sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

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sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by cockney hammer »

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the sun





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Hammers eye Fraizer


WEST HAM plan to swoop for Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell.


Hammers will offer Black Cats £2million.



we can do better then this :D





sunday express




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WEST HAM EYE FIORENTINA DEFENDER ALESSANDRO GAMBERINI


WEST HAM have sounded out Fiorentina about central defender Alessandro Gamberini.






forever west ham






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Want him back? You’re ‘arry a laugh




So after four years with Tottenham Hotspur Harry Redknapp got the old tin tack. In my opinion he was very unlucky as he delivered two top 4 finishes in 3 season’s; certainly in the Premier League era Spurs have never known such levels of consistency.



Ultimately though it was the throwing away of 3rd spot and Chelsea winning the Champions League to deny Tottenham entry into it; which cost our ex-manager .



Could Harry however return to the Upton Park hot seat? If things didn’t work out with Sam could we go running back to Harry? Would it be the same as it was before? The lovely football in the traditional West Ham way, wayward maverick’s arriving on our door step? Promising cup runs that ultimately end in failure? No.



Too much has come and gone; Harry was never really accepted by Spurs fans largely due to his West Ham connections, well its vice-versa now. He simply wouldn’t be welcome back at the Boleyn as an opposing manager let alone in the home dug-out! Football fans tend to have long memories and since Harry went up the road (after swearing he’d never leave Pompey again.) I still and I’d wager a lot of other Hammers fans are bitter about some of his conduct towards us…for instance the way he ruthlessly and publically pursued Craig Bellamy whilst we were in the midst of a relegation battle in the 08/09 season left a rather bitter taste. It showed a lack of respect for a club where he’d spent a considerable chunk of his playing/managerial career and was a slap in the face to the same fans that used to see him as one our own.




I think the common consensus within the ranks of Irons fans is that when Sam leaves (which will hopefully be after 3-4 years after he’s re-established us as Premier League club) is that we’d like one of our old boys to come in and bring back the flair, style and swagger that was the hallmark of West Ham in the late 90’s/ early 2000’s; however we don’t want it to be a swan-song for old ‘arry…we want it to be his greatest ever signing Paolo Di Canio.






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First Impressions Count


Talent hits a target no one else can hit; genuis hits a target no one else can see.

It is only at the first encounter that a face makes its full impression on us. At first glance you might think Schopenhauer's aphoristic statement of transcendental idealism has little relevance to a promoted team's chances of survival in their first season in the Premier League, but someone at West Ham has clearly taken the maxim 'you never get a second chance to make a first impression' to heart. This morning Sam Allardyce reiterated the need to see West Ham United make an instant impact when they kick-off their return to the Barclays Premier League on 18 August. The Hammers face Aston Villa at the Boleyn Ground in what will be the reverse of the first game of the Premier League season two years ago. Avram Grant's side went down 3-0 that day at Villa Park before going on to lose their first four Premier League games and Big Sam believes that his new-look West Ham side cannot afford a similar start.

Cursory statistical analysis concludes that if a new arrival wins their opening game of the fledgling Premier League season, then they have a 75 per cent chance of staying up. Including the three newcomers, 62 teams have been promoted to the Premier League up to 2012-13, which is the League’s 21st season. (Three teams have come up per year except in 1995 when only Middlesbrough and Bolton came up as the division was cut in size). Of the 59 ‘debuts’ so far by teams in a ‘coming up’ season, only 12 teams started with wins, 15 began with draws, and 32 lost their opening games. Of those 12 first-day winners first, nine of them (or 75 per cent) went on to retain their Premier League status at the end of that season. That’s why a first-day win could be so vital to this term’s newcomers. The three among the dozen who won their openers but went down anyway were Blackpool (two seasons ago), Bolton and Crystal Palce in 1997.

West Ham United captain Kevin Nolan is clearly relishing his club’s return to the Barclays Premier League after the Hammers were pitted against The Villans on the opening day of the season. The Midlanders will travel to Upton Park with new manager Paul Lambert in charge for the first time but Nolan believes home advantage can prove crucial for the Hammers. "It is a home game to get us started, which is great for us,” Nolan told West Ham’s website. “Aston Villa are a very good side and have a new manager so their players will be looking to impress, but we will be aiming to kick off the new campaign in a positive way on our own ground and look to try and win the game.”

For David Gold the motivation will be slightly more visceral, with the Hammers Chairman admitting he is keen to see his side gain revenge for the events of two seasons ago. "It's going to be extremely exciting; we're back in the Premier League," Gold told Sky Sports News. "It's Aston Villa first, I'm pleased about that for a number of reasons, one being the last time we played them on the first game they beat us 3-0 at Aston Villa, so I'm looking forward to them coming here and hopefully we can reverse the score. I think it is important to get off to a good start; the season before last in the Premier League I think we lost our first four games because we were playing big clubs. But at home to Aston Villa and away at Swansea, they are winnable games or games you can expect to get something from so we are very excited about it."

So what chance of Southampton, Reading and West Ham winning on opening weekend? The stats suggest the Hammers have the best chance – albeit not a good chance. Teams arriving in the Premier League as play-off winners from the second tier have the best record on the opening day (five wins, six draws and nine losses in 20 matches to date). The champions have a very slightly worse record (W5, D4, L11) and the runners-up have the worse record (W2, D6, L12). On this basis, Southampton have the toughest historical hoodoo to overcome. The last time the Championship runners-up won their first match the next season in the Premier League was in August 1999 when Bradford won 1-0 at Middlesbrough. The biggest win by a promoted side in their ‘debut’ game was 11 years ago when Bolton won 5-0 at Leicester and the largest debut defeat was two years ago when West Brom went down 0-6 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. West Brom survived, of course, so losing doesn’t mean relegation. But winning certainly helps survival.

Even before that ball is kicked, history suggests that prior to last season the promoted trio would have a 53.6 per cent chance of survival. This is based on 56 teams previous being promoted to the Premier League since 1992, and 30 of those 56 teams (or 53.6 per cent) surviving their first season. That means 26 immediately went back down. Among the promoted teams in the past 19 seasons, 34 of them amassed 13 or more points from their first dozen games, and of those 34, eight were relegated (or 23.5 per cent), meaning the survival rate for 13 points after a dozen games is 76.5 per cent. (Details of the eight who went down are in the table below). The highest tally for a promoted side after 12 games was amassed by Nottingham Forest in 1994-95 (with 27 points) followed by Wigan (25 points in 2005-06) and Blackburn (25 points in 1992-93). The lowest tallies were amassed by Swindon (five points from first 12 games 1993-94) and Sunderland (five points in 2005-06), then Derby (six points in 2007-08).

Last season all three promoted teams made promising starts and gained a total of 41 points having played 12 games each, with QPR picking up 15 points, and Norwich and Swansea collecting 13 points each. On this basis, the latter two increased their survival chances to that encouraging 76 per cent figure; while QPR went even higher to 83.3 per cent predicated on the fact that among the 24 promoted teams who had amassed as many points from the first 12 games, only four of those, or 16.7 per cent, ended up relegated. Prior to last season the previous time that all three promoted clubs managed to avoid immediate relegation was 2000/01. According to Prozone, over the last five years the average time that newly promoted clubs spent in the Premier League is 1.9 seasons. Over the last ten years the team promoted as champions have been relegated after just one season on three occasions, the runners-up on four occasions and the play-off final winners on six occasions.

It is the reason, believes Allardyce, why West Ham must try to achieve as many points as possible from those crucial early games. "It will be hugely difficult but not as difficult as what follows," he told West Ham TV. "We get through October and then November and December are the toughest months of the season, not only because of the fixtures but the number of games we have to play. We've got to get off to get off to a flying start and achieve as many points as we can in the first nine or ten games. The fixtures are difficult though; nothing is going to be easy at all."

A good start to the season is crucial, agrees former Hammers stalwart Tony Gale. "I can't stress how important it is for sides to get a good start," he said. "We've got six new managers starting the season, three promoted sides and three sides that might be accused of second season syndrome if things don't go too well. Those tough games can knock the stuffing out of you early on if you're on the wrong end of the result. Just look at teams like Bolton, who had such a hard first six to eight games last season and found themselves playing catch up all year. It's so important you pick up some points in those first games."

Not least because winning games at the start of the season is statistically an easier proposition. Primarily it is all about grinding out results and attempting to find some fluency. "There can be some strange results early in the season as all the teams look to settle into their routines, but if we can make a solid start, then that will be good for us," insists Nolan. "Nothing is sorted early in the season, but if we can start as well as we can do, then we give ourselves something to build on. I am sure all our fans can't wait for the season to begin and to know we are back in the Premier League only makes it more exciting. I am sure our fans will do their best to help us do what we can to get off to a good start."

Those fans will become ever more crucial when the end is in sight; mental factors come into play, as well as fatigue, especially if a team is in the latter stages of a cup competition. Teams have to pay more attention to what their rivals are doing. Some have games in hand, some have points on the board. Nerves start to affect players. Being able to cope with the pressure of being in a relegation scrap is what separates contenders from ultimate survivors in a situation where every point counts. In five of the last six seasons the 17th placed team has survived by a margin of one point or by superior goal difference. While 'reaching 40 points' is seen by many as the Holy Grail, the average number of points needed to retain Premier League status over the last five seasons has been 36.7 and dropping. Last season QPR clung to last day survival with 34 points.

While we are butchering sacred cows there is an old adage that "when you’re down at the bottom it’s the six pointers that matter". However, both relegated West Ham (14 points) and Birmingham (13 points) gained more points against the eventual bottom six than 17th placed Wolves, who managed only 8 points against their direct relegation rivals last time the Hammers dropped. So, it would appear that not even beating those around you at the bottom can guarantee survival.

Ultimately, the newly promoted clubs will need to ensure their Premier League status by performing on the pitch. Having analysed the performance statistics of teams that have survived their first seasons and those that have returned to the Championship after just one season, there really is very little difference in their key performance indicators. In fact, reveals Prozone, the relegated teams have a superior pass completion rate with 54 more passes a game than the teams that survive. These relegated teams also had an average of 1.1 more shots on goal per game. This would suggest that possession and shots at goal are not necessarily indicators of superiority, and that incisiveness and accuracy in front of goal play a larger role in survival.

There is a lot of speculation on the physical demands of the Championship compared to the Premier League. This last season saw Championship teams run an average of 3.6km more each match than their Premier League counterparts, cover 1,239 metres at high intensity and perform 62 more sprints per game. Therefore it will be adapting to the style of play and the tempo of the game that will be fundamental for the newly promoted clubs. The statistics show that relegated teams run 25m further in every match and cover 92m more at high intensity than those teams that have avoided the drop proving quality is the key to Premier League success.

Which brings us to the players on the pitch that will ultimately earn those points, which is why all three newly promoted clubs will be looking to bring in new players to create a squad that they feel is capable of keeping them in the Premier League. Prozone shows that over the last five seasons, the newly promoted teams have brought in the most players during the summer with an average of 9 new players, while the top four clubs bring in an average of 5.1. This is perhaps understandable, with new clubs looking to bring in the added number and quality of players they need to stay up, while in the upper reaches of the league it is usually more about refining the squad to achieve a higher finish and push for honours.

The January transfer window sees another busy time for the newly promoted clubs, as they look to cement their place in the top division. In fact, they bring in almost three times as many players (4.2) as those teams in the Champions League places (1.5). The established Premier League clubs draw the majority of their player purchases from the top leagues in Europe (the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga) with the top four clubs drawing an average of 63.1% of all transfers from these leagues. With smaller budgets and less pulling power, the newly promoted teams must cast their net further and perhaps take a gamble on players who have not yet proven themselves in the top European leagues. In fact, the newly promoted clubs will take just under half (45.3%) of their new recruits from outside of these 'Big Five' leagues.

I guess the only thing we can say for certainty is that statistics offer many clues but few straight forward answers into what it takes to survive in the Premier League. Given that survival and relegation depend on small margins and that a single point will usually make the difference, perhaps fans of newly promoted teams would be better served spending these precious summer months basking in reflected glory instead of sweating the travails ahead. In the words of Schopenhauer: "A man's delight in looking forward to and hoping for some particular satisfaction is a part of the pleasure flowing out of it, enjoyed in advance. But this is afterward deducted, for the more we look forward to anything the less we enjoy it when it comes." And if you still doubt the great man knew anything about football then think again because I've seen the documentary footage.






Manchester City are ready to discuss a new £52m contract with attacking midfielder David Silva - to fight off interest from Real Madrid.

Daily Star Sunday

Winger Gareth Bale, 22, has handed Tottenham a massive boost by deciding to stay at White Hart Lane for at least one more year.

Sunday Mirror

Spurs have made a shock move to sign Liverpool midfield target Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Sunday Express

Manchester City have turned their attention to Brazilian Dede, 23, in their bid to bolster their defence as Roberto Mancini has seemingly given up on AC Milan's Thiago Silva.

Footylatest.com


Luka Modric wants to join Real Madrid

Real have made a shock move to land striker Carlos Tevez - and Manchester City could be ready to sell as they prepare their first bid of £20m for Arsenal striker Robin van Persie.

Sun on Sunday

Danny Murphy will join Blackburn Rovers after the 35-year-old former Liverpool and England midfielder's contract with Fulham expired.

Lancashire Telegraph

Sweden defender Olof Mellberg has emerged as a surprise summer transfer target for Everton. The 34-year-old former Aston Villa captain is out of contract with Greek champions Olympiakos.

Liverpool Echo

Newcastle striker Leon Best, 25, has been made an offer that he "may find hard to turn down" by Blackburn.

Newcastle Chronicle

Liverpool and Everton are shaping up for a huge transfer battle, with both clubs tracking Inter Milan striker Luc Castaignos, 19.

Metro

Luka Modric, 26, has decided he wants to leave Tottenham to play for Spanish champions Real Madrid. Manchester United and Paris St-Germain have both been chasing Modric, but it seems the Croatia midfielder has set his heart on playing for manager Jose Mourinho.
Sunday Mirror

Modric is also a target for Lokomotiv Moscow after Slaven Bilic's arrival as boss.

Sun on Sunday

Chinese clubs are eyeing Wayne Rooney and other young Premier League stars in a bid to help them conquer the football world.

Sunday Express


Fabio Capello has gone "crazy" at suggestions he has been helping Italy prepare for Sunday's Euro 2012 quarter-final showdown against England.
Mail on Sunday


Andre Villas-Boas has two rivals for Spurs job

England cannot afford to wind up Italy hot-head Mario Balotelli - because they are more likely to get themselves sent off, according to coach Gary Neville.

Sunday Mirror

Balotelli has told his Manchester City team-mates and England opponents that he fears none of them ahead of the game in Kiev.

Mail on Sunday


Andre Villas-Boas is in a three-way fight for the Spurs job along with former Schalke coach Ralf Rangnick and Laurent Blanc, who managed France at Euro 2012.

Sunday Telegraph

Tottenham will hope to talk to Blanc about the vacant manager's post at White Hart Lane this week after France's exit from Euro 2012 to Spain.

Mail on Sunday

City's England winger Adam Johnson has emerged as a late challenger for one of the three over-age spots in the Team GB Olympic squad.

Full story: Mail on Sunday


The England team chef has revealed the secret recipe that is helping England at Euro 2012 - peanut balls, a tasty concoction given to the players as an energy boost.







THE PEOPLE

Gareth Bale has decided to stay with Tottenham for one more year.

Danny Murphy is joining Blackburn after failing to secure a new deal with Fulham.

German boss Joachim Low has emerged as a shock contender to replace Harry Redknapp at Tottenham.

Arsenal striker Nicklas Bendtner is a target for Anzhi Makhachkala.

Wigan are holding out for a higher fee for Victor Moses because of a 20 per cent sell-on agreement with Crystal Palace.

Fulham want to take Inter Milan striker Luc Castaignos on a season-long loan.

Ipswich have enquired about Watford keeper Scott Loach.

West Brom are eyeing a move for Danny Rose.

Hugo Rodallega is wanted by Serie A side Lazio.

SUNDAY EXPRESS

Manchester City could face a battle to hang on to Roberto Mancini if England knock Italy out of Euro 2012.

Demba Ba has sparked speculation over his future by opening talks with Galatasaray.

Everton are eyeing Inter Milan's unsettled striker Luc Castaignos.

Malaga are favourites to land Nicklas Bendtner for around £4m.










AVB REJECTS SPURS 'LIES'
Andre Villas-Boas rejected recent reports linking him with the Spurs manager's job as "lies".

NEVILLE TRYING TO LURE DONOVAN BACK
Phil Neville is trying to persuade forward Landon Donovan to join Everton.

GREEN WARNING TO RANGERS PLAYERS
Charles Green has warned Rangers players against moving away from the 'newco' club.

NEW VALENCIA DEAL FOR SOLDADO
Roberto Soldado has extended his contract with Valencia until the summer of 2017.

ROMA SEAL BORINI CAPTURE
AS Roma have completed the capture of Liverpool target Fabio Borini.

BAGGIES KEEN TO KEEP OLSSON
Dan Ashworth hinted West Brom may keep Jonas Olsson even if he doesn't sign a new deal.

COLOTTO JOINS ESPANYOL
Espanyol have completed their first signing of the summer with the capture of defender Diego Colotto.

MAN UNITED COMPLETE KAGAWA SIGNING
Manchester United have completed the signing of Shinji Kagawa on a four-year deal.

ASHWORTH - WEST BROM HAPPY TO WAIT
Dan Ashworth admits West Brom will enter the transfer market once Euro 2012 is over.

FERGUSON THRILLED WITH KAGAWA
Sir Alex Ferguson believes Shinji Kagawa is ideally suited to life at Old Trafford.

GRANT HOLT SET TO HAVE TALKS
Grant Holt will talk to Chris Hughton before deciding on his future at Norwich.

MOWBRAY - NO NEED FOR BORO SALES
Middlesbrough boss Tony Mowbray insists there is no pressure on him to sell any of his leading players.

SHACKELL SET TO STAY AT DERBY
Jason Shackell looks set to stay at Derby despite attracting interest from a number of other clubs.

PORTO - NO HULK BIDS LODGED
Porto insist they are yet to receive any bids for reported Chelsea and PSG target Hulk.

BOJAN PLANS ROMA STAY
Reported Liverpool target Bojan Krkic has no intention to leave Roma this summer.

MAGPIES GIVEN DE JONG HOPE
Luuk de Jong's agent suggests the Twente striker would be interested in joining Newcastle.

SWANS DENY MAKING NEW EMNES BID
Swansea have denied making a recent bid for Middlesbrough's Marvin Emnes.

DOBBIE OPEN TO CELTIC MOVE
Swansea's Stephen Dobbie admits he is "flattered" to have been linked with a move to Celtic.

MUTCH MAKES CARDIFF MOVE
Cardiff have completed the signing of Jordon Mutch from Birmingham on a three-year deal.

HUDDERSFIELD SWOOP FOR SCANNELL
Sean Scannell has joined Huddersfield from Crystal Palace on a three-year deal.

LAUDRUP RELISHING PREMIER CHANCE
Michael Laudrup admits he was desperate to manage in England having missed out as a player.

GIOVINCO SIGNS NEW JUVENTUS DEAL
Juventus have confirmed Sebastian Giovinco has signed a three-year contract.

WOLVES WRAP UP NOUBLE DEAL
Wolves have snapped up Frank Nouble on a free transfer and handed him a two-year contract.

POYET CONFIDENT OVER VICENTE DEAL
Brighton manager Gus Poyet is "90 to 95 per cent" certain Vicente will stay with the club.

INTER JOIN RACE FOR MUDINGAYI
Inter Milan have joined the race to sign Bologna midfielder Gaby Mudingayi.

BREMEN SIGN GEBRE SELASSIE
Werder Bremen have signed Czech Republic right-back Theodor Gebre Selassie.

CLOUGH: NO NEED FOR BIG CHANGE
Derby County manager Nigel Clough has ruled out sweeping changes at the club this summer.

BALZARETTI TO STAY AT PALERMO - PRESIDENT
Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini insists Napoli target Federico Balzaretti will stay.

BLACKPOOL FAIL WITH MOHSNI BID
Blackpool have reportedly had a fresh bid for Southend's highly-rated Bilel Mohsni rejected.

McGLYNN FLATTERED BY HEARTS LINK
John McGlynn admits he is honoured to be considered for the Hearts managerial vacancy.

BUTTERFIELD MAY MAKE U-TURN
Barnsley's Jacob Butterfield is reportedly set to snub Newcastle by signing a new deal.

NEW DEAL FOR CODA
Andrea Coda has pledged his future to Udinese by signing a long-term deal.

GIROUD ARSENAL DEAL MOVES CLOSER
Arsene Wenger says Arsenal's move for Olivier Giroud is "90 per cent" done.

TANK SEALS WOLVES SWITCH
Wolves have snapped up promising teenage defender Jamie Tank Walsall for an undisclosed fee.

ROB GREEN PENS QPR DEAL
QPR have signed England goalkeeper Robert Green on a two-year deal.

LAUDRUP NOT PLANNING MAJOR CHANGE
New Swansea manager Michael Laudrup does not plan to bring in a host of new players.

SKRTEL READY FOR LIVERPOOL TALKS
Martin Skrtel's agent says the issue of a new Liverpool contract is on the agenda.

RED DEVILS IN RODRIGUEZ LINK
The agent of reported Man Utd target James Rodriguez says the player's situation is complicated.

MILAN SHOW INTEREST IN AQUILANI
AC Milan have not ruled out the possibility of signing Liverpool's Alberto Aquilani.

DE ROSSI: ENGLISH CLUBS WANT ME
Italy star Daniele De Rossi admits he is "attracted" by Premier League and has had offers.

OLSSON TO DISCUSS BAGGIES FUTURE
West Brom manager Steve Clarke is to hold talks with Jonas Olsson over his future.

NO MUNICH PLANS FOR GUARDIOLA
Pep Guardiola has no immediate plans to take over as Bayern Munich coach in 2013.

HIBS SIGN TIM CLANCY
Hibernian have signed defender Tim Clancy after his contract at Motherwell expired.

JUAREZ ENDS CELTIC STAY
Celtic have confirmed Efrain Juarez has completed his move to Mexican side Club America.

BRADY - HAMMERS HAVE HIT LIST
Karren Brady says West Ham are working through a "comprehensive list" of targets.

MIDO CLOSING IN ON BARNSLEY DEAL
Egyptian striker Mido is glad to be back in English football after signing for Barnsley.

HEARTS SET FOR McGLYNN TALKS
Raith Rovers have granted Hearts permission to speak to their manager John McGlynn.

COTTERILL LOOKS TO LOAN DEALS
Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cotterill could look to take advantage of the loan market again.

MAGUIRE MAKES OWLS MOVE
Sheffield Wednesday have signed Chris Maguire from Derby for an undisclosed fee.

GENOA PULL OUT OF MUTU DEAL
Adrian Mutu's proposed move from Cesena to Genoa has fallen through.

NEW BARNSLEY DEAL FOR O'BRIEN
Barnsley have rewarded winger Jim O'Brien with a new two-year contract at the club.

MILAN SWOOP FOR KEVIN CONSTANT
AC Milan have signed midfielder Kevin Constant on a one-year loan deal from Genoa.

DORTMUND AGREE SCHIEBER DEAL
Borussia Dortmund have agreed a deal with Stuttgart for the transfer of Julian Schieber.

DROGBA COMPLETES SHANGHAI MOVE
Didier Drogba has confirmed that he has signed with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua.

WENGER - VAN PERSIE WILL STAY
Arsene Wenger sees no reason why Robin van Persie would want to join Juventus.

MOHAMED DIAME SET FOR HAMMERS
West Ham have confirmed a deal to sign Senegal midfielder Mohamed Diame from Wigan.

WIGAN OFFER TO DOUBLE MOSES' WAGES
Wigan chairman Dave Whelan claims they have offered to double Victor Moses' wages.

RANGERS CHIEFS PLAN PLAYER TALKS
Charles Green and Ally McCoist will meet with the Rangers players next week.

STEVE KEAN TO STAY AT BLACKBURN
Steve Kean's job appears to be safe after being backed by Blackburn's Director of Football.

JOVETIC NOT LEAVING - FIORENTINA
Fiorentina have insisted that Chelsea target Stevan Jovetic will remain at the club.


West Ham have sounded out Fiorentina about central defender Alessandro Gamberini.


Tottenham have made a shock move to sign Liverpool target Gylfi Sigurdsson.

THE SUN

Real Madrid have made shock move to land Carlos Tevez.

Luka Modric is a target for Lokomotiv Moscow after the arrival of Slaven Bilic as boss.


West Ham plan to swoop for Sunderland striker Fraizer Campbell.

Danny Murphy is quitting Fulham to sign for relegated Blackburn.

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY

Fabio Capello has gone "crazy" at suggestions he is helping Italy prepare for their Euro 2012 quarter-final against England.

DAILY STAR

Manchester City want to discuss a new £52m contract with David Silva.

New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has decided he will sell £20m-rated defender Martin Skrtel to boost his transfer funds.

Andre Villas-Boas has furiously rejected reports linking him with the job at Tottenham.

Reading have offered Huddersfield £2m and defender Sean Morrison in a bid to land Jordan Rhodes.

Newcastle have emerged as favourites to land Lille right-back Mathieu Debuchy.

SUNDAY MIRROR

Gareth Bale has handed Tottenham a massive boost by saying he will stay one more year at White Hart Lane.

West Brom will step up their efforts this week to sign keeper Ben Foster.

Huddersfield have set up a £2.5m swoop for Leeds striker Ross McCormack.

Wigan are determined to drive a hard bargain for Victor Moses because of the 20 percent sell-on clause with Crystal Palace.









Past meetings
Pictures from previous meetings between England and Italy ahead of Sunday's Euro quarter-final.

ENGLAND FIRED UP FOR ITALY TEST
Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard have issued a joint demand for England to have no regrets.

TERRY PRAISED BY HODGSON
Roy Hodgson has praised John Terry's contribution to England's Euro 2012 campaign.

NEVILLE IN BALOTELLI WARNING
Gary Neville has warned England's players against trying to wind Mario Balotelli up tonight.

DEL BOSQUE HAILS DEFENSIVE DISPLAY
Vicente Del Bosque praised the control shown by Spain as they saw off France at Euro 2012.

DEL BOSQUE HAILS DEFENSIVE DISPLAY
Post-match reaction to Spain's 2-0 victory over France.

ROMA SEAL BORINI CAPTURE
AS Roma have completed the capture of Liverpool target Fabio Borini.

Lessons learnt - Spain v France
Spain moved into Euro 2012's semi-finals with a comfortable 2-0 victory over France.

ALONSO BRACE ENSURES SPAIN PROGRESS
Spain will meet Portugal in the Euro 2012 semi-finals after a 2-0 victory over France.

Spain 2 France 0
Euro 2012 quarter-final at the Donbass Arena.

SOUTHGATE TO TALK WITH HARGREAVES
Gareth Southgate will speak with Owen Hargreaves about taking his coaching qualifications through the FA.

NEW VALENCIA DEAL FOR SOLDADO
Roberto Soldado has extended his contract with Valencia until the summer of 2017.

CHANGES PONDERED IN SCOTLAND
Scottish football's three governing bodies have held talks over the possibility of league reconstruction.

BALOTELLI: I'M MORE MAN THAN PETER PAN
Mario Balotelli claimed he is "more of a man than Peter Pan" ahead of Italy v England.

BAYERN DRAWN AGAINST LOCAL RIVALS
Bayern Munich will travel to Bavarian rivals Jahn Regensburg in the first round of the DFB-Pokal.

NEVILLE TRYING TO LURE DONOVAN BACK
Phil Neville is trying to persuade forward Landon Donovan to join Everton.

DROGBA - I CAN BE CHINA'S BECKHAM
Didier Drogba wants to help Chinese football the way David Beckham has in the MLS.

HODGSON HAS OPTIONS TO FACE ITALY
Latest news ahead of Sunday's Euro 2012 quarter-final between England and Italy.

ASHWORTH - WEST BROM HAPPY TO WAIT
Dan Ashworth admits West Brom will enter the transfer market once Euro 2012 is over.

GERRARD: WE MUST SEIZE THE MOMENT
Steven Gerrard has urged his England team-mates to "seize the moment" against Italy.







THE SUN: Roy Hodgson leads his England stars into battle against Italy tonight stressing: Don't leave the pitch with any regrets. Also: Mario Balotelli insists he is not mad as he looks to dump England out of Euro 2012.

SUNDAY MIRROR: England cannot afford to wind up Italy hot-head Mario Balotelli - because they are more likely to get themselves sent off. Also: John Terry has been hailed as "top class" by Roy Hodgson and captain Steven Gerrard.

THE MAIL ON SUNDAY: Mario Balotelli told his Manchester City team-mates and England opponents last night that he feared none of them as the two nations prepared for tonight's Euro 2012 quarter-final here in Kiev. Also: Manchester City's England winger Adam Johnson has emerged as a late challenger for one of the three over-age spots in the Team GB Olympic squad; Dwain Chambers exploded into a foul-mouthed rant after winning the 100 metres final at the Olympic trials in Birmingham.

SUNDAY EXPRESS: Steven Gerrard has endured enough England hurt to last a lifetime but now intends to re-write history. Also: Manchester City could face a fight to hang on to manager Roberto Mancini if England knock Italy out of Euro 2012 in Kiev.

DAILY STAR SUNDAY: Steven Gerrard insisted last night that England's time has come to end all the "hurt and pain". Also: Manchester City want to discuss a new £52million contract with Spanish midfielder David Silva to fight off interest from Real Madrid; New Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has decided he WILL sell £20million-rated centre-back Martin Skrtel because he wants to boost his Kop transfer pot.

THE PEOPLE: Steven Gerrard has vowed to smash his quarter-final jinx and end England's pain against Italy tonight. Also: Gareth Bale has given Spurs fans a massive lift by deciding to STAY at White Hart Lane for at least another 12 months.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH: Steven Gerrard has sought to rally England's players ahead of their European Championship quarter-final with Italy by insisting they are entitled to dream of glory after years of near misses.

THE SUNDAY TIMES: Mario Balotelli has thrown down the gauntlet before the Euro 2012 quarter-final tonight by declaring he has no fear of England and intends to have "fun" against Roy Hodgson and his players. Also: The European champions march on, not so much the Red Fury, as they are nicknamed, but something more stately;

THE OBSERVER: Steven Gerrard has urged his England team-mates to remember their previous disappointments at the quarter-final stage of major tournaments and challenged them to take their game to a higher level against Italy with a Euro 2012 semi-final against Germany at stake.

THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY: Steven Gerrard said yesterday that he believes tonight's Euro 2012 quarter-final against Italy could be England's springboard to ending the "hurt and pain" of previous failures, as they bid to reach the last four of a major tournament for the first time in 16 years.






babe of the day


http://83.149.125.7/upload/main/25/1105481.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by cockney hammer on Sun Jun 24, 2012 11:04 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by Muddy »

Cheers CH.
BOTD is a 404 error though.
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

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now mate?
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

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Thanks ch :thup:

(still a 404 though...)
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Albie Beck wrote:Thanks ch :thup:

(still a 404 though...)

changed it working ok for me
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

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Cheers CH :thup:
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Post by prophet:marginal »

10:57am??

What's this? The lunch-time bulletin?

:wink:
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by cockney hammer »

prophet:marginal wrote:10:57am??

What's this? The lunch-time bulletin?

:wink:


lol sorry mate them cuns kept me up most of the night
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by Xander »

Cheers CH :crest:
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Cheers, CH.
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by 10 Iron »

Cheers CH
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Post by cockney hammer »

official site



Image


Chairman comes to Fry's aid


http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120624/ ... 84_2819502" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


well done :thup:
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Post by hammerjohn »

Nice story

Thanks CH :crest:
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by Mr Brightside »

If babe of the day is an error then please don't put it right! :thup:
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by Goldsmith »

Cheers CH :thup:

I genuinely wouldn't mind Frazier Campbell for £2million but I want us buying defenders, not more strikers!
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Post by Claretdave »

Great stuff cockney fella - delighted you will soon no longer have to deal with the scum. :crest:
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Claretdave wrote:Great stuff cockney fella - delighted you will soon no longer have to deal with the scum. :crest:

thanks mate
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by cockney hammer »

newcastlemad




Former Toon boss Sam Allardyce has done what was expected of him - getting West Ham promoted. But, just like his time at St James' Park, he has yet to win over the fans.



Chris Hughton achieved promotion with an attacking side that blazed a trail through the Championship, and brought pride back to Tyneside.

Big Sam, on the other hand, got the Hammers up through the back-door, despite having a squad that should have stormed that league.

Today he challenges his West Ham side to get into a good position in the first nine games of the season because he expects November and December to be a particularly tough period.

The Hammers lost their opening four matches two years ago and never recovered as they suffered relegation to the Championship.

Having bounced back up at the first attempt, Allardyce knows his men cannot afford a similar start and he is looking to pick up three points at home to Aston Villa on the opening weekend of the season.

Sam Allardyce: "The first nine games up to Manchester City are ones we must try to achieve as many points as we can. It will be hugely difficult but not as difficult as what follows.

"We get through October and then November and December are the toughest months of the season, not only because of the fixtures but the number of games we have to play.

"We've got to get off to get off to a flying start and achieve as many points as we can in the first nine or 10 games. The fixtures are difficult though; nothing is going to be easy at all."
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Fulham linked with loan move for West Ham target & Inter Milan striker, Luc Castaignos



The People on Sunday are today linking Fulham with a loan move for 19 year old Inter Milan striker, Luc Castaignos. The 6'2" Dutch striker has been heavily linked with a premanent move to West Ham in recent weeks but The People are saying that he's highly regarding at Inter and they would prefer to loan him for a year rather than sell.

Between 2009 and 2011, Castaignos played 37 times for Feyenord, scoring 15 goals and last season at Inter, he played 6 times and scored once.

He has formerly been linked with Manchester United and recently West Ham, Everton and Liverpool. He seems to have a big future ahead of him but if we were to loan him, I'd prefer an option at the end of the term to secure him on a permanent basis although a loan move were he scored 10+ goals, would still be very welcome.
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Re: sunday's news 24th june includes west ham

Post by cockney hammer »

sabotage times


So yet another player moves on from Wigan Athletic onto better things... Or does he? A Wigan fan explains why they can never hold onto their best players and also what West Ham can expect from Mohammed Diame

Can I do a piece about West Ham fans can expect from Mohamed Diame? Of course I can. Can I do it without the inevitable “paragraph of bitterness”? Well there’s a challenge. And the question is – where to put it? At the beginning – and immediately incur the wrath of jellied eel munching Essex Boys or at the end – with the comments box lurking close to hand? OK then safely embedded in the middle it is then.

We all knew Momo was leaving. Both Diame and Hugo Rodallega’s contracts were up at the end of the season and any talk of them being renewed was hearsay or a small addendum to a press article rather than bold statements of intent.

For Wigan Athletic, this has become known as the “N’Zogbia co-efficient” whereby a player performs to such a high standard that he prices himself out of a new contract leaving us with no option to sell or give away. There are two competing forces to fling blame at here. The first one is arguably our notoriously publicity shy chairman Dave Whelan, who simply – publicly at least, refuses to demonstrate any intent to renew players’ contracts as they get towards the end of their tenure, thus meaning we continue to lose our precious assets for nothing.

Yet maybe this is an admirable quality, a desire to keep the club on a sound financial footing and when players by virtue of good performances leap from that £20-30k per week bracket into the £40-60k threshold, at that point Wigan Athletic fold their hand and leave the table.

If it’s great skills you want he’s got a hefty compartment of them attached to his boots in the locker marked S for silky.

Of course this alludes to the second allocation of blame, those money mad agents, whom our reclusive, monk-like chairman, who once played in an FA Cup final and broke his leg in case you weren’t aware has also fired a parting shot at. Diame’s agent is Willie McKay, need I say more although he is not alone in his desire as an agent to look to move players’ on every few years for a slice of a signing on fee and a bigger wage packet. There’s probably nothing wrong with that in all honesty but it still hurts like hell when it happens to a club like ours. Who’d have thought a Belgian plodder by the name of Jean Marc Bosman would wreak such havoc in the world of football?

Back to Momo and when he joined it’s fair to say, he didn’t exactly set the place alight. A £3m joint signing in the summer of 2009 from Rayo Vallecano along with centre half Antonio Amaya, an absolute rock of a man, rugged, handsome, sturdy but with the ability to turn into a gibbering wreck when put under moderate pressure by the likes of Lee Hughes and Johan Elmander. Diame though looked the real deal and soon enough he was. We nearly didn’t sign him at all due to a heart scare, which is supposedly still around in that he has an irregular heart beat but the more games he played for us, the more ludicrous it became to believe that this midfield powerhouse could possibly have a dicky ticker.

Whereas Amaya barely made a handful of appearances leading us to conclude he had just been signed as a friend to keep Momo company, Diame was always in the team under Martinez and his performances broadly reflected the direction of Wigan Athletic as a whole. In the first year when we suffered many large reversals, Diame was symbolic of those games: a shoulder shrugging, lost sheep with bags of ability but no heart (no pun intended), one of many foreign mercenaries to wear the shirt of Wigan Athletic at a time when we seemed to be destined for the drop.

Yet in many ways, Diame was a pioneer of the resurgence at the business end of the season. Capable of matching the best in the game. A rangy, box to box midfielder with energy, drive, sublime ball skills and passing range, long legs perfect for taking the ball off his more illustrious opposite numbers and driving goalwards. Of course, forming an opinion off youtube is dangerous but what’s not to like about this?

Apart from the music. The one weakness has always been his shooting and indeed a year or two ago at a fans’ forum, a fan asked Martinez whether it would be possible for Momo to stay behind for a bit of extra shooting practice to up his goal tally. “The problem there is, if Momo gets ten goals a season, then he’s off.”

Therein lies the quandary of modern football, we nurture our players, accept their flaws and watch then develop and then get forced to flog them because they are commanding bigger wages.

The strange thing in Diame’s case is that he hasn’t actually featured much since Christmas. Essentially he was a pivotal part of the team that amassed a whopping 15 points in 23 games until the end of January but barely featured in a team that went on to get 28 points from the remaining 15 beating Liverpool, United, Arsenal and Newcastle in the process. This is merely a crumb of comfort from a Wigan fans’ perspective in the future and not intended to ignore Diame’s undoubted talent.

His contribution to the run in was to come off the bench and miss a pair of sitters against Norwich and West Brom which cost us four points when we really looked doomed. It may just be that Roberto knew both Hugo and Momo were leaving and chose to use them sparingly whilst thinking of next season’s continuity. They could have both been flogged in January with this in mind but that would have been akin to waving the white flag at the time with Latics rooted in the relegation zone. As it happens, players like McArthur and Maloney came to the fore and Momo struggled to get back in the team, understandably as they were playing out of their skins.

This is not to detract from a fantastic player who will be sorely missed by most Wigan Athletic fans, many of whom are asking why West Ham? I think we know the answer to the question and it comes in paper and shiny gold form. Again, we know our place, we know Wigan Athletic are a small club and West Ham won the World Cup and are a far bigger and more illustrious club than our own, but is this a step up? How will West Ham’s aspirations and likely achievements differ from Wigan Athletic’s? Why join a newly promoted club and leave an established Premier League club of eight years?

We sold our best player twelve months ago in the form of Charles N’Zogbia and ended up finishing higher up the table than the team he joined, so much for career advancement

I can see you now – shaking your head at the screen saying “stupid Northern monkey, Wigan are going down” but then you’ve been saying that for eight years now and it hasn’t happened! We sold our best player twelve months ago in the form of Charles N’Zogbia and ended up finishing higher up the table than the team he joined, so much for career advancement, ultimately what it comes down to with both Charlie and Momo is wage packet advancement and that’s the bit where I get really bitter.

There ends up being a divide with players who leave Wigan between the ones who we’re proud of and really go on to develop their careers such as Leighton Baines and Antonio Valencia and the ones who end up at Sunderland or Aston Villa and spend their lives in bigger houses, driving faster cars but ultimately plodding around in lower mid table like the rest of us.

As it stands at the minute though, Diame is still just about bridging the two, still just about loved by Wigan fans for his fearless running and undoubted talent despite his choice of next employer. Even though he once fell foul of an infamous “French interview translation” and allegedly claimed the town of Wigan is cold and full of ugly women in a Georgi Hristov moment. Somehow, I think London may suit him a tad better in that respect.

As much as it pains me to say it, I can see newly promoted West Ham being this year’s Newcastle – it’s what they do, I have no doubt under Allardyce that they’ll finish safely in mid table or even top half and I would love Momo to play a pivotal role in that. I’ve not seen enough of them last year to understand how much of the “get in the mixer” philosophy Big Sam has utilised at the academy of football but this is not a man for whom you want to bypass the midfield for because he can own the midfield. If it’s great skills you want he’s got a hefty compartment of them attached to his boots in the locker marked S for silky.

So with a heavy heart it’s hard for me to wish him well as he has joined a rival but it would also be a travesty if his box of tricks isn’t regularly on display in the Barclays PremierLeague next season. It will hurt seeing it, like spotting an ex-girlfriend with a new beau but Momo is too good to keep tucked away for long and I hope he goes on to play a starring role in West Ham’s first season back up. But not at our expense.
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