Redknapp delighted with Gudjohnsen’s arrival

January 29, 2010


Harry Redknapp has confirmed that Monaco’s Eidur Gudjohnsen has joined Tottenham. The move takes the former Barcelona and Chelsea striker to White Hart Lane on loan until the end of the season.

Spurs had to face a stiff battle to land the Iceland international with West Ham also interested in acquiring Gudjohnsen’s services. It was reported earlier in the week that Gudjohnsen had a medical after agreeing a move to the Hammers.

However, the experienced forward favored a move to White Hart Lane instead, a move which has delighted Redknapp, who feels he can make good use of the utility player.

“I just thought he’s a good player and he can play several positions for us, he can play in a midfield or attacking-midfield role if we want to change our system,” he said.

“We’ve lost Aaron Lennon [to injury] so we haven’t got a great deal of width. We can play a diamond formation if we want to and he can be a big player in that system.

“So, yes, we took him on loan until the end of the season to see how it goes.”

Gudjohnsen spent eight years in England with Bolton and Chelsea between 1998 and 2006. He now returns to the Premier League after struggling to settle in his time at French outfit Monaco.

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Hammers line up McCarthy-Gudjohnsen strike force

January 27, 2010


West Ham’s battle for Premier League survival is set to be spearheaded by a strike force of Eidur Gudjohnsen and Benni McCarthy.

Former Chelsea and Barcelona striker Gudjohnsen, who is now at Monaco, looks set to join South Africa striker McCarthy at Upton Park after Tottenham admitted defeat in the race to sign the Icelander on loan.

“I like Eidur, but I think he’s going to West Ham,” Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp said after his side’s 2-0 win over Fulham on Tuesday evening. “I spoke to his agent today but I’ve left it with chairman.

“I’d take him on loan because he’s a good player and we could play different systems with him.” he added.

Blackburn have agreed to sell McCarthy to the Hammers for a reported fee of 2.25 million pounds and the deal was expected to be wrapped up on Wednesday following a medical and negotiations on the striker’s personal terms.

McCarthy had grown disillusioned with his lack of first-team starts at Blackburn under manager Sam Allardyce and wanted a move to ensure regular football in the run-up to the World Cup finals in his home country in June and July.

He has departed Ewood Park in acrimonious circumstances however after failing to turn up for training sessions this week, conduct which Allardyce branded “unprofessional”.

Allardyce said: “It shows you that the only loyalty a player has got is to himself.

“This is what we deal with today in football, there’s not such a thing as loyalty as there used to be in the older days when I was a player.

“It’s a selfish attitude they have and that’s not just about Benni, that’s all players today. If they want something they do anything to try and get it.”

West Ham are currently hovering just above the relegation zone with only goal difference keeping them out of the bottom three following Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw at Portsmouth.

The Hammers had looked on track for a valuable win after taking the lead with a scrappy effort from club captain Matthew Upson seven minutes into the second half.

But former Manchester United trainee Danny Webber came off the bench to claim his first Premier League goal and rescue a point for the Premier League’s bottom side, who remain four points adrift of the side above them, Hull, and five away from safety.

Pompey manager Avram Grant admitted afterwards that the lifting of a Premier League transfer embargo may have come too late to help their survival bid.

Grant is hopeful of landing “three or four” new players by the end of the month but the club’s perilous financial position means he can only take players on loan or on free transfers.

“We’ll try to do our best but we have only four days,” Grant said. “It will be very difficult but we’ll do it because the squad is very short.”

Grant hopes to bring left-sided midfielder Jamie O’Hara back to the club on loan from Tottenham and he played down the possibility of Younes Kaboul and Nadir Belhadj leaving.

“If these players go, I would need to play, and I cannot play!” Grant joked.

Portsmouth are however expected to allow England goalkeeper David James to go to Stoke on loan until the end of the season in a move dictated by the financial pressure currently on the club.

LONDON (AFP)

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West Ham’s Kovac: Cole the key for avoiding relegation

January 2, 2010


West Ham’s Radoslav Kovac says his team-mate Carlton Cole’s return will be the key for the Hammers’ Premier League survival. The England striker has not featured for his side ever since he was ruled out with a knee injury in the 5-3 win over Burnley in November.Cole may feature in his side’s games this month if his recovery goes to plan. Meanwhile Gianfranco Zola’s side are currently outside the relegation zone and Kovac believes Cole’s return is crucial to their chances of staying up.

Kovac told deniksport.cz, “We have a lot of injured players. The most devastating absence is the one of striker Carlton Cole.

“He is a fantastic player, he is strong in keeping the ball under control. Now it is (Guillermo) Franco who has been playing in his place.

“Franco is also a great striker, but he is all alone up front. I have recently seen the attack of Bolton or Tottenham. They have Defoe, Crouch, Keane, Pavlyuchenko.

“We have just Franco and the young lads. That leaves us in some trouble when it comes to attacking.”

He added, “Every single match is important for us now, we are fully aware of what is at stake.

“As soon as Cole returns to action we will improve, I think. Personally, I am expecting a new signing to arrive during January. We will recover.”

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Carlton Cole frustrated with his injury

December 21, 2009


Carlton Cole has sounded out his disappointment and frustration at being sidelined with injury. As Cole looks on from the stands, other English strikers, who hope to make it in England’s World Cup squad, have the chance to impress on the pitch.

The West Ham striker is currently battling a knee injury. Cole has been tipped to make Fabio Capello’s squad. However, there will be fierce competition for the 23-man list.

The likes of Wayne Rooney and Emile Heskey are almost certain to feature in England’s squad, but Cole, Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch, Darren Bent and even Michael Owen can only hope to fly to South Africa with the rest of the team.

Cole was in good form for Gianfranco Zola’s Hammers, scoring 7 goals in 13 Premier League games before he suffered his injury.

“It doesn’t feel good to see these guys scoring all the time,” he said in the Daily Star.

“But they’re all top players and it’s what you expect. That’s why I was so disappointed when I got injured because I knew I would be overtaken in the goal rankings.

“I’ve been trying to keep up with the likes of Defoe, Bent, Rooney and others – and to make sure I stayed in the top ten all season.

“I think I was seventh before my injury – so I know I’ve got to work hard to get the problem out the way and come back strong in the second half of the season.

“It’s been my dream to play and score at a World Cup finals since I was little kid. Hopefully, I can keep that dream alive.”

Cole is an integral part of West Ham’s squad and the sooner he returns the better for his struggling team. The Hammers are keen to perform well again in order to pull themselves away from the relegation zone.

The English striker wants to come back from injury, focus on his club career, perform well again and earn a place in Capello’s 23-man squad in the process.

“I really want to focus on West Ham,” he added.

“But, if you’re going to be injured in World Cup year, I suppose the earlier in the season it happens, the better it is.”

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Ten-man Liverpool hit a new low at Portsmouth

December 19, 2009


Liverpool’s miserable season hit a new low as Javier Mascherano was sent off in a 2-0 defeat at bottom of the table Portsmouth on Saturday.

Rafa Benitez’s side, who are already out of the Champions League, have won just four of their last 17 matches in all competitions and face a desperate fight to salvage a place in the Premier League’s top four.

The Reds, who are five points adrift of fourth place ahead of Saturday’s later games, fell behind in the 33rd minute when Algeria defender Nadir Belhadj lashed a ferocious shot past Jose Reina from a tight angle for his first goal of the season.

That strike was the 500th in the Premier League this season and Liverpool defender Daniel Agger should have added to that tally, but wasted his side’s best chance when he headed over from close range.

A dismal day for Liverpool got even worse when Argentine midfielder Mascherano was dismissed by referee Lee Mason for an ugly lunge on Tal Ben Haim just before half-time.

French striker Frederic Piquionne piled on the misery for Liverpool boss Benitez, who is certain to face more heavy criticism after this defeat, when he finished off a Kevin-Prince Boateng-inspired move in the 82nd minute.

Portsmouth, celebrating their second win under new manager Avram Grant, move level on points with second bottom West Ham, but remain behind the Hammers on goals scored.

LONDON (AFP)

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Green error helps Bolton to valuable win

December 16, 2009


West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green’s extraordinary error helped Bolton Wanderers to a 3-1 victory over their relegation rivals at the Reebok Stadium here on Tuesday.

Bolton, who climbed out of the bottom three on the back of this win, went ahead through Lee Chung-Yong’s second half goal before Alessandro Diamanti equalised minutes later.

But the decisive moment of the game came in the 77th minute when England international Green spilled a Gary Cahill shot in front of his face and Bolton’s Ivan Klasnic pounced to make it 2-1.

Cahill himself secured all three points for the home team with a header two minutes from time.

After a lacklustre opening 45 minutes, the game improved after the break.

Bolton’s pressure told in the 64th minute when Lee, after a neat one-two with Klasnic, shot over the advancing Green.

But, five minutes later, the Hammers were level when Diamanti scored from 12 yards after being played in Jack Collison from a Guillermo Franco cross.

Then came Green’s mistake, Klasnic scoring from point-blank range before Cahill ensured a tension-free finish for the home fans.

BOLTON (AFP)

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Zola unhappy with Noble red card

December 13, 2009


Mark Noble headed for an early bath in the 79th minute after a second yellow card but the midfielder can feel hard done to by referee Lee Mason’s decision with replays showing his challenge on Christian Benitez was clean.

The Hammers were already losing by a goal when Noble was given his marching orders. And although Gianfranco Zola’s team piled the pressure in the rest of the game, The Hammers could not save themselves from defeat.

And when asked whether The Hammers deserved something out of the clash, the West Ham manager told Sky Sports, “I think so yeah. It was a game where a draw would have been a fair result.

“I think the game was very much level and I don’t think they deserved to win but that’s football.

“I’m disappointed for my players because they gave everything and they probably deserved something.”

About the official’s decision to send off Noble, Zola added, “What can I say… I think the referee had an off day today.

“(The sending off was) totally unacceptable, he got the ball and there wasn’t any nasty thing in that – he just got the ball and I cannot understand it.”

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Zola looks for hammer blow against struggling Everton

November 8, 2009


Gianfranco Zola may be a relative novice in the managerial trade, but already the Italian has experienced more dizzying highs and stultifying lows than many of the most grizzled veterans.

In the space of just over a year, he has led West Ham to a top-half finish in the English Premier League, been forced to contend with myriad off-field financial problems and, most recently, negotiated a slump in form which put his own job prospects on the line.

That Zola has met all these scenarios with equanimity speaks volumes for his character and serves as confirmation of why he is still considered one of the brightest managerial prospects in the top flight.

Even during the most recent crisis – a nine-match winless streak which dumped West Ham in the relegation zone – Zola remained unflappable, insisting his team’s fortunes would take a turn for the better, sooner rather than later.

His faith was justified by a last-gasp victory over Aston Villa last Wednesday and the former Chelsea striker can now confront Sunday’s meeting with Everton, who are locked in their own dangerous downward spiral, with genuine enthusiasm.

“Football is about confidence,” he reflected.

“We know we have been playing well but not picking up the points we needed. That victory (against Villa) will give us a lot. The rest is all there.

“We know we have the qualities, we know that we can compete at high levels. The mood has been very positive and everybody has been lifted.”

Zola’s squad might be on the thin side but at least he can call upon genuine quality along the spine of his side in Robert Green, Matthew Upson and Carlton Cole, all England internationals.

There were signs before the Villa victory that West Ham were a team on the rise.

Arsenal were held to a draw courtesy of a stirring fight-back in the dying minutes and the Hammers raced into a two-goal lead at Sunderland before flaky defending cost them two points in the second half.

A three-match unbeaten run might not be cause for jubilation in east London but Zola believes it could be the start of a more sustained recovery.

“The team needs some personalities and they need those personalities to step in at the right moment, which is what they have been doing recently,” Zola added.

David Moyes’ Everton team are in the midst of an appalling run, having not tasted victory in seven games in all competitions thanks to a combination of a crippling injury list, nose-diving confidence and poor form from key players.

The gloom enveloping Goodison Park is a far cry from the halcyon days of spring, when Everton achieved a second successive fifth-place finish in the Premier League and reached the FA Cup final.

Moyes’ meagre squad appears to be struggling to cope with the gruelling schedule provided by the Europa League where they have suffered back-to-back defeats against Benfica.

“As a manager it is down to me to put things right, to find a winning formula from the ranks that I have here,” Moyes said.

“In the past I have tended to do that, I feel it is probably one of my strengths. I have tried not to have any regrets about it (playing in Europe).

“But the more and more games you play in it, the more and more times you realise that some other managers have talked a lot of sense about the number of games in the Europa League.

“With the squad we have got it is very difficult to win Premier League games when you have got so many midweek games.”

LONDON (AFP)

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Wenger still as hungry as ever after landmark birthday

October 25, 2009


Arsene Wenger celebrated his 60th birthday this week but the Arsenal manager’s desire to end the club’s four-year wait for a trophy shows no sign of abating.

Wenger is increasingly confident his current side is maturing into genuine title contenders and his players will get the opportunity to justify their manager’s growing confidence by recording a fifth successive league victory at West Ham on Sunday.

Since suffering the shock of back to back away defeats at Manchester United and Manchester City, Wenger’s team have recovered well, although AZ Alkmaar’s stoppage time equaliser this week served as a reminder that Arsenal can be guilty of failing to finish teams off.

That is certainly an issue Wenger will have addressed in the wake of that Champions League group game and the manager admitted his hunger for success is as strong as it ever was.

“Am I happy with all that I have achieved? Certainly not,” he said. “I expect always more and you can never be completely happy with what you do. The only credit that I give to myself is that I have worked very hard my whole career and always try to improve.

“I am very lucky to still be in charge today. If I look at all my friends who started with me, I was very, very young when I started.

“I was in charge at 33 and to survive at that age is not easy. You could see with many young managers, it?s difficult when you start with such a big responsibility. Overall I was very lucky. But always think you could have achieved more and make better decisions.”

On paper West Ham should provide only limited opposition to an in-form Arsenal, with Gianfranco Zola?s side rooted second bottom with just one league victory to their name this season.

Yet the intensity of a London derby will undoubtedly lift the Hammers and defender Matthew Upson with be particularly keen to impress and provide Wenger with another reminder of why the manager was wrong to let him leave for Birmingham six years ago.

Wenger admits he reluctantly sanctioned the transfer and revealed he has contemplated re-signing the England international on a number of occasions.

“I didn’t stop him (going) because I knew he had qualities to play in the Premier League but he had players in front of him,” Wenger said.

“I knew he would make it. He had Premier League quality and had the potential to be international quality.

“He is there now because he is at the right age for a central defender and for a few years now he has not been stopped by injuries which was his problem for a while.”

Upson is likely to face an Arsenal attacked boosted by the return of Eduardo, although Tomas Rosicky will not feature after suffering a problem with his knee this week.

Zola acknowledges his side’s position is causing him concern.

The Hammers manager has maintained his team has deserved greater reward for its performances this season but putting points on the board is now the main priority.

“It’s very difficult at the moment because I care about the players and club. It hurts me,” said the Italian.

“But I am a warrior – I don’t look like it but I am one and I don’t like to let myself down in my work.

“I am someone who never gives up and my determination to succeed is stronger than anything. Of course this job gives me awake at night. You are always thinking about things and trying to find answers.

“Everyone has problems – that is what life is about. But one thing I want from the players is to look for the solutions, rather than worry.”

LONDON (AFP)

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West Ham set for £100 million takeover – report

October 18, 2009


English Premier League club West Ham are the target of a 100 million pounds takeover by a multinational consortium of wealthy fans, according to a report in the News of the World on Sunday.

The newspaper claims the London-based Intermarket Group this week started talks over buying the struggling Hammers before the January transfer window.

West Ham fans are believed to comprise the consortium which is being headed up by Wall Street businessman Jim Bowe, Intermarket Group’s chief executive and a former head of the New York Board of Trade.

CB Holding, an Icelandic holding company made up of banks owed money by the Hammers’ previous owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, currently own the London club but have indicated they would consider selling at the right price.

“My colleagues and I have been approached by the consortium with the aim of buying West Ham in its entirety,” Bowe told the News of the World.

“We are not interested in just taking on the debt, or securing a percentage. We want to get West Ham back on track for the upper echelons of the Premier League.

“We want what the fans want and there is no restriction on us as to how we achieve that aim. We are in the early stages of our discussions with the club. But we are optimistic that we can develop a proposal that will benefit all parties. The best deal is the deal where everyone feels that they’ve won.

“The consortium comprises West Ham supporters who have made serious money in the City, the United States and elsewhere and who see the potential in the club, its fanbase, academy and playing staff.”

West Ham, who lost 2-1 at Stoke on Saturday, are currently second bottom of the Premier League after winning just one of their first eight games.

LONDON (AFP)

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