Hammered

Ashton Stays Home

2009-07-15T01:15:00.003+01:00

Most of the rumours today seem to be about why Dean Ashton has not travelled with the rest of the squad to Austria.

Opinion on the matter seems to be divided, unfortunately for Ashton neither side of the divide seems to favour the West Ham forward. Most seem to think that either Dean is fit and has been left behind because he will soon be leaving the club or that he has picked up another injury and is therefore no longer worth the bother.

There is a rumour that Ashton has told Zola he has to be the first choice up front and that Zola has told him that he has to prove himself. This implies that Ashton has not travelled to Austria because of a rift between him and the management.

The other argument is that Dean is not fit enough to play and has stayed in London to work on an individual fitness regime. Ashton was supposedly more or less fit at the end of the season so the argument here is that he has picked up another injury.

Being an eternal optimist I'm hoping that the club have decided that Ashton is still not quite match fit and, rather than risk him picking up an injury, feel there is more benefit him working on his own programme of fitness.

Sunderland After West Ham Defender

2009-07-14T02:32:00.002+01:00

The Daily Mail claim that Sunderland 'plan' / 'have launched' a £5 million bid for West Ham defender James Collins.

The Times say that Sunderland have actually offered about £5million for James Collins, who is also attracting interest from Celtic. The Times claim Sunderland have the option to sign Calum Davenport as well.

Finally The Times report that Bayer Leverkusen are interested in Julien Faubert.

Good Luck John!

2009-07-13T12:00:00.002+01:00

Former West Ham striker John Hartson has been diagnosed with brain and testicular cancer. After suffering severe headaches Hartson was told that he had testicular cancer - and that the disease had spread to his brain. The Sun says Hartson will start chemotherapy today.

Good luck John!

The official West Ham blog have today announced the release of the new home kit. Pictures and prices are available here.

Most of the other news concerning West Ham today is in response to Zola's interview yesterday. Many of the papers have taken Zola's refusal to confirm a bid for Eidur Gudjohnsen as a statement that the club is interested in the player.

West Ham Still Wait on Neill

2009-07-13T00:23:00.002+01:00

West Ham manager Gianfranco Zola spoke to Sky Sports yesterday. In the interview he revealed that West Ham are still hopeful that Neill will sign another contract with the club.

When asked about Eidur Gudjohnsen Zola said that, "Certainly we need to improve up front."

Grays 1 West Ham 2

2009-07-12T15:47:00.004+01:00

West Ham started with a team of Peter Kurucz, Julien Faubert, Bondz N'Gala, James Collins, Matty Fry, Georg Grasser, Josh Payne, Kieron Dyer, Eoin Wearen, Anthony Edgar, Zavon Hines

West Ham opened the scoring in the 15th minute with a Hines goal.

Seven minutes later Grays equalised with a goal from Jamie Slabber.

Stech, Spence, Eyjolffson, Gabbidon, Ilunga, Lee, Okus, Collison, Stanislas and Montano all came on to start the second half.

In the 73rd minute Montano got the winner for West Ham.

West Ham vs Grays - Friendly

2009-07-11T21:11:00.002+01:00

West Ham United are playing their first friendly of the summer tomorrow afternoon against Grays Athletic.

The West Ham official website says that Herita Ilunga, Danny Gabbidon, Julien Faubert, Jack Collison, Kieron Dyer and Savio are amongst the players likely to be involved.

Tickets will be available on the day and kick-off is at 3pm.

West Ham TV Coverage

2009-07-10T10:49:00.000+01:00

So Sky have announced that West Ham will appear only once in their pre-Christmas coverage of live Premier League football. The game is West Ham vs Arsenal on Sunday, 25th October (4.15pm).

Only West Ham, Wigan Athletic, Hull City and Birmingham City feature only once in this period. I can't believe I've been moaning about Match of the Day's coverage of West Ham, they at least put us on, even if it is normally after the end credits.

ESPN will be showing three West Ham games live:

Sunday, 23rd August - West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur, (1:30pm)

19th September - West Ham United v Liverpool: Saturday, (5:15pm)

28th September - Manchester City v West Ham United: Monday, (8:00pm)

Brooking Inducted into Hall of Fame

2009-07-09T18:37:00.002+01:00

West Ham legend Sir Trevor Brooking is to be inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame. Brooking is one of eight new players to be added to the Hall of Fame, including Teddy Sheringham.

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis says that the club's attempt to sign West Ham's Dean Aston is not progressing,

"We've made an enquiry and I think, at the moment, that's at the back of our minds as there are other things going on that are more relevant and that could happen a lot quicker."

As rumoured yesterday, Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis has rejected West Ham and signed a new three year deal with Southampton. The choice of first team football seems to have swayed Davis,

"The decision for me was between the opportunity of first-team football at Southampton or the chance to play Premier League football," said Davis. "I have made my choice to stay at Southampton."

What Happened to Kelvin Davis?

2009-07-09T11:52:00.003+01:00

There were rumours flying around yesterday that West Ham target Kelvin Davis was going to remain at Southampton.

The Sun claim Davis has rejected a move to West Ham in favour of regular football at St Mary's. The Mirror however claim today that the Saints keeper will still sign for West Ham.

Balint Bajner, who has been on loan at West Ham from Liberty Oradea, has returned to his club.

Bowyer Joins Birmingham

2009-07-08T11:34:00.002+01:00

Birmingham have confirmed that they have signed Lee Bowyer. Bowyer spent the second half of last season on loan at the club and helped them win promotion to the Premier League.

Bowyer was released by West Ham last month after his previous two year contract expired.

Blades to Pay Preston NE £40 Million Comp

2009-07-07T15:30:00.003+01:00

Sheffield Utd have responded quickly to the news that their goalkeeper Paddy Kenny tested positive for a banned substance following last season's Championship play-off semi-final second leg against Preston.

The Sheffield team have run a long campaign for justice in football and have long argued that one player can make all the difference in football. The Blades have therefore admitted that fielding a player on drugs in the semi-final effectively cheated Preston of a Championship final place and the chance to win promotion to the English Premier League.

Sheffield Utd say they have no moral option but to pay Preston £40 million in compensation for denying them their rightful place in the Premier League.

Stand Off in Neill Talks

2009-07-07T00:45:00.002+01:00

It seems that negotiations between Lucas Neill and West Ham are not progressing very quickly. Neill's agent claims that Neill has always stated that he wants to stay at West Ham but that other clubs are interested in the defender.

Neill it seems feels that West Ham's current offer needs to be bettered and, according to his agent, "it is up to the club administration to execute that."

West Ham, on the other hand, say an offer was put on the table and it is "still there for him to accept."

Fortune's Always Hiding

2009-07-06T11:00:00.003+01:00

The Telegraph claim that West Ham face competition from Portsmouth in trying to sign Marc-Antoine Fortune. The Herald seem to think West Ham have more than just Portsmouth to worry about. They say that Celtic, Hull, West Ham and Fulham will learn on Tuesday who has won the race to sign the £3.8m Nancy striker.

The Times says the Hammers have been offered Bergougnoux, the Toulouse midfield player who has been the subject of an offer from Kayserispor, of Turkey.

Gabbidon in Action

2009-07-05T12:15:00.003+01:00

The official West Ham website report that Danny Gabbidon has played his first game in 18 months. Gabbidon played for just over an hour in a charity match in Cardiff. Speaking to the BBC, Gabbidon said,

"My boots are a bit tight as they haven't been worn for so long. It's great to have a run out with some old mates before pre-season starts on Monday.

"I'm fit and ready for pre-season and hopefully I'll make a few appearances for West Ham and Wales this season."

Gabbidon is set to report back for first-team training this week and will now be looking to feature in next Sunday's friendly away to Grays Athletic.

West Ham Sign Cottee

2009-07-04T11:34:00.002+01:00

The Daily Mail report that Lucas Neill is in new talks with West Ham. They also report on West Ham's signing of Tony Cottee, in an 'ambassadorial' role.

Meanwhile the Turkish press claim that Neill could be signing for Galatasaray.

The Independent say that Cottec will be "charged with raising the Hammers' profile at home and abroad."

The Mirror claim that West Ham are interested in former Liverpool defender Steve Finnan. Apparently Finnan's current club, Espanyol are willing to listen to offers.

Neill Back in Talks

2009-07-03T12:46:00.002+01:00

Everything seems to have gone very quiet on the Mancini talks. However Sky Sports are reporting that Lucas Neill is back in discussions with the club. They say Neill is considering re-signing for West Ham.

Does this mean that Neill has been unable to get any other club to match what he was earning at West Ham and has settled for a pay cut?

Ashton to Stoke Back On?

2009-07-02T01:34:00.003+01:00

The Daily Mail have chosen to ignore Scot Duxbury's comment last week denying that Dean Ashton was being sold to Stoke. Duxbury said to KUMB,

"No. I'm not selling him (Ashton) to Stoke and Dean Ashton is not £10million in any way. I want Dean Ashton here, I want him fit, I want him playing and it'll be nice to see him. So he is not being sold."

That really couldn't be any more clear. Stoke Chairman Peter Coates has also gone on record that the club have made no formal approach for Ashton.

However today's Daily Mail claim that the deal is back on, "after both sides moved to reach a compromise over the England striker’s personal terms." So the Daily Mail have chosen not to believe Duxbury, they also think that West Ham can somehow come to a compromise on how much a player (Ashton) should be willing to be paid by another club (weird).

The Mail claim that Stoke couldn't match Aston's £65,000-a-week contract at West Ham but have now come up with a better offer.

Kelvin Davis Having Medical

2009-06-30T23:02:00.002+01:00

Sky Sports News understands (becoming my four most hated words) that Southampton goalkeeper Kelvin Davis is undergoing a medical with West Ham. Davis is available on a free.

Jan Lastuvka is returning to Shakhtar Donetsk after his year long loan at West Ham, so Davis should provide cheap back-up for Robert Green.

West Ham Shooting for Moon

2009-06-30T02:20:00.003+01:00

Sky Sports understands (although they seem to misunderstand a lot) that West Ham have made an approach for Panathinaikos defender Bryce Moon. Sky say West Ham have had an offer of £1.5 million turned down and that Panathinaikos are holding out for £2 million.

The Mail repeat the same rumour and add that goalkeeper Kelvin Davis is joining West Ham on a free after waiting two months for cash strapped Southampton to make him a new offer.

Scott Duxbury on KUMB

2009-06-29T10:47:00.003+01:00

KUMB have published in full their interview with Scott Duxbury and it does make for an interesting read, especially if you are interested in the last couple of turbulent years at West Ham and what the club's plans are for the future.

The interview seems to underline the fact that West Ham are becoming a little more open with the fans and that they are becoming better at promoting West Ham in the media. Key to this better PR seems to be the Duxbury inspired 'Project'.

Some fans of West Ham are a little cynical of the 'Project', seeing it as an excuse to sell off fringe players and to then not re-invest the money in the squad. In the KUMB interview Duxbury does a very good job of explaining the reality behind the off-loading of players in January and helps to underline the importance of the 'Project' for the club.

Duxbury admits that the 'Project' is partly spin,

"... it might be seen as spin - and to a certain degree, it is. Because what we're trying to do is create a message to the fans and to the media of what we're trying to do."

Duxbury calls the 'Project' a 'message'. In essence the Project creates a simple narrative for the club, not only for the fans and the media but also for the players and the non-playing staff at the club. This narrative explains the ambitions of West Ham and tries to explain how they will be achieved. It is a narrative that is simple to understand and gives the club focus from top to bottom.

West Ham Till I Die has just posted part three of its interview with Scott Duxbury.

West Ham Gossip on Sunday

2009-06-28T11:59:00.002+01:00

Scott Dubury in an interview with KUMB says that West Ham have more or less agreed a deal with Inter for Mancini but that the player has other offers. It seems it all comes down to whether Zola can convince Mancini that West Ham should be his new home.

The News of the World say West Ham want to bring Anton Ferdinand back to the club. Ferdinand is unwanted at Sunderland.

Lee Bowyer seems set to join Birmingham City on a free transfer - various.

The Star claim that Eidur Gudjohnsen want to return to the Premier League and that West Ham is his preferred destination.

Ashton Out, Mancini In - According to the Press

2009-06-26T12:43:00.002+01:00

The Daily Mail say that Stoke are confident they can get Dean Ashton for £6 million. The Sun also think West Ham are ready to sell the injury prone striker.

The Mirror say West Ham's loan move for Mancini was held up because the player was on honeymoon. They say West Ham are hopeful of progress on the move early next week.

Ashton Out for £10m, Mancini Coming

2009-06-25T17:59:00.003+01:00

The Telegraph have published a report this afternoon claiming that West Ham will sell Dean Ashton to Stoke, if they are willing to pay £10 million. However, the Telegraph say, that West Ham insist that there is no pressure to sell, and Ashton will only go if the terms are right.

The same article claims that West Ham have agreed terms with Inter to take Mancini on loan for a season. They say Scott Duxbury will return to Italy this weekend to meet Mancini to discuss his own personal demands.

Stoke Not in Talks With West Ham Shocker

2009-06-25T13:18:00.003+01:00

OK, mea culpa, I got sucked in by Sky Sports News there.

Peter Coates, the Stoke City chairman, has now apparently explained that he never told Sky Sports News that Stoke were in talks with West Ham, merely that they have made enquiries about the player.

Stoke in Talks with West Ham Over Ashton

2009-06-25T12:23:00.004+01:00

Sky Sports News are reporting that Stoke are in discussions with West Ham over Dean Ashton. Sky say that Stoke City chairman Peter Coates has told them that he is currently in talks with West Ham about signing the stiker.