West Ham United » Gossip

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Martin — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 21:34:36 +0000

The Premier League managers’ arbitration tribunal ruled in favor of Alan Curbishley in his constructive dismissal case against the Hammers. If you remember, Curbs quit after the Icelandic owners went behind Curbs’ back and sold defenders Anton Ferdinand and George McCartney to the Black Cats.

It was only a month ago that Kevin Keegan won a similar case against Newcastle United, so it was not a complete surprise that the case went in Curbs’ favor. The amount of the settlement is yet to be determined and media outlets are speculating that the figure will be somewhere between £1 million and £4 million.

Zola Does Some Italian Window Shopping

Martin — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:34:56 +0000

More indication that I will have to write these entries in Italian as it has been reported that Gianfranco Zola is window shopping again in Italy. This time two names have been touted in the Italian press. Sampdoria striker Antonio Cassano is apparently one of Zola’s choices for the “January Sales”. The former Roma and Real Madrid hitman is now 27 and has a pricey £14million buyout clause in his Sampdoria contract.

The other name in the frame is the 22 year-old Juventus playmaker Sebastian Giovinco. The Turin born midfielder has played for the Italian U-21 team and was a goalscorer for Italy in the 2008 Olympics. The only downside to Giovinco is his size, at 5 foot 4 inches, he would certainly be able to avoid punches from Robert Huth, but perhaps his stature wouldn’t be suitable for the physical game in the Premier League.

Zola Chasing Livorno’s Candreva

Martin — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 23:00:02 +0000

Gianfranco Zola looks like he has made his mind up and will be doing his best to poach Livorno midfielder Antonio Candreva when the transfer window opens again in January. Zola coached Candreva in the Italian U-21 team so it has been no surprise to Zola how well Candreva has played for Livorno this season.

Of course, bringing Candreva to Upton Park would hopefully inspire a great match up with the future superstar, and ex-Livorno teammate, Alessandro Diamanti. Unfortunately Zola’s efforts may be thwarted by big Italian clubs like Inter and Juventus, who have also been tracking Candreva’s form this season.

The other fly in the ointment for Zola must be the on-going financial issues with CB Holdings that are holding him back from bringing in top names to Upton Park. All season we have heard about Zola’s desire to sign the disgruntled Bayern Munich player, Luca Toni, but the lack of funds may have scuppered that deal from ever reaching fruition.

And Now, The End Is Near, And So I Face…

Martin — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:09:37 +0000

From news reports this week, it is becoming clearer that Dean Ashton may be at the end of his playing career. The talk this week was of the Hammers cashing on the insurance policies and sending Deano out to pasture. The 25 year old has not made any recovery in the last year since his current injury and that make be sufficient for Zola to say enough is enough. Of couse, Deano’s $60k a week salary may be the final nail in his coffin when the new boys like Diamante and Franco are out there scoring.

Hammers Pick Up Another Striker

Martin — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 17:58:08 +0000

Looks like the Hammers have snatched up another striker, this time out-of-contract Guillermo Franco, most recently at the Spanish club, Villarreal. The 32 year old Argentinean, but plays for Mexico, has been a decent goalscorer, hitting 14 goals in 81 appearances with Villarreal and 6 goals in 19 international matches with the Mexican national team. Probably will not see him against Liverpool on Saturday, but hopefully he can make an impact later this month.

Lucas Neill: Spain or Sunderland? Duh…

Martin — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 03:28:59 +0000

Yesterday every news outlet was reporting that Lucas Neill, the out of contract Hammer, had joined Atlético Madrid for a £2 million payday, but today it’s all gone Pete Tong. British tabloids are reporting today that Lucas is now linked with Sunderland and could expect a cool £3 million contract.

Atlético needed cover for John Heitinga who joined Everton, but reports say that Neill was taking too long to decide, while others say the Atlético lost interest. Sunderland has some defense problems with ex-Hammer George McCartney out of action for up to six weeks with hamstring problems, so a move for Neill may make sense for Steve Bruce at this time.

Bean Counters “Spill The Beans”

Martin — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 01:37:50 +0000

The Guardian reported today that it has received a copy of the clubs accounts for the year ending 2008 and they are not happy bedtime reading. The bottom line is that at the end of 2008 the Hammers had net debt and contingent liabilities approaching £100m.

The problems were so bad that the club breached certain banking covenants in 2007-08 which meant that the five banks who loaned the club money could recall the loans with immediate effect. Of course, the immediate effect would be administration, point’s deduction and guaranteed Championship football the following season.

The report showed that the club paid £20m for Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer and the “Forgettable” Freddie Ljungberg, whose combined salaries exceeded £12m. In fact the annual wage bill was 78% of the clubs revenue.

Of course things as of today aren’t really any rosier. The Carlos Tevez Settlement with the Blades is costing £20m and the collapse of sponsor XL cost the club money. The club has yet for file the May 2009 accounts, so perhaps there are more troubled times ahead.

Bye Bye Jimmy C

Martin — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:58:36 +0000

James Collins may be saying goodbye to the Claret and Blue of the Hammers, but he is saying hello to the Claret and Blue of Aston Villa. After dissing Stoke City earlier in August, Jimmy C obviously felt a lot more comfortable about the Villa. It seems like there is always a deal to be done between the two teams as Villa still have Marlon Harewood and Nigel Reo-Coker on their books, who moved up to the Midlands back in 2007.

So bye, bye, Jimmy C. We’ve got Manuel da Costa on his way. Let’s hope you’re not missed.

Last Minute Shopping

Martin — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 20:16:03 +0000

As the transfer window slams shut for another three months, teams are studying their player and options like a game of Risk on steroids. The Hammers have been last minute shoppers before with the gifted and disastrous signing of Carlos Alberto Tévez (and the ‘always smiling’ Javier Mascherano) back on this day in 2006.

Today, three years later, the Hammers announce that they are parting ways with £9m signing Savio Nsereko. Savio is off to Fiorentina for an undisclosed fee, plus a 50% sign-on clause, (someone was thinking ahead), and in return the Hammers get French born (but plays for Portugal) defender, Manuel da Costa. The 23 year old has only played 28 games in his professional career, and was on loan to Sampdoria last season where he only made one appearance.

I must admit I am not absolutely sure why we have another defender, there seems to be a bit of a glut of them at the moment, but mine is not reason why.

Welcome Manuel. No Fawlty Towers jokes please!

Pick A Striker. Any Striker. Part Deux.

Martin — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 02:55:59 +0000

Play the new online game. Name a half decent striker at a European club and we’ll have a rumor published in some scandalous tabloid by the time you’ve finished your lunch.

Today’s contestant number one is 26 years old; weighing in at 75 kilos, he’s from a town called Strumica in a country called Macedonia, he’s currently at Lazio, it’s Goran Pandev. According to a number of tabloids in the UK and Italy, Zola has paid somewhere in the region of £4.5 million.

Today’s second contestant is 25 years old; weighing in at a trim 69 kilos, he’s from Lisboa in Portugal, he’s having a miserable time at Inter Milan, it’s Ricardo Bernardo Quaresma. According to reports both Spurs and West Ham have been scouting out the former Chelsea player who is not one of Jose Mourinho’s favorites. The fee could be as high as £9 million, which is a big discount over the £16 million Inter paid a year ago.