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Reflections On Plymouth
2007-09-27 17:38:00
Following victories over both Bristol Rovers and Plymouth Argyle, Alan Curbishley is desperately hoping that Saturday's fourth round draw can bring yet more Carling Cup cheer to Upton Park. While some of his Premier League counterparts may not have the competition chalked down as 'Top Priority', it is certainly a tournament that the Hammers' boss is approaching with an air of deadly seriousness. A Premiership side will win the Carling Cup so we've got to give it our best shot," insisted Curbishley after seeing Dean Ashton's venomous 92nd-minute volley eliminate the Pilgrims at Upton Park.Curbishley continued: "Certainly, we've shown our intentions by putting out strong sides against both Bristol Rovers and against Plymouth. We had five or six players who needed a game but, no matter how much you train, it's still not the same as playing an actual match and it got tough out there. It was always going to be a difficult cup tie - just as Manchester United and Aston Villa have f...
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Sealing A Deal For Foquinha?
2007-09-27 11:56:00
West Ham United are interested in Brazilian teenager Kerlon Moura Souza according to various reports this morning. The Mirror claims the 19-year-old, who currently stars for Cruzeiro, wants to come to Europe and Torino, Real Betis and Espanyol are all said to be keeping tabs on the £5million rated striker. The Hammers hope the South America connections that brought Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano to Upton Park will put them in pole position. The Mail states that the Hammers believe they have beaten Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal to the punch for the teen sensation and have not been put off South American signings after the debacle surrounding the deals which bought the Argentinians to the east End at the start of last season. Kerlon, of course, is no longer one of Brazil's best kept secrets. Thanks to the blanket coverage of the World Youth Championships, his championing by several respected columnists and the proliferation of footage on YouTube, the boy nicknamed Foquin...
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West Ham United 1 Plymouth Argyle 0
2007-09-27 11:36:00
Ashton Breaks The Deadlock by Andy MartinDean Ashton's stoppage-time winner sent West Ham into the fourth round of the Carling Cup at the expense of Plymouth . The match looked to be heading into extra time as the Championship side held out for 91 minutes in the face of almost constant pressure... GuardianAshton Stunner Sinks Argyle by Nick Szczepanik Dean Ashton produced a spectacular volleyed goal in injury time at Upton Park last night to send West Ham United into the fourth round of the League Cup for the first time in seven seasons. So often the victims of clubs from lower divisions in knockout competitions... TimesDean Ashton Applies Killer Touch For West Ham by Stewart JacksonDean Ashton scored in stoppage time to save West Ham's blushes last night, a right-footed strike claiming victory and his third goal in as many games. Alan Curbishley was true to his word and fielded a strong side ? he spoke this week of the Carling Cup being a viable route back into European football.....

Halting The Pilgrims' Progress
2007-09-26 12:19:00
Better to be despised for too anxious apprehensions than ruined by too confident a security.John BunyanAlan Curbishley is looking ahead to tonight's tie against Plymouth and is sticking by his early season pledge to take the Carling Cup as seriously as possible. The West Ham manager sent out an experienced side in the previous round, which saw Bristol Rovers beaten 2-1 thanks to two Craig Bellamy strikes. Although the loss of Kieron Dyer to a broken leg that night meant victory came at a high cost, Curbishley made it clear he would continue to use a majority of first-choice players in a competition he believes his side can win."I did say after the Bristol Rovers game how disappointed I was after what happened to Kieron but we are in these competitions and we have got to attack them," said Curbishley. "Every now and then a team from outside the top four gets to the final so if you are a team like that then that is what you should be looking to do. We have injuries here but we have g...
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East London Gone Posh
2007-09-26 12:05:00
There is an interesting piece in The Times in which Martin Samuel argues West Ham United and Chelsea are actually natural rivals in London 's football firmament...A full house watched Arsenal defeat Sevilla last week. Tuesday?s Carling Cup tie against Newcastle United is also a 60,000 sell-out. Yet Chelsea drew just 24,975 for their opening Champions League match with Rosenborg. The quality of the opposition had something to do with it, as did recent results, but there is a simpler explanation, that Roman Abramovich has overlooked. For all the talk of worldwide domination, Chelsea are not a big club. Its traditional rival in London is not Arsenal or even Tottenham Hotspur: it is West Ham United.The north London clubs are twinned geographically but also in terms of size and history. Arsenal is bigger and more successful, but Tottenham was the first team to win the Double, have won three European trophies to Arsenal?s two and until the new millennium, were ahead on the number of FA Cu...
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Icky Thump
2007-09-25 18:39:00
And if I'm wasting my timethen nothing could be betterthan hanging on the lineand waiting for an honest word foreverThe media speculation machine is running red hot today and I'm not talking about the dubious Meg White sex tape furore that seems to be sweeping the internet at the moment. According to several newspapers Michael Owen's latest injury setback means Steve McClaren is likely to take a close look at Dean Ashton for England's crucial Euro 2008 qualifiers against Estonia and Russia next month. Ashton has taken more than a year to recover from a broken ankle but has now scored two goals in two games for his club, including a superb volley during Sunday's 3-1 defeat at Newcastle. "It's down to Steve McClaren who he picks but obviously I'd be delighted to be selected," said Ashton. "I feel I'm ready for an England call-up. It would be lovely to finally realise my dream of winning a first England cap, but I just have to be patient and I will be working as hard as possibl...
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Are You Avram A laugh?
2007-09-25 11:39:00
Eyal Berkovic, arguably Israeli football's most successful export to Britain, has has aimed a verbal kick to the head at Avram Grant, the new Chelsea manager, suggesting he "should be ashamed to walk the streets" and arguing he made Israelis more unpopular. Berkovic, who played for five Premiership clubs, and Celtic, admitted Grant's appointment was a milestone for Israeli football and believed he would be successful, but added: "He will be always remembered as the man who pushed away Jose Mourinho." Writing on ONE, an Israeli website, Berkovic said: "To be honest, if there are people who hate Israelis now they hate us more because of Avram. I think the way that Grant got his job was disgusting. As a human being I would be ashamed to walk on the streets after the things Avram has done. Avram undermined Chelsea's greatest manager. The one all Chelsea fans admired with craziness and probably the most charismatic man in the football world today. And don't tell me it is not Avram Gr...
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Newcastle United 3 West Ham United 1
2007-09-24 13:54:00
Vibrant Viduka Pays Dividends by Louise TaylorThe stricken local bank, Northern Rock, used Newcastle's advertising hoardings to persistently flash up the message "Rock Steady" yesterday. If financial analysts might disagree with that most brazen assertion, it was difficult to argue with those cynics who have labelled Michael Owen Tyneside's "Northern Crock"... The GuardianNewcastle Roll On After Own Hits the Rocks by George CaulkinThe T-shirts sported by Newcastle United ?s players before kick-off were emblazoned with a supportive message for a local bank that has famously undergone difficulties recently - and Sam Allardyce hopes that it will also prove a prophecy for his team... The TimesOwen Concern Takes Edge Off Newcastle's Joy by Michael WalkerMichael Owen will have a scan today to discover whether he requires surgery to correct his stubborn groin injury, a development that will concern the England manager, Steve McClaren, as much as Newcastle's Sam Allardyce... The Independ...
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Onward Christian Soldier
2007-09-22 11:38:00
In the recent roll-call of Newcastle bad boys, Craig Bellamy and Lee Bowyer would figure quite highly. They return to St James' Park tomorrow as major figures in West Ham's bid to land a third successive away win in the Premier League. Alan Curbishley backed his judgment in splashing £7.5million on controversial Welshman Bellamy, but he had no worries about finding Bowyer already at the club, having nurtured him since he was a 12-year-old at Charlton. "Craig reminds me of Paolo Di Canio," said Curbishley. "When Paolo came to Charlton from West Ham, the thing that riled him more than any other was being unprofessional and people not training properly. That's like Bellamy ? he trains like a trouper and expects everyone else to follow. And now he's at West Ham, he sees himself as the main man, the big fish if you like, and that may help him. He's a better player than I thought and the only problem is trying to stop him getting involved in dropping deep. When you think of Craig, yo...
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Randy Stags
2007-09-22 10:52:00
Chelsea too small for these randy stags- Just what exactly went wrong between Jose Mourinho and Roman AbramovichBy Russell BrandJetlagged and delirious, I'm trying to make sense of the events that adorn the front and back pages of the English newspapers. Jose Mourinho and Chelsea have parted company "by mutual consent" due to a "breakdown in their relationship". This doesn't seem to me to be the typical language of the boardroom but the brittle nomenclature of damaged emotions. When I recall the numerous occasions on which I've been, in my case deservedly, sacked, my incensed employers seldom said things like "It's not you - it's me" or "I just feel we should spend some time apart". It was usually "Get out you thief" or "You smell of gin". I'm not suggesting that Mourinho and Roman Abramovich were having a big, saucy, gay love affair that has ended in recrimination and unfulfilled potential but the fact that it would be impossible to allocate who would be passive and who the ...
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Get Curbs
2007-09-21 18:57:00
It's a three hour train ride from London's King Cross to Newcastle's 'craphole', but it's 3,000 light years from home...Craig Bellamy, Lee Bowyer, Nolberto Solano and Scott Parker will have extra reason for wanting a place in West Ham United's squad against Newcastle United at St James' Park on Sunday. The quartet, along with injured Kieron Dyer, have all swapped black and white for claret and blue in recent times and would love nothing more than helping West Ham to take another three points in what has been a tremendous start to the new campaign. Bellamy, 28, made 93 league appearances for Newcastle, scoring 27 goals between June 2001 and 2005, while Bowyer struck six goals in 79 league outings in three seasons from July 2003.Solano and Parker are both yet to make their West Ham debuts with the former only arriving just before the transfer window shut and the latter just back to fitness after a pre-season knee injury. Former club captain Parker was involved in 55 fixtures, ...
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England Rumours Make Me Laugh!
2007-09-21 17:13:00
Here is the latest entry from Dean Ashton's online diary. I've reprinted it here to save people having to register for the site.England rumours make me laugh!By Dean AshtonIt was such a special feeling to finally score again. It had been a long time. It's great to finally get a reward and see some return for all the hard work I have done over the past year. I know strikers are always classed on their goals and I am no different, it's just nice to get off the mark.For some strikers getting that first goal of the season can hang over you. But it's not like that for me ? just to be back playing is good. I knew the goals would come. But in other peoples' eyes I think it shows that I still know where the goal is.Not only is it a welcome return to the scoresheet, it's the whole package - the fans singing, celebrating with your team-mates, all of that - I've Missed it. My team-mates were all there for me when I was injured and they've seen what it's been like for me, so I am glad...
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Great Expectations
2007-09-21 12:10:00
Take nothing on its looks; take everything on evidence. There's no better rule.Charles DickensAlan Curbishley today voiced his concern about the "people who have no history or affiliation" with the Premier League clubs they own and have "unrealistic expectations" of their managers.In what the Daily Mail is calling "a remarkable outburst that may upset West Ham's Icelandic owners", Curbishley said he was worried about the constant changing of managers and the effect it is having on English football. Curbishley was talking in the wake of Jose Mourinho's departure from Chelsea and the news earlier this week that billionaire Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, who owns more than 90 per cent of the club, is to have a bigger involvement at West Ham, with Eggert Magnusson stepping back to become non-executive chairman."It's a fact that people are taking charge of football clubs now with no previous history or affiliation to that club," said Curbishley. "At Aston Villa, for example, Doug Ellis...
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Seasons In The Sun
2007-09-20 18:48:00
Here is a flashback to a memorable game at Newcastle in 2000. Harry Redknapp was down to the bare bones and was forced to give debuts to both Michael Carrick and Shaun Byrne. Trevor Sinclair operated as a lone striker, Igor Stimac hit his first ever West Ham goal and the Irons rescued an improbable point from the jaws of defeat. To leaven the joy, iniquitous Irish gobshites Westlife were number one in the charts with I Have A Dream/Seas ons In the Sun. Hammers hand Robson a youthful lessonBy David HoppsNewcastle United 2 West Ham United 2 (January 03, 2000)Nikos Dabizas may have had the honour of registering Newcastle United's first goal of the 21st century, but by the end all the attention was being lavished upon the nearest thing football has to a bunch of millennium babies.West Ham, with 10 senior players injured, fielded three of last season's Youth Cup winning side, with another three staring starry-eyed from the bench. All this talk of a new era of youthful opportunity has cl...

The Fall Of Chairman Egg
2007-09-20 17:00:00
Could this be the poster that finally cost Eggert Magnusson his executive status at West Ham United? According to a piece in the Mail, the advert for airline Iceland Air that appeared in Saturday's programme is symptomatic of Magnusson's high profile status in and around the football club. The article quotes insiders as saying 'Chairman Egg' was getting too much credit as the figurehead of a club in which he is only a five per cent shareholder, and suggests that such publicity could well have irked the club's true powerbroker Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson. It is a nice story on the day that Jose Mourinho leaves Chelsea, primarily over a suspected clash of egos, and although it echoes the sentiment of a story that ran in The Sun yesterday there is likely to be little or no truth in it.In fact, West Ham insisted again today that club chairman Magnusson had not been pushed aside as a result of changes at boardroom level. Magnusson is to step down as executive chairman but is to stay on ...
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Time To Breathe
2007-09-20 02:24:00
Here is a translated version of Eggert Magnusson's first interview since the board room reshuffle two days ago. It is taken from Icelandic newspaper Morgunblaðið I needed time to breathe- Eggert Magnusson quits as managing director but remains chairman. "I just needed time to breath. A lot has been going on and taking up my time but now I can focus on bringing West Ham into the future," said Eggert Magnusson yesterday. He reveals Scott Duxbury will now deal with the day-to-day running of the club. "There is no drama in this. We are strengthening the foundation of the club," Magnuson told Morgunblaðið, reiterating that the changes are a natural step for the club and that he will continue as the chairman. Magnusson admits he has been under alot of pressure doing two jobs at the same time. "I never intended to run the club this way, by being a managing director and chairman," he said. "But things turned out this way when I took over from Terry Brown. I had to respond to a surprising ...
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The Comeback Trail
2007-09-19 17:50:00
The Mirror claim Derby midfield ace Giles Barnes is set to sign for West Ham United in January on a loan-back arrangement until the summer. Barnes, nephew of former Hammer Bobby, has been a long-term target for Alan Curbishley. A source close to Upton Park is reported as saying: "Derby will want £5million, with a clause he can spend the rest of the season on loan at Pride Park following the switch." The Mail think manager Billy Davies is resigned to the fact that he will one day have to sell his star midfielder, who was a target for the Hammers and Tottenham in the summer after helping the Rams reach the top flight with a string of eye-catching performances. Barnes is close to a return after injuring a foot in the play-off final against West Brom and Davies is determined to get his prize asset fit and firing before even considering parting company with the youngster.Elsewhere, Bobby Zamora is ready to hand the Hammers a boost as he should be fit to face Newcastle at the weekend. ...
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Cogito, Eggo Sum
2007-09-19 13:35:00
Eggert Magnusson was elbowed sideways because of increasing concerns about his power base within the club and the trend towards spiralling players? wages, according to an article in The Sun. The Hammers chairman lost his executive status ? and his six-figure salary ? in the shock boardroom shake up yesterday. It is reported that the move came after West Ham United spent a fortune offering players such as Craig Bellamy, Lucas Neill and Scott Parker wages topping £60,000 a week. There was also growing alarm at the way Magnusson has been projected as the man in control, even though he only owns five per cent of the club. An insider said: "It wasn?t really Eggert?s fault, but everyone seemed to think he ruled the club and there was no one else in the background."Naturally, reports in the less fictitious Icelandic media tell a slightly different story. In an interview with Mbl.is, Magnusson revealed Scott Duxbury will take over the day to day running of the club as the next logical step ...
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Coup de Foudre
2007-09-18 19:56:00
Every revolution was first a thought in one man's mind Ralph Waldo EmersonEggert Magnusson is to step down as West Ham's executive chairman, it was announced today. Magnusson will remain as the club's non-executive chairman and the Hammers' Icelandic owner Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson is to take a more hands-on role in the club. Gudmundsson will continue to chair the board of West Ham United Holding, with his close aide Thor Kristjansson as both vice-chairman of the holding company and executive vice-chairman of the club. Scott Duxbury remains chief executive and an expanded executive team will be announced in the near future, with this body directing the overall strategy of the Club.While an executive team will be appointed to handle the day-to-day running of things, Magnusson will continue to be heavily involved and will keep his own stake in West Ham. The Board has decided that in order to move to the next stage of the Club's development a broader management team must be put in ...
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The Beast In Me
2007-09-18 15:01:00
The beast in meIs caged by frail and fragile bondsRestless by dayAnd by night, rants and rages at the starsGod help, the beast in meFormer West Ham United nutjob Tomas Repka is in the news back in Czech Republic after lashing out at a cameraman upon being sent off during a league game. The Sparta Prague captain, no stranger to seeing red during an oft robust career, was shown his marching orders as his club lost for the first time this season against Teplice on Sunday.Upon leaving the field Repka aimed an impromptu attack in the direction of a Czech television cameraman; in an incident which has culminated in him being fined 150,000 koruna (£3,800) by his club. Repka in his defence has claimed he was 'under great stress' but whether his pleas will be treated charitably by the Czech football disciplinary commission remains subject to conjecture. In what was a somewhat tempestuous contest Sparta midfielder Martin Abraham was also red carded, and subsequently fined, for verbally abus...
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The Jinx
2007-09-17 19:12:00
Dean Ashton believes it could be another year before the ankle he seriously injured while on England duty, is 100 per cent again. Ashton, who badly broke the ankle and damaged ligaments in a training ground collision with Chelsea's Shaun Wright-Phillips before Steve McClaren's first match as England coach, also wants his international place back, although next month's European Championship qualifiers will come too soon for the 23-year-old front man. The former Crewe and Norwich striker scored his first Premiership goal for more than 18 months when he netted the third in West Ham's 3-0 win over Middlesbrough and said today: "It's been a long, long time since I scored a Premiership goal so there were a lot of emotions when that one went in. Even though it was only from three yards out, it meant a lot. I just need to play games to improve the sharpness but there is more I can do in terms of the ankle. It's not something which is just going to go away, I need to work for anything...
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West Ham United 3 Middlesbrough 0
2007-09-17 18:26:00
Cole Changes Hammers' Hearts by David LaceyGoals change games and can sometimes change minds. By half-time, after a routine mix of the bright and the banal, West Ham United supporters had clearly got it in for Carlton Cole... The GuardianCole Comes In From Cold by Will BuckleyThe sun was shining and the Hammers were at home for the first time since a 3-0 victory at Reading. T'were very heaven to be a cultured West Ham fan. The first half, however, was a purgatory that seemed to have no end... The ObserverAshton On Target by James WrigleyIt would be wrong to put West Ham's apparent revival down to the return of the striker Dean Ashton, who missed the whole of his club's chaotic campaign last season with a broken ankle... The IndependentAshton Brings House Down by Jim FoulertonWest Ham produced a first home win for their supporters that had at one point seemed highly improbable but which by the end was emphatic. Three goals inside 16 second-half minutes... Independent on SundayAsh...
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The Greatest Ever
2007-09-16 19:01:00
Bobby Moore has been voted England's best ever footballer in a three month-long nationwide survey conducted this summer by leading five-a-side organiser Pitch Invasion. Votes were received from football fans across the country, and the 1966 World Cup winning captain was joined in the top three by team mates Gordon Banks and Bobby Charlton, who were voted second and third respectively. Of the current England players, only former captain David Beckham who finished seventh in the poll and present captain John Terry who finished ninth, made the top ten. Craig Davies, Pitch Invasion General Manager, said: "According to our survey, the ultimate England five-a-side team would be Banks in goal, Moore in defence, Bobby Charlton and Paul Gascoigne in midfield, and Gary Lineker up front providing the goals. "Even though it was a long time ago, the achievements of the 1966 World Cup team are held in very high regard, with Moore, Banks and Charlton as its iconic players. Gary Lineker scored 10 ...
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Barnes Still A Target
2007-09-16 17:46:00
It's an easy Sunday morning gossip round-up this week with just one story making the papers. The People claim West Ham United expect to sign Derby County whizkid Giles Barnes in January after agreeing a £7.5million fee. The Rams are reportedly resigned to losing midfielder Barnes, 19, with the Hammers in the driving seat after agreeing on the eve of last month's transfer deadline to cough up £5.5million with a further £2million depending on appearances. The move was shelved at the last minute because of doubts over the short term fitness of the player following an ankle injury. Tottenham are also intrested but have not come close to the fee Derby County want. It has become quite common for struggling and newly promoted Premiership clubs to opt to cash in on their main assets in the January window. By that time, any pre-season thoughts of survival have often dissipated and club boards begin to make early plans for a inevitable return to the Championship. A case in point was last se...
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Repent At Leisure
2007-09-16 01:13:00
Only slightly less startling than the McCann family's approach to West Ham's former PR adviser this week has been Formula One's audaciously cosmetic blitz against espionage. Phil Hall, the former News of the World editor, was last seen sailing through the rocky waters of the West Ham takeover and the Carlos Tevez affair. The possibility of his subsequent involvement in handling the media fall-out from the disappearance of a four-year-old child says something about modern life too deep for a sports column to contemplate. So begins today's Paul Hayward column in the Daily Mail; the latest attempt by the paper to ligate the football club to the aphotic ills of the world.Hall is probably more surprised than all of us, notes Hayward. Both "stories" ? one heart-piercing, one utterly trivial ? demonstrate that there is no corner of existence where the "message" is not fretted over or shaped. By an eerie coincidence, it was the £5million fine levied against West Ham for lying about Teve...
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Rakes On A Plane
2007-09-14 01:56:00
The international break is usually quite dull as far as domestic matters are concerned so it was quite exciting to read that one of our players was involved in a 'fight' on the flight back from a European Championship qualifier in Iceland. The Belfast Telegraph reports that the incident involving Keith Gillespie and George McCartney happened on the plane as the Northern Ireland party were preparing to fly home from Reykjavik following last night's 2-1 defeat to Iceland. In astonishing scenes, eye witnesses told the paper that the players became involved in a flare-up to the amazement of fellow passengers on the Iceland Air flight from Reykjavik to Heathrow. It is understood that the row was over a passport. The witness said: "Initially, Keith Gillespie and George McCartney had words and then punches were thrown. It was amazing. David Healy, Warren Feeney and Steve Davis did a great job in separating them but it was still an unsavoury incident." The I...
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The Boy's A Bit Special
2007-09-12 18:54:00
Mark Noble is interviewed in 'The Boy's A Bit Special ' feature in this month's FourFourTwo magazine...Mark Noble, West Ham United Born: London, 8/5/87 Position: Central Midfield Nickname - Everyone calls me Nobes, they always have done. Some people don't even know my first name. Club supported as a boy - West Ham. I'm from Canning Town, so naturally all my family are mental West Ham fans. I used to go and watch them with my dad when I was a kid. Strengths - Passing and tackling. I used to try a few more skills when I broke into the team but I've developed into a holding midfielder these days. I reckon it's my best position now. Weaknesses - I treat everything as a weakness and work on making it stronger. I play a bit like - Steven Gerrard or Paul Scholes. They're the guys I've always looked up to. Highlights - I'm only 20 but I've had a few highlights already. I played 20 minutes in the FA Cup Final but to stay up last season when no one thought we could was amazin...
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Beaten By Bohemia
2007-09-09 01:45:00
Never mind Israel, I've been beaten by Bohemia Russell BrandI am writing this at the Chelsea Hotel in New York, where Arthur Miller wrote The View From The Bridge, where Sid Vicious killed Nancy Spungen and where Leonard Cohen received "head on an unmade bed" from Janis Joplin. As is the case with most hotels trading on history, it's a bloody dump.When I phoned reception in the dead of night to ask for water, water, I was told: "There's a deli across the street." In Maslow's hierarchy of needs water is right there with shelter and excretion at the pyramid's foundation; they may as well dispense with the toilet and the building; they could just have a bellhop stood in the street charging you $200 a night for crapping in the gutter and snuggling up with Oscar the Grouch. Comprised neatly in this scenario is the perennial issue of the romantic versus the pragmatic - you don't stay at the Chelsea for room service, you stay because you're renting a little counter-cultural history f...

Personal Demons
2007-09-04 12:35:00
West Ham wide boy Matthew Etherington last night admitted he "hit rock bottom" because of his much publicised gambling addictions. The winger spent a week in the renowned Sporting Chance clinic undergoing treatment for his gambling habit last season and blew tens of thousands of pounds on horses, greyhounds and in card schools - and even owned up that he could not remember the last day when he did not have a bet. Etherington, 26, was left in total despair as his gambling addiction spiralled out of control at the end of 2006 writes John Cross in today's Mirror. While the majority of the Hammers' stars were driving round in Baby Bentleys and enjoying all the trappings of being Premier League stars, Etherington was in a VW Golf fearing that his Upton Park career was over.Alan Curbishley was forced to impose a gambling ban on his first-team squad as keeper Roy Carroll also went into rehab, while high stakes late-night card schools ripped team spirit apart. Teddy Sheringham, viewed as ...
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Reflections On Reading
2007-09-03 19:48:00
Following a few frantic days of injury trauma and transfer deadlines, Alan Curbishley can now allow himself to smile as he heads into international week, buoyed by the sight of his Hammers sitting in 11th spot in the Premiership. Speaking on the official site, Curbishley declared: "The win at Reading was a great result for us after a bad week in which we saw Kieron Dyer get a very nasty injury. Compared to last season, a totally different side turned up, but the events of January weren't the spur because we came here knowing that we already had some good away form behind us. The defence gave us a base and we got a good start thanks to a fantastic goal from Craig Bellamy, which settled it all down but after that I was getting a bit frustrated because we needed to finish the game off."Matty Etherington scored a brace to help the Hammers to a convincing 3-0 victory and although he did not play the last time the two teams met he still understood how important it was to put that result ...
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