Ham's recent run of 13 points from 18 that
has lifted them away from the bottom three?
DA: "West Ham are on a very good run of form. Kevin Nolan has come back
into the goals with a couple of braces and it always helps when you have a
player like him in the team who can come into the team and get goals. A lot
has to be said about the defensive unit as well because they have been
absolutely outstanding. Adrian has come in and been outstanding, as have
James Collins and James Tomkins."
West Ham have been without Andy Carroll in their wins over Aston Villa and
Norwich, which shows they can win with or without him. That's encouraging?
DA: "After what happened with the red card and everything that went with it,
I think people probably thought that West Ham would have gone to Villa and
got beaten, but they went there and put in a great performance. Kevin Nolan
can score goals with or without Andy Carroll. It's easier when Andy is
playing, because he can feed off the knockdowns, but he showed he is a
quality finisher at this level with or without Andy."
Sam Allardyce said during our early-season injury crisis that he should only
be judged when he had his full squad available. Has the recent run proved
him right?
DA: "I have been saying in interviews that you could not really judge Sam
until he had his best players back. Any team, like Manchester United this
season, when they have been without Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie, they
are not the same side. West Ham had four or five of their best players not
playing for quite a while. Anyone would miss that. It's been proven that now
they are back and results are starting to pick up and I could see why Sam
was complaining about the injury side of it. It was a fact that his best
players were injured."
Can West Ham stay away from the bottom three now?
DA: "I can see maybe two or three teams getting out of the relegation
battle, but I can see there being a good seven or eight teams being in it
right until the end. Obviously, for someone who isn't playing or a fan, it's
brilliant to watch. Obviously for the fans of those teams, it will be
difficult for them, and I think the next month or so will be really
important to see if any of those teams can get away from the pack and ease
their problems."
When he returns from suspension, can Andy Carroll force his way into
England's 2014 FIFA World Cup squad?
DA: "He's different to everyone else and that's what he's got in his favour.
He's unplayable at times. He's 6'5" but he's got a great leap as well and
he's competitive. I'd hate to play against him if I was a centre-half and I
know centre-halves hate playing against him. I'm gutted for him because,
after coming back from a long injury, all you want to do is play and now
he's out for three games but he's not injured. I'm sure he'll be champing at
the bit when he does get back. I'm pretty sure, if he can put a run of games
together, he can get in the England squad.
You may have retired in 2009, but you still get a great reception from West
Ham fans, don't you?
DA: "They have always ben superb with me. It's a real shame I didn't get to
show more of my talents, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Since I
have finished, I always get their support and it's unbelievable. It's the
same with the Norwich fans and I just want to see both teams stay up,
really."
Finally, how is your media career going? You appear to enjoy your role as a
commentator and summariser on TV and radio?
DA: "I mainly work in the media side of things now, commentating. I've tried
a bit of coaching but I'm not quite ready for that. I enjoy the commentating
and want to be as close to the action as I can be, without the same
pressures as playing. You're always looking for that edge and to give an
insight to people watching and listening into something they wouldn't know.
Being a player, I have the insight from inside the lines, which the likes of
Gary Neville are doing. You've got to be as honest as you can be, because
that's the nature of the job."
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U18s thrash Royals
WHUFC.com
West Ham United scored a comfortable 4-0 Barclays U18 Premier League win
over Reading at Little Heath
15.02.2014
West Ham United continued their excellent Barclays U18 Premier League South
form by overrunning Reading 4-0 at Little Heath on Saturday. Hammers
midfielder Moses Makasi popped up in the right place at the right time to
give the Hammers a one-goal lead at half-time, before second-half goals from
captain Kieran Bywater, striker Jaanai Gordon (pictured) and Amos Nasha
secured the points. U18 boss Steve Potts was without defenders Kyle Knoyle
and Lewis Page, along with midfielder Josh Cullen, who all featured in the
Hammers' Development Squad victory over Southampton U21s on Friday night.
Reece Burke covered in Page's absence at left-back, with former Peterborough
United striker Gordon returning from injury to be named on the substitutes'
bench. It was Reading who forced the ball into the back of the net first
early on, but visiting striker Harry Cardwell saw his headed goal ruled out
for a foul on West Ham goalkeeper Sam Howes. West Ham quickly responded to
the errors that almost saw them go behind and were soon ahead. Makasi was
allowed to wander into the Reading penalty area to finish after good team
play from Bywater, Djair Parfitt-Williams and Jordan Brown. After going
behind, Reading upped their performance and had several opportunities to
draw level, but neither Jake Sheppard, Nana Owusu nor Bogdan Vastsuk could
manage to finish past Howes.
The Hammers also had chances to double their lead, most noticeably when
Nathan Mavila had the ball at his feet in the penalty area late in the first
half, but he sliced it wide after rushing to take his shot. Into the second
half and it took the host's just ten minutes to double their advantage, when
Brown broke forward with pace, before sliding the ball into the path of
Bywater to finish for his 16th league goal of the season. Straight after
going 2-0 ahead, Potts decided to give Gordon a run out after a recent
injury and, just six minutes later, the powerful forward got on the end of
Mavila's right-wing cross to head in a third West Ham goal. West Ham
dominated the closing stages and, with just five minutes left on the clock,
Nasha scored a similar goal to Makasi's opener by strolling into the box and
finishing to rubberstamp the victory for West Ham. The victory keeps West
Ham in third place in the table, but they are now level on points with both
leaders Fulham, whose match on Saturday against West Bromwich Albion was
postponed, and second-place Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Leicester City 3-0.
U18s: Howes, Pike (Amoo), Harney, Onariase (Pask), Burke, Makasi, Nasha,
Mavila, Brown, Bywater, Parfitt-Williams (Gordon)
Subs not used: Guzman, Bailey
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Potts delighted with 'deserved' win
WHUFC.com
Steve Potts felt the Development Squad fully deserved their win against
Southampton on Friday night
15.02.2014
Steve Potts hailed Danny Whitehead's wonder goal after the Development Squad
saw off torrid conditions to beat Southampton at Rush Green on Friday night.
The midfielder struck with 52 minutes on the clock, sending a long-range
thunderbolt flying into the top corner of the net, to earn his side their
first win of 2014. Whitehead's strike lit up a contest which was badly
affected by swirling winds and driving rain and his super strike left Potts
raving about his second goal of the season. He told West Ham TV: "It was a
very good goal. The set-up was good, the ball came across to Danny, he got
the ball out of his feet and he struck the ball really well into the corner.
"I was watching him in the warm-up and he was hitting the ball really well,
he's got a good strike on him and luckily enough he connected very well for
the goal. "I think we deserved to win. The ball didn't fall kindly enough
for us in the box, had it have done then I think we might have got another
goal or two but overall I was very happy with them."
The Hammers played with the wind behind them in the first half and were
lucky not to go behind when Jake Sinclair scuffed a shot wide from just
eight yards out. That effort was a rare threat from Saints who couldn't cope
with the Hammers after the break, and Potts was left wondering how his side
hadn't won by a greater margin. "We mixed the game up fairly well second
half. We played it short when we had to and we also looked a threat behind
which was important because we said at half-time that any balls down the
sides were going to hold up more for us in the second half. "We created good
opportunities but it didn't quite fall for us. There were one or two
scrambles where I don't know how it didn't end up in the back of the net but
luckily we kept a clean sheet and one was enough."
Former Hammers defender Potts was standing in for Nick Haycock whilst the
coach is away with the first team and he was left impressed with how some of
his Under-18 contingent had handled the Barclays Under-21 Premier League.
Kyle Knoyle, Lewis Page, Josh Cullen and Vit Nemrava all featured against
the Saints and Potts believed they all showed they could handle the step-up.
"I think they've coped very well. It's not easy for a young player to
step-up, they can get a little bit nervous but I thought they coped with it
very well. "That's what it's all about, can they move to the next level.
Josh Cullen came in tonight and I thought he was excellent. "I'd like to
mention Vit as well, who was in goal for the second half, because that
wasn't easy to come on at half-time. Against the wind you think 'Ah we could
be penned in' and that he might have to save a lot of shots but I think he
coped very well with what he had to deal with and his kicking was
excellent."
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'It's amazing how quickly it changes'
WHUFC.com
The experienced Matt Taylor has enjoyed West Ham United's recent upturn in
fortunes
14.02.2014
Matt Taylor has been around football long enough not to take a three-match
winning streak for granted - but the midfielder is certainly enjoying West
Ham United's recent renaissance. The 32-year-old has played an influential
role in West Ham's run of 13 points from the last six matches, a sequence
that has lifted the Club away from the relegation zone and into mid-table.
However, with just a handful of points separating the bottom ten teams,
Taylor knows West Ham cannot afford to lose focus ahead of their final 12
league fixtures. "It's amazing how quickly football changes and in the space
of six weeks we've managed to turn our fortunes around in our favour," said
the No14. "We're sitting in tenth as I speak, but it's still really tight.
"Tuesday was a really gritty performance, Adrian made some great saves when
he had to and we took our chances when we had to. It was a wonderful home
win."
Taylor has played his part as West Ham secured vital victories at Cardiff
City and Aston Villa and at home to Swansea City and Norwich City, as well
as an impressive draw at Chelsea. All five matches saw the Hammers take a
different approach to gaining an ultimately positive result, culminating in
a hard-fought success against the Canaries on Tuesday. "I think what we did
on Tuesday was stay in the game at vital times. Adrian made some really
vital saves at the right times, we had some good chances ourselves and Mo
forced Ruddy into a wonderful save, then Ginge popped up with a great header
from a short free-kick which we'd worked on. "It's all about trying to win
football games in different ways and we've done that again on Tuesday night.
It probably wasn't the most pretty of performances, but it was a fantastic
win for the Club."
Taylor and his midfield colleagues know they need to keep playing well, with
fit-again Mo Diame, new boy Antonio Nocerino and Jack Collison all pushing
for starts in the engine room. Diame was used as a substitute left winger
against Norwich and responded superbly, setting up James Collins'
84th-minute opener before scoring himself deep into added time. "Mo was
brilliant," said Taylor. "It also highlights the depth we have in the squad
now everybody is fit and we're playing ever so well. We can't really
complain. There are obviously lots of players champing at the bit to come in
because everyone wants to play, but that can only bode well for the Club and
for future results. "We've got 12 games left now until the end of the season
and we've got to pick up some vital points to finish as high up the league
as possible. "We've picked up some momentum but we shouldn't get carried
away. We've had four good results on the trot and that's definitely the
first time we've strung three Premier League wins together, so it's
fantastic for everybody concerned. We've now got another huge game to look
forward to against Southampton."
Before the visit of Southampton on Saturday 22 February, the squad will
recharge their batteries at a warm-weather training camp in Dubai. Having
enjoyed positive effects from similar trips in each of the last two seasons,
Taylor believes the players will come back from the Middle East physically
refreshed and ready to take on the in-form Saints. "It's nice to get the sun
on your back when you're training so it'll be a good session for us out
there. It'll be nice to get the t-shirt and shorts on with the boots, and no
doubt we'll be doing some work on the beach as well. "It's something that
the manager thinks is vitally important. He knows his statistics and if he
knows it works and it will work, he will continue doing it."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Hammers youngster nets for England
WHUFC.com
Academy player Jahmal Hector-Ingram helped England U16 see off Belgium on
Friday
15.02.2014
West Ham United Academy player Jahmal Hector-Ingram notched his second goal
in as many games for England U16 as they saw off Belgium in the final game
of the UEFA Development Tournament at St George's Park. After bouncing back
from defeat to Spain by beating Denmark, the Young Lions ended their
campaign with a hard fought 3-2 victory over Belgium. Hector-Ingram made it
2-0 shortly before half time, before being withdrawn at the break and
watching on as the visitors halved the deficit through Ismail Azzaoui.
Kaylen Hinds, who opened the scoring for England, then restored the two-goal
buffer, before Belgium's Christophe Janssens ensured a nervy finale. England
held on to ensure they would end the tournament in encouraging fashion.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chadwell Chatter
WHUFC.com
Goalkeeper coach Martyn Margetson is proud of his impressive group of
goalkeepers
14.02.2014
Hello everyone,
I must say, the performances of Adrian in recent matches have been a source
of great pride for me. It is all about the team, but goalkeepers do pride
themselves on keeping clean sheets, as do the outfield players. To be fair,
he has been there week-in, week-out, when we've needed him to make important
saves, he has made them. As a goalkeeper, that's what you're judged on.
Obviously, you might not be doing a lot for most of the game, so when you're
called upon, you need to be switched on and ready and able to make saves.
Adrian's decisions tactically have pleased me - how he has defended the goal
and he's taken on board things that we've been speaking about and working
on. He's certainly a star performer at the moment and he's taken his chance
brilliantly.
A lot of the foreign goalkeepers have a different mentaility - they either
catch or their objective is to get the ball as far away from the goal as
they can. He does that very well. He works hard, when he doesn't catch, so
that the ball goes into 'safe' areas, as we call them. That's part and
parcel of his game and he does it super.
I went out to watch Adrian three times in Spain last season and the manager
came with me on the last occasion. A lot of people wouldn't realise that
there is a lot that goes on behind the scenes to get a player like Adrian to
the Football Club. We put the groundwork in and we managed to bring him here
for nothing, which is a bonus from the Club's point of view. We knew he was
an outstanding talent and an outstanding young 'keeper and I think he's
proving that now of late. He's mentally really strong, beyond his years, and
he will get better and better. It's important as a goalkeeper and massively
helps you if the fans are behind you. It's a difficult position because the
crowd can give you stick, but he has policed that situation brilliantly. The
fans have responded to him magnificently, which helps him massively. With
the backing of the supporters and his team-mates, everyone can see he has
grown into the position game by game We've still got lots more to come from
Adrian.
I can't speak any higher of Jussi Jaaskelainen and his attitude - that's why
he is still in the game at the age of 39, nearly 40. Obviously he is
disappointed that he isn't playing, but to be fair to him, he's been
absolutely first-class. He has supported Adrian every step of the way and
tried to mentor him, also. My heart goes out to Jussi for not playing, but
his attitude and his application have been fantastic, as has his support of
Adrian. He deserves a lot of credit. Finally, Stephen Henderson has had a
difficult time with a serious injury - a dislocated shoulder - and he has
done well to come back a little bit ahead of schedule, which we're very
pleased about. As a goalkeeper coach, I'm thrilled with the goalkeepers we
have at senior level at this Football Club. We have Adrian and Jussi and, in
my opinion, Hendo is a top-class young goalkeeper too. He has a big future
ahead of him, then we have young Raphael Spiegel who people know about and
his potential is frightening.
From my point of view, I'm very excited!
Marge
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Redknapp: Morrison's a gamble
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 14th February 2014
By: Staff Writer
Harry Redknapp has admitted that taking Ravel Morrison to QPR on loan could
backfire. The former West Ham manager is set to sign the 20-year-old on loan
for the remainder of the season next week - meaning that were Rangers to
make the play-offs, Morrrison would be eligible to feature. However Redknapp
told the press this morning that the move represents a huge gamble. "He's
got fantastic ability, there's no doubt about that," he said. "If we get the
best out of him it could make a big difference. "He's got ability but he's
got to do it. People say how good he can be, but he's got to come here and
show just what he can do. I just hope he's not one of those kids you look
back on and say: 'He could have been a great player'. "I'm not saying it's
not a gamble. He is a gamble. If he didn't have a problem somewhere he
wouldn't be coming to QPR, would he? He'd be at Man United. But sometimes in
life you have to take a gamble. If you don't buy a ticket you're never going
to win the lottery. "All the reports are that he's a decent lad and he's
certainly a talented lad. I spoke to Lee Clark and he loved him – he
couldn't speak highly enough of him. Maybe at this stage we need a maverick
– someone who does their own thing at times."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chief executive Richard Scudamore confirms plans for a Premier League 'B'
league
By Graeme Bailey - Tweet me: @graemebailey | Last Updated: 14/02/14 10:50am
SSN
Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore has confirmed that there
are plans for a 'B' league to come into existence. The new league would
replace the current Under-21 league format, and would be for Under-23
players with four over age players allowed. The league would involve the
same teams that are in the Under-21 league - which is those who are classed
as category one in the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). That would mean
that current Premier League sides Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton,
Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle, Norwich,
Southampton, Stoke, Sunderland, Tottenham, West Brom and West Ham would be
involved along with Football League clubs Bolton, Blackburn, Leicester,
Middlesbrough, Reading and Wolves. Other clubs such as Crystal Palace, who
aim to achieve category one status soon, would also be allowed to compete in
the competition - with the plan to broadcast the games played from the main
club stadiums. Scudamore outlined his hopes for what he believes will be a
much-needed component to youth development in English football. "We
understand the challenge of developing English talent good enough to play in
the Premier League first team is how do you get them to transition from
Under-18s into first-team squads? It is such a huge leap. You have to have
the transition phase, the 'professional development phase' we call it," he
explained to the Daily Telegraph.
"The Under-21 League is technically very good but not where it needs to be
in terms of meaningful competition for these youngsters. "The minute you
call it 'Under-21' people think it is no use. It needs a better name and a
better focus. All clubs recognise that. We need proper kick-off times, using
main stadiums, anything to create an experience that is more competitive and
more like the first team so it doesn't come as such a shock. And those
players in that group should be interchangeable with the first team. "They
should be category one clubs and we are happy for them to be in that league
with 16 of ours, and six of the Championship. If more cat one clubs come
along you structure it accordingly. "It should be in all our interests that
people have more cat one academies because that's the best it can be.''
Scudamore insisted that the new league would have no impact on the Football
League or its structure. "Having been chief executive of the Football
League, I believe in the pyramid. If you set up a club behind the Dog and
Duck, make your way up through those 44,000 others, and climb over enough to
get to us - brilliant, we'd love to have you," he continued. Scudamore
insists that the Premier League is firmly behind the Football Association's
drive to improve the youth development in England. "The night (in 2007) we
lost to Croatia 2-3, poor old Steve McClaren under the umbrella, I flipped.
I said: 'This can't go on, we aren't taking this reputational damage any
more.' It took a while to get this EPPP into place. "It is incongruous that
we have the (successful) league that we have and aren't seen to be doing
better on the international stage. The last eight of the World Cup is where
we naturally should be."
"It is incongruous that we have the (successful) league that we have and
aren't seen to be doing better on the international stage. The last eight of
the World Cup is where we naturally should be. The last four is bloody good.
To get to a final would be absolutely fantastic. It will happen in my
lifetime, that England will get to a final.''
Commission
FA chairman Greg Dyke has set up a Commission to look into the problems
within the English game and how they can build towards a successful England
side, and Scudamore feels that the Premier League will show they are doing
their bit.
"I know the Commission will be taking a very good look at EPPP and will be
pleasantly surprised as to what is in place already,'' said Scudamore.
"All our clubs are searching for that local boy who can make it, the Steven
Gerrard, the Jamie Carragher, born within the environs of that club. That's
the holy grail. Fans will love any player who is good for their club but
there is a special place that fans reserve for the local boy made good. "I
hope the Commission spend some considerable time in their report addressing
the biggest issue we've got which is the propensity of people to want to
play at grass-roots level. But it's fragile. "Grass roots is always fragile.
We mustn't kill the willing amateur. Are we sure that young people have
access to the facilities, to play regular football, in this winter of all
winters, when you hear of teams who haven't played since November? Put in a
decent 3G facility and you could play a whole league over the weekend.''
Scudamore believes Dyke needs to push the Government for better funding of
the game at grass roots level.
"The money we are putting into grass roots is never enough but it wouldn't
be beyond the wit of the FA to find some more of their resources and then
Government funding again,'' said Scudamore.
"The key objective for the FA chairman is to get that sorted. The urban
areas of Britain aren't well served. There are lots of young people living
in high density accommodation without an escape through football which is
why our clubs are trying to do their bit through their community schemes.
"We can only do so much. What we are doing could be scaled (up) with input
from the FA and more input from Government. It is happening. Sport England
have now come along part-funding Kickz programme; they see the power of
using our club brands and expertise to grow this engagement.
"Raheem Sterling and Wilfried Zaha came through a Kickz programme in a
pretty challenging area in this country (London) and there must be loads of
kids like them. I can't believe there aren't some more kids of 13, 14, 15,
16, living in these huge tower blocks, who if they had the facilities and a
safe coaching environment would become footballers.''
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE BLACK AND WHITE SEATED OLYMPIC STADIUM
By Sean Whetstone 15 Feb 2014 at 09:11
West Ham Till I Die
During recent conversations with fellow West Ham fans it became apparent to
me that many had an expectation that the seats in the transformed Olympic
Stadium would be Claret and Blue. This is not the case as the seats will
remain black and white as they did throughout the London Olympics of 2012 as
pictured below from the 2013 submitted planning documentation.
The official planning documentation makes it clear that the upper tier seats
will remain black and white and that any new seats procured for the lower
tier must be purchased to the same specification of the existing black and
white seat units, and must be arranged to blend into the existing Olympic
'fragment' pattern. There will actually be 60,000 permitted seats within the
transformed Olympic Stadium but 6,000 will be screened off in football mode
to comply with UEFA category 4 stadium standards.The maximum capacity for
concert events will grow to 80,000 people although this will vary depending
on stage size and positions.
What is not clear is what will happen to the other 8,000 seats in the upper
tier. The Olympic Stadium was built with a capacity of 80,000 made up of
25,000 in the lower tier and 55,000 in the upper tier. We know the lower
tier will reduce to 19,000 because of the design of retractable seating but
the upper tier will remain largely unchanged meaning it must reduce to
41,000 seats to make the 60,000 seats limit defined in the planning
permission. In reality this could mean up to 14,000 seats that need to be
removed or screened off in total in the upper tier. In the match segregation
section of the planning documentation it shows how West Ham must allocate
15% of the 54,000 seats to away fans if we remain in the Premier league
meaning we could see up to 8,100 away fans at our home matches. It indicates
that the away fans will have a vertical segregated section which includes
both the upper and lower retractable tiers. I was hoping the away fans would
be stuck up in the gods like Newcastle but this does not appear to be the
case. The 15% zone is clearly marked in the diagram at the bottom of this
article.
Although I know the colour of seats might bother some people, personally it
doesn't bother me as long as there is claret and blue and West Ham branding
elsewhere in the stadium. When I looked at my faded seat in the Sir Trevor
Brooking last Tuesday night it didn't look very claret in colour to me. Many
years ago the seats were wooden at the Boleyn. A fellow SAB member on the
Stadium Match Day experience group suggested the club told them that the
colour of the seats has yet to be determined. This planning documentation
approved last year appears to say otherwise and so appears wishful thinking
on the club's part.
I have shared this information in the spirit of transparency for our
impending Olympic Stadium move but remain firmly up for the move despite the
issues.
The sections below are straight from planning documents published in March
2013.
Seating Appearance
To achieve the transformed seating bowl, repositioning of the seats will be
required, particularly for the upper tier former press areas, as mentioned
above, and also to suit the revised allocations of hospitality and general
admission seating on the west side. It is intended that existing seat stocks
will be reused and repositioned, and some new seats will be procured to the
same specification of the existing black and white seat units, and be
arranged to blend into the existing 'fragment' pattern.
Seating Standards
The seating standards established for the Games mode stadium will be
retained, with 'best practice' 800 mm deep tread depths on the lower and
upper tiers and seats spaces at a minimum 480 mm centres. Seating
allocations for hospitality guests on the lower, mid and upper west stand
tiers will be set at a minimum of 600 mm centres, with some tread depths on
the mid-tier set at 850 mm.The new west stand mid-tier will have super-riser
platforms to the wheelchair accessible and amenity seating areas. Th e new
private suites will have two rows of seats in front of the glass enclosure,
raised to a super-riser condition above the three rows of hospitality seats
in front. For the Games mode scheme, all spectator seats were designed to
achieve a minimum C-60 sightline standard for the athletics event. This
sightline parameter will be maintained for all seats in the stadium
transformation in athletics mode; although there is a change in focal point
for rectangular pitch sports . The moving tier configurations maintain the
sightline to a minimum C-60, with approximately 90% of the 54,000 capacity
allocation exceeding aC-90 standard.It should be emphasised that the
sightline calculation is a diagrammatic abstraction of the view
characteristics, taken perpendicular to the FOP focal point, and that
diagonal views out across the arena generally improve as the head turns.The
accessible seating strategy for the transformed stadium is largely unchanged
from the Games mode, with wheelchair accessible viewing positions to the
back of the lower tier, back of the mid-tier, and front of the west stand
upper tier.Wheelchair user viewing platforms are inserted into the tiers,
and generally laid out as a pair of wheelchair spaces each with an adjacent
companion seat. The companion seats will match the design and quality of the
adjacent seating standard. Amenity seats, located close to vomitories will
also be provided and have a wider seat spacing than the standard seats.
Amenity seats are provided to all sides in the lower tier bowl, at the back
of the mid-tier, and at the front of the upper tier in the weststand. Where
there is lift access in the east stand, amenity seats are provided forward
of the adjacent tier vomitory positions. For further detail on the
provision, types and potential for accessible seating please refer section
9.4 of this document.
Match Segregation
If the stadium is used for football league, premier league or international
matches, then spectators may need to be physically separated into
segregation groups. Th e percentage of seating required for the away
supporters will vary from a minimum of 5% for football league, 15% for
premier league, and 50% for international matches. In order to allow for
away spectators to enter separately and have separate coach drop-off
facilities, a new set of stairs and lift are proposed to the southern edge
of the podium, connecting to the multi-purpose south parking area. This
allows for separate access to, and egress from, the podium in all match
modes. Should the venue be used for Champions League or similar
international events, then the segregation zones can be extended to a 50%
capacity division, by the introduction of a third segregation boundary to
the east side of the bowl. Segregation barriers will be used in the seating
bowl and internal concourses.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
RAVEL MORRISON CAN BE MY NEW DI CANIO SAYS REDKNAPP
By Sean Whetstone 14 Feb 2014 at 13:00
West Ham Till I Die
Harry Redknapp has been speaking at a press conference today about the
impending 93 day loan of West Ham's Ravel Morrison to QPR.
Harry said "We need someone who can unlock the door, I've always had someone
in my teams who can change a game. I had Di Canio and Merson at Portsmouth.
I've had someone special who can turn a game for you. Thought the other day
we dominated but Ravel may be one of those lads who can do that for us. It
is a gamble for us. He has got baggage or something else.If we didn't have a
problem somewhere he wouldn't be here, he would still be playing at
Manchester United. He has that talent. It's the chance you take. Somewhere
in life you have got to take a chance and take a gamble. Sometimes they come
off and sometimes they don't. Maybe we do need a little bit of a maverick on
the pitch. Someone who can do his own thing at time. Adel was the main
reason they got promoted. Talk to Clint he was the difference and the icing
on the cake that got them up. Hopefully Ravel can do the same.As far as I
know he is fit and ready to play. Hopefully he is ok."
The short term loan is not expected to include an automatic option to sign
the player permanently. It appears Ravel's long standing groin injury has
miraculously cleared up.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Ravel Morrison's unravelling at West Ham United is a tremendous waste
Midfielder who gloriously waltzed through Tottenham Hotspur's defence is cut
loose by club and heading to QPR
Daniel Taylor
The Observer, Saturday 15 February 2014 22.37 GMT
West Ham United's Ravel Morrison is dropping down to the Championship in a
loan deal with QPR. Photograph: Stephen Pond/PA
There is a clip of Ravel Morrison, from an England Under-21s training
session, when a corner comes in from the right and no matter how many times
you watch it, even in slow motion, it is still almost implausible how he
creates that lovely sound of ball against net.
It is as if heading the ball, or going for the volley, is just too
straightforward and too bland for a player with his gifts. He twists his
body, his back leg flicks around and he is mid-air, facing away from goal,
when it connects. It is the kind of finish that would ordinarily be found
only on a computer game but Morrison saunters away as if it was the most
normal thing in the world.
Morrison had already had one round of applause on those blowy pitches in
Staffordshire, after chipping the goalkeeper with the delicacy of a champion
golfer pitching in and before anyone raises the obvious, nobody can say he
is just a training-ground player. His goal at Tottenham earlier this season,
waltzing past a couple of challenges and advancing from the halfway line,
was a demonstration of high skill and balance that suggested we were seeing
the flowering of the potential that once had Sir Alex Ferguson acclaiming
Morrison as the most talented youngster he had seen since the schoolboy Paul
Scholes.
The two he scored in his first full match for England's Under-21s were not
too shabby either and it does not feel too long ago since a group of us
journalists were breaking bread with Roy Hodgson in the Soho Hotel,
reflecting on the senior team qualifying for the World Cup after the
previous night's win against Poland, and the conversation turned to which
players could force their way into his squad. Morrison was one of the first
names the England manager mentioned and there was nothing at the time that
felt incongruous about it.
Hodgson met us for lunch again a few days ago but this time nobody brought
up Morrison. A player who was bewitching Premier League audiences before
Christmas will join QPR this week, dropping down into the Championship in a
three-month loan arrangement that pretty much takes a sledgehammer to any
chance of him being on the plane to Brazil. After that, it is unclear what
happens, other than to say it is amazing how quickly everything has
unravelled for him at West Ham. As it stands, it is difficult to imagine him
playing for the club again.
It is an unusual, complex story and, inevitably, football being the business
it is, there will be some who automatically assume he must have done
something wrong. In football, it has always been easier to get a bad name
than to lose one and Morrison's previous means there is an instinct,
sometimes, to apportion blame his way. It would be a lazy assumption.
Morrison has done some stupid things but it has been a few years now since
he knotted a tie for court. He is still paying the price for those juvenile
misdemeanours and he has had to get used to seeing his name prefaced in
print with words such as "wayward" and "bad boy". Yet everyone at West Ham
can confirm he has knuckled down and shown a level of dedication and
professionalism that was not always there. Morrison does not drink or go to
nightclubs. His diet is right. He has a steady girlfriend and better
influences outside the club than people realise. Of course, he still needs
guidance, but at 21 he is not the same impulsive kid of 17. Now, three
months after Sam Allardyce talked of Morrison reaching the very top of his
profession, he is being cut free. It is no wonder West Ham fans are feeling
confused.
The first thing to say is that it all feels like a tremendous waste, and
there is something deeply unsatisfactory about the chain of events that has
brought him to this point.
Towards the end of last year, Morrison was invited to a meeting with the
football agent Mark Curtis to see if he wanted to become one of his clients.
Curtis does this a fair bit with Allardyce's players. At West Ham, he either
represents or has links with Allardyce, Kevin Nolan, James Tomkins, Jack
Collison, Matt Jarvis, Andy Carroll, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Adrian. Look
through his history and there is a fairly astounding pattern of players
signing up to him from Allardyce teams. He also has a chequered past of his
own, with an official warning from the Football Association after the 2008
investigation into Luton Town's illegal transfer dealings.
Morrison was not keen but, since then, his complaint is that he has felt
under considerable pressure from Allardyce and Nolan to change his mind,
claiming it is brought up on an almost daily basis. His grievance is that he
wanted to go into training to learn and improve, not to have endless
conversations about an agent he did not want to employ.
West Ham have put this to the relevant people and they strenuously deny it.
Curtis says it is "nonsense", and there is no suggestion of any wrongdoing.
But Morrison has become disillusioned with his manager and captain.
Allardyce has talked of Morrison complaining about a groin injury when the
medical staff could find no problem. Relationships have broken down. A few
months ago, Morrison appeared to have the keys to the football universe. Now
he cannot wait to get out of the club.
The issue has been discussed as high as it goes at Upton Park. Morrison was
advised by one senior figure to put in a transfer request but decided
against it. Fulham put in a £4m bid and West Ham reported them to the
Premier League for alleged tapping up because of René Meulensteen saying he
knew Morrison wanted to join them. The dispute may have put off Fulham from
making an improved offer – West Ham wanted £10m – but no one should be too
surprised if the complaint ultimately comes to nothing. The relevant people
at Craven Cottage believe they have hard evidence, in line with this
newspaper's information, that Morrison had been informed he should look for
another club. If that is proven, West Ham's complaint will look hollow, to
say the least. It will also leave their co-owners, David Sullivan and David
Gold, with some awkward questions to answer.
The really perplexing thing is that a club with West Ham's ambitions should,
surely, want to build their future around players of this refinement. It is
not going to be straightforward filling 54,000 seats when they move to the
Olympic Stadium in 2016. Morrison, playing as he was before Christmas, would
have helped the process enormously. Instead, if the paperwork goes through,
Morrison will not be at Upton Park when Allardyce's team play Southampton
next weekend. He will be a few miles across London, making his QPR debut at
Charlton Athletic, with a permanent deal possible in the summer.
His story is a reminder of how quickly everything can change in football.
Except Morrison's belief is that little of this is actually about football.
His emergence at West Ham was probably the most exciting since the early
years of Joe Cole and Michael Carrick. He was the club's leading scorer and
outstanding player. It seems strange, to say the least, for West Ham to
shuffle that player out of the back door, especially when they are a club
who normally pride themselves on looking after their own.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
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