Posts Tagged ‘West Ham’

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Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has laughed off reports linking him with a move to Manchester United, saying he would never swap Anfield for Old Trafford.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has launched a dramatic late bid to sign Carlos Tevez from under the noses of Manchester United and Manchester City in a £25m deal.

Ancelotti made the last-gasp approach personally after getting Tevez’s phone number from fellow Argentina striker Hernan Crespo, who worked with Ancelotti at AC Milan four years ago.

However, Manchester City remain favourites to sign Tevez as they are offering wages of £140,000 a week.

Liverpool are also interested in the 25-year-old but their desire to spread the fee over the duration of Tevez’s contract makes the deal less appealing to the striker’s adviser Kia Joorabchian.

The Reds have, however, won the race to sign defender Glen Johnson from Portsmouth for a massive £19.5m.

Liverpool will have to finance the deal by selling defender Alvaro Arbeloa to Real Madrid for about £8m, while the fact that Portsmouth still owe the Reds £7m as part of the deal that took Peter Crouch to Fratton Park last summer will also reduce the overall fee.

Chelsea are closer to signing Manchester City striker Daniel Sturridge, whose fee will be decided by a tribunal, and CSKA Moscow winger Yuri Zhirkov for £15m.

However, Zhirkov has denied he is about to move to Stamford Bridge, claiming he wants to join Barcelona instead.

Defender Ricardo Carvalho, meanwhile, has launched a parting shot at Chelsea as he nears a move to Inter Milan, claiming they “should have given me more support” during his time injured last season.

Real Madrid have contacted a host of Premier League clubs with a list of nine players they are willing to sell in a bid to recoup some of the £150m they will lay out on Kaka and Cristiano Ronaldo. Arjen Robben, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Klass-Jan Huntelaar, Wesley Sneijder, Rafael van der Vaart, Royston Drenthe, Javier Saviola, Gabriel Heinze and Mahamadou Diarra are the players available.

But Tottenham’s bid to sign Van Nistelrooy could be scuppered by the Dutch striker’s £90,000-a-week wage demands.

Spurs midfielder David Bentley is in talks with Aston Villa about a cut-price £7m move.

He will be replaced at White Hart Lane by Aston Villa winger Ashley Young, with Jermaine Jenas also travelling in the opposite direction to Villa Park as part of a bumper swap deal.

Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill will also step up his pursuit of Middlesbrough centre-half David Wheater after learning he will be allowed to leave for around £7m.

And the Northern Irishman is keen on taking £13m-rated Standard Liege midfielder Steven Defour to Villa Park, despite interest from Liverpool.

Everton are going to step up their interest in Reading pair Kevin Doyle and Stephen Hunt after Royals boss Brendan Rodgers confirmed he is ready to cash in on the striker and midfielder.

Manchester City boss Mark Hughes will make a bid for Portsmouth striker Peter Crouch if he is priced out of a move for Blackburn frontman Roque Santa Cruz.

Sunderland are closing in on a £5m deal for Manchester City defender Richard Dunne.

He could be replaced by Everton defender Joleon Lescott in a deal worth £16m.

And City are aiming to replace the Irishman with West Ham defender Matthew Upson, having made a firm enquiry for the 30-year-old.

Fulham are lining up a £4m bid for Tottenham midfielder Jamie O’Hara.

Another Spurs midfielder, Didier Zokora, could also be on his way out of White Hart Lane after a settlement between the Londoners and Sevilla over Juande Ramos’s move to Tottenham in October 2007.

The Ivorian could be replaced by AZ Alkmaar midfielder Moussa Dembele in a £15m deal, although Chelsea are also interested in the pacy 21-year-old.

Tottenham striker Roman Pavluchenko could be on his way out of the club as the revolving door continues to swing at White Hart Lane, with Stuttgart willing to snap him up despite claims from former Spurs keeper Cesar Sanchez that the Russian is “impossible” to communicate with.

Veteran Manchester City midfielder Dietmar Hamann has held talks with German side 1860 Munich about resurrecting his career in Germany’s Second Bundesliga when he becomes a free agent at the end of this month.

Arsenal left-back Gael Clichy has ruled out a move away from the Emirates Stadium this summer, despite reported interest from Real Madrid.

The French left-back could be joined at the Gunners by Stuttgart midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger, who manager Arsene Wenger is keen to sign for around £5m.

Villarreal, Roma and Fiorentina are interested in signing Arsenal defender Phillipe Senderos, who has one year left on his contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Bolton have reignited their interest in signing Portugal midfielder Miguel Veloso from Sporting Lisbon by offering £8m for the 23-year-old.

And they are also interested in Portsmouth defender Sylvain Distin, Wigan pair Lee Cattermole and Hugo Rolladega, and Spartak Moscow midfielder Radislav Kovac.

As well as Portsmouth midfielder Sean Davis on a free transfer.

Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce has enquired about taking Chelsea striker Franco di Santo, 20, on loan.

Manchester City striker Felipe Caicedo claims a number of clubs in Portugal, Spain and England, including West Ham, are interested in signing him.

Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has claimed Manchester United, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Barcelona have made an approach for France winger Franck Ribery.

And United are also continuing to monitor teenage Gremio midfielder Douglas Costa.

Sir Alex Ferguson is also leading the chase for Argentine midfielder Javier Pastore, 19, from Huracan.

Celtic midfielder Scott Brown has cooled talk of a move to the Premier League, with Tottenham said to be interested, by welcoming the appointment of Tony Mowbray as manager. “Under Tony we can win the title back next season,” he said.

Former Scotland midfielder Nigel Quashie will leave West Ham for Cardiff this summer.

Fulham are targeting Celtic’s loan striker Jeremie Aliadiere in a £3m move.

Strikers appear to be the order of the day at Craven Cottage, with manager Roy Hodgson also considering moves for Manchester City’s Brazilian frontman Jo and Inter Milan’s Robert Acquafresca.

Motherwell defender Brian McLean is a target for Hearts.

Galatasaray are close to an agreement to buy Zurab Khizanishvili from Blackburn Rovers for £2m.

Forgotten Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko could end his career at Monaco after his wife told him to join the French side.

Iceland international Hermann Hreidarrsson, available on a free transfer after his contract at Portsmouth expired, is interesting Celtic.

Newly-confirmed Watford manager Malky Mackay has confirmed he’s on the verge of signing Aberdeen skipper Scott Severin.

Sheffield United have been told they must double their £1.5m bid if they hope to sign Wales striker Ched Evans from Manchester City.

Celtic are poised to beat Rangers and Brugge to the signature of Gothenburg and Sweden central defender Mattias Bjarsmyr.

Celtic could join Rangers in expressing interest in out-of-contract Portsmouth defender Hermann Hreidarsson.

Hearts have targeted defender Brian McLean, who is out of contract with Motherwell.

Kilmarnock have made Middelsbrough winger Graeme Owens their first summer signing.

Sunderland striker Anthony Stokes is high on new Hibernian manager John Hughes’ shopping list.

Former Academica Coimbra right-back Markus Berger wants a move to Hibernian.

Cardiff City will target Motherwell striker David Clarkson if they sell Ross McCormack.

Premier League chairman Dave Richards faces further questions about his involvement in Sulaiman Al Fahim’s proposed takeover of Portsmouth after former Manchester City owner Thakin Shinawatra admitted advising the United Arab Emirates businessman to buy the Fratton Park outfit.

West Brom have asked permission from Peterborough to talk to manager Darren Ferguson about succeeding Celtic-bound Tony Mowbray at the Hawthorns.

The Baggies also have Preston manager Alan Irvine and St Johnstone boss Derek McInnes on their shortlist.

Arsenal striker Emmanuel Adebayor is in the middle of an international bust-up after being thrown out of Togo’s squad for not showing up at the team hotel or their training session to prepare for the World Cup match in Morocco on Saturday.

Livingston have been rocked by a £5,000 fine from the Scottish Football Association after failing to submit their end-of-season accounts properly.

Former Northern Ireland and Fulham boss Lawrie Sanchez wants to take charge of Motherwell.

Former Aberdeen and St Mirren manager Alex Smith is being lined up as director of football at Falkirk.

Youth coach Eddie May will be named Falkirk manager, with Steven Pressley as his assistant later this week.

Alex Smith would be a mentor to Eddie May and Steven Pressley should they become the management team at Falkirk Stadium.

Former Rangers and Blackburn defender Lorenzo Amouso in in line to become head coach with Serie C club Arezzo.

Hearts manager Csaba Laszlo has rejected summer offers from Universitatae Craiova, Panionios, Asteras Tripolis and an unnamed German club.

Manchester City forward Robinho has adopted a new weight-training programme in a bid to bulk up for the new season. “He looks like a toothpick with a pair of headphones on when he lifts a barbell,” said a City source.

Real Madrid defender Cristoph Metzelder has hit out at the Spanish giant’s proposed £80m signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, saying: “Spending that money on someone that can get injured or be in bad form isn’t correct to me, especially during this period of financial uncertainty.”

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So, this parent at my school (Liverpool fan) comes up to me today and says “so, what do you think about the Rob Green thing then?”. Incredulous, but trying to look cool, I reply to him “Rob Green, what about him”. At this point he starts banging on about Green’s alleged reluctance to sign an extension to his contract being a sign that he is clearly unhappy at West Ham and is looking for an out. I dismiss this as yet more of the idol crap that sells newspapers, which indeed abounds at this time of the year.
Then, I rush home to my PC and scour the internet to see if there is any shred of truth in this latest scaremongering in the direction of WHUFC. None that I can find.
This is just the way it is for the next 12 weeks, so we all need to develop tough skins, eh?
God, I love these windows - NOOOTTT!

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The rumour mill is not exactly over-flowing with West Ham stories in terms of the transfer window. Similar in this respect to last summer to date. (Actually, given that it is a ridiculous 3 months long it is more of a transfer chasm than a window).
I usually like to check out www.football-rumours.co.uk for a laugh during these lean times. Absolutely scant regard for factual information but mildly amusing nonetheless.
I did find one or two suggestions on the net that Ashton might well be off this summer. One source quoted an almost unbelievable £12m which I would bite any Chairman’s hand off for were I BG.
Any views out there?

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The only thing that has stopped the last 24 hours from being perfect is the fact that we didn’t quite do enough to overturn a 6 goal GD deficit which was the requirement to finish above the muppets from North London. Still, in case you forgot, they are a big club; a very very very big club. So, to finish just below them on GD must make our achievement a momentous one, eh?
Anyway, I digress. No, my real sources of joy this weekend began at 2.45pm on Sunday afternoon. These days it has to be said that Millwall and the historical rivalry that exisits between our clubs is something of an irrelevance. We inhabit different worlds and our chances of engaging in meaningful hostilities are therefore restricted to the unlikelihood of a cup draw. Nonetheless, it was marvellous to hear of their defeat at the hands of the mighty Scunthorpe.
The weekend got even better still with Burnley’s victory on Monday. No doubt West Ham will now be sued for this defeat too, which inevitably came about because Carlos Tevez single handedly relegated the Northern monkies two years ago. The joy any West Ham fan will take from their play off final defeat is incalculable. Burnley playing in claret and blue has to be the icing on the cake!

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Love it or leave it, this is West Ham, we could easily support a team that will always finish in the top four but no, we support and love  a club that will always finish mid-table or in some cases relegated.

Zola will be happy with 9th place  under the circumstances in which he has had to manage the club, Steve Clarke as an assistant manager is and hopefully will be Zola’s right-hand man for a while to come.

My only sorrow this season is knowing that Tottenham will finish above us, but hats off to the club for climbing from 18th to 8th place in a matter of 7 to 8 weeks, which proves Harry Redknapp next season will probably take Tottenham amongst the top six and hopefully Zola and Steve Clarke will do the same for us.

Well done Fulham and Zamora in having such a great season.

Next Sunday will see West Ham at home to Middlesbrough, Middlesbrough are facing a relegation battle and will need to beat West Ham at least by five clear goals. I would hate to see Middlesbrough go down but that is inevitable.

It has been a season full of ups and downs for West Ham but then it would not be West Ham if this was never to happen, roll on season 2009/2010 to see what spoils that will bring, or will it be another headache with injured players or the FA trying to stuff us up the Khyber Pass again.

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Did anyone catch the write up of the Spurs game in the Fail on Sunday?
Ian Ridley put together this farcical piece that brown noses old Rednapp for about 40% of the article, before grudgingly mentioning the Hammers.
It starts with the headline; ‘Rednapp still riding high over hammers s Roman puts his best foot forward’. (Anyone tell Ridley we are still above Spurs?). Apparently, it’s now all over. This win has Spurs “looking towards a place in next season’s new Europa league, possibly at West Ham’s expense”. Oh, and guess what, ‘arry has done a ‘remarkable’ job and spending some £15m on Pavlychenko appears to be wholly justifiable according to Ridley because he’s now had one half decent game against us after a winter of mediocrity. Great rate of return, ‘arry - well done.
Zola gets a cursory nod from Ridley - “it might now be too much to ask for (our) manager Gianfranco Zola, who has done an excellent job this season, to sustain a challenge for a European place”. Excellent job indeed, Ridley. Oh, and without the odd spare £15m to throw at players who do bugger all for 15 games but then put in 1 performance and trigger the old familiar we luv ‘arry rhetoric from our pathetic media who seem unable, or unwilling, to see the chancer for what he is. Give me Zola and Clark any day.

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I for one am heartened by the proliferation of young talent and experienced players that are beginning to commit to the West Ham cause at the moment.
Just this week, we have heard that Noble, Tomkins and now Stanislas have all committed their next few years to us. Of course, Parker signed back in February until 2013.
I guess it could be argued that the club is merely protecting its investment; by signing deals like this, obviously the price goes up for any potential poachers. But I like to think that maybe, just maybe, this is the dawn of a new era in which the club will show ambition and really try to hold on to its better players.

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This is becoming uncannily frequent; the board and executive at West Ham showing due regard to us, the supporters.
In a previous post I praised them for the changes to the club’s website as well as reduced prices for cup tickets.
Today, the unprecedented early announcement of an 8% reduction in season ticket prices for next season, the further freezing of prices for the season after and a loyalty reduction for season 12/13 of some 20%.
Having been derided often by many supporters’ groups and forums in recent years, I welcome today’s news as further evidence that at last there is genuine recognition by the club that their lifeblood is their fanatical supporters.
Nice one West Ham, nice one.

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