Ladies chopped down in New Forest
WHUFC.com
Forest Green Rovers midfielder Kirsty Richardson struck late on to steal the
points as West Ham Ladies fell to a 1-0 FA Women's Premier League Southern
defeat on Sunday afternoon. The Hammers came out strong at Slimbridge AFC
and could have taken the lead on several occasions through midfielder
Shirvae Edwards and strikers Lily Mellors and Whitney Locke, but were
punished in the second period as Richardson's long-range punt found the
bottom corner of the net.
After picking up their first result of the season a week earlier against
lower league Crystal Palace in the FA Women's Premier League Cup Determining
Round, manager Marc Nurse made two changes to the team that defeated the
Eagles 3-0. Hannah Wheeler and midfielder Danni Ritson were replaced by
Kayleigh Xidhas and regular Development Squad striker Locke.
Within the opening ten minutes in the New Forest, the Hammers had two golden
opportunities to open the scoring. First, midfielder Kelley Blanchflower
poked wide from 18 yards after fantastic build-up play by Emma Sherwood and
captain Stacey Little, before Locke beat Rovers goalkeeper Abbie Morrisey to
the ball before firing over the bar with the net gaping.
The visitors continued to push forward throughout the first half and had
further chances to get themselves ahead through Mellors and Edwards, but
neither managed to force Morrisey into a save.
Down the other end of the pitch, Forest Green striker Charlotte King and
twin midfielders Karolayne and Kayanne Castro-Alencar were trying to cause
problems but Xidhas, Katie Bottom, Kerry Stimson and Danica Revell stood
strong to deny the hosts.
After the break, the Hammers were still having the lion's share of the
chances in front of goal but Little volleyed over from 18 yards before
Sherwood's effort was blocked by Morrisey.
With just over 20 minutes left to play, Nurse's side got lucky when
Richardson managed to beat the offside trap and round goalkeeper Aditi
Chauhan, but she fell whilst shooting and failed to hit the target.
Eight minutes later, the Hammers gave Richardson far too much space to shoot
from 20 yards and although the majority in attendance, including Chauhan,
thought the ball was going to trickle wide, her shot found the bottom corner
of the net to give the hosts the lead.
West Ham tried to get back into the game in the final ten minutes but their
attempts unfortunately met the same conclusion as earlier chances by failing
to beat Morrisey in the Forest Green goal.
Nurse's team will hope to pick up their first league points of the season
when they host local rivals C&K Basildon at AFC Hornchurch on Thursday 10
September at 7:45pm. Tickets are available online right now or on the gate
next week!
Ladies: Chauhan, Bottom, Stimson, Revell, Xidhas, Little (c), Blanchflower
(Miller), Sherwood, Edwards (Anderson-James), Mellors, Locke (Scott)
Subs not used: Ritson, Wheeler
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Determined Dobson seeking first victory
WHUFC.com
West Ham United midfielder George Dobson was left with mixed feelings after
the Hammers settled for a 0-0 Barclays U18 Premier League draw with
high-flying Leicester City at Little Heath on Saturday afternoon. The
Hammers were the brighter of the two teams throughout the game and could
have won the game by converting one of several golden opportunities, but
Dobson, along with striker Idris Kanu and midfielder Marcus Browne failed to
punish their opponents. However, holding a Leicester side that entered the
game with a 100 per cent record, Dobson said the squad were pleased with a
point. "We are obviously glad that we got the draw but we definitely feel
like we deserved more from the game," admitted Dobson. "For the majority of
the game, I felt like we were the much better team and were on top of them
quite a lot so it does make it slightly disappointing that we only managed
to draw. "Having said that, we came up against a really good team in
Leicester so you have to be pleased with the result and we can take
positives from this performance into our next league fixture on Tuesday at
Arsenal."
The Hammers are yet to taste victory in their four U18 Premier League South
matches so far this season and Dobson, who joined over the summer from
Arsenal, believes the squad are playing well but struggling to put the ball
in the back of the net. "The whole team have been working hard in training
and you can already start to notice a difference," continued Dobson. "As the
season progresses, the results will improve as the players get better and
fitter. "At the moment, we seem to be struggling with taking our chances
when they come round and the thing is that, when we do start taking our
chances more, I think we'll be able to start beating teams comfortably.
"Sometimes in football, you have to just keep working hard and as soon as a
couple of goals start going in, then loads of goals will start going in.
"We are playing well and taking positives from every game into the next
fixture. For example against Leicester, we dominated the whole game against
a team that have started the season really well with three wins out of three
and probably should have actually won."
The U18s' next league fixture is against Dobson's former club Arsenal and,
after featuring for the full 90 minutes in the Development Squad's 5-0
defeat at The Emirates just over a week ago, the 17-year-old is focused on
helping the U18s pick up their first victory of the season. We had a
disappointing result at The Emirates recently, losing 5-0 in the U21s but
for me, the most important thing now is for us to head to Arsenal on Tuesday
looking to get our first U18 win of the season."
Since joining the Hammers back in July, Dobson revealed that he is enjoying
every minute representing the club that he supported as a boy and hopes to
one day progress through the ranks and become a first-team regular for West
Ham. "I have loved every minute of my time at West Ham so far and really
couldn't think of a better place for me to be playing my football at the
moment. "I enjoy coming into training everyday and working on my
performances and fitness as a player so that's the immediate target for me
for the near future.
"My fitness has been a big thing that I've been trying to work on because
I've noticed previously that during games when I get to the 65-70 minute
mark is when I seem to hit a wall. It's in those last 20 minutes when
players can get sloppy because they are tired and give the ball away so it's
something that I'm working hard on and as I get more game time under my
belt, I'll become a fitter player and cut those mistakes out of my game. "As
a player, you don't just want to settle for playing U18s football the whole
time because although when selected for the U18s, I'd always give 100 per
cent, any footballer would want to be progressing and playing at a higher
level.
"I've already featured twice for the U21s this season so hopefully I can
keep myself performing to a high standard and get quite a few more games
before the end of the season. "The opportunities that players like Reece
Oxford have had to play at first team level show any Academy players that if
you've got the ability and regularly perform well, the chance is there that
you could progress and be called on one day. "For me, the dream is to be
playing regular first team football for West Ham in the future and that's
what I'm always constantly working towards. I'm not expecting it anytime
soon but you never know what the future holds."
The Hammers travel to London Colney to face Arsenal U18 on Tuesday 8th
September, with kick-off scheduled for midday.
U18s: T Brown, Sylvestre, Pask (Rice 46), Akinola, Neufville, Carter,
Browne, Dobson, Diangana (Henry 68), Borg, Kanu
Subs not used: Eggleton, Lewis, Boness
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Antonio happy to be home
WHUFC.com
Michail Antonio is looking forward to performing in front of the same West
Ham United fans he sat alongside as a boy. The winger paid visits to the
Boleyn Ground as a youngster, joining his football-mad friends in making the
trip from his south west London home to the east London home of the Hammers.
More than a decade later, Antonio has returned to E13, but this time he will
be performing on the pitch rather than sitting in the stands – and the
former Nottingham Forest star cannot wait. "I'm buzzing and finally happy to
be back in London at a massive club," the new No30 told West Ham TV. "I've
always been around London and I came to a couple of games here when I was
younger, so I'm happy to be finally here and at a club I watched when I was
younger. "I've picked West Ham because I'm home. It's London and I'm
comfortable here and I think that's where I'll play my best football. I have
seen the way the manager plays and I reckon I can flourish here. "Growing
up, I wanted to be around the best and have competition and being at West
Ham there is lots of good competition. The last result, winning 3-0 at
Liverpool, showed that I am coming to a great team that's established in the
Premier League and hopefully I can put my mark down here at the club."
Antonio may not have played in the Barclays Premier League before, but the
winger has become a regular highlight reel on Football League highlights
shows during his time with Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest. Having
started his career with non-league Tooting & Mitcham United, the 25-year-old
knows the value of hard work to go alongside his undoubted ability. "If I
have the opportunity to go at my full-back I will go. I am the sort of
player who picks the ball up and runs and tries to get crosses in or a shot
at goal. I got 15 goals and 13 assists last season, and I've got four goals
in four starts this season, so hopefully I can keep that going and the goals
coming. "I can play either side or in the hole, or sometimes as the big man,
it depends on where the manager chooses to play me. I'm a person who, as
long as I've got the shirt, I'll play. "I put my career path down to hard
work, really. I didn't have the technique so I've worked on it every day. I
was in non-league and went to school, so I didn't really get the opportunity
to learn the basics. "I've always been raw and have been doing raw stuff.
I've always had the pace and the power and now my technique is starting to
work, so hopefully I can show it and everyone can see what I can do."
Antonio became one of four players signed on Deadline Day, joining Alex
Song, Nikica Jelavic and Victor Moses in coming through the John Lyall
Gates, and he says it is an exciting time to be part of West Ham United. "We
have done very well in the market and hopefully adding me to the table will
help us push on and see where we can get. "I'm not scared by this challenge.
I will come in and put the hard work in and put my heart on my sleeve and
wherever it gets me, it gets me. "I'm not the sort of person to let things
affect me. I'll let my own ability take me where I can go and if it doesn't
stop me, hopefully I can flourish."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
ExWHUemployee's ClaretandHugh column
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 6, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
So it is almost a week on from the transfer window and it has proven to be a
very successful one for the club. I think when you include all the players
we have signed throughout the summer we couldn't have really asked for much
more.
The four new players signed on deadline day were exactly what we needed.
Although he is injured we are all aware of the qualities that Alex Song
brings to us. He was determined to join us and his sons play for our
academy. The transfer would have probably been a permanent deal had it not
been for his injury. The club didn't want to take the gamble yet of making
the transfer permanent when his recovery from the injury isn't known. He
should return to fitness in October and will give us another fantastic
option in central midfield.
Michail Antonio is a player who has had brilliant reviews in the
championship and he will bring much needed pace and power from the wing. He
also has a very good scoring record for a winger and naturally creates a lot
of chances for others.
Another wing addition Victor Moses was extremely well rated at Stoke City
last season. Their fans were very keen for him to return to The Potteries
and when I asked Matthew Etherington whether he was a good signing for us he
gave a very glowing report. In his earlier years he was linked with all the
top clubs from the continent and has obviously played for Chelsea and
Liverpool in England.
Nikicia Jelavic joined for around £3m from Hull to become a backup
forward-or more to the likes of Sakho, Carroll and Valenica. When you think
of it like that he is a good player to have to call upon. He has worked with
Slaven Bilic at international level and they have a very good working
relationship. Tony Henry our head of recruitment also signed him for Everton
and knows what he can bring.
It has to be said that despite much criticism David Sullivan produced the
goods in the window. We now have strong competition and squad depth in every
position, something which we haven't had for many years. This will be seen
against Newcastle where we will have a much stronger bench than the
Liverpool game with Andy Carroll also returning. I personally wouldn't
change a winning team, especially one that has won 3-0 at Anfield. I am very
glad the window is over, as those of you who follow me will recall, I spent
most days tweeting out the transfer news, so I am grateful for the break
from that!
This week I had the opportunity to chat to a builder/carpenter who is
currently working at the Olympic Stadium and he gave me an interesting
insight into the current spending situation around the project and explained
that his early concerns about the stadium have been quashed.
"On my first visit I was inducted in a group of 30 men it took three hours
for this to be completed, considering the wages that I know of ranging from
£18-£25 per hour it was my first insight into why this is running at such a
cost.
The first time I walked out onto the pitch I was gutted yes it's an
athletics stadium, yes the pitch was a long way away. I took some pics of
the retractable seating done some measurements and was a bit relieved.
Everything that was done up to the anniversary games was temporary from the
carpentry to the stands not being commissioned (signed off for use) as they
are powered. If anybody went to the games they would have seen the unsightly
dark brown plywood everywhere, well my point being a lot of money was spent
on a temporary fix.
As soon as that was finished it was all ripped out, hundreds of thousands of
pounds for 2 days of Athletics. Then there is the temporary work for the
rugby last weekend, this included the walk ways and backs of stands to the
north south and east, scaffolders carpenters and the seating crew, seats
having to be pulled into place due to not being powered costing time and
money. Again hundreds of thousands of pounds wasted for a three hour event.
All of which is being dismantled at more cost to the tax payer, now
finishing touches for the RWC are going ahead.
My point being I'm sick of hearing how WHU are getting cushy deal when in
fact, from what I've seen, it's the Athletics and Rugby so far that are. It
will also take 7 days to transform from athletics to football mode, 100 men
approximately working night and day. This is not a guess, a well-known fact
for the people that work there. So are the Athletics covering the high cost
of transformations?
I'm positive and hope you are as well after visiting, for me the retractable
seating works. I know it sounds cheesy but it somehow connects the upper
tier as well by being closer. Also the east stand extended tier can easily
be replicated on the west, solving that gap problem. The screens do have
large gaps but wait for us to get in there and solve that too"
This week we have seen an overwhelming response to a number of West Ham
sites who have asked for donations to sponsor West Ham ladies players, so
that it can help the club to grow and reach the potential that it is
showing. I have been amazed at the response and I have now pledged to donate
some to Jonjo's charity work and the DT38 foundation too both significant to
West Ham and myself personally as well. My link is here if you would also
like to support these great causes gofundme.com/ExWHUEmployeeany
contribution is greatly appreciated.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Michail Antonio supported Hammers as a boy
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 6, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
New signing Michail Antonio who joined the Hammers from Nottingham Forest
for £6m has confirmed he was a West Ham fan as a young boy visiting the
Boleyn ground a couple of times with his mates.
Antonio told WHUFC.com "I'm buzzing and finally happy to be back in London
at a massive club, I've always been around London and I came to a couple of
games here when I was younger, so I'm happy to be finally here and at a club
I watched when I was younger."
"I've picked West Ham because I'm home. It's London and I'm comfortable here
and I think that's where I'll play my best football. I have seen the way the
manager plays and I reckon I can flourish here."
"Growing up, I wanted to be around the best and have competition and being
at West Ham there is lots of good competition. The last result, winning 3-0
at Liverpool, showed that I am coming to a great team that's established in
the Premier League and hopefully I can put my mark down here at the club."
"If I have the opportunity to go at my full-back I will go. I am the sort of
player who picks the ball up and runs and tries to get crosses in or a shot
at goal. I got 15 goals and 13 assists last season, and I've got four goals
in four starts this season, so hopefully I can keep that going and the goals
coming."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Dicksy terminates Twitter account
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 6, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Julian Dicks has been reported as having deactivated his Twitter account.
The no nonsense defender has been regularly answering virtually every
inquiry thrown at him by the fans in his usual forthright and light-hearted
manner. But according to one follower he has now quit because he was asked
sarcastic questions which have presumably irritated the Irons coach.
ClaretandHugh checked this morning to see whether the @JULIAN3DICKS had
decided to reinstate himself on the social network but was met with a
message declaring "this page does not exist." Follower @OwenWHU claimed in a
tweet: "Dicks has actually deactivated because of grown men asking if his
visa is sorted for Europe away games. Nice one guys.."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Frankie Mc prepares for "emotional night"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 6, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Frank McAvennie has been looking forward to a Boleyn reunion at the next
home game against Newcastle for weeks. The club's goalscoring legend will be
among those walking out in front of the Upton Park hordes on the night of
the 14th, inevitably alongside his goal scoring buddy from 30 years ago Tony
Cottee. ClaretandHugh blogger Frank told us: "The years just roll away when
we too get together. It really is as though it was yesterday. "I live up in
Scotland now but I always get down when I can and Tone and me still have a
big friendship. It's going to be a great night." The Newcastle game could
see the Irons grab their first game at home this season and with the old
boys on parade it's no surprise to see it chosen as the TV game. Frankie
believes it's going to be a hugely emotional night and said: "All we want to
go with it is that first win." The 1985-86 campaign saw manager John Lyall
lead the club to their highest ever league finish, coming a close third
behind Liverpool and Everton. That particular Hammers team won 26 of their
42 games and finished with 84 points, two behind the Toffees and four behind
the Reds, who claimed a famous double. Lyall's incredible team went on to
became known as 'The Boys of 86.' ClaretandHugh has learned that among the
legends hoping to make an appearance are Frankie, Cottee, Phil Parkes, Tony
Gale, Alan Devonshire and Alvin Martin.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Whoops – sorry DG so we'll say it for you!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 6, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Well having got caught out by a fake David Gold account we'll say it for
him: "The people who drove Julian Dicks off Twitter are indeed 'morons' who
should take their support elsewhere." We apologise to DG for mistakenly not
noticing that account we quoted him on was not accompanied by a tick to show
that it was real. However, that only serves to help us understand why Dicksy
has decided to leave the social networking operation.
Our story has since been taken down. Julian who always been accessible (as
shown right) and answered every question before reportedly being driven off
by some pretty sarcastic remarks. Given the number of requests he received
to support various charitable efforts along with inquries for freebies, he
has apparently decided to call it a day. Those who have driven the Irons
hero off have done everybody who followed him a huge disservice. The
response to us making a mistake in quoting a fake DG received a pretty
typical response and was greeted with gleeful lols and delighted: "You got
it wrong" finger-pointing comments."
It's not a problem to us and if it gave a few people a laugh GREAT! However,
that a club legend has had enough and been driven off because of abuse
from trolls is pretty sad and we understand completely why he has
deactivated his account. The majority of Twitter followers are great and use
it as it should be used but there's some -as demonstrated here – who possess
a mentality which 99 per cent of people wouldn't entertain in the real world
so why let them into your living room via a keyboard.
We understand the reasons Dicksy – you have bigger fish to fry than sit
around puttng up with such nonsense.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Olympic Stadium: £200,000 is better than nothing!
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 6, 2015 in Sean's Blogs, Whispers
C AND H
A newspaper revealed today that the London Legacy Development Corporation
(LLDC) will only receive a £200,000 profit from the Olympic Stadium.
The Mail on Sunday exclusively revealed that internal LLDC paperwork shows
they expect to make a profit of only £200,000 in 2016-17 from all activity
at the Olympic Stadium. That will include not just from West Ham games but
athletics events, concerts and probably some rugby, baseball and motor
sport.
This news shouldn't come as a complete shock to many as the LLDC CEO David
Goldstone recently revealed at a London Assembly budget committee that the
former Olympic Stadium was only planned to break even on it's running costs
so a £200,000 profit would be a bonus on his previous statement. Mr
Goldstone also revealed that the cost of rebuilding the Olympic Stadium will
recovered from the wider redevelopment of the Olympic Stadium and not
necessarily from the stadium itself.
Weeds2Although the figure of £702m is widely reported as the cost of the
Olympic Stadium, you have to remember that the first £430m was the cost of
building the Olympic Stadium for the London Olympics and therefore nothing
to do with West Ham or other legacy uses. Around another £56m was set aside
in the Olympic Stadium budget to convert the Stadium post games to a 25,000
seater Athletics stadium so the real difference to build a multi use Stadium
which includes football is £199m.
The wider development of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic park is expected to
bring in up to £1 billion over time while the London Olympics itself has
estimated to contribute up to £3 billion to the UK Economy so there is no
reason why the taxpayers will not receive a return on their investment long
term. Unfortunately West Ham seem to get mentioned in every headline like it
somehow our fault or we are to blame for the costs to the taxpayer.
Without West Ham, the Stadium would be a white elephant with weeds growing
in it like the Athens Olympic Stadium pictured above. West Ham's 99 year
agreement with E20 Stadium LLP will help bring money, jobs and worldwide
recognition to the Stadium and wide Olympic park. It will help underpin the
success and prosperity of the whole area.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Burke scores for Bradford
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 6, 2015 in Videos, Whispers
C AND H
Hammer Reece Burke scored his first goal for Bradford City on loan on
Saturday afternoon in a 2-1 win over Oldham. The 19-year-old moved to
Bradford on loan until September 20th 2015, Burke opened the scoring with a
goal in the 21st minute. Following the match Burke took to Twitter posting a
message sayinh: "Glad we got the 3 points today also buzzing to score my
first senior goal! On to the next one."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic prepares Toon triple whammy
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 6, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Slaven Bilic looks set to unleash his three new boys against Newcastle next
Monday. With so much excitement in the transfer window it's deeply
frustrating to be travelling through an international break. And it's even
annoying to have to wait until after next weekend before having a possible
chance to assess the impact our new signings may have on the Premier League.
However, we have reports that Nikicia Jelavic, Mchail Antonio, and Victor
Moses (above) are all fit and training with the first team squad. David Gold
– in reporting the news – told ClaretandHugh: "It's very exciting. The three
are looking sharp and with Andy Carroll set to be available we finally look
to be over several of our problems. "We can't wait for the Newcastle game."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Monday, September 7
Sunday, September 6
Daily WHUFC News - 6th September 2015
Foxes frustrate U18s
WHUFC.com
West Ham United wasted a number of golden opportunities as they settled for
a 0-0 Barclays U18 Premier League draw with Leicester City at Little Heath.
In a competitive fixture, the Hammers had several chances to grab a victory
through striker Idris Kanu, midfielder George Dobson and substitute Declan
Rice, but failed to beat Leicester goalkeeper Max Bramley. The Hammers made
four changes to the side that suffered a 3-1 defeat at Norwich City a week
earlier. Rice, along with Jake Eggleton, Joe Powell and Jahmal Hector-Ingram
were replaced by Kanu, Dobson, Vashon Neufville and Grady Diangana. With
just seconds on the clock, the Hammers launched the first attack of the game
and almost caught their visitors sleeping. After Dobson and Diangana linked
up well, the ball was threaded through to Kanu, who forced a low save from
Bramley. After just five minutes, it was the trio of Dobson, Diangana and
Kanu that linked up once again but the latter fired his shot wide. West Ham
were creating chances and were denied by the woodwork when Diangana's shot
from over 20 yards beat Bramley but bounced clear off the crossbar.
Leicester had gone close a couple of times themselves and could have led on
22 minutes when Layton Ndukwu's corner found the free head of Alex Pascanu,
but the centre-half nodded high over the bar from six yards. The Foxes were
twice denied by excellent sliding challenges from Neufville, before West Ham
wasted two more chances to break the deadlock as Dobson headed over and
Diangana dragged Marcus Browne's through ball wide – albeit after the
assistant had raised a flag for offside. Rice, fresh from Ireland U17 duty
in Hungary this week, replaced Josh Pask at half-time, and West Ham resumed
their unsuccessful assault on the Leicester goal. Browne's cross-field pass
found captain Noha Sylvestre, who powered forward into space but fired a
shot over the crossbar. The lively Browne (pictured, above) was involved
again moments later, collecting Bramley's sliced backpass before being
tackled and fouled by the goalkeeper outside the penalty area. The stopper
escaped a red card and then saved Browne's free-kick!
Akinola, birthday boy Oscar Borg, Browne and Rice all fired shots off target
as the Hammers continued to lay siege to the Foxes goal, but they were
forced to settle for a point when the former was sent-off for a second
bookable offence. The Hammers, who are still looking for their first victory
of the season, will travel to London Colney to face Arsenal on Tuesday 8
September, with kick-off at midday.
U18s: T Brown, Sylvestre, Akinola, Pask (Rice 46), Neufville, Dobson,
Carter, Diangana (Henry 68), Browne, Borg, Kanu
Subs not used: Eggleton, Lewis
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Goal of the Month - August
WHUFC.com
The time has come to select your West Ham United Goal of the Month for
August 2015!
West Ham TV was on hand to catch all the best strikes of the opening month
of the Barclays Premier League season, with five of the best selected for
you to choose from…
The contenders
Cheikhou Kouyate v Arsenal (A), Barclays Premier League, 9 August 2015
The Senegal midfielder timed his run perfectly to power his header past a
stranded Petr Cech from Dimitri Payet's right-wing free-kick.
Mauro Zarate v Arsenal (A), Barclays Premier League, 9 August 2015
The Argentine forward showed tenacity to win the ball from Gunners
midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before firing a low shot inside Petr
Cech's left-hand post to complete a stunning victory at the Emirates.
Dimitri Payet v Leicester City (H), Barclays Premier League, 15 August 2015
While the final result might not have been what West Ham United wanted, the
France international showed his quality by collecting Cheikhou Kouyate's
pass, dropping his shoulder to lose his man and smashing an unstoppable shot
high into the net.
Modibo Maiga v AFC Bournemouth (H), Barclays Premier League, 22 August 2015
The Mali forward ended his West Ham United career on a high by collecting
the ball 40 yards from goal, beating three men and sliding a well-placed
shot past Cherries goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Diafra Sakho v Liverpool (A), Barclays Premier League, 29 August 2015
The Senegal striker showed his clinical class yet again by running at the
Liverpool defence and unleashing a low strike through the legs of Martin
Skrtel and past the despairing dive of Reds stopper Simon Mignolet
Vote here :
http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2015/September/4-September/Goal-of-the-Mo
nth-August
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
QPR's Charlie Austin says David Sullivan remarks felt like personal attack
Last Updated: 05/09/15 12:36pm
SSN
Charlie Austin thinks David Sullivan's comments saying he was a risk as a
signing because of knee problems was a personal attack on him.
QPR striker Charlie Austin admits he was "hurt" by comments from West Ham
co-owner David Sullivan questioning his fitness. Sullivan ruled out a move
for the 26-year-old during the transfer window as he said it was too much of
a risk for the Hammers. The businessman questioned Austin's long-term
fitness after he failed a medical at Hull in 2013 and also his goalscoring
ability. "I was disappointed, I felt hurt because I felt like it was an
attack on myself," Austin told Soccer AM. "But these things happen and I'll
put it to the back of my mind."
Asked whether he thought Sullivan should have apologised, Austin said: "When
do you ever hear of a football club chairman apologising directly to a
player? I wasn't expecting an apology."
Following a summer of speculation around his future, Austin opted to remain
with QPR as they bid to make an immediate return to the Premier League. The
striker, who has netted four goals in the Championship this season, said:
"I've trained hard with all this going on, I have got my head down and
worked hard for QPR and luckily enough we have got 10 points from 15 so far.
"Chris (Ramsey, QPR manager) has pulled me in and we have had conversations
throughout the window; he can't really say a lot because I've been top
scorer in the Championship so far!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan "in talks"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Kevin Nolan is understood to have held talks with Bournemouth boss Eddie
Howe today. The former Irons skipper as an out of contract player is
available to sign terms with any interested club and the Cherries are
believed to fancy the 33 year old. A source close to the player told
ClaretandHugh exclusively that the midfieder was on the south coast to meet
the newly promoted Bournemouth boss. He said:"He was at the club today. No
decision has been taken but talks are definitely underway and it would be
no surprise were he to join them."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons rubbish new Spurs link
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham have tonight rubbished speculation that Emmanuel Adebayor could yet
be joining the Hammers. Some media outlets are reporting that with his
absence from the Tottenham squad list and the possibility of his contract
being paid off, the Irons may move in on him as an out of contract player.
But there's next to no chance of that happening with a club source telling
ClaretandHugh that the squad is now completed and the spending all done. He
said: "We've looked at that particular option and when everybody is fit we
have enough strikers. We are happy with what we have.. "The Adebayor option
hasn't arisen anyway and he is still on the Spurs payroll. We are fine and
won't be revisiting that situation."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Austin raps "no apologies" Sullivan again!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Charlie Austin has reopened the David Sullivan "injury" issue claiming the
Irons co-chairman had mounted an "attack" on him In our view he'd be better
off leaving sleeping dogs lie. But he's right about on thing – the Hammers
chairman will certainly not be apologising to him, and is standing by
exactly what he told ClaretandHugh in an exclusive question and answer
session. The QPR striker – for reasons best known to himself – has re-opened
the subject in a Sky Sports interview. It's difficult to understand why as
it only focuses on the subject which, from his point of view, is surely best
left alone. DS – answering genuine fan questions in a KUMB podcast gave the
injury issue as his reason for not getting involved in any bids for him and
cited a failed medical two years with Hull City as one reason along with
additional concerns. However, talking to Sky Sports Austin claims he was
"hurt" adding he didn't expect an apology saying "Someone of his status
apologising is not heard of, so I didn't expect an apology." He's not wrong
about that as the Upton Park chairman, remains unapologetic not, as Austin
claims because of his status, but because he doesn't believe there's
anything for which he needs to say "sorry." He told ClaretandHugh that
despite David Gold apologising for that and the Joey Barton controversy in a
radio broadcast he wouldn't be doing so. He said: "I certainly wouldn't be
apologising because I don't have anything to apologise for." That's his
position so fair enough. Frankly, Charlie this is leading you nowhere and
merely drawing attention to the very thing should be burying – that supposed
injury. It perhaps will be noted by some that West Ham weren't alone in
their seeming reluctance to pay the £15 million being asked by Rangers.
Hopefully from Austin's point of view – that's the last word. Regularly
dragging it up will surely do him no good.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic sends a secret note to Brady
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham Vice Chairman Karen Brady has revealed how Slaven Bilic thanked her
and the board for the summer transfer business with a discreet note. Writing
in her Sun football diary this morning Lady Brady of Knightsbridge said "He
sent me a note saying: 'Good job Karren. We've done well. Thanks!' The first
time in 25 years a manager has done that." West Ham are thought to invested
net transfer and loan fees in excess of £37m this summer with a similar
amount again over the lifetime of the incoming players contracts in wages.
By anyone's calculations it is a massive amount. When Claret and Hugh
recently asked Chairman David Sullivan whether the board planned to spend so
much, he revealed exclusively "NO, but we realised how important this
season was for the club and we've dug deep !"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slav's 'secret note' shows a man of principle
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Slaven Bilic hopes his popularity when he was a West Ham player will help
him seal the manager's jobIf David Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady
weren't sure what they were getting when they appointed Slaven Bilic as
manager, they do now.
For make no mistake, Slav is not your typical "we set our stall out and
showed character and everything at the football club" type of bloke. He
speaks four languages, is polite, courteous, should learn to 'speak a little
more loudly' according to Julian Dicks, is a believer in God and a Socialist
who believes in fair dos for all.
Oh and besides all that he loves rock n roll. What's not to like?
Now I'm not saying you have to share all of that to act in a decent and
proper way but in Slav's case it demonstrates that he lives by his
principles.
This became apparent today when Karen Brady revealed that he had sent her a
note following the closure of the transfer window which read: "Good job
Karren. We've done well. Thanks!'
The first time in 25 years a manager has done that."
There really was no need to do that but Slaven is cut from different cloth –
man of quality!
Football too often doesn't live by the best principles. It's about money,
greed, controversy and self interest generally speaking. So how refreshing
to find such human decency at the heart of our club.
This is a man whose attitude will bind a team together as he he adopts the
kind of man management techniques which demand absolute respect.
I'm glad Karen Brady revealed the existence of the note for it's a
confirmation of the quality of guy we have leading us into the most exciting
and critical period of our history. Call me soft but I appreciate deeply
held old school values.
I've yet to hear the manager plead injuries or bad refereeing for poor
results and has taken two massive victories entirely in his stride.
I'm a fully paid up fan of the man on and off the pitch and believe he will
be around as manager of this club for a very long time to come.
He will get it right home and away, of that I'm convinced and take us to the
next level and beyond.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Will this team end Irons poor home form?
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham's home form has come under the microscope from fans and former
players alike as we have all tried to get our head around the four results
so far. And in this ClaretandHugh special former hero Tony Cottee has spoken
about how our Boleyn form can become as effective as the displays we have
seen at Arsenal and Liverpool.
TC is keen to point out he sees absolutely no problems for the squad in
terms of league position and believes "we will comfortably placed in mid
season at the end. Here's how he discussed and reasoned the problem:
"I've always been a firm believer in two up front – everyone should know
that by now – and given a completely clean bill of health I'd revert to
Sakho and Valencia as they were the most successful partnership for the club
in a lot of years at the start of last season.
With no Valencia available the answer may well be to play Lanzini or Zarate
alongside 'Sak' with Payet in behind of course. That really does look a
very good set-up and with the lad Antonio on board we have a fabulous option
perhaps on the bench. "I've seen him at Forest and trust me he is a very
powerful player who can cause many problems for defences on his day. "We
have Andy Carroll back for Newcastle and it will be fascinating to see how
Slaven uses him. It's one we're all waiting on. However, I honestly don't
think the problemis up front but at the back where the defenders simply have
to cut out some very bad mistakes. Much has been made of it being a
formation problem with a lack of width and players not tucking in behind but
that over elaborates the issue. First and foremost defenders are paid to
defend and there have been some awful mistakes. Cut those out and the rest
of the lads can go forward with confidence." "There are many options
available to the boss now and I know he will sort it but here would be my
starting line-up for Newcastle who MAKE NO MISTAKE will come to park the bus
and catch us on the break:
(4-1-3-2) Randolph; Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble; Kouyate,
Obiang, Payet; Sakho, Lanzini.
Among the subs definitely on the bench would be Carroll, Antonio, Zarate
and Reece Oxford.
Ok, that's TC s line-up. Now give us yours!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Injury News: Alex Song could be fit by October
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham chairman David Gold has revealed Alex Song should be fit by October
which is earlier than expected if his prediction comes true. Asked when Song
would be fit to play for West Ham again by one Hammers fan on Twitter Gold
replied "I'm hoping Song will be available in October"
Asked further whether we will sign Alex Song and/or Victor Moses on
permanent transfers at the end of the season. Gold diplomatically answered
"Anything is possible"
Head of West Ham Sports and Medicine Science, Stijn Vandenbroucke recently
explained "Alex underwent ankle surgery in June and has been working very
hard on his rehabilitation and we are hopeful that he will be able to step
up his recovery to the next level soon.We are grateful that he has put his
trust in the medical department here at West Ham and are looking forward to
seeing him back out on the pitch."
48 hours ago, Gold revealed Enner Valencia could also be making his comeback
in October with Andy Carroll due back in September.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carroll makes plan a non starter
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
David Gold has revealed that there will be no holding Andy Carroll back from
action. The question of giving the big man extra time to recover from his
latest injury episode is now a non starter. A few week ago the club appeared
to be treading a route towards November in order to give their record
signing as much time as humanly possible to ensure he suffered no setbacks
on the pitch. But that plan has gone right out of the window as Gold
explained to ClaretandHugh when declaring the big man was due to return for
the Newcastle game. He said: "He is absolutely chomping at the bit and the
plan is for him to be back for Newcastle. He's hugely determined and fully
fit. "Understandably, the lad is desperate to get out there and we have been
told by the head of our medical team that he is fine and ready.
"We are all delighted for him. He's had so much bad luck one way or another
and now we are looking forward to a couple of seasons or more with a fully
fit AC available."
It's likely his role will be restricted to that of sub on his first couple
of games with both newcomer Nikicia Jelavic available and Mauro Zarate set
to return from injury.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Naked Moncs leaves squad helpless with laughter
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
John Moncur has always been known as one of the wackiest and edgiest guys to
turn out in the claret and blue. But Moncs went right over the top when he
got the hump with Harry Redknapp and his training ground rules at the height
of his Irons years. Julian Dicks and Don Hutchison shared a very amusing
story which recalled the midfielder's sometimes odd behaviour on Hammer Time
(http://bit.ly/1IN2Kn2).
Hutchison revealed that Harry had a rule that everybody had to be at the
training ground to pick up their training kit by 10 am. He said: "Moncs
arrived five minutes late and when he asked the kit man for his gear he was
told "sorry John I can't do it!"
Moncur's response was out of the 'crazy cartoon' category and got hold of
the 'paint' used to mark out the touchlines and goals etc.
He then proceeded and poured it all over himself before running out onto the
training pitch completely naked apart from football boots!"
It was one of the few occasions that Mr Redknapp was left entirely
speechless and shocked as the lads collapsed into fits of helpless laughter.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
WHUFC.com
West Ham United wasted a number of golden opportunities as they settled for
a 0-0 Barclays U18 Premier League draw with Leicester City at Little Heath.
In a competitive fixture, the Hammers had several chances to grab a victory
through striker Idris Kanu, midfielder George Dobson and substitute Declan
Rice, but failed to beat Leicester goalkeeper Max Bramley. The Hammers made
four changes to the side that suffered a 3-1 defeat at Norwich City a week
earlier. Rice, along with Jake Eggleton, Joe Powell and Jahmal Hector-Ingram
were replaced by Kanu, Dobson, Vashon Neufville and Grady Diangana. With
just seconds on the clock, the Hammers launched the first attack of the game
and almost caught their visitors sleeping. After Dobson and Diangana linked
up well, the ball was threaded through to Kanu, who forced a low save from
Bramley. After just five minutes, it was the trio of Dobson, Diangana and
Kanu that linked up once again but the latter fired his shot wide. West Ham
were creating chances and were denied by the woodwork when Diangana's shot
from over 20 yards beat Bramley but bounced clear off the crossbar.
Leicester had gone close a couple of times themselves and could have led on
22 minutes when Layton Ndukwu's corner found the free head of Alex Pascanu,
but the centre-half nodded high over the bar from six yards. The Foxes were
twice denied by excellent sliding challenges from Neufville, before West Ham
wasted two more chances to break the deadlock as Dobson headed over and
Diangana dragged Marcus Browne's through ball wide – albeit after the
assistant had raised a flag for offside. Rice, fresh from Ireland U17 duty
in Hungary this week, replaced Josh Pask at half-time, and West Ham resumed
their unsuccessful assault on the Leicester goal. Browne's cross-field pass
found captain Noha Sylvestre, who powered forward into space but fired a
shot over the crossbar. The lively Browne (pictured, above) was involved
again moments later, collecting Bramley's sliced backpass before being
tackled and fouled by the goalkeeper outside the penalty area. The stopper
escaped a red card and then saved Browne's free-kick!
Akinola, birthday boy Oscar Borg, Browne and Rice all fired shots off target
as the Hammers continued to lay siege to the Foxes goal, but they were
forced to settle for a point when the former was sent-off for a second
bookable offence. The Hammers, who are still looking for their first victory
of the season, will travel to London Colney to face Arsenal on Tuesday 8
September, with kick-off at midday.
U18s: T Brown, Sylvestre, Akinola, Pask (Rice 46), Neufville, Dobson,
Carter, Diangana (Henry 68), Browne, Borg, Kanu
Subs not used: Eggleton, Lewis
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Goal of the Month - August
WHUFC.com
The time has come to select your West Ham United Goal of the Month for
August 2015!
West Ham TV was on hand to catch all the best strikes of the opening month
of the Barclays Premier League season, with five of the best selected for
you to choose from…
The contenders
Cheikhou Kouyate v Arsenal (A), Barclays Premier League, 9 August 2015
The Senegal midfielder timed his run perfectly to power his header past a
stranded Petr Cech from Dimitri Payet's right-wing free-kick.
Mauro Zarate v Arsenal (A), Barclays Premier League, 9 August 2015
The Argentine forward showed tenacity to win the ball from Gunners
midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain before firing a low shot inside Petr
Cech's left-hand post to complete a stunning victory at the Emirates.
Dimitri Payet v Leicester City (H), Barclays Premier League, 15 August 2015
While the final result might not have been what West Ham United wanted, the
France international showed his quality by collecting Cheikhou Kouyate's
pass, dropping his shoulder to lose his man and smashing an unstoppable shot
high into the net.
Modibo Maiga v AFC Bournemouth (H), Barclays Premier League, 22 August 2015
The Mali forward ended his West Ham United career on a high by collecting
the ball 40 yards from goal, beating three men and sliding a well-placed
shot past Cherries goalkeeper Artur Boruc.
Diafra Sakho v Liverpool (A), Barclays Premier League, 29 August 2015
The Senegal striker showed his clinical class yet again by running at the
Liverpool defence and unleashing a low strike through the legs of Martin
Skrtel and past the despairing dive of Reds stopper Simon Mignolet
Vote here :
http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2015/September/4-September/Goal-of-the-Mo
nth-August
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
QPR's Charlie Austin says David Sullivan remarks felt like personal attack
Last Updated: 05/09/15 12:36pm
SSN
Charlie Austin thinks David Sullivan's comments saying he was a risk as a
signing because of knee problems was a personal attack on him.
QPR striker Charlie Austin admits he was "hurt" by comments from West Ham
co-owner David Sullivan questioning his fitness. Sullivan ruled out a move
for the 26-year-old during the transfer window as he said it was too much of
a risk for the Hammers. The businessman questioned Austin's long-term
fitness after he failed a medical at Hull in 2013 and also his goalscoring
ability. "I was disappointed, I felt hurt because I felt like it was an
attack on myself," Austin told Soccer AM. "But these things happen and I'll
put it to the back of my mind."
Asked whether he thought Sullivan should have apologised, Austin said: "When
do you ever hear of a football club chairman apologising directly to a
player? I wasn't expecting an apology."
Following a summer of speculation around his future, Austin opted to remain
with QPR as they bid to make an immediate return to the Premier League. The
striker, who has netted four goals in the Championship this season, said:
"I've trained hard with all this going on, I have got my head down and
worked hard for QPR and luckily enough we have got 10 points from 15 so far.
"Chris (Ramsey, QPR manager) has pulled me in and we have had conversations
throughout the window; he can't really say a lot because I've been top
scorer in the Championship so far!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nolan "in talks"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Kevin Nolan is understood to have held talks with Bournemouth boss Eddie
Howe today. The former Irons skipper as an out of contract player is
available to sign terms with any interested club and the Cherries are
believed to fancy the 33 year old. A source close to the player told
ClaretandHugh exclusively that the midfieder was on the south coast to meet
the newly promoted Bournemouth boss. He said:"He was at the club today. No
decision has been taken but talks are definitely underway and it would be
no surprise were he to join them."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons rubbish new Spurs link
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham have tonight rubbished speculation that Emmanuel Adebayor could yet
be joining the Hammers. Some media outlets are reporting that with his
absence from the Tottenham squad list and the possibility of his contract
being paid off, the Irons may move in on him as an out of contract player.
But there's next to no chance of that happening with a club source telling
ClaretandHugh that the squad is now completed and the spending all done. He
said: "We've looked at that particular option and when everybody is fit we
have enough strikers. We are happy with what we have.. "The Adebayor option
hasn't arisen anyway and he is still on the Spurs payroll. We are fine and
won't be revisiting that situation."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Austin raps "no apologies" Sullivan again!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Charlie Austin has reopened the David Sullivan "injury" issue claiming the
Irons co-chairman had mounted an "attack" on him In our view he'd be better
off leaving sleeping dogs lie. But he's right about on thing – the Hammers
chairman will certainly not be apologising to him, and is standing by
exactly what he told ClaretandHugh in an exclusive question and answer
session. The QPR striker – for reasons best known to himself – has re-opened
the subject in a Sky Sports interview. It's difficult to understand why as
it only focuses on the subject which, from his point of view, is surely best
left alone. DS – answering genuine fan questions in a KUMB podcast gave the
injury issue as his reason for not getting involved in any bids for him and
cited a failed medical two years with Hull City as one reason along with
additional concerns. However, talking to Sky Sports Austin claims he was
"hurt" adding he didn't expect an apology saying "Someone of his status
apologising is not heard of, so I didn't expect an apology." He's not wrong
about that as the Upton Park chairman, remains unapologetic not, as Austin
claims because of his status, but because he doesn't believe there's
anything for which he needs to say "sorry." He told ClaretandHugh that
despite David Gold apologising for that and the Joey Barton controversy in a
radio broadcast he wouldn't be doing so. He said: "I certainly wouldn't be
apologising because I don't have anything to apologise for." That's his
position so fair enough. Frankly, Charlie this is leading you nowhere and
merely drawing attention to the very thing should be burying – that supposed
injury. It perhaps will be noted by some that West Ham weren't alone in
their seeming reluctance to pay the £15 million being asked by Rangers.
Hopefully from Austin's point of view – that's the last word. Regularly
dragging it up will surely do him no good.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic sends a secret note to Brady
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham Vice Chairman Karen Brady has revealed how Slaven Bilic thanked her
and the board for the summer transfer business with a discreet note. Writing
in her Sun football diary this morning Lady Brady of Knightsbridge said "He
sent me a note saying: 'Good job Karren. We've done well. Thanks!' The first
time in 25 years a manager has done that." West Ham are thought to invested
net transfer and loan fees in excess of £37m this summer with a similar
amount again over the lifetime of the incoming players contracts in wages.
By anyone's calculations it is a massive amount. When Claret and Hugh
recently asked Chairman David Sullivan whether the board planned to spend so
much, he revealed exclusively "NO, but we realised how important this
season was for the club and we've dug deep !"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Slav's 'secret note' shows a man of principle
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Slaven Bilic hopes his popularity when he was a West Ham player will help
him seal the manager's jobIf David Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady
weren't sure what they were getting when they appointed Slaven Bilic as
manager, they do now.
For make no mistake, Slav is not your typical "we set our stall out and
showed character and everything at the football club" type of bloke. He
speaks four languages, is polite, courteous, should learn to 'speak a little
more loudly' according to Julian Dicks, is a believer in God and a Socialist
who believes in fair dos for all.
Oh and besides all that he loves rock n roll. What's not to like?
Now I'm not saying you have to share all of that to act in a decent and
proper way but in Slav's case it demonstrates that he lives by his
principles.
This became apparent today when Karen Brady revealed that he had sent her a
note following the closure of the transfer window which read: "Good job
Karren. We've done well. Thanks!'
The first time in 25 years a manager has done that."
There really was no need to do that but Slaven is cut from different cloth –
man of quality!
Football too often doesn't live by the best principles. It's about money,
greed, controversy and self interest generally speaking. So how refreshing
to find such human decency at the heart of our club.
This is a man whose attitude will bind a team together as he he adopts the
kind of man management techniques which demand absolute respect.
I'm glad Karen Brady revealed the existence of the note for it's a
confirmation of the quality of guy we have leading us into the most exciting
and critical period of our history. Call me soft but I appreciate deeply
held old school values.
I've yet to hear the manager plead injuries or bad refereeing for poor
results and has taken two massive victories entirely in his stride.
I'm a fully paid up fan of the man on and off the pitch and believe he will
be around as manager of this club for a very long time to come.
He will get it right home and away, of that I'm convinced and take us to the
next level and beyond.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Will this team end Irons poor home form?
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham's home form has come under the microscope from fans and former
players alike as we have all tried to get our head around the four results
so far. And in this ClaretandHugh special former hero Tony Cottee has spoken
about how our Boleyn form can become as effective as the displays we have
seen at Arsenal and Liverpool.
TC is keen to point out he sees absolutely no problems for the squad in
terms of league position and believes "we will comfortably placed in mid
season at the end. Here's how he discussed and reasoned the problem:
"I've always been a firm believer in two up front – everyone should know
that by now – and given a completely clean bill of health I'd revert to
Sakho and Valencia as they were the most successful partnership for the club
in a lot of years at the start of last season.
With no Valencia available the answer may well be to play Lanzini or Zarate
alongside 'Sak' with Payet in behind of course. That really does look a
very good set-up and with the lad Antonio on board we have a fabulous option
perhaps on the bench. "I've seen him at Forest and trust me he is a very
powerful player who can cause many problems for defences on his day. "We
have Andy Carroll back for Newcastle and it will be fascinating to see how
Slaven uses him. It's one we're all waiting on. However, I honestly don't
think the problemis up front but at the back where the defenders simply have
to cut out some very bad mistakes. Much has been made of it being a
formation problem with a lack of width and players not tucking in behind but
that over elaborates the issue. First and foremost defenders are paid to
defend and there have been some awful mistakes. Cut those out and the rest
of the lads can go forward with confidence." "There are many options
available to the boss now and I know he will sort it but here would be my
starting line-up for Newcastle who MAKE NO MISTAKE will come to park the bus
and catch us on the break:
(4-1-3-2) Randolph; Tomkins, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell; Noble; Kouyate,
Obiang, Payet; Sakho, Lanzini.
Among the subs definitely on the bench would be Carroll, Antonio, Zarate
and Reece Oxford.
Ok, that's TC s line-up. Now give us yours!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Injury News: Alex Song could be fit by October
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham chairman David Gold has revealed Alex Song should be fit by October
which is earlier than expected if his prediction comes true. Asked when Song
would be fit to play for West Ham again by one Hammers fan on Twitter Gold
replied "I'm hoping Song will be available in October"
Asked further whether we will sign Alex Song and/or Victor Moses on
permanent transfers at the end of the season. Gold diplomatically answered
"Anything is possible"
Head of West Ham Sports and Medicine Science, Stijn Vandenbroucke recently
explained "Alex underwent ankle surgery in June and has been working very
hard on his rehabilitation and we are hopeful that he will be able to step
up his recovery to the next level soon.We are grateful that he has put his
trust in the medical department here at West Ham and are looking forward to
seeing him back out on the pitch."
48 hours ago, Gold revealed Enner Valencia could also be making his comeback
in October with Andy Carroll due back in September.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Carroll makes plan a non starter
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
David Gold has revealed that there will be no holding Andy Carroll back from
action. The question of giving the big man extra time to recover from his
latest injury episode is now a non starter. A few week ago the club appeared
to be treading a route towards November in order to give their record
signing as much time as humanly possible to ensure he suffered no setbacks
on the pitch. But that plan has gone right out of the window as Gold
explained to ClaretandHugh when declaring the big man was due to return for
the Newcastle game. He said: "He is absolutely chomping at the bit and the
plan is for him to be back for Newcastle. He's hugely determined and fully
fit. "Understandably, the lad is desperate to get out there and we have been
told by the head of our medical team that he is fine and ready.
"We are all delighted for him. He's had so much bad luck one way or another
and now we are looking forward to a couple of seasons or more with a fully
fit AC available."
It's likely his role will be restricted to that of sub on his first couple
of games with both newcomer Nikicia Jelavic available and Mauro Zarate set
to return from injury.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Naked Moncs leaves squad helpless with laughter
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 5, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
John Moncur has always been known as one of the wackiest and edgiest guys to
turn out in the claret and blue. But Moncs went right over the top when he
got the hump with Harry Redknapp and his training ground rules at the height
of his Irons years. Julian Dicks and Don Hutchison shared a very amusing
story which recalled the midfielder's sometimes odd behaviour on Hammer Time
(http://bit.ly/1IN2Kn2).
Hutchison revealed that Harry had a rule that everybody had to be at the
training ground to pick up their training kit by 10 am. He said: "Moncs
arrived five minutes late and when he asked the kit man for his gear he was
told "sorry John I can't do it!"
Moncur's response was out of the 'crazy cartoon' category and got hold of
the 'paint' used to mark out the touchlines and goals etc.
He then proceeded and poured it all over himself before running out onto the
training pitch completely naked apart from football boots!"
It was one of the few occasions that Mr Redknapp was left entirely
speechless and shocked as the lads collapsed into fits of helpless laughter.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Saturday, September 5
Daily WHUFC News - 5th September 2015
On this day - 5 September – WHUFC.com
Anniversary
Name: Tony Carr MBE
Born: Bow, 5 September 1950
West Ham United's Academy Director Tony Carr MBE celebrates his birthday
today.
Carr first joined the Club in 1966, when he was signed as a youth player.
However, injury meant that he had not made a senior appearance when he left
to join Barnet in 1971. There, he made 13 appearances and scored one goal
before he returned to the Boleyn Ground as a youth coach under John Lyall in
1973. Carr has overseen the development of Academy graduates such as Rio
Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, to name but a
few, as well as current first-team players Mark Noble, James Tomkins and
Jack Collison during his time with the Hammers. Carr was awarded a
Testimonial in 2009, and was also made an MBE for his services to football
in the Queen's Birthday Honours List the following year. He is now West Ham
United Ambassador, in his 42nd season of service to the Academy of Football.
Classic match
Sunderland 0-2 West Ham United
Division One
5 September 1981
West Ham United followed up a 4-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur with
another victory on the road against Sunderland at Roker Park.
David Cross was the hero against Spurs, netting all four goals, and he was
on target again when they took on the Black Cats. Paul Goddard also scored
as the newly-promoted Hammers maintained their unbeaten start to the
1981/82 Division One season.
Despite their good early season form, this win was one of only five on their
travels all season as they finished the campaign in ninth place.
Complete record
1921 Bradford Park Avenue 2-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1925 Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1931 West Ham United 0-2 Middlesbrough (Division One)
1936 Blackpool 1-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1949 West Ham United 1-2 Southampton (Division One)
1953 West Ham United 3-1 Fulham (Division One)
1959 West Ham United 1-2 Leeds United (Division One)
1960 West Ham United 2-1 Manchester United (Division One)
1964 Stoke City 3-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1967 Everton 2-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1970 West Ham United 1-2 Everton (Division One)
1981 Sunderland 0-2 West Ham United (Division One)
1987 West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool (Division One)
1992 West Ham United 2-1 Watford (Division One)
2000 Sunderland 1-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
Played 15, Won 4, Drawn 3, Lost 8, Scored 15, Conceded 2
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lanzini happy with 'special' goal – WHUFC.com
Despite only being at the Club for a few months, Argentine midfielder Manuel
Lanzini has certainly hit the ground running. While eyebrows may have been
raised when Slaven Bilic brought the 22-year-old to east London from United
Arab Emirates-based Al Jariza, the former River Plate man has demonstrated
his pedigree, scoring twice in two starts. Having opened his account against
Astra Giurgiu, he famously scored the Hammers' opener against Liverpool
after just three minutes. Speaking at a Store Signing at the Club's Official
Lakeside Thurrock store, Lanzini spoke of his delight at opening his Premier
League account: "It was very special, for myself and for the team. We won
and we played very well, and it was important too. "I am very happy and I
hope it keeps going like that. I'm very happy. The Club and the Premier
League are excellent; the people have been very polite to me. I came from a
different background but I am enjoying this a lot."
While the Argentinian U20 international has settled in well at the Boleyn
Ground, he continued to say that he hoped this was just the start of a
special season for both himself and the Club. As the Hammers are already two
home games into their final season in E13, Lanzini said he was focusing on
making the most of each game. "I try to enjoy London as much as I can, but I
try to rest and keep focus to be ready for my job. This is why I am here! "I
will always do my best to show respect to the fans and the Club. It will
help establish a good relationship with the fans. "I'm grateful for the
support that they are showing to us. I heard that there is a long waiting
list to get a season ticket for next year in the new Stadium. This is really
good for the Club."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Captain Sylvestre ready for Foxes – WHUFC.com
West Ham United U18s return to action after a weekend off Premier League
action with a home game against table toppers Leicester City. The Foxes have
made a strong start to their campaign, winning all three of their opening
games, scoring ten goals in the process. One player likely to feature is
midfielder and captain Noha Sylvestre: "We've been training really well
recently, obviously we need to win this weekend so everyone is working hard.
"The second years are really setting an example for the new first years
coming through. We're all trying to lead the team and I can feel the good
atmosphere around the squad at the moment."
The Swiss U17 international has played in every game of the season so far
and continued to say how much he is enjoying his role as U18 captain.
"I'm really enjoying it. I like to take risks with my ability and to push
myself. I like talking on the pitch and making sure everything is going
alright. I like to think I can motivate the younger players around me and
encourage them. "Leicester are top of the table so we know they're a strong
team, it's always been a difficult game whenever I've come up against
Leicester. But I think we have enough to do well on Saturday, everyone will
work really hard and I hope we will get a win."
On top of his newfound responsibility, Sylvestre was one of the more senior
players who made the journey to the Netherlands last week which faced AZ
Alkmaar and FC Groningen. Reflecting on the experience, the 17-year-old said
he thought the weekend away would stand them in good stead for this
Saturday's match with the Foxes. "I really enjoyed the trip to Holland, it
was a good experience. The games were pretty tough because we came up
against some first team players who were 23, and we were much younger so it
was a good challenge. In the second game, we were much, much better. We kept
the ball well and only lost out to a last minute penalty which was unlucky.
"We were good against Tottenham where we drew 1-1 but we could have played
much better against Fulham and Norwich. We know where we need to improve and
we should demonstrate that this by getting the three points."
Having made a strong start to the season, Sylvestre is hoping this is just
the start of a big season as he hopes to bridge the gap between the U18s and
U21s. The ambitious midfielder finished by saying: "My targets for this
season are to try and get a few games for the U21s while captaining the U18s
as much as possible and setting an example to the younger players. The
target by the end of the season is to be an established U21 player."
West Ham United U18s host Leicester City at Little Heath, kick off 12pm.
Admission is FREE for all fans so come down and see some of the stars of the
future!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jack Sullivan Column –WHUFC.com
Jack Sullivan is the youngest son of West Ham United Joint-Chairman David
Sullivan and is a huge Hammers fan. Jack will be giving his exclusive views
to the official website in a regular column...
Hello everyone,
It has been an incredible few days and I didn't think it could get any
better following our memorable 3-0 win over Liverpool last weekend. But my
dad and everyone behind the scenes have made it a great end to the transfer
window and we were able to bring in four major new signings before the
deadline closed. To be fair my dad has been extremely busy throughout the
summer trying to bring in new players and all the fans can now see what we
were working towards. These deals are not straight forward and my dad can
spend hours trying to negotiate a deal and then for whatever reason it
doesn't happen. But thankfully all his hard word paid off in the end and if
you look at our squad, it is much stronger than what it was last year. We
have got lots of different options throughout the team and the quality of
our bench is going to be so much better now. We are going to see more
attacking football. I asked my dad what his starting XI would be now and he
couldn't name it – I was the same !!
We have got so much competition for places and there is real strength in
depth which is what you need at this level. I am thrilled that we were able
to do a deal to bring Alex Song back to the Club. There is every chance he
will be back to the player he was in the first half of last season. Even
though he is injured at the moment, we still wanted to sign him and that
shows how much we rate him. You can learn a lot from someone like him as he
has played at the highest level and has Champions League experience. He can
teach the other players and I'm sure the youngsters in the squad will be
looking up to someone like him. He can pass the ball and open up defences
and there are not many better than him. A big signing like Song shows the
Club is heading in the right direction.
Victor Moses is another great signing. He has the hunger to do well and is
unplayable at times. We have been working hard on that deal for a number of
weeks and fought off some big clubs who were also desperate to sign him. But
like Song, we managed to clinch his signature and he can see the ambition
that we have. We have already beaten Arsenal and Liverpool away from home
and there was no luck from us in either game. Someone like Moses can see
there is a lot of quality in the squad. The fans are going to be excited by
the signing of Nottingham Forest winger Michail Antonio and he has great
potential. He has come from non-league to the very top. He scored a lot of
goals in the Championships and created a number of assists last season and
Forest didn't want to sell him. But we wanted him to come to us and his
personality has shown that he is not prepared to give up and wants to
compete at the highest level. We also solved our striking problems by
bringing in Nikica Jelavic and Slaven was keen to bring him to the Club. The
manager knows everything about him and he has scored goals in the Premier
League before. He will put more pressure on Sakho and Carroll and give us
real competition for places in the forward line. I'm sure there a lot of
Clubs in the top flight that would have liked to have signed him. The
players we have brought in make us so much stronger.
All this followed a remarkable victory at Anfield and ending 52-years
without a win over Liverpool. I will remember the celebrations at the final
whistle for a long time to come and even seeing David Gold head down to the
tunnel and towards the West Ham fans behind the goal. I'm still not sure how
he managed to get down there !! But the away fans were magnificent as
always and we cannot thank them enough for all their support. Everyone can
see that the squad has so much enthusiasm and we are playing fast-flowing
football. Dimitri Payet was outstanding and Manuel Lanzini was superb. He
was not frightened of anyone and showed he can tackle as well. The whole
midfield was so strong and I have to pay special tribute to Cheikhou Kouyate
who was so strong and looks so dangerous when he drives with the ball into
the opposing half. I was so pleased for Sakho to get his first league goal
and it all went to plan. It really shook up the Liverpool defence who didn't
expect it. There is no reason why can't we push on and have a really good
season this year.
Why can't we do really well in the cup competitions and make this a season
to remember – especially in our final ever year at the Boleyn Ground.
We are welcoming back the Boys of 86' for the next home game against
Newcastle so it will be another great night. I look forward to speaking with
you all again soon.
Jack
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole back at the Academy – WHUFC.com
West Ham legend Joe Cole made an emotional return to the Club's Academy
training ground this week and came out on top once again after he passed his
UEFA B coaching licence. Cole is already thinking about his next move in the
game when he eventually hangs up his boots and would love the chance to go
into management. The former England star will never forget his breakthrough
into first-team action and the chance he was given by Tony Carr when he made
his way through the Club's famous Academy alongside the likes of Rio
Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard. Cole, who is currently playing
for Aston Villa was back in east London and faced the final assessment when
he coached the Academy's Under 15/16's. The 33-year-old impressed as he put
the youngsters through their paces and relished the chance to pass on his
vast knowledge of the game. Cole said: "It is nerve-wracking because it is
not something I am used to. I really enjoyed coaching and it has sparked
something inside of me. I want to stay in the game when I finish eventually
and you need to get these badges. "Once you play for West Ham you are always
part of the family and I'm sure I will be back one day in some capacity. "It
was great to see all the old faces and seeing some old friends. All the top
clubs bring players through and West Ham have a good tradition of doing it
and they need to keep improving. "West Ham need to keep producing players
and everyone here is doing well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
International round up – WHUFC.com
Hammers' goalkeeper Darren Randolph is set to start for his native Ireland
after impressing in his two Premier League appearances for the Claret and
Blues. Having joined West Ham in the summer, the 28-year-old was the Irons'
best player against Bournemouth before putting in another assured display
away at Liverpool. The Greens will travel to minnows Gibraltar with Martin
O'Neills men knowing they need a win to keep their chances of qualifying for
France 2016 alive. After six games, Ireland are in fourth with nine points,
behind Poland, Germany and Scotland.
Meanwhile fellow goalkeeper Sam Howes is also in international action. The
highly rated youngster will travel with his Three Lions' teammates to face
arch-rivals Germany before playing their Croatian counterparts on Monday 7
September.
Senegalese duo Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate return to international
action against Namibia in the Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek. Les
Lions approach the game in good form having won their last three consecutive
games. Just three days later, they face South Africa in a friendly match in
Johannesburg. Kick off on Tuesday 8 September is 7pm local time.
Stephen Hendrie has been called up to the Scottish U21 squad to face
Northern Ireland in their UEFA European Championship Qualifier while Martin
Samuelsen's Norway U18 lost 2-1 to Sweden. They face Denmark on Saturday,
kick off is 1pm.
Defender James Collins was unused substitute in Wales' 1-0 win over Cyprus.
Gareth Bale's 82nd minute header sealed the victory which leaves Chris
Coleman's men, ranked 9th in the FIFA rankings, one win away from
qualification.
U17 midfielder Declan Rice came on as a substitute in Ireland's 0-0 draw
away in Hungary.
Hammers in International action
5pm, Sunday 6th – James Collins' Wales could secure a spot at France 2016
with a win against Israel at the Millennium stadium.
12.30pm, Monday 7th – Winston Reid's All Whites play Myanmar in a friendly
7pm – Sam Howes's England U19 face their Croatian counterparts
7.30pm – Reece Burke could make his U20 debut when the Three Lions play
Czech Republic
5pm, Tuesday 8th – Josh Cullen's Ireland U21 travel to Andorra
7pm, Tuesday 8th – Sakho and Kouyate's Senegal play South Africa
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chadwell Chatter – WHUFC.com
Hello everyone,
Well, what a week it has been! Not only did we win 3-0 at Liverpool and do
some fantastic business in the transfer window, but I also managed to make
my Barclays Premier League debut and sign a new long-term contract with my
club, West Ham United. Our win at Liverpool was fully deserved, too. The
boys were saying in the dressing room afterwards that they didn't really
have a chance because we restricted them well. We looked a constant threat
really, every time we got the ball. When they got it, we looked resilient
and they didn't get a sniff to be honest. I would like to thank the gaffer
a lot for chucking me on for my Premier League debut. It was amazing, and
hopefully it's the first of many and I can repay him the favour sometime
soon.
It was a surreal feeling straight after the game, what with us not having
won at Anfield for a long, long time, so to go there and win 3-0 and get on
the pitch for a few minutes at the end made for one of the best days of my
life. I'm absolutely chuffed. I managed to swap shirts with James Milner at
the final whistle, but then I had a bit of a panic because I wanted to keep
my Premier League debut shirt too! Luckily, I was able to get it back so
it'll be great to have two shirts, one for my Premier League debut and also
one from a full international like James.
After beating Arsenal at the Emirates and Liverpool an Anfield, we can go
into every game believing we can win it. People probably expected us to be
on six points by now but not in the way we've done it! We've proved we can
beat the best teams and there's no doubt in the changing room that the
results at home will come. We've proved it to ourselves and everyone else
that we can mix it with the best of them.
On a personal level, I know I've got a long way to go. Obviously the U21s
isn't quite the same as playing in front of 45,000 fans. When I get the
opportunities, I need to do my best and show what I can do. On Monday, I
was delighted to sign a new contract until 2018, which was great. West Ham
is my club and I want to be here for as long as possible, so to have this
security means I can concentrate 100 per cent on my football and not worry
where I will be playing for the next few seasons. We are currently on an
international break and I was honoured to be called up by Republic of
Ireland U21s for the first time and I hope to be involved on Friday night
when we take on Qatar U23s in Bury. We play in Andorra next week in our
second 2017 European Championship qualifier – in the same stadium where I
played for West Ham against FC Lusitans back in July in the Europa League!
It'll be funny to go back to Andorra, as it's a place I thought I'd never go
to in my life but I'll have gone there twice in a few weeks! It's my first
U21 call-up so hopefully that'll go well and we'll get another win like West
Ham did. The boys beat Lithuania in their first qualifier, so we want to
build on that and keep our 100 per cent record going.
Have a great weekend.
Josh
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll in contention to face former club – KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 4th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Perma-crock Andy Carroll is set to return to West Ham United's match day
squad on Monday week in order to face former club Newcastle United. The
Hammers number nine, who has made just 27 Premier League starts since
becoming the club's record signing more than two years ago is set to make
the bench - at least - when the Magpies visit the Boleyn Ground. The news
was hinted at by co-Chairman David Gold in response to a fan's question via
Twitter. DG also revealed that Enner Valencia, who was still in plaster a
week ago is seto make his return sometime in October, as previously planned.
West Ham ar scheduled to face Newcastle United at the Boleyn Ground on
Monday, 14th September.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lifeline for Amalfitano
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 4th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Morgan Amalfitano may have been banished to train with the reserves, but he
has been handed an unexpected lifeline by manager Slaven Bilic. Three weeks
ago it was revealed that the French winger had been ordered to train with
the club's youngsters after he fell foul of Bilic's rules and rergulations,
implemented when he arrivd at the club in the summer. However Bilic has
handed an olive branch to the 30-year-old by including him in West Ham's
25-man squad for the current Premier League season. Amalfitano has been
granted the numbet 18 shirt by Bilic in this year's squad list, which also
sees Alex Song given the number four shirt and fellow new arrival Victor
Moses handed the number 20, previously worn by Guy Demel. Meanwhil Nikica
Jelavic will wear the previously vacant number 26 shirt, whilst Michail
Antonio takes number 30 - Alex Song's 2014/15 squad number.
The full list is as follows; last season's squad numbers in brackets (where
applicable):
1 (GK) Darren Randolph (n/a)
2 (DF) Winston Reid (2)
3 (DF) Aaron Cresswell (3)
4 (MF) Alex Song (30)
5 (DF) James Tomkins (5)
6 Retired
7 Unused
8 (MF) Cheikhou Kouyate (8)
9 (FW) Andy Carroll (9)
10 (FW) Mauro Zarate (10)
11 (FW) Enner Valencia (31)
12 (DF) Carl Jenkinson (18)
13 (GK) Adrian (13)
14 (MF) Pedro Obiang (n/a)
15 (FW) Diafra Sakho (15)
16 (MF) Mark Noble (16)
17 (DF) Joey O'Brien (17)
18 (MF) Morgan Amalfitano (21)
19 (DF) James Collins (19)
20 (MF) Victor Moses (n/a)
21 (DF) Angelo Ogbonna (n/a)
22 Unused
23 Unused
24 Unused
25 (DF) Doneil Henry (n/a)
26 (FW) NIkica Jelavic (n/a)
27 (MF) Dimitri Payet (n/a)
28 (MF) Manuel Lanzini (n/a)
29 Unused
30 (MF) Michail Antonio (n/a)
31 Unused
32 (DF) Reece Burke (32)
33 Unused
34 (GK) Raphael Spiegel (34)
35 (DF) Reece Oxford
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nay, nay and thrice nay
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd September 2015
By: Staff Writer
The Government has rejected calls from supporters of other London football
clubs to investigate the circumstances in which West Ham were granted
tenancy of the Olympic Stadium. Supporters from clubs such as Charlton,
Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea called upon the Government to re-examine the
deal which awarded West Ham a 99-year lease and anchor tenancy of the
stadium last year. However the appeal - which was signed by some 24,000
people - was rejected by HMG, who insisted that the contract had already
been "tested in court". A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport said: "West Ham United has a concession at the stadium and their
contributions reflect that status. "The contract, awarded after an open
public competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in court. "The
stadium remains in public ownership and the profits from its multiple uses
will flow to the taxpayer." West Ham are scheduled to move to Stratford next
summer in time for the beginning of the 2016/17 Premier League season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Parksey tells Slav he must sort home sickness
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Phil Parkes has told boss Slaven Bilic he has to quickly find a system which
will ensure that visiting teams are broken down at the Boleyn. Obviously
pleased with the away form, Parksey wants to see the gaffer get it right at
home very soon and said: "A 4-4-2 would be lovely but a 4-3-3 is probably
more likely. He told ClaretandHugh exclusively: "We have creative players
and should be able to break teams down but it didn't look good against
either Leicester or Bournemouth. In the case of the Cherries they are a team
that has to attack or get found out but we need to work out a system that
sorts teams out at the Boleyn. "We don't want it becoming like the promotion
season when we won away from home regularly but allowed teams to sit and
found we couldn't break them down at home. "We had a decent transfer window
although I've never been sure about Jelavic Slaven seems to think he knows
his game and can get him performing so fingers crossed. "The strikers are
coming back quickly now so hopefully all will be well but it's a challenge
to Slav and one he has to meet – I believe he will."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gold: Carroll should be on the bench for Newcastle
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham Chairman David Gold says Andy Carroll is working hard and he is
hopeful that Carroll will be on the subs bench for the Newcastle game at
the Boleyn Ground on the 14th September after the International break. David
Gold was responding to one Hammers fan on twitter who asked whether Carroll
would be back in time for Newcastle. Gold replied "He is working hard and he
is determined. I am hopeful he will be on the bench"
Gold also shared he expects a top ten finish for West Ham in the Premier
League table this season telling his 123,000 followers: "I will be
disappointed if we don't finish in the top half of the table but I'm hopeful
that we will do better."
Gold also suggested that rival supporters who started a petition demanding a
public inquiry into the Olympic Stadium should be more productive with their
time. When asked by one West Ham fan 'What do you think of people signing
a petition for our new stadium to be a debate in parliament?'
Gold said "I think it would be more productive if they were to apply
themselves to something more worthwhile. dg"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moses promotes the wrong Krays film
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Victor Moses hasn't got off to the greatest starts with West Ham Chairman
David Sullivan by promoting the wrong Krays film on his twitter account to
his 716,000 followers this morning. Moses posted 'Looking forward to seeing
this with a picture of Krays film Legend.'
Wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall when the winger meets his new employer
following that one – what a plonker – Del Boy stuff Victor! Sullivan is the
main investor in the £3m 'Rise of the Krays' film which was released on
Monday. Alex Song promoted the 'Rise of the Krays film' on his instagram
yesterday to his 803,000 followers getting over 6,000 likes showing he knows
which side his bread is buttered.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Injury News: Valencia due back in October
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham Chairman David Gold was the bringer of good news on his twitter
account late last night night telling his 123,000 followers that Enner
Valencia has told him he will be back in October. Gold tweeted out "I saw
Valencia today working very hard in the Gym. He told me he will be back in
October."
Previously it was thought that the Hammers could be without Valencia until
December, missing the first four months of the season after the club
admitted there remained a possibility he may yet require an operation.
Last month Valencia told Ecuadorian radio station, La Deportiva 'West Ham
seem to have forgotten that I'm injured. But they don't let me speak to
another doctor. I don't understand why West Ham doctors are doing this to
me,'The truth is that West Ham have not been supporting me.'
He later issued a clarification telling WHUFC.com : "I have had a number
of consultation meetings with specialists in London, accompanied by members
of the Club's medical staff, and they have always kept me updated me on my
injury. It has been a frustrating time, but I would like to make clear that
I have the utmost respect and confidence in the Club's medical team and the
specialists I was referred to and I would like to apologise to them and the
Club for any issues arising from the recent press coverage. I will continue
to work as hard as I can with them to return to help the team as quickly as
possible, and continue the good start I made to the season."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Parkesy: "I checked Randolph out for DS"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and h
Former Hammers goalkeeping hero Phil Parkes is delighted he gave chairman
David Sullivan a good reference on Darren Randolph. Speaking exclusively to
ClaretandHugh 'Parksey' revealed the co-chairman had asked him to check the
former Birmingham City stopper out which he did twice last season. And he
said that having watched him in games against Blackburn Rovers and Watford,
he had no hesitation in giving the 28 year old a thumbs up. He said: "I
checked Randolph out for DS after he asked me to have a look at him and he
impressed me enough games to recommend him as a number two. Randolph"He can
be a bit flamboyant – there's a bit of the Tim Howard in him – but I think
he's proved my judgement correct over the last couple of games. "It was
unfortunate that he came up against Birmingham first home against whom he
has such a poor record but he couldn't be faulted for the goals and made
some good saves. Liverpool of course was something else again!. "He's not
going to dislodge Adrian but as a number two he's going to really push him
which Jussie Jaaskalain was never going to do. "He had his early doubters
during the Europa Cup matches but he's shown himself to be very decent and I
for one am very pleased"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons not surprised by Government decision
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham are not in the least surprised the government has rejected pleas
from numerous Supporters' Trusts for a public enquiry into the Olympic
Stadium bidding process. A petition backed by a host of supporters' trusts,
including Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Charlton, Leyton
Orient and others plus Manchester United, Aston Villa, Norwich City,
Everton, Leicester City looked to be gathering pace.
But an official statement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport,
confirming the Government's decision, said: "The contract, awarded after an
open public competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in court.
"Following the completion of its transformation programme the Stadium will
be – unlike so many previous Olympic Stadiums – a world-class multi-use
arena with a long-term future, and one that won't require continuous support
from the taxpayer.
"West Ham United will only access the full stadium facilitiaes for and
shortly ahead of home matches, anticipated to be an average of 25 games a
year. The stadium's other anchor concession-holder, British Athletics, has a
concession for one month a year. The stadium will be available for
commercial and other uses at all times outside of these existing
commitments."
The Hammers have always remained untroubled by the moves and a top insider
said this morning: " This was not unexpected was it? The government 's
response simply repeats facts which speak for themselves. "There's never
been an issue as far as we are concerned. We're not surprised by the
government's reaction."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Anniversary
Name: Tony Carr MBE
Born: Bow, 5 September 1950
West Ham United's Academy Director Tony Carr MBE celebrates his birthday
today.
Carr first joined the Club in 1966, when he was signed as a youth player.
However, injury meant that he had not made a senior appearance when he left
to join Barnet in 1971. There, he made 13 appearances and scored one goal
before he returned to the Boleyn Ground as a youth coach under John Lyall in
1973. Carr has overseen the development of Academy graduates such as Rio
Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, to name but a
few, as well as current first-team players Mark Noble, James Tomkins and
Jack Collison during his time with the Hammers. Carr was awarded a
Testimonial in 2009, and was also made an MBE for his services to football
in the Queen's Birthday Honours List the following year. He is now West Ham
United Ambassador, in his 42nd season of service to the Academy of Football.
Classic match
Sunderland 0-2 West Ham United
Division One
5 September 1981
West Ham United followed up a 4-0 away win over Tottenham Hotspur with
another victory on the road against Sunderland at Roker Park.
David Cross was the hero against Spurs, netting all four goals, and he was
on target again when they took on the Black Cats. Paul Goddard also scored
as the newly-promoted Hammers maintained their unbeaten start to the
1981/82 Division One season.
Despite their good early season form, this win was one of only five on their
travels all season as they finished the campaign in ninth place.
Complete record
1921 Bradford Park Avenue 2-0 West Ham United (Division Two)
1925 Liverpool 0-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1931 West Ham United 0-2 Middlesbrough (Division One)
1936 Blackpool 1-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1949 West Ham United 1-2 Southampton (Division One)
1953 West Ham United 3-1 Fulham (Division One)
1959 West Ham United 1-2 Leeds United (Division One)
1960 West Ham United 2-1 Manchester United (Division One)
1964 Stoke City 3-1 West Ham United (Division One)
1967 Everton 2-0 West Ham United (Division One)
1970 West Ham United 1-2 Everton (Division One)
1981 Sunderland 0-2 West Ham United (Division One)
1987 West Ham United 1-1 Liverpool (Division One)
1992 West Ham United 2-1 Watford (Division One)
2000 Sunderland 1-1 West Ham United (Premier League)
Played 15, Won 4, Drawn 3, Lost 8, Scored 15, Conceded 2
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lanzini happy with 'special' goal – WHUFC.com
Despite only being at the Club for a few months, Argentine midfielder Manuel
Lanzini has certainly hit the ground running. While eyebrows may have been
raised when Slaven Bilic brought the 22-year-old to east London from United
Arab Emirates-based Al Jariza, the former River Plate man has demonstrated
his pedigree, scoring twice in two starts. Having opened his account against
Astra Giurgiu, he famously scored the Hammers' opener against Liverpool
after just three minutes. Speaking at a Store Signing at the Club's Official
Lakeside Thurrock store, Lanzini spoke of his delight at opening his Premier
League account: "It was very special, for myself and for the team. We won
and we played very well, and it was important too. "I am very happy and I
hope it keeps going like that. I'm very happy. The Club and the Premier
League are excellent; the people have been very polite to me. I came from a
different background but I am enjoying this a lot."
While the Argentinian U20 international has settled in well at the Boleyn
Ground, he continued to say that he hoped this was just the start of a
special season for both himself and the Club. As the Hammers are already two
home games into their final season in E13, Lanzini said he was focusing on
making the most of each game. "I try to enjoy London as much as I can, but I
try to rest and keep focus to be ready for my job. This is why I am here! "I
will always do my best to show respect to the fans and the Club. It will
help establish a good relationship with the fans. "I'm grateful for the
support that they are showing to us. I heard that there is a long waiting
list to get a season ticket for next year in the new Stadium. This is really
good for the Club."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Captain Sylvestre ready for Foxes – WHUFC.com
West Ham United U18s return to action after a weekend off Premier League
action with a home game against table toppers Leicester City. The Foxes have
made a strong start to their campaign, winning all three of their opening
games, scoring ten goals in the process. One player likely to feature is
midfielder and captain Noha Sylvestre: "We've been training really well
recently, obviously we need to win this weekend so everyone is working hard.
"The second years are really setting an example for the new first years
coming through. We're all trying to lead the team and I can feel the good
atmosphere around the squad at the moment."
The Swiss U17 international has played in every game of the season so far
and continued to say how much he is enjoying his role as U18 captain.
"I'm really enjoying it. I like to take risks with my ability and to push
myself. I like talking on the pitch and making sure everything is going
alright. I like to think I can motivate the younger players around me and
encourage them. "Leicester are top of the table so we know they're a strong
team, it's always been a difficult game whenever I've come up against
Leicester. But I think we have enough to do well on Saturday, everyone will
work really hard and I hope we will get a win."
On top of his newfound responsibility, Sylvestre was one of the more senior
players who made the journey to the Netherlands last week which faced AZ
Alkmaar and FC Groningen. Reflecting on the experience, the 17-year-old said
he thought the weekend away would stand them in good stead for this
Saturday's match with the Foxes. "I really enjoyed the trip to Holland, it
was a good experience. The games were pretty tough because we came up
against some first team players who were 23, and we were much younger so it
was a good challenge. In the second game, we were much, much better. We kept
the ball well and only lost out to a last minute penalty which was unlucky.
"We were good against Tottenham where we drew 1-1 but we could have played
much better against Fulham and Norwich. We know where we need to improve and
we should demonstrate that this by getting the three points."
Having made a strong start to the season, Sylvestre is hoping this is just
the start of a big season as he hopes to bridge the gap between the U18s and
U21s. The ambitious midfielder finished by saying: "My targets for this
season are to try and get a few games for the U21s while captaining the U18s
as much as possible and setting an example to the younger players. The
target by the end of the season is to be an established U21 player."
West Ham United U18s host Leicester City at Little Heath, kick off 12pm.
Admission is FREE for all fans so come down and see some of the stars of the
future!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jack Sullivan Column –WHUFC.com
Jack Sullivan is the youngest son of West Ham United Joint-Chairman David
Sullivan and is a huge Hammers fan. Jack will be giving his exclusive views
to the official website in a regular column...
Hello everyone,
It has been an incredible few days and I didn't think it could get any
better following our memorable 3-0 win over Liverpool last weekend. But my
dad and everyone behind the scenes have made it a great end to the transfer
window and we were able to bring in four major new signings before the
deadline closed. To be fair my dad has been extremely busy throughout the
summer trying to bring in new players and all the fans can now see what we
were working towards. These deals are not straight forward and my dad can
spend hours trying to negotiate a deal and then for whatever reason it
doesn't happen. But thankfully all his hard word paid off in the end and if
you look at our squad, it is much stronger than what it was last year. We
have got lots of different options throughout the team and the quality of
our bench is going to be so much better now. We are going to see more
attacking football. I asked my dad what his starting XI would be now and he
couldn't name it – I was the same !!
We have got so much competition for places and there is real strength in
depth which is what you need at this level. I am thrilled that we were able
to do a deal to bring Alex Song back to the Club. There is every chance he
will be back to the player he was in the first half of last season. Even
though he is injured at the moment, we still wanted to sign him and that
shows how much we rate him. You can learn a lot from someone like him as he
has played at the highest level and has Champions League experience. He can
teach the other players and I'm sure the youngsters in the squad will be
looking up to someone like him. He can pass the ball and open up defences
and there are not many better than him. A big signing like Song shows the
Club is heading in the right direction.
Victor Moses is another great signing. He has the hunger to do well and is
unplayable at times. We have been working hard on that deal for a number of
weeks and fought off some big clubs who were also desperate to sign him. But
like Song, we managed to clinch his signature and he can see the ambition
that we have. We have already beaten Arsenal and Liverpool away from home
and there was no luck from us in either game. Someone like Moses can see
there is a lot of quality in the squad. The fans are going to be excited by
the signing of Nottingham Forest winger Michail Antonio and he has great
potential. He has come from non-league to the very top. He scored a lot of
goals in the Championships and created a number of assists last season and
Forest didn't want to sell him. But we wanted him to come to us and his
personality has shown that he is not prepared to give up and wants to
compete at the highest level. We also solved our striking problems by
bringing in Nikica Jelavic and Slaven was keen to bring him to the Club. The
manager knows everything about him and he has scored goals in the Premier
League before. He will put more pressure on Sakho and Carroll and give us
real competition for places in the forward line. I'm sure there a lot of
Clubs in the top flight that would have liked to have signed him. The
players we have brought in make us so much stronger.
All this followed a remarkable victory at Anfield and ending 52-years
without a win over Liverpool. I will remember the celebrations at the final
whistle for a long time to come and even seeing David Gold head down to the
tunnel and towards the West Ham fans behind the goal. I'm still not sure how
he managed to get down there !! But the away fans were magnificent as
always and we cannot thank them enough for all their support. Everyone can
see that the squad has so much enthusiasm and we are playing fast-flowing
football. Dimitri Payet was outstanding and Manuel Lanzini was superb. He
was not frightened of anyone and showed he can tackle as well. The whole
midfield was so strong and I have to pay special tribute to Cheikhou Kouyate
who was so strong and looks so dangerous when he drives with the ball into
the opposing half. I was so pleased for Sakho to get his first league goal
and it all went to plan. It really shook up the Liverpool defence who didn't
expect it. There is no reason why can't we push on and have a really good
season this year.
Why can't we do really well in the cup competitions and make this a season
to remember – especially in our final ever year at the Boleyn Ground.
We are welcoming back the Boys of 86' for the next home game against
Newcastle so it will be another great night. I look forward to speaking with
you all again soon.
Jack
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Joe Cole back at the Academy – WHUFC.com
West Ham legend Joe Cole made an emotional return to the Club's Academy
training ground this week and came out on top once again after he passed his
UEFA B coaching licence. Cole is already thinking about his next move in the
game when he eventually hangs up his boots and would love the chance to go
into management. The former England star will never forget his breakthrough
into first-team action and the chance he was given by Tony Carr when he made
his way through the Club's famous Academy alongside the likes of Rio
Ferdinand, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard. Cole, who is currently playing
for Aston Villa was back in east London and faced the final assessment when
he coached the Academy's Under 15/16's. The 33-year-old impressed as he put
the youngsters through their paces and relished the chance to pass on his
vast knowledge of the game. Cole said: "It is nerve-wracking because it is
not something I am used to. I really enjoyed coaching and it has sparked
something inside of me. I want to stay in the game when I finish eventually
and you need to get these badges. "Once you play for West Ham you are always
part of the family and I'm sure I will be back one day in some capacity. "It
was great to see all the old faces and seeing some old friends. All the top
clubs bring players through and West Ham have a good tradition of doing it
and they need to keep improving. "West Ham need to keep producing players
and everyone here is doing well."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
International round up – WHUFC.com
Hammers' goalkeeper Darren Randolph is set to start for his native Ireland
after impressing in his two Premier League appearances for the Claret and
Blues. Having joined West Ham in the summer, the 28-year-old was the Irons'
best player against Bournemouth before putting in another assured display
away at Liverpool. The Greens will travel to minnows Gibraltar with Martin
O'Neills men knowing they need a win to keep their chances of qualifying for
France 2016 alive. After six games, Ireland are in fourth with nine points,
behind Poland, Germany and Scotland.
Meanwhile fellow goalkeeper Sam Howes is also in international action. The
highly rated youngster will travel with his Three Lions' teammates to face
arch-rivals Germany before playing their Croatian counterparts on Monday 7
September.
Senegalese duo Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate return to international
action against Namibia in the Sam Nujoma Stadium, Windhoek. Les
Lions approach the game in good form having won their last three consecutive
games. Just three days later, they face South Africa in a friendly match in
Johannesburg. Kick off on Tuesday 8 September is 7pm local time.
Stephen Hendrie has been called up to the Scottish U21 squad to face
Northern Ireland in their UEFA European Championship Qualifier while Martin
Samuelsen's Norway U18 lost 2-1 to Sweden. They face Denmark on Saturday,
kick off is 1pm.
Defender James Collins was unused substitute in Wales' 1-0 win over Cyprus.
Gareth Bale's 82nd minute header sealed the victory which leaves Chris
Coleman's men, ranked 9th in the FIFA rankings, one win away from
qualification.
U17 midfielder Declan Rice came on as a substitute in Ireland's 0-0 draw
away in Hungary.
Hammers in International action
5pm, Sunday 6th – James Collins' Wales could secure a spot at France 2016
with a win against Israel at the Millennium stadium.
12.30pm, Monday 7th – Winston Reid's All Whites play Myanmar in a friendly
7pm – Sam Howes's England U19 face their Croatian counterparts
7.30pm – Reece Burke could make his U20 debut when the Three Lions play
Czech Republic
5pm, Tuesday 8th – Josh Cullen's Ireland U21 travel to Andorra
7pm, Tuesday 8th – Sakho and Kouyate's Senegal play South Africa
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Chadwell Chatter – WHUFC.com
Hello everyone,
Well, what a week it has been! Not only did we win 3-0 at Liverpool and do
some fantastic business in the transfer window, but I also managed to make
my Barclays Premier League debut and sign a new long-term contract with my
club, West Ham United. Our win at Liverpool was fully deserved, too. The
boys were saying in the dressing room afterwards that they didn't really
have a chance because we restricted them well. We looked a constant threat
really, every time we got the ball. When they got it, we looked resilient
and they didn't get a sniff to be honest. I would like to thank the gaffer
a lot for chucking me on for my Premier League debut. It was amazing, and
hopefully it's the first of many and I can repay him the favour sometime
soon.
It was a surreal feeling straight after the game, what with us not having
won at Anfield for a long, long time, so to go there and win 3-0 and get on
the pitch for a few minutes at the end made for one of the best days of my
life. I'm absolutely chuffed. I managed to swap shirts with James Milner at
the final whistle, but then I had a bit of a panic because I wanted to keep
my Premier League debut shirt too! Luckily, I was able to get it back so
it'll be great to have two shirts, one for my Premier League debut and also
one from a full international like James.
After beating Arsenal at the Emirates and Liverpool an Anfield, we can go
into every game believing we can win it. People probably expected us to be
on six points by now but not in the way we've done it! We've proved we can
beat the best teams and there's no doubt in the changing room that the
results at home will come. We've proved it to ourselves and everyone else
that we can mix it with the best of them.
On a personal level, I know I've got a long way to go. Obviously the U21s
isn't quite the same as playing in front of 45,000 fans. When I get the
opportunities, I need to do my best and show what I can do. On Monday, I
was delighted to sign a new contract until 2018, which was great. West Ham
is my club and I want to be here for as long as possible, so to have this
security means I can concentrate 100 per cent on my football and not worry
where I will be playing for the next few seasons. We are currently on an
international break and I was honoured to be called up by Republic of
Ireland U21s for the first time and I hope to be involved on Friday night
when we take on Qatar U23s in Bury. We play in Andorra next week in our
second 2017 European Championship qualifier – in the same stadium where I
played for West Ham against FC Lusitans back in July in the Europa League!
It'll be funny to go back to Andorra, as it's a place I thought I'd never go
to in my life but I'll have gone there twice in a few weeks! It's my first
U21 call-up so hopefully that'll go well and we'll get another win like West
Ham did. The boys beat Lithuania in their first qualifier, so we want to
build on that and keep our 100 per cent record going.
Have a great weekend.
Josh
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Andy Carroll in contention to face former club – KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 4th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Perma-crock Andy Carroll is set to return to West Ham United's match day
squad on Monday week in order to face former club Newcastle United. The
Hammers number nine, who has made just 27 Premier League starts since
becoming the club's record signing more than two years ago is set to make
the bench - at least - when the Magpies visit the Boleyn Ground. The news
was hinted at by co-Chairman David Gold in response to a fan's question via
Twitter. DG also revealed that Enner Valencia, who was still in plaster a
week ago is seto make his return sometime in October, as previously planned.
West Ham ar scheduled to face Newcastle United at the Boleyn Ground on
Monday, 14th September.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Lifeline for Amalfitano
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 4th September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Morgan Amalfitano may have been banished to train with the reserves, but he
has been handed an unexpected lifeline by manager Slaven Bilic. Three weeks
ago it was revealed that the French winger had been ordered to train with
the club's youngsters after he fell foul of Bilic's rules and rergulations,
implemented when he arrivd at the club in the summer. However Bilic has
handed an olive branch to the 30-year-old by including him in West Ham's
25-man squad for the current Premier League season. Amalfitano has been
granted the numbet 18 shirt by Bilic in this year's squad list, which also
sees Alex Song given the number four shirt and fellow new arrival Victor
Moses handed the number 20, previously worn by Guy Demel. Meanwhil Nikica
Jelavic will wear the previously vacant number 26 shirt, whilst Michail
Antonio takes number 30 - Alex Song's 2014/15 squad number.
The full list is as follows; last season's squad numbers in brackets (where
applicable):
1 (GK) Darren Randolph (n/a)
2 (DF) Winston Reid (2)
3 (DF) Aaron Cresswell (3)
4 (MF) Alex Song (30)
5 (DF) James Tomkins (5)
6 Retired
7 Unused
8 (MF) Cheikhou Kouyate (8)
9 (FW) Andy Carroll (9)
10 (FW) Mauro Zarate (10)
11 (FW) Enner Valencia (31)
12 (DF) Carl Jenkinson (18)
13 (GK) Adrian (13)
14 (MF) Pedro Obiang (n/a)
15 (FW) Diafra Sakho (15)
16 (MF) Mark Noble (16)
17 (DF) Joey O'Brien (17)
18 (MF) Morgan Amalfitano (21)
19 (DF) James Collins (19)
20 (MF) Victor Moses (n/a)
21 (DF) Angelo Ogbonna (n/a)
22 Unused
23 Unused
24 Unused
25 (DF) Doneil Henry (n/a)
26 (FW) NIkica Jelavic (n/a)
27 (MF) Dimitri Payet (n/a)
28 (MF) Manuel Lanzini (n/a)
29 Unused
30 (MF) Michail Antonio (n/a)
31 Unused
32 (DF) Reece Burke (32)
33 Unused
34 (GK) Raphael Spiegel (34)
35 (DF) Reece Oxford
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Nay, nay and thrice nay
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd September 2015
By: Staff Writer
The Government has rejected calls from supporters of other London football
clubs to investigate the circumstances in which West Ham were granted
tenancy of the Olympic Stadium. Supporters from clubs such as Charlton,
Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea called upon the Government to re-examine the
deal which awarded West Ham a 99-year lease and anchor tenancy of the
stadium last year. However the appeal - which was signed by some 24,000
people - was rejected by HMG, who insisted that the contract had already
been "tested in court". A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport said: "West Ham United has a concession at the stadium and their
contributions reflect that status. "The contract, awarded after an open
public competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in court. "The
stadium remains in public ownership and the profits from its multiple uses
will flow to the taxpayer." West Ham are scheduled to move to Stratford next
summer in time for the beginning of the 2016/17 Premier League season.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Parksey tells Slav he must sort home sickness
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Phil Parkes has told boss Slaven Bilic he has to quickly find a system which
will ensure that visiting teams are broken down at the Boleyn. Obviously
pleased with the away form, Parksey wants to see the gaffer get it right at
home very soon and said: "A 4-4-2 would be lovely but a 4-3-3 is probably
more likely. He told ClaretandHugh exclusively: "We have creative players
and should be able to break teams down but it didn't look good against
either Leicester or Bournemouth. In the case of the Cherries they are a team
that has to attack or get found out but we need to work out a system that
sorts teams out at the Boleyn. "We don't want it becoming like the promotion
season when we won away from home regularly but allowed teams to sit and
found we couldn't break them down at home. "We had a decent transfer window
although I've never been sure about Jelavic Slaven seems to think he knows
his game and can get him performing so fingers crossed. "The strikers are
coming back quickly now so hopefully all will be well but it's a challenge
to Slav and one he has to meet – I believe he will."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gold: Carroll should be on the bench for Newcastle
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham Chairman David Gold says Andy Carroll is working hard and he is
hopeful that Carroll will be on the subs bench for the Newcastle game at
the Boleyn Ground on the 14th September after the International break. David
Gold was responding to one Hammers fan on twitter who asked whether Carroll
would be back in time for Newcastle. Gold replied "He is working hard and he
is determined. I am hopeful he will be on the bench"
Gold also shared he expects a top ten finish for West Ham in the Premier
League table this season telling his 123,000 followers: "I will be
disappointed if we don't finish in the top half of the table but I'm hopeful
that we will do better."
Gold also suggested that rival supporters who started a petition demanding a
public inquiry into the Olympic Stadium should be more productive with their
time. When asked by one West Ham fan 'What do you think of people signing
a petition for our new stadium to be a debate in parliament?'
Gold said "I think it would be more productive if they were to apply
themselves to something more worthwhile. dg"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Moses promotes the wrong Krays film
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
Victor Moses hasn't got off to the greatest starts with West Ham Chairman
David Sullivan by promoting the wrong Krays film on his twitter account to
his 716,000 followers this morning. Moses posted 'Looking forward to seeing
this with a picture of Krays film Legend.'
Wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall when the winger meets his new employer
following that one – what a plonker – Del Boy stuff Victor! Sullivan is the
main investor in the £3m 'Rise of the Krays' film which was released on
Monday. Alex Song promoted the 'Rise of the Krays film' on his instagram
yesterday to his 803,000 followers getting over 6,000 likes showing he knows
which side his bread is buttered.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Injury News: Valencia due back in October
Posted by Hammers Newshound on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham Chairman David Gold was the bringer of good news on his twitter
account late last night night telling his 123,000 followers that Enner
Valencia has told him he will be back in October. Gold tweeted out "I saw
Valencia today working very hard in the Gym. He told me he will be back in
October."
Previously it was thought that the Hammers could be without Valencia until
December, missing the first four months of the season after the club
admitted there remained a possibility he may yet require an operation.
Last month Valencia told Ecuadorian radio station, La Deportiva 'West Ham
seem to have forgotten that I'm injured. But they don't let me speak to
another doctor. I don't understand why West Ham doctors are doing this to
me,'The truth is that West Ham have not been supporting me.'
He later issued a clarification telling WHUFC.com : "I have had a number
of consultation meetings with specialists in London, accompanied by members
of the Club's medical staff, and they have always kept me updated me on my
injury. It has been a frustrating time, but I would like to make clear that
I have the utmost respect and confidence in the Club's medical team and the
specialists I was referred to and I would like to apologise to them and the
Club for any issues arising from the recent press coverage. I will continue
to work as hard as I can with them to return to help the team as quickly as
possible, and continue the good start I made to the season."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Parkesy: "I checked Randolph out for DS"
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C and h
Former Hammers goalkeeping hero Phil Parkes is delighted he gave chairman
David Sullivan a good reference on Darren Randolph. Speaking exclusively to
ClaretandHugh 'Parksey' revealed the co-chairman had asked him to check the
former Birmingham City stopper out which he did twice last season. And he
said that having watched him in games against Blackburn Rovers and Watford,
he had no hesitation in giving the 28 year old a thumbs up. He said: "I
checked Randolph out for DS after he asked me to have a look at him and he
impressed me enough games to recommend him as a number two. Randolph"He can
be a bit flamboyant – there's a bit of the Tim Howard in him – but I think
he's proved my judgement correct over the last couple of games. "It was
unfortunate that he came up against Birmingham first home against whom he
has such a poor record but he couldn't be faulted for the goals and made
some good saves. Liverpool of course was something else again!. "He's not
going to dislodge Adrian but as a number two he's going to really push him
which Jussie Jaaskalain was never going to do. "He had his early doubters
during the Europa Cup matches but he's shown himself to be very decent and I
for one am very pleased"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Irons not surprised by Government decision
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 4, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
West Ham are not in the least surprised the government has rejected pleas
from numerous Supporters' Trusts for a public enquiry into the Olympic
Stadium bidding process. A petition backed by a host of supporters' trusts,
including Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Charlton, Leyton
Orient and others plus Manchester United, Aston Villa, Norwich City,
Everton, Leicester City looked to be gathering pace.
But an official statement from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport,
confirming the Government's decision, said: "The contract, awarded after an
open public competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in court.
"Following the completion of its transformation programme the Stadium will
be – unlike so many previous Olympic Stadiums – a world-class multi-use
arena with a long-term future, and one that won't require continuous support
from the taxpayer.
"West Ham United will only access the full stadium facilitiaes for and
shortly ahead of home matches, anticipated to be an average of 25 games a
year. The stadium's other anchor concession-holder, British Athletics, has a
concession for one month a year. The stadium will be available for
commercial and other uses at all times outside of these existing
commitments."
The Hammers have always remained untroubled by the moves and a top insider
said this morning: " This was not unexpected was it? The government 's
response simply repeats facts which speak for themselves. "There's never
been an issue as far as we are concerned. We're not surprised by the
government's reaction."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Friday, September 4
Daily WHUFC News - 4th September 2015
Squad List confirmed
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have submitted their 25-man Squad List of Senior Players
available for selection for Barclays Premier League fixtures until the
opening of the January 2016 Transfer Window.
The Squad List* is as follows – Adrian, Morgan Amalfitano, Michail Antonio,
Andy Carroll, James Collins, Aaron Cresswell, Doneil Henry, Nikica Jelavic,
Carl Jenkinson, Cheikhou Kouyate, Manuel Lanzini, Victor Moses, Mark Noble,
Joey O'Brien, Pedro Obiang, Angelo Ogbonna, Dimitri Payet, Darren Randolph,
Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho, Alex Song, Raphael Spiegel, James Tomkins, Enner
Valencia, Mauro Zarate.
In addition to the 25 Senior Players, the Club has also named eight Under-21
players born on or after 1 January 1994, who are also available for
selection – Josh Cullen, Stephen Hendrie, Sam Howes, Kyle Knoyle, Elliot
Lee, Lewis Page, Martin Samuelsen and Reece Oxford.
*The 25-man Squad List includes eleven 'Home Grown' players who have,
irrespective of his nationality or age, been registered with any club
affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales
for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior
to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com
Hello everyone,
We have some positive news From the Treatment Room this week!
First we would like to welcome Alex Song back to West Ham United after he
re-joined the Club this week. Like everyone, we in the medical team are very
happy to see him back with us.
Alex underwent ankle surgery in June and has been working very hard on his
rehabilitation and we are hopeful that he will be able to step up his
recovery to the next level soon.
We are grateful that he has put his trust in the medical department here at
West Ham and are looking forward to seeing him back out on the pitch.
The next good news story is that Andy Carroll has been training very well
with the squad and is preparing to make his return to the pitch with the
first team very soon.
I would like to thank the medical team for their hard work in getting Andy
fit and ready for action, in particular Eamon Swift who has made a
successful transition from first-team fitness coach to rehabilitation
fitness coach this season and has been working very hard one-on-one with
Andy.
Enner Valencia is doing very well. He had a Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)
injection to stabilise his joint in his leg and is moving in the right
direction. He is working twice a day and is rehabbing well.
Finally, Joey O'Brien is working hard on his rehabilitation after suffering
a calf injury and we hope to see him return to full training soon.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Exclusive - Hurst happy to see Anfield hoodoo end
WHUFC.com
Sir Geoff Hurst has hailed West Ham United for ending their Anfield
heartache – 52 years after scoring the winning goal at Liverpool.
The Hammers and England legend had to rub his eyes in joyful disbelief while
watching final Barclays Premier League scores filter through on Saturday
evening – Liverpool 0 West Ham United 3. That result marked West Ham's first
victory at the home of the Reds since 14 September 1963, when Hurst and
fellow future FIFA World Cup winner Martin Peters scored in a 2-1 success
for Ron Greenwood's side.
Speaking to West Ham TV during a visit to talkSPORT to discuss the impending
release of the film BO66Y The Movie – a tribute to his late, great captain
and teammate Bobby Moore – Hurst said he was happy that the Hammers' Anfield
hoodoo was finally a thing of the past.
"It's talked about every year when we go to Liverpool and people remind us
and it's in their programme and in the press that we haven't won there since
'63," he began. "I remember the game well because we used to do quite well
against Liverpool in that period. We drew 2-2 with them in the 1964 Charity
Shield as it was, which was held up at Anfield as they were the league
champions, and I scored another goal there. "I remember the win there and
the goals. For Martin's goal when he scored, he was in the corner of the box
and cut in on his right foot and screwed it into the bottom left-hand corner
past Tommy Lawrence. "For my goal I beat the offside trap. We had a ball
knocked over because Liverpool played quite flat and I knocked it under
Tommy, who was nicknamed the Flying Pig, as he came out with one touch."
Aside from the match-winning goals, Sir Geoff also recalled a comedy moment
as West Ham tried to play out the clock in the final few moments. "The funny
part about it was we were hanging on 2-1, not at The Kop but down the other
end and there were about five minutes to go and we had a corner," he smiled.
"Peter Brabrook, who was a bit of a joker at Chadwell Heath, used to have
this trick of kicking the back of his other foot and missing the ball and
tripping himself up on the training ground. "He actually did this taking the
corner! He went to take the corner, kicked his back leg, missed the ball and
fell over! These days that is a yellow card and possibly real trouble, but
we just fell about laughing with three or four minutes to go!"
Fast forward more than half a century and Sir Geoff was able to celebrate
another victory at Anfield – at last – as Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and
Diafra Sakho netted in a historic Barclays Premier League 3-0 success. "It
is overdue and quite remarkable," he enthused. "When I saw the results on TV
when I got home about six o'clock I saw nothing-three and had to look again!
It was astonishing, but records are there to be broken, so it's great!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jelavic relishing Bilic reunion
WHUFC.com
As soon as Nikica Jelavic knew Slaven Bilic was keen on securing his
services this Summer, the Croatian forward was only ever going to make West
Ham United his next move. The 30-year-old striker completed his transfer
from Hull City to the Boleyn Ground on deadline day, linking up once more
with a boss who was in charge of his first club Hajduk Split, then gave him
his international debut in 2009.After suffering the pain of relegation with
Hull last term, Jelavic is determined to bounce back under the leadership of
Bilic. He said: "I'm very excited to be linking up with Slaven again. He is
a great manager and a great man. I'm delighted to be working with him and
his staff again. "We worked together for the national team for four years
and I am really happy to be with him here. "He played for West Ham and for
Everton – he knows the league and I know he can do the job here."
As for Jelavic's own experience, he possesses plenty of top-flight knowhow,
having turned out for Everton and Hull in recent years.
He continued: "Hopefully I can impress the staff, the supporters and
everyone at the Club. I am here to help and will do anything to do that.
"It's good timing to join now, with the international break allowing me to
settle in before that first game against Newcastle.
"I don't think it's going to be a problem to adapt, because I know most of
the players and have played against them in the past."
Jelavic is especially looking forward to linking up with a squad that is
sure to be on a high after dispatching Liverpool 3-0 last weekend. He added:
"I watched the game against Liverpool. It was an amazing performance and
they played well as a team. West Ham have showed that this season they can
make a big step forward. "We have a good unit of strikers here and it is
always good to have a couple of good names in your position because then you
push yourself more and give your maximum in every training session. "I'm
looking forward to working with all these lads because they are all very,
very good players."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Matrevics signs Hammers' scholarship
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to announce that highly rated goalkeeper
Rihards Matrevics has signed a scholarship with the Club. The 16-year-old
Latvian, a towering figure at 6'7, is rated among one of the most promising
young goalkeepers in Europe. As the shot-stopper is under 18, the deal
remains subject to FIFA approval and International clearance. Speaking after
signing his scholarship, the Latvian U17 international said: "I am really
delighted to have a signed. I've worked hard for this, and it's always nice
to for that to be recognised. "I found out I was signing the contract only a
few days ago but it's something I've been hoping would happen for a while
now."
Despite his tender years, Matrevics has an impressive maturity, both on and
off the pitch, and this has no doubt helped him to settle into life in a new
country. "I'm really enjoying my football here in England so far. It's
quite different to life in Latvia where my friends and family are. It is
sacrifice and at times it is tough, but I love it at West Ham so it's all
worth it. "The Academy staff are excellent at helping me and the other boys
settle in. Obviously I'm still quite young."
Despite only being at the club for a short time, Matrevics has already
impressed fellow teammates and coaches alike, as well as trained with the
first team. "I love training alongside Adrian and the other first team
goalkeepers. It's very different to the standard in Latvia. It's a great
learning experience and I really enjoy it. "Out of the strikers Andy Carroll
has definitely got the hardest shot, the power he gets is unbelievable. I've
saved a few of his shots; it's always a great feeling when you make a save
against a Premier League player of his quality."
Having committed his future, the 16-year-old, who identified Manuel Neuer
and Thibaut Courtois as his goalkeeping idols, stated his aims for his first
season in Claret and Blues. "This season, I want to make my way into the
U18s, see how I do there and maybe make a few appearances for the U21s. "I
made my international debut last year against Belarus. I did alright, it
wasn't my best game ever but hopefully there'll be more to come. "Playing
for my country is a huge honour, it is hard to describe how special it
really is. Alongside playing for a Premier League club it is something I
have been dreaming about for a while."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com
In all my time in football I have never known a transfer window like the one
we have just experienced and it was quite simply a remarkable final day for
the football Club. The fact that we were able to bring in four major
transfers is testament to everyone who worked so tirelessly behind the
scenes. These are huge deals for both the players and the Club. I have to
pay special tribute to David Sullivan who has worked so hard throughout the
summer to ensure we have got the best possible deals for West Ham United. He
has had endless number of calls and emails over the last few months to last
him a lifetime. But we have been buying the right players that the manager
feels will improve the squad. We are facing two of the biggest seasons in
the Club's history with the final ever year at the Boleyn Ground and then
our move into the new Stadium next summer. We owe it to our fans that we
leave on a high note and everyone will remember the final ever season at
this famous stadium. These are the most important two-years in my football
career. We are building the football Club for when we move into the new
Stadium and we are building a squad of players and strength in depth for the
coming years.
I'm sure the fans are just as excited as I am by the four new arrivals we
managed to bring into the squad on deadline day. We started with the big
announcement of Alex Song coming back to the Club. There is absolutely no
reason why he cannot be the same player that we saw in the first half of
last season. He can open up defences and has the experience of playing at
the highest level in the Champions League.
I am sure he will enjoy the new way that we are playing and will come in and
do a great job for West Ham United. I know he is injured at the moment but
he is a strong man and I don't think we are taking a risk. We are delighted
that Victor Moses has also joined us on a season-long loan from Chelsea. He
is the perfect fit for us and I hope he will excite the fans this season. We
knew that we need to bring some wide players into the squad and it is
fantastic that the Club were also able to secure a deal for Nottingham
Forest's highly-rated winger Michail Antonio. He has pace and power and has
an impressive goalscoring record and we hope he can bring those talents into
the Premier League this season. If he manages to do that, he will be a big
addition for the squad. We want to excite our fans and have pacy wingers who
can make things happen. We also needed to bring in another striker and I
know that Slaven is delighted to see Nikica Jelavic join the Club. He will
fit straight into the squad and is an experienced pro. Slaven is very
familiar with him and they have worked together in the past. I'm sure he
will get the best out of him.
West Ham United is becoming an exciting football Club and we are showing
incredible ambition. The owners and manager all have the same passion to
make us even stronger and I hope this is going to be a memorable two-years
for everyone connected with the Club.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Government responds to petition
WHUFC.com
The Government has responded to a petition to hold a public enquiry into the
deal for West Ham United's rental of the former Olympic Stadium.
"West Ham United has a concession at the Stadium and their contributions
reflect that status. The contract, awarded after an open public competition,
has been widely scrutinised and tested in court.
"Following the completion of its transformation programme the Stadium will
be - unlike so many previous Olympic Stadiums - a world-class multi-use
arena with a long-term future, and one that won't require continuous support
from the taxpayer. The stadium remains in public ownership (E20 Stadium LLP
– a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and
Newham Council) and the profits from its multiple uses will flow to the
taxpayer.
"As a long-term concessionaire West Ham United will only access the full
stadium facilities for and shortly ahead of home matches, anticipated to be
an average of 25 games a year. The stadium's other anchor concession-holder,
British Athletics, has a concession for one month a year. The stadium will
be available for commercial and other uses at all times outside of these
existing commitments.
"The Stadium is a multi-use venue, which has already hosted a major
athletics meet this year, the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, and will host a
range of other events in 2015 including five matches during the Rugby World
Cup this autumn, a Rugby League international between England and New
Zealand and the Race of Champions motorsport event. In addition the Stadium
will host elite athletics including the IAAF and IPC Athletics World
Championships in 2017.
"A world class stadium operator has been appointed and it is part of the
operator agreement that the Stadium will host concerts and other events.
"None of these events will financially benefit West Ham United. All revenues
from these events will be shared by the operator and the Stadium owners. The
stadium operator has a proven international track record of success in
managing and maximising revenue from multi-use stadia and is contractually
incentivised to generate maximum income.
"The agreement with West Ham United, including their contribution to
transformation costs and rent, followed an open competitive process, which
was delivered under EU rules, conducted visibly and exposed to significant
scrutiny. The outcome has been tested in the courts and upheld. As the
winning bid this constituted the best available return for the taxpayer and
secures the commercial viability of a national asset for the next 100 years.
"The European Commission (EC) is responsible for assessing whether public
investment distorts the competitive market. The EC has considered this issue
on more than one occasion and has done so with full sight of the contractual
terms, comprehensive detail of the tender exercise and in depth legal
opinion on compliance with UK and EU law. It has found no case to answer.
Therefore we do not believe that a public inquiry is necessary.
"The detail of the rental agreement between the Stadium owners and West Ham
United is commercially sensitive. Disclosing details of the contract would
undermine the future negotiating position of the Stadium's operator, Vinci,
who are working hard to bring in future events to get the greatest possible
return and ensure that the Stadium is a commercial success.
"It is important that the stadium owners and operator are able to negotiate
future contracts in a way that derive maximum value and are not constrained
by any one agreement. Such arrangements are standard practice and are
designed to both protect the previous public expenditure and maximise the
return on this investment."
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Olympic Stadium deal: Fans inquiry call thrown out
BBC.co.uk
The government has rejected a request from a group of football supporters to
investigate the rental of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United. The
supporters claimed the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) would
subsidise rent, which it denied. The group made up of trusts from clubs
including Arsenal said it was "disappointed" by the decision but had
expected it. The government said the deal had been "scrutinised" and
"upheld". A Freedom of Information request previously revealed West Ham
contributed £15m to the £272m conversion of the stadium and will pay up to
£2.5m a year in rent. The LLDC, which owns the stadium, will pay for
"facilities and services" such as pitch maintenance and for stewarding on
match days, which can cost £2.5m annually. In comparison, Manchester City,
who moved into the former Commonwealth Games venue, pay overheads on top of
£4m rent.
The coalition of supporters, made up of trusts from clubs including Chelsea
and Tottenham Hotspur, started an online petition which had gained more than
24,000 signatures in favour of an inquiry. Mat Roper said the group remained
concerned they were expected to see it as a "fabulous deal for the taxpayer"
when they had not seen any figures backing that up and one document they
requested had been "completely redacted". He said: "We're no nearer the
truth of what we think is in the rental agreement....until we know that then
we're going to continue. "Whether it happens to be continuing with that
petition, a new petition or... a new FOI request, it's certainly not dead in
the water."
The group said they remained concerned the deal would give the Hammers a
competitive advantage. But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said:
"West Ham United has a concession at the stadium and their contributions
reflect that status. "The contract, awarded after an open public
competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in court. "The stadium
remains in public ownership and the profits from its multiple uses will flow
to the taxpayer." While West Ham will host all of their home matches at the
stadium, British Athletics will take control of the arena for one month
every summer.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic failed to tempt Zaza into Premier League switch
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Slaven Bilic was so desperate to land Juventus' Simone Zaza before the
transfer window closed that he told the striker he would be one of the first
names on his team sheet, a report claims today.
TMW claim that Bilic contacted the 24-year-old Italian shortly before the
window closed in one final last-ditch attempt to lure him to the Boleyn
Ground, amidst reported interest from Arsenal - the only club in Europe's
top five leagues not to sign an outfield player during the summer.
However Zaza rejected the opportunity to move to London after Juventus sold
Fernando Llorente to Seville and allowed Kingsley Coman to join Bayern
Munich on a season-long loan - which sent him shooting up the pecking order
at the Serie A club.
Despite Zaza's decision to remain in Italy, it has been confirmed that Juve
agreed to allow the player to join West Ham, but left the decision down to
the player himself.
Following Zaza's decision to remain in Italy, West Ham signed Nikica Jelavic
from Hull City - one of four signings Bilic and the Hammers made in the
final 48 hours of the transfer window.
* Another striker who also cliamed to have rejected overtures from West Ham
during the final few days of the transfer window is former Fenerbahce star
Moussa Sow, who signed for United Arab Emirates outfit Al Ahli in a £16m
deal.
Speaking to the National, Sow claimed that he rejected two Premier League
clubs in order to move to the Middle East.
"I received a few offers from England and other teams in the UAE," he said,
"but I have been here many times and, after I spoke with my family and
friends, I decided to come to Al Ahli.
"It's a project I like, I feel safe with the people here and they helped me
come here. I heard the club has had lots of big players pass through, such
as Grafite and Fabio Cannavaro, which gave me more information about the
club and helped me make my decision."
Al Ahli ensured the move went through by agreeing to pay Sow a $1m bonus he
claimed he was owed by Fenerbahce.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Government won't look into West Ham stadium move
Last Updated: 03/09/15 4:19pm
SSN
The Government has rejected a request from a host of supporters' clubs for
an inquiry into West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium. The Hammers are due
to take on a 99-year deal as tenants starting from next season but the
decision to hand West Ham the stadium has been questioned ever since it was
first announced two-and-a-half years ago. A television documentary aired
last month pointed out how much West Ham would be saving due to their
agreement with the London Legacy Development Corporation and, since then,
eight supporters' groups started a petition for an inquiry into the details
of the decision.
Fans' trusts from Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Fulham and QPR
- as well as two clubs who failed in bids to take over the stadium, Leyton
Orient and Tottenham - all called on the Government to open a case but their
request was thrown out on Thursday. "West Ham United has a concession at the
stadium and their contributions reflect that status. The contract, awarded
after an open public competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in
court," a statement released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
read.
"The stadium remains in public ownership (E20 Stadium LLP - a joint venture
between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council) and
the profits from its multiple uses will flow to the taxpayer. "The agreement
with West Ham United, including their contribution to transformation costs
and rent, followed an open competitive process, which was delivered under EU
rules, conducted visibly and exposed to significant scrutiny. As the winning
bid this constituted the best available return for the taxpayer and secures
the commercial viability of a national asset for the next 100 years. "The
outcome has been tested in the courts and upheld. As the winning bid this
constituted the best available return for the taxpayer and secures the
commercial viability of a national asset for the next 100 years." While West
Ham will host all of their home matches at the stadium, which will sport
West Ham livery and colours, British Athletics also have a deal to take
control of the arena for one month every summer - with the Anniversary Games
and the 2017 World Athletics Championships set to be hosted there.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE LIVERPOOL RESULT, THE PLAYERS ON LOAN AND THE NEW SIGNINGS SHOW
AMBITION, AMBITION, AMBITION.
By Tony McNulty 3 Sep 2015 at 10:03
WTID
I have to say it has been a bloody good week all round for West Ham. I went
to university in Liverpool so have a real soft spot for both the town and
the reds – but beating them 3-0 at Anfield as just wonderful. As other have
already said, it wasn't only winning 3-0 that caused so much joy, but the
manner of it. The last time we won there – the goalscorers were Geoff Hurst
and Martin Peters!
Hurst scored at Anfield 52 years ago.
There was a fantastic start from Manuel Lanzini, a great take by Mark Noble
and then it was really good to see Diafra Sakho score as he does so well for
us. It was a very solid performance at the back and this allowed the rest of
the team to play flowing attacking football. Liverpool didn't have a chance.
All the new signings played well – as did older hands especially Mark Noble
and Diafra Sakho.
The historic victory – our first at Anfield since 1963 – was marred
temporarily by the absurd red card that Mark Noble got – but this has since
been rescinded by the F.A. Quite right too. They should also have a look at
the two yellow cards that Coutinho got, especially the second one. It was a
lovely pirouette from Payet, but it wasn't a yellow card.
It is very strange to look at the early league table after four games. On
home form, we are rock bottom with only WBA below us, yet on away form we
are top – with Manchester City. It would be entirely normal to have looked
at the first four games of the season and say that hopefully we would emerge
with at least six points from the two home games and – with a little luck –
we might get something at either the Emirates or Anfield! No-one would have
foreseen that we would emerge with six points – but from two away games,
with nothing to show for two very poor performances at home. So far, then,
these are very strange times indeed. But should we worry?
I said in an earlier post that I remain really optimistic about this season
and think that we will have a good overall performance and one that will do
the club proud in our last season at the Boleyn ground. I am ow more
convinced than ever that this will be the case. As I said, all our new
signings played well at Liverpool – Randolph, Ogbanna, Obiang, Lanzini and
Payet – as did our existing players. This was part of the reason for my
optimism.
But then, by the time the window was firmly closed shut yesterday – but
optimism doubled or trebled – we have never had such a successful in the
transfer market. Adding Victor Moses to a now confirmed loan quartet of him,
Jenkinson, Lanzini and Alex Song is a masterstroke. Each of this quartet not
only knows how to play football, they know how to play in a team. Jenkinson
had a bad game against Bournemouth– but he wasn't alone and will be a key
player this year. The solidity of the defence against Liverpool was without
him, remember, and he will only add to this strength.
When you look at the depth of skills that these loan players bring and add
them to the existing squad – then any true fan will be encouraged. When you
add to this MIchail Antonio, Stephen Hendrie, Nikica Jalevic then you have a
really balanced squad with the depth to survive the rigours of the season.
Indeed, not only to survive but to flourish. There are good grounds for my
optimism and good grounds for giving the manager and his staff a bit of
leeway to produce the football we all want to see.
Tuesday was the culmination of a very productive summer in the markets and
the addition of seven players bought outright and four on loan is a sign of
a team that has the ambition to do well this season. It is a squad that
should mean our overall form resembles our away form up to now, not our form
at home. However much the management and whole staff feel like patting
themselves on the back because of such a successful summer in the markets,
they should be a little cautious.
We need to start delivering the goods at home. I can think of nothing better
than knocking hell out of Newcastle on Monday 14th's night game to show the
way forward. To show that the success in the markets was for a reason – that
it had some purpose – and that was to make sure that the fans would get the
send-off that we deserve in our last season at Upton Park. I think we are in
for exciting times. I think Bilic will deliver. I think Newcastle should be
concerned – our home form it just about to become as good as our opening
away form.
One other small point – the millions and millions swirling around the
premiership, especially the TV money, has made this a record year again in
the transfer market. Maybe we should celebrate this success, but the
championship seems further and further away from the premiership – and the
drop now seems increasingly to be a drop into oblivion. That is something we
should be really worried about.
Martin Peters went to Spurs as part of Jimmy Greaves deal
I know it was different times completely, but I was flicking through a
newspaper album on West Ham and noted that on May 15th 1967 West Ham paid
£50,000 for Billy Bonds and three years later – March 17th 1970 – West Ham
paid £100,000 plus Martin Peters for the great Jimmy Greaves. Dim and
distant history I know – but it makes you wonder, doesn't it.
Bring on Newcastle – our first three points at Upton Park – and that will be
another bloody good week for West Ham.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BLINDERS AND BUSES
By Jo Phillips 3 Sep 2015 at 18:07
WTID
Mr Dale is right. Our transfer deals were blinders and personally I can't
wait to see Alex Song playing again. He's an exciting player, always
energetic, physical and somehow manages to cross great distances so he seems
to be in several places at once. Blinders aside, I can't help thinking that
the transfer deadline is a relief and marks the start of the season proper.
Endless speculation that means football columns bear more resemblance to a
bookies' board can stop and we can focus on the game. The window shopping
and wish lists go and we get on with what we've got. That looks like a
pretty solid squad or as Bilic may say a busload of talent and potential.
What's with him and buses? I watched his interview after Anfield several
times to see if repetition would make it more comprehensible but frankly,
after that historic victory, I don't care if he's using reruns of On The
Buses and a poster of Reg Varney to get them playing like that.
Several commentators praised the West Ham composition on Saturday – the
dictionary definition is putting together of parts into a whole. That's a
pretty fair summing up of a team that played almost effortlessly together,
in tune and attuned to each other, the opposition and the opportunities. A
brilliant game and a terrific result, almost incredible after our previous
two matches. There wasn't a poor player on the pitch for us and indeed, many
were outstanding but I would single out Aaron Cresswell who showed again
what an important player he is – I remember the first time we saw him. The
aforementioned Mr Dale and I were astounded that such talent had been ours
to snap up from Ipswich.
So, good new signings, a brilliant result and as the late Ian Dury sang ,
reasons to be cheerful.
And yes, we fans are as fickle as the weather and I'm sure managers,
chairmen and players get used to love and hate in equal doses. Let's hope
they're basking in our collective love this week. I just hope Bilic's
enigmatic comments about buses isn't a veiled reference to coaches required
for winning only away. But if it is then tickets please and all aboard the
Hammers rollercoaster.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Premier League squad list: Michail Antonio included after deadline
day switch
20:28, 3 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY JAMES WHALING
The winger moved from Nottingham Forest in a £7million move, and joins Andy
Carroll in the squad who is on the comeback trail
The Mirror
West Ham have named their 25-man squad for Premier League fixtures this
season. Deadline day signing Michail Antonio makes the cut, as does striker
Andy Carroll who is on the comeback trail after a knee ligament injury, and
Alex Song who has rejoined the Hammers. Antonio joined from Nottingham
Forest for £7million as the window slammed shut, as Slaven Bilic looks to
build on wins at Arsenal and Liverpool early in the season. Players such as
Reece Oxford are included in the U21 squad list, along with a host of other
youngsters who are eligible for selection.
Here is the full squad...
Amalfitano, Morgan
Antonio, Michail
Carroll, Andrew
Collins, James
Cresswell, Aaron
Henry, Doneil Jor-Dee Ashley
Jelavic, Nikica
Jenkinson, Carl
Kouyate, Cheikhou
Lanzini, Manuel
Moses, Victor
Noble, Mark
O'Brien, Joseph
Obiang Avomo, Pedro Mba
Ogbonna, Obinze Angelo
Payet, Dimitri
Randolph, Darren
Reid, Winston
Sakho, Diafra
San Miguel Del Castillo, Adrian
Song Bilong, Alexandre
Spiegel, Raphael
Tomkins, James
Valencia Lastra, Enner
Zarate, Mauro Matias
Under-21 players (Contract and Scholars)
Akinola, Olatunji Oluwasehun
Bogard, Clarke Ellis
Boness, Danny
Borg, Oscar Francis
Brown, Jordan Antonio
Brown, Tim
Browne, Marcus Alexander
Burke, Reece
Carter, Matthew James
Chambers, Leo Alexander
Cullen, Joshua Jon
Diangana, Grady
Dobson, George David
Elsom, Ross
Gordon, Jaanai Derece
Hector-Ingram, Jahmal Justin
Hendrie, Stephen
Howes, Samuel Scott
Knoyle, Kyle
Lee, Elliot Robert
Makasi, Kusu Moses
Mavila, Nathan
Nasha, Amos Lawrence
Neufville, Vashon
Onariase, Osaore Emmanuel
Oxford, Reece Joel
Page, Lewis Robert
Parfitt-Williams, Djair Terraii Carl
Pask, Joshua David
Pike, Alexander George
Powell, Joe
Poyet Gonzalez, Diego
Rice, Declan
Samuelsen, Martin
Scully, Anthony Richard
Sylvestre, Noha
Westley, Samuel Edward
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Explaining Downing's departure to Martin Keown
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 3, 2015 in Sean's Blogs, Whispers
C AND H
Martin Keown has spoken about West Ham's transfer window and says he doesn't
understand why we let Stewart Downing go. Speaking in his Daily Mail blog
Keown said "Generally West Ham did not lose too much with their outgoings
but I must say the sale of Stewart Downing to Middlesbrough is a deal I just
don't understand. It was not so long ago that we were praising him and the
influence he was having. He has been outstanding in recent seasons and
though I'm sure he's happy to be back 'home' at Middlesbrough, he should
want to play in the Premier League for as long as possible."
Happy to answer that one for you Martin, Downing telephoned David Sullivan
three times and asked to leave West Ham. He left West Ham for one final mega
pay deal and an enormous bonus if he helps his boyhood team Middlesborough
get back to the Premier League. However, he later claimed he never wanted
to join West Ham in the first place and was quoted by one newspaper as
saying about Liverpool "I wanted to stay and fight for my place, Brendan
said he wanted me to stay, but the club told me that there was an offer from
West Ham. I didn't want to move."
He also told another newspaper after leaving West Ham "The change of manager
was a big factor, If Sam had stayed, then I'm sure he'd have had a good sit
down to try to persuade me to stay. After speaking to Slaven, I didn't get
that feel of someone who really wanted me there. He said, 'I'd love you to
say', but I didn't get the feeling that I got when Sam signed me."
On the KUMBPodcast West Ham Co Chairman David Sullivan explained the truth
about Downing:
"Downing phoned me personally and asked three times to leave so it is
nothing to do that he didn't feel wanted, they offered him a five year
contract on more money than he was on with us which is incredible for a
Championship side, he was on big money with us. What Downing has said is
dam right lies, I can say that, look at his phone bill and you can see he
personally phoned me up desperately wanting to go back to Middlesborough, it
was his home town club. We said we would like to to stay, we don't want you
to go and he said I don't want to stay, he has now said he didn't feel
(loved), no-one asked him, he went for financial reasons and they then have
to justify it and tell fibs. They just made him an incredible offer and he's
gone back to his home town club, they gave him a 4 to 5 year contract, I can
see his point of view, we wish him all the best, we wish Middlesborough get
promotion because we get a million and a half quid more, we will be cheering
them on"
The reality is you left for the money Downing, we know it, you know it and
know hopefully Martin Keown now knows it. Problem solved Martin, you only
had to ask!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan refuses to backtrack on Austin and Barton
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 3, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
After conducting a question and answer session with David Sullivan, HUGH
SOUTHON reckons an unapologetic co-chairman has now put the recent Charlie
Austin and Joey Barton controversies in their rightful place.
David Sullivan found himself at the centre of a couple of controversies
during the transfer window but trust me, this is not a man to back down when
he believes he's in the right.
And the co chairman was pretty true to form in an exclusive interview with
ClaretandHugh when discussing both matters frankly and openly.
It will be recalled that during a podcast with KUMB, Sullivan made it clear
his reasons for not moving in on QPR's Austin was because of concerns over a
previously failed medical at Hull, and worries about the state of the
player's knee.
Being the silly season, the story took off like an airliner and even Austin
took to Twitter to aim both barrels at the co-chairman's head, claiming he
had no knowledge of his injury history or anything else.
Sullivan remained unmoved then, and as defiant in his interview with us,
despite an apology from his fellow chairman David Gold on talkSPORT which
appeared to be linked to another over Joey Barton.
The new Burnley midfielder has been moaning about reports that West Ham's
interest cooled presumably when fans and reportedly players weren't too
happy at the idea of him being offered even a pay as you play contract.
Sullivan's response to both players was to say of DG's apology: "I wouldn't
be apologising: there's nothing to apologise for."
What's interesting about these cases is that both individuals will be
plying their trade in the Championship this season and it's significant that
no other Premier League clubs were in a big hurry to sign Austin.
Love him or hate him, Sullivan tells it how it is, and to demonstrate
there's another side to the coin, he'll hold his hands up when necessary, as
he did in the question and answer session.
He was quick to admit he was sorry he hadn't signed Andrew Ayew admitting:
"I really fancied him."
Apologies? Regrets? They occasionally have their place in this game. But
there's no time to dwell on either, and its reassuring to hear them put in
their proper perspective by Sullivan.
Thinking about it, words such as storms and teacups come to mind.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Exclusive: Sullivan on deals, controversy and Bilic!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 3, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
David Sullivan has been leading the Irons' transfer activities all summer.
And with its closure yesterday, he has received almost unanimous acclaim
from the Claret and Blue Army.
As a friend of ClaretandHugh, the co chairman has kindly agreed to answer a
series of EXCLUSIVE questions which tackle some important issues, such as
any regrets he might have on signings that got away; how he feels in
retrospect about the Charlie Austin and Joey Barton controversies; and how
he is getting along with new boss, Slaven Bilic.
He gives his views to ClaretandHugh's founding editor HUGH SOUTHON.
CandH: David, on ClaretandHugh estimates you have spent more money in the
transfer market than ever before – was that always the plan?
DS: NO, but we realised how important this season was for the club and we've
dug deep !
CandH: You almost seem to have become our director of football along with
your role as co chairman – is that a fair assessment ?
DS: No, but I'm a very hands-on chairman
CandH: With Mark Noble's red card having been rescinded should the FA look
at Danny Ings' play acting in the challenge
DS: No, I think he was genuinely hurt.
CandH: The fans have rarely been happier than over the last few days – after
the last 18 months or so you must be happy and relieved.
DS: Yes both happy and relieved, its been a very tough window. My own regret
is not signing Andre Ayew who went to Swansea, as I really fancied him.
CandH: How difficult or easy is it settling down to life with a new manager
and his methods after a long relationship with the previous boss,
DS: There is always an adjustment , but he's a nice man and very hard
working. I admire hard work
CandH: David Gold apologised on talkSPORT for the controversies over Barton
and Austin but is there actually much to apologise for.
DS: I wouldn't be apologising ! I don't think there is anything to apologise
for.
CandH: Your thoughts on the season ahead?
DS: I really don't know as we've had the strangest first four results.
This must be the best team we've had at West Ham United since we've been at
the club. Let's HOPE that translates into league position. I do NOT like
4-3 defeats even if there are lots of goals!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
WHUFC.com
West Ham United have submitted their 25-man Squad List of Senior Players
available for selection for Barclays Premier League fixtures until the
opening of the January 2016 Transfer Window.
The Squad List* is as follows – Adrian, Morgan Amalfitano, Michail Antonio,
Andy Carroll, James Collins, Aaron Cresswell, Doneil Henry, Nikica Jelavic,
Carl Jenkinson, Cheikhou Kouyate, Manuel Lanzini, Victor Moses, Mark Noble,
Joey O'Brien, Pedro Obiang, Angelo Ogbonna, Dimitri Payet, Darren Randolph,
Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho, Alex Song, Raphael Spiegel, James Tomkins, Enner
Valencia, Mauro Zarate.
In addition to the 25 Senior Players, the Club has also named eight Under-21
players born on or after 1 January 1994, who are also available for
selection – Josh Cullen, Stephen Hendrie, Sam Howes, Kyle Knoyle, Elliot
Lee, Lewis Page, Martin Samuelsen and Reece Oxford.
*The 25-man Squad List includes eleven 'Home Grown' players who have,
irrespective of his nationality or age, been registered with any club
affiliated to the Football Association or the Football Association of Wales
for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons or 36 months prior
to his 21st birthday (or the end of the Season during which he turns 21).
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Treatment Room
WHUFC.com
Hello everyone,
We have some positive news From the Treatment Room this week!
First we would like to welcome Alex Song back to West Ham United after he
re-joined the Club this week. Like everyone, we in the medical team are very
happy to see him back with us.
Alex underwent ankle surgery in June and has been working very hard on his
rehabilitation and we are hopeful that he will be able to step up his
recovery to the next level soon.
We are grateful that he has put his trust in the medical department here at
West Ham and are looking forward to seeing him back out on the pitch.
The next good news story is that Andy Carroll has been training very well
with the squad and is preparing to make his return to the pitch with the
first team very soon.
I would like to thank the medical team for their hard work in getting Andy
fit and ready for action, in particular Eamon Swift who has made a
successful transition from first-team fitness coach to rehabilitation
fitness coach this season and has been working very hard one-on-one with
Andy.
Enner Valencia is doing very well. He had a Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP)
injection to stabilise his joint in his leg and is moving in the right
direction. He is working twice a day and is rehabbing well.
Finally, Joey O'Brien is working hard on his rehabilitation after suffering
a calf injury and we hope to see him return to full training soon.
Stijn Vandenbroucke
Head of Medical and Sports Science
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Exclusive - Hurst happy to see Anfield hoodoo end
WHUFC.com
Sir Geoff Hurst has hailed West Ham United for ending their Anfield
heartache – 52 years after scoring the winning goal at Liverpool.
The Hammers and England legend had to rub his eyes in joyful disbelief while
watching final Barclays Premier League scores filter through on Saturday
evening – Liverpool 0 West Ham United 3. That result marked West Ham's first
victory at the home of the Reds since 14 September 1963, when Hurst and
fellow future FIFA World Cup winner Martin Peters scored in a 2-1 success
for Ron Greenwood's side.
Speaking to West Ham TV during a visit to talkSPORT to discuss the impending
release of the film BO66Y The Movie – a tribute to his late, great captain
and teammate Bobby Moore – Hurst said he was happy that the Hammers' Anfield
hoodoo was finally a thing of the past.
"It's talked about every year when we go to Liverpool and people remind us
and it's in their programme and in the press that we haven't won there since
'63," he began. "I remember the game well because we used to do quite well
against Liverpool in that period. We drew 2-2 with them in the 1964 Charity
Shield as it was, which was held up at Anfield as they were the league
champions, and I scored another goal there. "I remember the win there and
the goals. For Martin's goal when he scored, he was in the corner of the box
and cut in on his right foot and screwed it into the bottom left-hand corner
past Tommy Lawrence. "For my goal I beat the offside trap. We had a ball
knocked over because Liverpool played quite flat and I knocked it under
Tommy, who was nicknamed the Flying Pig, as he came out with one touch."
Aside from the match-winning goals, Sir Geoff also recalled a comedy moment
as West Ham tried to play out the clock in the final few moments. "The funny
part about it was we were hanging on 2-1, not at The Kop but down the other
end and there were about five minutes to go and we had a corner," he smiled.
"Peter Brabrook, who was a bit of a joker at Chadwell Heath, used to have
this trick of kicking the back of his other foot and missing the ball and
tripping himself up on the training ground. "He actually did this taking the
corner! He went to take the corner, kicked his back leg, missed the ball and
fell over! These days that is a yellow card and possibly real trouble, but
we just fell about laughing with three or four minutes to go!"
Fast forward more than half a century and Sir Geoff was able to celebrate
another victory at Anfield – at last – as Manuel Lanzini, Mark Noble and
Diafra Sakho netted in a historic Barclays Premier League 3-0 success. "It
is overdue and quite remarkable," he enthused. "When I saw the results on TV
when I got home about six o'clock I saw nothing-three and had to look again!
It was astonishing, but records are there to be broken, so it's great!"
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Jelavic relishing Bilic reunion
WHUFC.com
As soon as Nikica Jelavic knew Slaven Bilic was keen on securing his
services this Summer, the Croatian forward was only ever going to make West
Ham United his next move. The 30-year-old striker completed his transfer
from Hull City to the Boleyn Ground on deadline day, linking up once more
with a boss who was in charge of his first club Hajduk Split, then gave him
his international debut in 2009.After suffering the pain of relegation with
Hull last term, Jelavic is determined to bounce back under the leadership of
Bilic. He said: "I'm very excited to be linking up with Slaven again. He is
a great manager and a great man. I'm delighted to be working with him and
his staff again. "We worked together for the national team for four years
and I am really happy to be with him here. "He played for West Ham and for
Everton – he knows the league and I know he can do the job here."
As for Jelavic's own experience, he possesses plenty of top-flight knowhow,
having turned out for Everton and Hull in recent years.
He continued: "Hopefully I can impress the staff, the supporters and
everyone at the Club. I am here to help and will do anything to do that.
"It's good timing to join now, with the international break allowing me to
settle in before that first game against Newcastle.
"I don't think it's going to be a problem to adapt, because I know most of
the players and have played against them in the past."
Jelavic is especially looking forward to linking up with a squad that is
sure to be on a high after dispatching Liverpool 3-0 last weekend. He added:
"I watched the game against Liverpool. It was an amazing performance and
they played well as a team. West Ham have showed that this season they can
make a big step forward. "We have a good unit of strikers here and it is
always good to have a couple of good names in your position because then you
push yourself more and give your maximum in every training session. "I'm
looking forward to working with all these lads because they are all very,
very good players."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Matrevics signs Hammers' scholarship
WHUFC.com
West Ham United are delighted to announce that highly rated goalkeeper
Rihards Matrevics has signed a scholarship with the Club. The 16-year-old
Latvian, a towering figure at 6'7, is rated among one of the most promising
young goalkeepers in Europe. As the shot-stopper is under 18, the deal
remains subject to FIFA approval and International clearance. Speaking after
signing his scholarship, the Latvian U17 international said: "I am really
delighted to have a signed. I've worked hard for this, and it's always nice
to for that to be recognised. "I found out I was signing the contract only a
few days ago but it's something I've been hoping would happen for a while
now."
Despite his tender years, Matrevics has an impressive maturity, both on and
off the pitch, and this has no doubt helped him to settle into life in a new
country. "I'm really enjoying my football here in England so far. It's
quite different to life in Latvia where my friends and family are. It is
sacrifice and at times it is tough, but I love it at West Ham so it's all
worth it. "The Academy staff are excellent at helping me and the other boys
settle in. Obviously I'm still quite young."
Despite only being at the club for a short time, Matrevics has already
impressed fellow teammates and coaches alike, as well as trained with the
first team. "I love training alongside Adrian and the other first team
goalkeepers. It's very different to the standard in Latvia. It's a great
learning experience and I really enjoy it. "Out of the strikers Andy Carroll
has definitely got the hardest shot, the power he gets is unbelievable. I've
saved a few of his shots; it's always a great feeling when you make a save
against a Premier League player of his quality."
Having committed his future, the 16-year-old, who identified Manuel Neuer
and Thibaut Courtois as his goalkeeping idols, stated his aims for his first
season in Claret and Blues. "This season, I want to make my way into the
U18s, see how I do there and maybe make a few appearances for the U21s. "I
made my international debut last year against Belarus. I did alright, it
wasn't my best game ever but hopefully there'll be more to come. "Playing
for my country is a huge honour, it is hard to describe how special it
really is. Alongside playing for a Premier League club it is something I
have been dreaming about for a while."
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
From the Boardroom - David Gold
WHUFC.com
In all my time in football I have never known a transfer window like the one
we have just experienced and it was quite simply a remarkable final day for
the football Club. The fact that we were able to bring in four major
transfers is testament to everyone who worked so tirelessly behind the
scenes. These are huge deals for both the players and the Club. I have to
pay special tribute to David Sullivan who has worked so hard throughout the
summer to ensure we have got the best possible deals for West Ham United. He
has had endless number of calls and emails over the last few months to last
him a lifetime. But we have been buying the right players that the manager
feels will improve the squad. We are facing two of the biggest seasons in
the Club's history with the final ever year at the Boleyn Ground and then
our move into the new Stadium next summer. We owe it to our fans that we
leave on a high note and everyone will remember the final ever season at
this famous stadium. These are the most important two-years in my football
career. We are building the football Club for when we move into the new
Stadium and we are building a squad of players and strength in depth for the
coming years.
I'm sure the fans are just as excited as I am by the four new arrivals we
managed to bring into the squad on deadline day. We started with the big
announcement of Alex Song coming back to the Club. There is absolutely no
reason why he cannot be the same player that we saw in the first half of
last season. He can open up defences and has the experience of playing at
the highest level in the Champions League.
I am sure he will enjoy the new way that we are playing and will come in and
do a great job for West Ham United. I know he is injured at the moment but
he is a strong man and I don't think we are taking a risk. We are delighted
that Victor Moses has also joined us on a season-long loan from Chelsea. He
is the perfect fit for us and I hope he will excite the fans this season. We
knew that we need to bring some wide players into the squad and it is
fantastic that the Club were also able to secure a deal for Nottingham
Forest's highly-rated winger Michail Antonio. He has pace and power and has
an impressive goalscoring record and we hope he can bring those talents into
the Premier League this season. If he manages to do that, he will be a big
addition for the squad. We want to excite our fans and have pacy wingers who
can make things happen. We also needed to bring in another striker and I
know that Slaven is delighted to see Nikica Jelavic join the Club. He will
fit straight into the squad and is an experienced pro. Slaven is very
familiar with him and they have worked together in the past. I'm sure he
will get the best out of him.
West Ham United is becoming an exciting football Club and we are showing
incredible ambition. The owners and manager all have the same passion to
make us even stronger and I hope this is going to be a memorable two-years
for everyone connected with the Club.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Government responds to petition
WHUFC.com
The Government has responded to a petition to hold a public enquiry into the
deal for West Ham United's rental of the former Olympic Stadium.
"West Ham United has a concession at the Stadium and their contributions
reflect that status. The contract, awarded after an open public competition,
has been widely scrutinised and tested in court.
"Following the completion of its transformation programme the Stadium will
be - unlike so many previous Olympic Stadiums - a world-class multi-use
arena with a long-term future, and one that won't require continuous support
from the taxpayer. The stadium remains in public ownership (E20 Stadium LLP
– a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and
Newham Council) and the profits from its multiple uses will flow to the
taxpayer.
"As a long-term concessionaire West Ham United will only access the full
stadium facilities for and shortly ahead of home matches, anticipated to be
an average of 25 games a year. The stadium's other anchor concession-holder,
British Athletics, has a concession for one month a year. The stadium will
be available for commercial and other uses at all times outside of these
existing commitments.
"The Stadium is a multi-use venue, which has already hosted a major
athletics meet this year, the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games, and will host a
range of other events in 2015 including five matches during the Rugby World
Cup this autumn, a Rugby League international between England and New
Zealand and the Race of Champions motorsport event. In addition the Stadium
will host elite athletics including the IAAF and IPC Athletics World
Championships in 2017.
"A world class stadium operator has been appointed and it is part of the
operator agreement that the Stadium will host concerts and other events.
"None of these events will financially benefit West Ham United. All revenues
from these events will be shared by the operator and the Stadium owners. The
stadium operator has a proven international track record of success in
managing and maximising revenue from multi-use stadia and is contractually
incentivised to generate maximum income.
"The agreement with West Ham United, including their contribution to
transformation costs and rent, followed an open competitive process, which
was delivered under EU rules, conducted visibly and exposed to significant
scrutiny. The outcome has been tested in the courts and upheld. As the
winning bid this constituted the best available return for the taxpayer and
secures the commercial viability of a national asset for the next 100 years.
"The European Commission (EC) is responsible for assessing whether public
investment distorts the competitive market. The EC has considered this issue
on more than one occasion and has done so with full sight of the contractual
terms, comprehensive detail of the tender exercise and in depth legal
opinion on compliance with UK and EU law. It has found no case to answer.
Therefore we do not believe that a public inquiry is necessary.
"The detail of the rental agreement between the Stadium owners and West Ham
United is commercially sensitive. Disclosing details of the contract would
undermine the future negotiating position of the Stadium's operator, Vinci,
who are working hard to bring in future events to get the greatest possible
return and ensure that the Stadium is a commercial success.
"It is important that the stadium owners and operator are able to negotiate
future contracts in a way that derive maximum value and are not constrained
by any one agreement. Such arrangements are standard practice and are
designed to both protect the previous public expenditure and maximise the
return on this investment."
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Olympic Stadium deal: Fans inquiry call thrown out
BBC.co.uk
The government has rejected a request from a group of football supporters to
investigate the rental of the Olympic Stadium to West Ham United. The
supporters claimed the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) would
subsidise rent, which it denied. The group made up of trusts from clubs
including Arsenal said it was "disappointed" by the decision but had
expected it. The government said the deal had been "scrutinised" and
"upheld". A Freedom of Information request previously revealed West Ham
contributed £15m to the £272m conversion of the stadium and will pay up to
£2.5m a year in rent. The LLDC, which owns the stadium, will pay for
"facilities and services" such as pitch maintenance and for stewarding on
match days, which can cost £2.5m annually. In comparison, Manchester City,
who moved into the former Commonwealth Games venue, pay overheads on top of
£4m rent.
The coalition of supporters, made up of trusts from clubs including Chelsea
and Tottenham Hotspur, started an online petition which had gained more than
24,000 signatures in favour of an inquiry. Mat Roper said the group remained
concerned they were expected to see it as a "fabulous deal for the taxpayer"
when they had not seen any figures backing that up and one document they
requested had been "completely redacted". He said: "We're no nearer the
truth of what we think is in the rental agreement....until we know that then
we're going to continue. "Whether it happens to be continuing with that
petition, a new petition or... a new FOI request, it's certainly not dead in
the water."
The group said they remained concerned the deal would give the Hammers a
competitive advantage. But the Department for Culture, Media and Sport said:
"West Ham United has a concession at the stadium and their contributions
reflect that status. "The contract, awarded after an open public
competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in court. "The stadium
remains in public ownership and the profits from its multiple uses will flow
to the taxpayer." While West Ham will host all of their home matches at the
stadium, British Athletics will take control of the arena for one month
every summer.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Bilic failed to tempt Zaza into Premier League switch
KUMB.com
Filed: Thursday, 3rd September 2015
By: Staff Writer
Slaven Bilic was so desperate to land Juventus' Simone Zaza before the
transfer window closed that he told the striker he would be one of the first
names on his team sheet, a report claims today.
TMW claim that Bilic contacted the 24-year-old Italian shortly before the
window closed in one final last-ditch attempt to lure him to the Boleyn
Ground, amidst reported interest from Arsenal - the only club in Europe's
top five leagues not to sign an outfield player during the summer.
However Zaza rejected the opportunity to move to London after Juventus sold
Fernando Llorente to Seville and allowed Kingsley Coman to join Bayern
Munich on a season-long loan - which sent him shooting up the pecking order
at the Serie A club.
Despite Zaza's decision to remain in Italy, it has been confirmed that Juve
agreed to allow the player to join West Ham, but left the decision down to
the player himself.
Following Zaza's decision to remain in Italy, West Ham signed Nikica Jelavic
from Hull City - one of four signings Bilic and the Hammers made in the
final 48 hours of the transfer window.
* Another striker who also cliamed to have rejected overtures from West Ham
during the final few days of the transfer window is former Fenerbahce star
Moussa Sow, who signed for United Arab Emirates outfit Al Ahli in a £16m
deal.
Speaking to the National, Sow claimed that he rejected two Premier League
clubs in order to move to the Middle East.
"I received a few offers from England and other teams in the UAE," he said,
"but I have been here many times and, after I spoke with my family and
friends, I decided to come to Al Ahli.
"It's a project I like, I feel safe with the people here and they helped me
come here. I heard the club has had lots of big players pass through, such
as Grafite and Fabio Cannavaro, which gave me more information about the
club and helped me make my decision."
Al Ahli ensured the move went through by agreeing to pay Sow a $1m bonus he
claimed he was owed by Fenerbahce.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Government won't look into West Ham stadium move
Last Updated: 03/09/15 4:19pm
SSN
The Government has rejected a request from a host of supporters' clubs for
an inquiry into West Ham's move to the Olympic Stadium. The Hammers are due
to take on a 99-year deal as tenants starting from next season but the
decision to hand West Ham the stadium has been questioned ever since it was
first announced two-and-a-half years ago. A television documentary aired
last month pointed out how much West Ham would be saving due to their
agreement with the London Legacy Development Corporation and, since then,
eight supporters' groups started a petition for an inquiry into the details
of the decision.
Fans' trusts from Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Charlton, Fulham and QPR
- as well as two clubs who failed in bids to take over the stadium, Leyton
Orient and Tottenham - all called on the Government to open a case but their
request was thrown out on Thursday. "West Ham United has a concession at the
stadium and their contributions reflect that status. The contract, awarded
after an open public competition, has been widely scrutinised and tested in
court," a statement released by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
read.
"The stadium remains in public ownership (E20 Stadium LLP - a joint venture
between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council) and
the profits from its multiple uses will flow to the taxpayer. "The agreement
with West Ham United, including their contribution to transformation costs
and rent, followed an open competitive process, which was delivered under EU
rules, conducted visibly and exposed to significant scrutiny. As the winning
bid this constituted the best available return for the taxpayer and secures
the commercial viability of a national asset for the next 100 years. "The
outcome has been tested in the courts and upheld. As the winning bid this
constituted the best available return for the taxpayer and secures the
commercial viability of a national asset for the next 100 years." While West
Ham will host all of their home matches at the stadium, which will sport
West Ham livery and colours, British Athletics also have a deal to take
control of the arena for one month every summer - with the Anniversary Games
and the 2017 World Athletics Championships set to be hosted there.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
THE LIVERPOOL RESULT, THE PLAYERS ON LOAN AND THE NEW SIGNINGS SHOW
AMBITION, AMBITION, AMBITION.
By Tony McNulty 3 Sep 2015 at 10:03
WTID
I have to say it has been a bloody good week all round for West Ham. I went
to university in Liverpool so have a real soft spot for both the town and
the reds – but beating them 3-0 at Anfield as just wonderful. As other have
already said, it wasn't only winning 3-0 that caused so much joy, but the
manner of it. The last time we won there – the goalscorers were Geoff Hurst
and Martin Peters!
Hurst scored at Anfield 52 years ago.
There was a fantastic start from Manuel Lanzini, a great take by Mark Noble
and then it was really good to see Diafra Sakho score as he does so well for
us. It was a very solid performance at the back and this allowed the rest of
the team to play flowing attacking football. Liverpool didn't have a chance.
All the new signings played well – as did older hands especially Mark Noble
and Diafra Sakho.
The historic victory – our first at Anfield since 1963 – was marred
temporarily by the absurd red card that Mark Noble got – but this has since
been rescinded by the F.A. Quite right too. They should also have a look at
the two yellow cards that Coutinho got, especially the second one. It was a
lovely pirouette from Payet, but it wasn't a yellow card.
It is very strange to look at the early league table after four games. On
home form, we are rock bottom with only WBA below us, yet on away form we
are top – with Manchester City. It would be entirely normal to have looked
at the first four games of the season and say that hopefully we would emerge
with at least six points from the two home games and – with a little luck –
we might get something at either the Emirates or Anfield! No-one would have
foreseen that we would emerge with six points – but from two away games,
with nothing to show for two very poor performances at home. So far, then,
these are very strange times indeed. But should we worry?
I said in an earlier post that I remain really optimistic about this season
and think that we will have a good overall performance and one that will do
the club proud in our last season at the Boleyn ground. I am ow more
convinced than ever that this will be the case. As I said, all our new
signings played well at Liverpool – Randolph, Ogbanna, Obiang, Lanzini and
Payet – as did our existing players. This was part of the reason for my
optimism.
But then, by the time the window was firmly closed shut yesterday – but
optimism doubled or trebled – we have never had such a successful in the
transfer market. Adding Victor Moses to a now confirmed loan quartet of him,
Jenkinson, Lanzini and Alex Song is a masterstroke. Each of this quartet not
only knows how to play football, they know how to play in a team. Jenkinson
had a bad game against Bournemouth– but he wasn't alone and will be a key
player this year. The solidity of the defence against Liverpool was without
him, remember, and he will only add to this strength.
When you look at the depth of skills that these loan players bring and add
them to the existing squad – then any true fan will be encouraged. When you
add to this MIchail Antonio, Stephen Hendrie, Nikica Jalevic then you have a
really balanced squad with the depth to survive the rigours of the season.
Indeed, not only to survive but to flourish. There are good grounds for my
optimism and good grounds for giving the manager and his staff a bit of
leeway to produce the football we all want to see.
Tuesday was the culmination of a very productive summer in the markets and
the addition of seven players bought outright and four on loan is a sign of
a team that has the ambition to do well this season. It is a squad that
should mean our overall form resembles our away form up to now, not our form
at home. However much the management and whole staff feel like patting
themselves on the back because of such a successful summer in the markets,
they should be a little cautious.
We need to start delivering the goods at home. I can think of nothing better
than knocking hell out of Newcastle on Monday 14th's night game to show the
way forward. To show that the success in the markets was for a reason – that
it had some purpose – and that was to make sure that the fans would get the
send-off that we deserve in our last season at Upton Park. I think we are in
for exciting times. I think Bilic will deliver. I think Newcastle should be
concerned – our home form it just about to become as good as our opening
away form.
One other small point – the millions and millions swirling around the
premiership, especially the TV money, has made this a record year again in
the transfer market. Maybe we should celebrate this success, but the
championship seems further and further away from the premiership – and the
drop now seems increasingly to be a drop into oblivion. That is something we
should be really worried about.
Martin Peters went to Spurs as part of Jimmy Greaves deal
I know it was different times completely, but I was flicking through a
newspaper album on West Ham and noted that on May 15th 1967 West Ham paid
£50,000 for Billy Bonds and three years later – March 17th 1970 – West Ham
paid £100,000 plus Martin Peters for the great Jimmy Greaves. Dim and
distant history I know – but it makes you wonder, doesn't it.
Bring on Newcastle – our first three points at Upton Park – and that will be
another bloody good week for West Ham.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
BLINDERS AND BUSES
By Jo Phillips 3 Sep 2015 at 18:07
WTID
Mr Dale is right. Our transfer deals were blinders and personally I can't
wait to see Alex Song playing again. He's an exciting player, always
energetic, physical and somehow manages to cross great distances so he seems
to be in several places at once. Blinders aside, I can't help thinking that
the transfer deadline is a relief and marks the start of the season proper.
Endless speculation that means football columns bear more resemblance to a
bookies' board can stop and we can focus on the game. The window shopping
and wish lists go and we get on with what we've got. That looks like a
pretty solid squad or as Bilic may say a busload of talent and potential.
What's with him and buses? I watched his interview after Anfield several
times to see if repetition would make it more comprehensible but frankly,
after that historic victory, I don't care if he's using reruns of On The
Buses and a poster of Reg Varney to get them playing like that.
Several commentators praised the West Ham composition on Saturday – the
dictionary definition is putting together of parts into a whole. That's a
pretty fair summing up of a team that played almost effortlessly together,
in tune and attuned to each other, the opposition and the opportunities. A
brilliant game and a terrific result, almost incredible after our previous
two matches. There wasn't a poor player on the pitch for us and indeed, many
were outstanding but I would single out Aaron Cresswell who showed again
what an important player he is – I remember the first time we saw him. The
aforementioned Mr Dale and I were astounded that such talent had been ours
to snap up from Ipswich.
So, good new signings, a brilliant result and as the late Ian Dury sang ,
reasons to be cheerful.
And yes, we fans are as fickle as the weather and I'm sure managers,
chairmen and players get used to love and hate in equal doses. Let's hope
they're basking in our collective love this week. I just hope Bilic's
enigmatic comments about buses isn't a veiled reference to coaches required
for winning only away. But if it is then tickets please and all aboard the
Hammers rollercoaster.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
West Ham Premier League squad list: Michail Antonio included after deadline
day switch
20:28, 3 SEPTEMBER 2015
BY JAMES WHALING
The winger moved from Nottingham Forest in a £7million move, and joins Andy
Carroll in the squad who is on the comeback trail
The Mirror
West Ham have named their 25-man squad for Premier League fixtures this
season. Deadline day signing Michail Antonio makes the cut, as does striker
Andy Carroll who is on the comeback trail after a knee ligament injury, and
Alex Song who has rejoined the Hammers. Antonio joined from Nottingham
Forest for £7million as the window slammed shut, as Slaven Bilic looks to
build on wins at Arsenal and Liverpool early in the season. Players such as
Reece Oxford are included in the U21 squad list, along with a host of other
youngsters who are eligible for selection.
Here is the full squad...
Amalfitano, Morgan
Antonio, Michail
Carroll, Andrew
Collins, James
Cresswell, Aaron
Henry, Doneil Jor-Dee Ashley
Jelavic, Nikica
Jenkinson, Carl
Kouyate, Cheikhou
Lanzini, Manuel
Moses, Victor
Noble, Mark
O'Brien, Joseph
Obiang Avomo, Pedro Mba
Ogbonna, Obinze Angelo
Payet, Dimitri
Randolph, Darren
Reid, Winston
Sakho, Diafra
San Miguel Del Castillo, Adrian
Song Bilong, Alexandre
Spiegel, Raphael
Tomkins, James
Valencia Lastra, Enner
Zarate, Mauro Matias
Under-21 players (Contract and Scholars)
Akinola, Olatunji Oluwasehun
Bogard, Clarke Ellis
Boness, Danny
Borg, Oscar Francis
Brown, Jordan Antonio
Brown, Tim
Browne, Marcus Alexander
Burke, Reece
Carter, Matthew James
Chambers, Leo Alexander
Cullen, Joshua Jon
Diangana, Grady
Dobson, George David
Elsom, Ross
Gordon, Jaanai Derece
Hector-Ingram, Jahmal Justin
Hendrie, Stephen
Howes, Samuel Scott
Knoyle, Kyle
Lee, Elliot Robert
Makasi, Kusu Moses
Mavila, Nathan
Nasha, Amos Lawrence
Neufville, Vashon
Onariase, Osaore Emmanuel
Oxford, Reece Joel
Page, Lewis Robert
Parfitt-Williams, Djair Terraii Carl
Pask, Joshua David
Pike, Alexander George
Powell, Joe
Poyet Gonzalez, Diego
Rice, Declan
Samuelsen, Martin
Scully, Anthony Richard
Sylvestre, Noha
Westley, Samuel Edward
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Explaining Downing's departure to Martin Keown
Posted by Sean Whetstone on September 3, 2015 in Sean's Blogs, Whispers
C AND H
Martin Keown has spoken about West Ham's transfer window and says he doesn't
understand why we let Stewart Downing go. Speaking in his Daily Mail blog
Keown said "Generally West Ham did not lose too much with their outgoings
but I must say the sale of Stewart Downing to Middlesbrough is a deal I just
don't understand. It was not so long ago that we were praising him and the
influence he was having. He has been outstanding in recent seasons and
though I'm sure he's happy to be back 'home' at Middlesbrough, he should
want to play in the Premier League for as long as possible."
Happy to answer that one for you Martin, Downing telephoned David Sullivan
three times and asked to leave West Ham. He left West Ham for one final mega
pay deal and an enormous bonus if he helps his boyhood team Middlesborough
get back to the Premier League. However, he later claimed he never wanted
to join West Ham in the first place and was quoted by one newspaper as
saying about Liverpool "I wanted to stay and fight for my place, Brendan
said he wanted me to stay, but the club told me that there was an offer from
West Ham. I didn't want to move."
He also told another newspaper after leaving West Ham "The change of manager
was a big factor, If Sam had stayed, then I'm sure he'd have had a good sit
down to try to persuade me to stay. After speaking to Slaven, I didn't get
that feel of someone who really wanted me there. He said, 'I'd love you to
say', but I didn't get the feeling that I got when Sam signed me."
On the KUMBPodcast West Ham Co Chairman David Sullivan explained the truth
about Downing:
"Downing phoned me personally and asked three times to leave so it is
nothing to do that he didn't feel wanted, they offered him a five year
contract on more money than he was on with us which is incredible for a
Championship side, he was on big money with us. What Downing has said is
dam right lies, I can say that, look at his phone bill and you can see he
personally phoned me up desperately wanting to go back to Middlesborough, it
was his home town club. We said we would like to to stay, we don't want you
to go and he said I don't want to stay, he has now said he didn't feel
(loved), no-one asked him, he went for financial reasons and they then have
to justify it and tell fibs. They just made him an incredible offer and he's
gone back to his home town club, they gave him a 4 to 5 year contract, I can
see his point of view, we wish him all the best, we wish Middlesborough get
promotion because we get a million and a half quid more, we will be cheering
them on"
The reality is you left for the money Downing, we know it, you know it and
know hopefully Martin Keown now knows it. Problem solved Martin, you only
had to ask!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Sullivan refuses to backtrack on Austin and Barton
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 3, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
After conducting a question and answer session with David Sullivan, HUGH
SOUTHON reckons an unapologetic co-chairman has now put the recent Charlie
Austin and Joey Barton controversies in their rightful place.
David Sullivan found himself at the centre of a couple of controversies
during the transfer window but trust me, this is not a man to back down when
he believes he's in the right.
And the co chairman was pretty true to form in an exclusive interview with
ClaretandHugh when discussing both matters frankly and openly.
It will be recalled that during a podcast with KUMB, Sullivan made it clear
his reasons for not moving in on QPR's Austin was because of concerns over a
previously failed medical at Hull, and worries about the state of the
player's knee.
Being the silly season, the story took off like an airliner and even Austin
took to Twitter to aim both barrels at the co-chairman's head, claiming he
had no knowledge of his injury history or anything else.
Sullivan remained unmoved then, and as defiant in his interview with us,
despite an apology from his fellow chairman David Gold on talkSPORT which
appeared to be linked to another over Joey Barton.
The new Burnley midfielder has been moaning about reports that West Ham's
interest cooled presumably when fans and reportedly players weren't too
happy at the idea of him being offered even a pay as you play contract.
Sullivan's response to both players was to say of DG's apology: "I wouldn't
be apologising: there's nothing to apologise for."
What's interesting about these cases is that both individuals will be
plying their trade in the Championship this season and it's significant that
no other Premier League clubs were in a big hurry to sign Austin.
Love him or hate him, Sullivan tells it how it is, and to demonstrate
there's another side to the coin, he'll hold his hands up when necessary, as
he did in the question and answer session.
He was quick to admit he was sorry he hadn't signed Andrew Ayew admitting:
"I really fancied him."
Apologies? Regrets? They occasionally have their place in this game. But
there's no time to dwell on either, and its reassuring to hear them put in
their proper perspective by Sullivan.
Thinking about it, words such as storms and teacups come to mind.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Exclusive: Sullivan on deals, controversy and Bilic!
Posted by Hugh5outhon1895 on September 3, 2015 in News, Whispers
C AND H
David Sullivan has been leading the Irons' transfer activities all summer.
And with its closure yesterday, he has received almost unanimous acclaim
from the Claret and Blue Army.
As a friend of ClaretandHugh, the co chairman has kindly agreed to answer a
series of EXCLUSIVE questions which tackle some important issues, such as
any regrets he might have on signings that got away; how he feels in
retrospect about the Charlie Austin and Joey Barton controversies; and how
he is getting along with new boss, Slaven Bilic.
He gives his views to ClaretandHugh's founding editor HUGH SOUTHON.
CandH: David, on ClaretandHugh estimates you have spent more money in the
transfer market than ever before – was that always the plan?
DS: NO, but we realised how important this season was for the club and we've
dug deep !
CandH: You almost seem to have become our director of football along with
your role as co chairman – is that a fair assessment ?
DS: No, but I'm a very hands-on chairman
CandH: With Mark Noble's red card having been rescinded should the FA look
at Danny Ings' play acting in the challenge
DS: No, I think he was genuinely hurt.
CandH: The fans have rarely been happier than over the last few days – after
the last 18 months or so you must be happy and relieved.
DS: Yes both happy and relieved, its been a very tough window. My own regret
is not signing Andre Ayew who went to Swansea, as I really fancied him.
CandH: How difficult or easy is it settling down to life with a new manager
and his methods after a long relationship with the previous boss,
DS: There is always an adjustment , but he's a nice man and very hard
working. I admire hard work
CandH: David Gold apologised on talkSPORT for the controversies over Barton
and Austin but is there actually much to apologise for.
DS: I wouldn't be apologising ! I don't think there is anything to apologise
for.
CandH: Your thoughts on the season ahead?
DS: I really don't know as we've had the strangest first four results.
This must be the best team we've had at West Ham United since we've been at
the club. Let's HOPE that translates into league position. I do NOT like
4-3 defeats even if there are lots of goals!
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
http://vyperz.blogspot.com
---
This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software.
https://www.avast.com/antivirus
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
