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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Tuesday 28 December
Piquionne Refuses to Rule Out Villa Move
West Ham striker Frederic Piquionne has refused to move out a rule to Aston Villa in January.
Despite only arriving at Upton Park during the summer the 32-year-old has been linked with a move to the midlands where he would team up with French coach Gerard Houllier.
Asked by a French radio reporter about a move to Villa Park Piquionne replied: “Why not? He is a very well renowned coach in France and in England. I have read there is some interest but there has been nothing concrete. I am not worried about it.
He added: “I am happy at West Ham and it is going relatively well for now. I am here to help the team climb the table. I leave my agents to deal with the transfer window.”
Piquionne was signed by his former manager at Portsmouth, Avram Grant, in a £1 million deal in July.
West Ham Close In On £6m Ba
Meanwhile, West Ham are closing in on the £6 million signing of Hoffenheim striker Demba Ba.
The French-born Senegal international has hit six goals in 17 league games this season for the Bundesliga side and was recently linked with a move to Aston Villa.
The 25-year-old had a season at Watford in 2004-05 but failed to make the grade at Vicarage Road and moved back to France for spells with Rouen and Mouscron before joining Hoffenheim in 2007.
The 6ft 3in Ba has a reputation in Germany as a powerful target man. His most successful season was in 2008-09 when he scored 14 goals for a Hoffenheim side that at one stage was challenging for the league title before fading away in the second half of the season.
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West Ham Move for Robbie Keane Close To Collapse
Talks Break Down Over Player’s Demands
Talks have broken down between West Ham and Robbie Keane over a possible January loan move for the Spurs striker.
Keane has been linked with a move to Upton Park in January but sources close to West Ham say that the deal is close to collapse over the demands of both Keane and Tottenham.
“The terms the player and the club are demanding are impossible,” a West Ham source has told ESPNSoccernet today.
It has also been reported that Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor has also turned down a move to Upton Park but while it has been suggested in some quarters that the player is ‘ready to fight for his place at Eastlands’, West Ham’s interest cooled when it became clear that they would have to fund most, if not all, of the Togo international’s £180,000 a week.
Spurs’ Jamie O’Hara was also being linked today with a move to the Hammers but his persistent back injury means West Ham have turned their attention to Aston Villa’s Steve Sidwell and talks are in progress over a January move.
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Tuesday 21 December
Hammers Set To Offer Keane Loan
West Ham are set to offer Robbie Keane a loan deal when the transfer window re-opens in the New Year, according to the Daily Telegraph.
The Spurs striker is surplus to requirements at White Hart Lane and has been linked with moves to Newcastle, Aston Villa, Wolves, Birmingham, Everton and even to the Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS.
Spurs may try to offer Keane in part-exchange for Scott Parker though Parker is one player the Hammers will try to hang on to. However, it is likely that Jamie O’Hara will be offered a move to West Ham although the Hammers’ interest remains cool given that O’Hara is recovering from a back injury.
Meanwhile, Manchester City’s Emmanuel Adebayor has turned down the opportunity of a loan move to West Ham. The Manchester City striker has been linked with a move away from Eastlands in January and hasn’t featured at all in the City line-up since he came on as a substitute in the Europa League game with Salzburg at the start of the month.
Piquionne Rejects Villa Talk
One player who won’t be leaving Upton Park in January is Frederic Piquionne. The former Portsmouth man only joined the Hammers in a summer move from Lyon but he has scored just four times in the Premier League this season – out of just six goals scored the Hammers’ front line – and has been linked with a move to Aston Villa. But the 32-year-old insists these reports are wide of the mark.
“I read in the papers about Aston Villa’s interest in me, but I have not had a phone call from Gerard Houllier,” Piquionne said on Monday. “He wanted to take me to Lyon while I was still with St Etienne. But there have been no concrete approaches for the time being.”
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Monday 13 December
West Ham boss Avram Grant wants £10 million to go out and buy the players that will keep the Hammers in the Premier League.
Grant wants three players to take his side away from the foot of the Premier League table and says the £10 million should do the trick.
West Ham lie bottom of the Premier League with just 12 points from their opening 17 games and are four points behind Fulham in 17th place after their 3-1 home defeat by Manchester City on Saturday.
“We certainly need additional players, dangerous players,” Grant said.
“Even if everyone is fit we still want to be strong in every position. If the owners gave me £10million, that would be great.
“We are five points from safety and that is not a lot when you still have more than half of the season still to play.”
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West Ham: Grant Targets Points From Next Three Games after City Defeat
Grant Looking For Points From Relegation Rivals
West Ham manager Avram Grant admits that he was looking to take points from forthcoming fixtures against teams around the Premier League relegation zone rather than against teams like Manchester City at the top end of the table.
“First half we didn’t pass the ball very well but in the second half we dominated until they scored on the counter attack,” Grant told the BBC after the match. “We tried but this is not the sort of team we need to contest against. They are a better team than us.
Grant’s comments came after the Hammers lost 3-1 to City at Upton Park on Saturday. Yaya Toure fired City in front after 30 minutes, rifling the ball past Robert Green from Gareth Barry’s pass. Toure was heavily involved in the second goal on 73 minutes when he was put through by de Jong and his shot came back off the woodwork and went in off the back of Green. With nine minutes to go substitute Adam Johnson slid the ball past Green for the third. Johnson had come on after 60 minutes replacing Mario Balotelli who had been booked for dissent shortly before. Tomkins’ late goal for the Hammers was merely a consolation.
The Hammers face Blackburn, Fulham and Everton in their next three games and Grant admitted that those games were more important than today’s.
“When we play Manchester City we have tried our best but we know they have quality…but the teams we are playing are not better than us and we need to take points.”
“He added: “I think we just need to play like we played against the teams around us. We played well against the teams around us and started to take points against them and that’s what we need to do.”
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Saturday 11 December
West Ham Interested In Barnsley’s Hammill
West Ham United are the latest player to be linked with Barnsley winger Adam Hammill.
The former Liverpool youngster has a £500,000 buy-out clause in his contract and has been linked with a number of Premier League sides. Bolton were said to be keen on making an offer towards the end of the close season but no offer transpired. Now Avram Grant has joined the Hammill fan club and the Hammers have sent scouts to watch him at today’s game with Sheffield United. Wigan, Everton, Wolves and Blackpool are also said to be interested.
Hammill appeared in the Liverpool side that defeated Manchester City in the 2006 FA Youth Cup Final but failed to make his way into the first team and was sent out on loan spells at Dunfermline, Southampton and Blackpool before a loan at Barnsley became a permanent deal in the summer of 2009.
The 22-year-old has hit seven goals in 18 Championship games this season.
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Thursday 9 December
West Ham In For Keane
West Ham United are the latest side to join the race for Robbie Keane. The Spurs striker looks set to quit White Hart Lane in January and a number of clubs have already expressed an interest, including Aston Villa, Wolves and Celtic.
According to the Daily Star, Hammers’ boss Avram Grant is said to be ready to bid £5 million in order to bring Keane to Upton Park although Aston Villa are set to bid £6 million.
Carlton Cole is being linked with a move away from West Ham with Liverpool said to be interested in doing a deal while West Ham have been linked wit John Carew as a potential replacement.
Grant is said to be set to meet club owners David Sullivan and David Gold this week to discuss January signings.
Meanwhile, talks about a new contract for goalkeeper Robert Green have been put on hold until the summer.
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Tuesday 7 December
West Ham Interested In Carew
West Ham are believed to be preparing a bid to take John Carew to Upton Park.
The Aston Villa striker is set to leave the club in the January transfer window and there are reports today that Hammers’ boss Avram Grant wants Carew to fill the boots set to be vacated by Carlton Cole. Liverpool are interested in the Hammers striker and Grant has admitted that the club are ready to listen to offers for the 27-year-old.
Carew was linked with a move out of Villa Park during the summer and doesn’t see eye-to-eye with new Villa boss Houllier. The two fell out while they were both at Lyon and Houllier wants to get the Norwegian’s £52,000-a-week wages off the Villa Park payroll.
West Ham are one of a number of Premier League clubs said to be monitoring the progress of Millwall midfielder James Henry. The 21-year-old joined the Lions on a three-year deal from Reading during the summer.
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Monday 6 December
Redknapp Bids £8m For Parker
The Daily Express reports that Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has put in an improved offer of £8 million for West Ham’s Scott Parker and that the midfielder is ready to quit Upton Park in January.
Spurs had a bid for Parker turned down during the summer after the Hammers’ owners, David Sullivan and David Gold, said that all their squad was up for sale with the exception of Parker.
The paper quotes what it describes as ‘a West Ham source’ as saying “The fact is the player wants to take his career on to another level at Spurs and there is no point in keeping an unsettled footballer.”
West Ham’s response to interest in Parker during the summer was to offer him a new four-year deal at Upton Park but with the club at the bottom of the Premier League again after yesterday’s 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, rumours of Parker’s departure have again surfaced.
Bridge Move Unlikely To Take Place
West Ham’s move for Manchester City defender Wayne Bridge is unlikely to materialise.
The former England full-back is one of a number of players set to leave Eastlands in January but despite West Ham making their interest known it is believed that Bridge has set his heart on a move to Europe.
Liverpool and Blackburn are also said to be interested in Bridge.
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Carling Cup Semi-Finals Draw
Arsenal and Ipswich have been drawn together in the semi-final of the Carling Cup.
The first leg will take place at Portman Road during the week commencing 10 January 2011 with the second leg two weeks later at the Emirates Stadium.
In the other semi-final West Ham face Birmingham with the first leg at Upton Park and the return leg two weeks later during the week commencing 24 January 2011 at St Andrews.
Arsenal are now hot favourites to capture their first trophy since 2005. The Gunners have won the competition on two previous occasions: in 1987 and the last time in 1993. Ipswich have never been in the final of the competition.
West Ham have twice been losing finalists in the competition: in 1966 when they lost a two-legged final to West Brom 5-3 on aggregate, and in 1981 when Liverpool beat them 2-1 in a replay at Villa Park.
Birmingham have reached the final on one occasion, defeating local rivals Aston Villa 3-1 on aggregate in 1963.
Draw
Ipswich Town v Arsenal
West Ham United v Birmingham City.
First legs to take place week commencing 10 January 2011.
Second legs to take place week commencing 24 January 2011.
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West Ham 4-0 Manchester United: Grant Delighted To Be In Semis
“I Thought We Could Win But Not By A Score Like This”
West Ham manager Avram Grant says he is delighted to be in the semi-final of the Carling Cup. The Hammers defeated Manchester United 4-0 in their quarter-final at Upton Park last night and Grant said he was surprised by the scoreline.
“I though we could win but not by a score like this,” he said after the match.
“The performance was great. Even without many key players we played well.”
Grant added that he thought his players had showed a similar hunger in other games this season but that it hadn’t been borne out in results.
“If you like at our last few games – apart from the game against Liverpool and the second half against Newcastle – we’re always attacking, we’re always creating chances, but maybe players have lacked the confidence to score. Today we created more chances than the four goals, we played good football and we continued the progress we are making.”
Jonathan Spector scored two first half goals with Carlton Cole adding two more in the second half. For Spector it was his first appearance for the side since August and Grant said that the former Manchester United youngster, who has been linked with a move to Bundesliga side Cologne, has been performing well in midfield during training and they decided to leave him there for last night’s game.
“He’s a professional player and he took his chance,” Grant said.
Grant also paid tribute to the work of Wally Downes, who was brought in last week as a defensive coach. “He’s a different coach with a lot of enthusiasm. He’s done a good job and you can see the difference.”
Grant added that he hoped to take their Carling Cup form into the Premier League where West Ham have been fighting a relegation battle. The Hammers go to the north-east for a game at Sunderland on Sunday.
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Tuesday 30 November
Spector Linked With Cologne Move
West Ham defender Jonathan Spector could be on his way out of the club in the New Year with a move to the Bundesliga on the cards.
Spector has German heritage and is being linked with struggling Cologne, who are said to be keen to sign the American. The 24-year-old has been at Upton Park for four years, making almost 100 appearances for the club but has fallen down the pecking order since Avram Grant’s arrival and has only made one Premier League appearance this season.
Should a move to Cologne come off Spector will be exchanging one relegation dogfight for another as Cologne struggle in 16th place in the 18-team Bundesliga.
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours, Sunday 28 November
Cole Set To Exit Weat Ham – Report
The Sunday People reports that West Ham are ready to part company with Carlton Cole in order to buy new players in their bid to avoid relegation.
The Hammers beat Wigan 3-1 at Upton Park yesterday to notch up what was only their second league win of the season with Cole starting the game on the bench. He has scored just one league goal this season after being linked with a move to Liverpool during the close season.
The People also reports that Danny Gabbidon is also likely to leave West Ham with West Brom and Birmingham said to be interested. The Hammers have yet to offer Gabbidon a new deal and could be set to cash in on the Welsh defender before his current deal runs out in the summer.
One player rumoured to be about to make a return to West Ham is Anton Ferdinand. The Sunderland defender is no longer part of Steve Bruce’s plans at the Stadium Of Light and was linked with a loan move to Italy during the summer. Ferdinand is a product of the Hammers’ youth system and moved to Sunderland in 2008.
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“Premier League Is Crap” Says Sacked West Ham Coach
Sacked Coach Claims Brands Premier League As “Crap” As Grant Has Three Games To Save His Job
Sacked West Ham assistant boss Zelko Petrovic has blasted the Premier League claiming it is “crap” and that the Bundesliga is far better.
The former Hammers coach, who parted company with the club yesterday morning, made his outburst in comments made to The Sun in which he also claimed that each Premier League team has only “three good players.”
“Everybody has great words for the Premier League but it is a myth,” Petrovic said.
“The Premier League is a crap league, it is nothing. In truth the level is shocking. Every team has just three good players. If you take those players out of the teams then there are only players left who would not be playing in the bottom team in Holland.”
He added “The Bundesliga is far better.”
There are now reports that manager Avram Grant has just three games to save his job despite the club’s vice-chairman Karren Brady claiming last week that she expected Grant to still be in a job by the end of the season.
The Sun claims that the side must win two of their next three games – at home to Wigan on Saturday then away to Sunderland and home to Manchester City. The team have won just one of their 14 league games this season and prop up the Premier League table with just nine points – five adrift of 17th-placed side Fulham.
Petrovic, who was formerly assistant to Martin Jol at Hamburg, was brought in by Grant when he was appointed manager in the summer but has been sacked amidst rumours of unhappiness amongst the players at his training methods and what is being described as his “arrogant personality.”
West Ham have appointed former Brentford boss Wally Downes as defensive coach in a bid to shore up a defence that has conceded 25 goals in their 14 league games. An attacking coach is also being lined up with former Hammers Paulo di Canio and John Hartson in the frame for the job.
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West Ham Part Company With Assistant Manager Petrovic
Petrovic and West Ham Part Company
West Ham United have parted company with assistant manager Zeljko Petrovic.
The Montengrin had been at Upton Park for just four months and leaves with the club bottom of the Premier League table with just nine points and one win this season.
A statement on the club website read: “West Ham United can confirm the club have parted company with assistant manager Zeljko Petrovic. The club would like to thank Zeljko for his efforts during his four months at the Boleyn Ground and wish him well for the future.”
Petrovic came to the Hammers a year after leaving Hamburg where he was assistant to Martin Jol. The former Yugoslav had previously managed in Holland and Portugal after a 16-year playing career in Europe and Asia.
The move to dismiss Petrovic comes less than a week after vice-chairman Karren Brady said that team boss Avram Grant was likely to be manager at the end of the season and the move will inevitably lead to speculation that Ray Wilkins will succeed Petrovic as Grant’s number two. Wilkins was sacked by Chelsea the week before last.
West Ham take on fellow strugglers Wigan in a Premier League clash on Saturday.
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Cole’s Liverpool Move Back On?
Carlton Cole’s move to Liverpool, which stalled on transfer deadline day when West Ham couldn’t pick up a replacement, could be back on as Hammers’ boss Avram Grant tries to cash in on the player in January.
Cole has started just one of the last five Premier League games for West Ham and manager Grant is said by the Daily Mirror to be under pressure to cash in on the £9 million-rated striker before his value plummets.
Liverpool were keen on signing Cole during the close season while Sunderland and Spurs were also said to be interested.
West Ham Keen On Argentine Defender
West Ham are said to be interested in Anderlecht’s Argentine defender Lucas Biglia. The 24-year-old has been a permanent fixture in the Belgian side’s line-up since he joined them from Independiente in his homeland four years ago.
Serie A side Napoli and French outfit Bordeaux are also said to be interested in Biglia, who would cost around £4 million.
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Jamie O’Hara Confident Of West Ham Transfer
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O’Hara Keen To Move To Hammers
Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara is confident he will be moving to West Ham in the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old expected to move to Upton Park during the close season but the Hammers refused to meet Spurs’ £6 million asking price while O’Hara himself was suffering from a back injury that caused him to miss the start of the current season.
According to goal.com O’Hara is confident that West Ham can meet his wage demands and that manager Avram Grant will be successful in landing him at the second time of asking when the January transfer window opens.
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West Ham Olympic Stadium Bid Backed By UK Athletics
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UK Athletics Gives Support To West Ham Bid
UK Athletics, the sport’s governing body in this country, has backed West Ham’s bid to move into the Olympic Stadium after the end of the 2012 Olympics.
The Hammers are one of three football clubs along with Spurs and Leyton Orient that have expressed an interest in using the stadium when the Olympics have finished. West Ham’s bid has been prepared along with Newham Council and pledges to retain the running track around the perimeter of the stadium.
The chairman of UK Athletics, Ed Warner said: “What has impressed me so much about the joint bid from West Ham and Newham is their clear commitment to the spirit of the Olympic legacy and not just athletics at the elite end, but with the retention of the community track, our future champions and club runners too.
“It was clear from the start that only a partnership approach would bring to life the vision Seb Coe had when he committed to an athletics legacy in 2005 and we believe the collaboration of West Ham, Newham and UKA gives the strongest opportunity for a vibrant sporting legacy that will go well beyond 2012.
“The team at West Ham have also been keen to support our bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 2015 at the stadium, fully understanding that a significant international event will play a major part in realising their ambition of a British sporting hub.”
West Ham plan to convert the stadium into a 60,000-capacity arena for football, athletics, concerts and community use.
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Spurs’ Olympic Stadium Plan Recedes As Running Track Stays
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Olympic Athletics Track To Remain After 2012
Spurs’ hopes of moving into the Olympic Stadium after the 2012 Games have taken a knock with the news that the athletics track must be kept as part of the stadium when the Games have finished.
Spurs, along with partners entertainment giant AEG, have submitted plans that would involve ripping up the athletics track at the 80,000-seat stadium. AEG president Tim Leiweke said on Tuesday that it would be “a crime if you sacrifice having a perfect football stadium…to do a track and field event every 10 years.” However, Baroness Ford, chair of the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), has said that the athletics track must be maintained at the stadium as a condition of tenancy.
“We want this to be a mixed use and sports stadium,” Baroness Ford said on Thursday, while Olympics minister Hugh Robertson added: “Athletics was an absolute core part of our bid and it will continue to be part of it,” while the Mayor Of London, Boris Johnson said: “The Olympic track is a non-negotiable part of the original criteria.”
West Ham United, who are also bidding to move into the stadium, also want to scrap the athletics track but they are willing to come to a compromise.
Spurs have already been granted permission by Haringey Council to redevelop White Hart Lane, however the club has angered its rivals for the Olympic Stadium tenancy, West Ham United, as well as its own fans as it attempts to uproot the club from its traditional home and move eight miles across London.
Former Spurs defender Graham Roberts has branded the club’s proposals at “ridiculous.” He told TalkSport “I think it’s a serious proposal because Tottenham want a bigger stadium, but they can’t move from Tottenham. They have to stay in north London, for the supporters’ sake as much as anything, and I think they will stay in Tottenham and get permission to build a bigger stadium there.”
Meanwhile Leyton Orient chairman Barry Hearn has said that a West Ham move into the stadium could mean the end for his club. Hammers co-owner David Sullivan hit out at Spurs for bidding to move out of their traditional heartland but Hearn has branded Sullivan a hypocrite.
This is total hypocrisy on his part,” Hearn told the London Evening Standard. “This is a case of Tesco moving next to the little sweet shop on the corner as far as I’m concerned.
“A club that has a 30-35,000 support base is moving into an 80,000-seater stadium. It obviously means very cheap tickets and it means a death knell for Leyton Orient, the Football League’s second oldest club.”
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West Ham Transfer News and Rumours,
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Kieron Dyer is set to return to the West Ham squad for their Carling Cup tie with Sunderland on Tuesday. Dyer was said to have had a disagreement with boss Avram Grant after being left out of the squad that faced Stoke on Saturday. Dyer had been recovering from a thigh injury and was told by Grant that he would not be in the squad to face Stoke as the injury needed more time to heal, a decision that is though to have upset Dyer; however, Grant has named the 31-year-old in the squad for the match at the Stadium Of Light.
Also named in the squad is Benni McCarthy. The South African striker has been on a strict weight loss programme after being fined by the club when he failed to achieve weight loss targets. Now, after intensive training at a clinic in Austria McCarthy has achieved his target weight and is in the reckoning for tonight’s game. Avram Grant is set to make a number of changes for the game.
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