Young & Cole Moving to West Ham

The Times are reporting this morning that Luke Young and Carlton Cole will sign for West Ham today for a combined fee of £5.5 million. Young is expected to be signed for $4 million and Carlton Cole for £1.5 million.

The Times also report that Pardew is still interested in bringing Steed Malbranque to Upton Park. This aim could be helped by the possible sale of Michael Carrick to Man Utd, who are reported to be now offering around £20 million for the player. West Ham should see their transfer funds boosted by this transfer because of a sell-on clause in Carrick's contract.

Walker to Leave West Ham

The Daily Mirror are reporting today that West Ham back-up keeper James Walker is set to be signed by Sheffield United. Walker has slipped to third place keeper behind Shaka and Roy Carrol and only played three times in the premeirship last year.

Johnson to Pompey, Young Deal Stalls

The on-going saga of Luke Young's deal seems set to continue for a little while longer. The situation, as I understand it, at the moment is that Charlton have offered Luke Young a lucrative contract, which he appears to be refusing to sign (presumably because of his desire to move on). The Addicks appear resigned to losing Young and have tried to sign Preston defender Tyrone Mears. Their initial offer was turned down and it is believed the club are preparing a fresh offer. Therefore it would seem that Charlton are waiting until they have signed a new defender before they allow Young to leave.

Meanwhile West Ham have missed out on Glen Johnson who has joined Portsmouth on a season long loan.

Cohen Leaves West Ham

Yeovil Town confirmed this afternoon that they had signed young West Ham midfielder, Chris Cohen for an undisclosed six-figure fee. Cohen spent last season on loan at Yeovil and proved to be a great success. Speaking on Yeovil's website tonight, Cohen said:

"I had a good loan spell here and it was the best deal for me to come back. I am however a little sad to be leaving West Ham. There's an element of that when you leave any club - especially a club that you supported as a boy.

But sometimes you just have to move on. And I'm going to try my best for Yeovil Town; that's all that matters now."

Boro in Bid for Malbranque

Middlesbrough are reported to have opened the bidding to land West Ham target Steed Malbranque from Fulham with a £5m offer. The Hammers, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Manchester City are all interested in the French player, who is available for transfer having refused to sign a new contract.

West Ham were rumoured to have offered £4 million for the player with some papers at the weekend reporting that Malbranque's transfer to West Ham would be revealed yesterday. If Boro have outbid West Ham it would explain why the deal wasn't completed.

West Ham are reported to have tabled a 'final' £4 million offer for the Addick's Luke Young. Apparently no further offer will be made as Pardew only has limited funds and wants to sign a right back and a midfielder this summer.

Highlights (or lack of) England vs Equador

Glen Johnson to Pompey or Feyenoord

Glen Johnson is rumoured to be going to Portsmouth or Feyenoord on a year long loan. The young defender has not featured much in the Chelsea first team and many Hammer's fans were hoping that West Ham would re-sign the player. With West Ham's need for a right back and a larger squad for our European campaign it looks like the club has missed out on another player. Let's hope there is more positive news today about Malbranque and Young.

Steed Malbranque and Young Close to Signing

Eatsleepsport.com report today that West Ham look close to signing Fulham's Steed Malbranque ahead of Man City.

"Fulham are keen to keep hold of the 26-year-old, who still has a year left to run on his contract, but after the player turned down a new deal, the Cottagers are ready to let him go to the highest bidder.

City have been tracking the player for the last 12 months but West Ham have nipped in and the chance to play Uefa Cup football looks set to sway his decision. Fulham will hold out for a fee in the region of £4.5million for the player, who has also attracted interest from Aston Villa."

The Star reports that West Ham are also set to complete the signing of Charlton Athletic defender Luke Young this week. The paper says the defender will move to Upton Park on Monday after the Hammers upped their bid to £4.2 million.

West Ham Academy Veterans vs Ecuador

With Ferdinand, Carrick, Lampard and Joe Cole all likely to start for England tomorrow the West Ham Academy can rightly claim to be providing the back bone of English football. Obviously it is a shame that all these players were sold by the club but, if we consider the young players that West Ham have now, the future also looks good for West Ham and England.

Of the current West Ham squad Dean Ashton looks like he should break into the international team in the next couple of seasons. Anton Ferdinad and Nigel Reo-Coker are another two young players who I suspect could be representing England at the next world cup.

Looking at the players coming through the ranks at West Ham and we have even more hopeful future internationals. Mark Noble has represented England at under 19 and under 18 level. Hogan Ephraim had a very productive 2004-05 season with the U17s England squad. He made no fewer than 17 appearances and scored nine goals. James Tomkins has made many appearance for the under 17's and Jordan Spence has represented England at under 16 level.

Luke Young In? Cohen Out

The never ending saga of Luke Young's signing has been reignited because the Addicks have made a £1.5m bid for Preston full-back Tyrone Mears. This would suggest that Charlton have accepted that Young is on the move and West Ham remain the favourites to sign the Addick's club captain.

Young midfielder Chris Cohen however seems to be on his way out of Upton Park. It is reported that he has agreed personal terms with Yeovil and the transfer has been agreed by West Ham. The 19 year old was voted player of the season by Yeovil supporters last year whilst on loan at the club. The deal should be confirmed on Monday.

West Ham Look Forward to Opening Fixture

West Ham club captain Nigel Reo-Coker says that Charlton at home is a great way to start the new season,

"It is a really good fixture and will hopefully see us start the season on a positive note. It will be great to be in front of our home fans as well as I am sure they will be in good voice which will give us that extra boost. I think the key to having a good season in the Premiership is to get off to a good start which we demonstrated last year, so if we can begin well again and get that momentum going this time hopefully we can repeat that success and build on it."

Alan Pardew is also looking forward to kicking off the season against his old club,

"It will obviously be Ian Dowie's first competitive game in charge at Charlton and both him and myself will be coming up against our former Clubs, which will add something to the game. I am really looking forward to it and let's hope we can get three points on the board early on."

West Ham Fixtures

West Ham will kick off next season on 19th August at home to Charlton and finish the league season away to Man Utd on May 13th. Could we deny United the title on the last day of the season again, this time to be crowned champions ourselves?

West Ham's league fixtures in full:

August
H 19th Charlton
A 22nd Watford
A 26th Liverpool
September
H 9th Aston Villa
H 16th Newcastle
A 23rd Man City
H 30th Reading
October
A 14th Portsmouth
A 21st Tottenham
H 28th Blackburn
November
H 4th Arsenal
A 11th Middlesbrough
A 18th Chelsea
H 25th Sheff Utd
December
A 2nd Everton
H 6th Wigan
A 9th Bolton
H 16th Man Utd
A 23rd Fulham
H 26th Portsmouth
H 30th Man City
January
A 1st Reading
H 13th Fulham
A 20th Newcastle
H 31st Liverpool
February
A 3rd Aston Villa
H 10th Watford
A 24th Charlton
March
H 3rd Tottenham
A 17th Blackburn
H 31st Middlesbrough
April
A 7th Arsenal
H 9th Chelsea
A 14th Sheff Utd
H 21st Everton
A 28th Wigan
May
H 5th Bolton
A 13th Man Utd

West Ham Bid For Malbranque & Young

The Times are reporting today that West Ham United are close to signing Steed Malbranque from Fulham for £4 million and Luke Young for the same price. Malbranque has rejected the offer of a new contract to replace the deal that ends in a year. West Ham have had a bid of £3.5 million for Young rejected and have now put in an offer of £4 million.

Fingers crossed.

England Highlights

The highlights of the England vs Sweden game are available at the BBC website (this service is available to UK users only). Joe Cole's goal is one of the best in the tournament so far, and looks better with each viewing. He also shows great vision to set up the Gerrard goal.

West Ham Won't Get Nuno Gomes

Benfica have been quick to warn off West Ham and any other clubs interested in 29-year-old Portuguese striker Nuno Gomes. Alan Pardew is reported to be keen to buy the player but Benfica director Jose Veiga has hinted he is beyond the reach of West Ham,

"He is a key player for our project for the next campaign and only a spectacular offer would change our decision about this subject. It is normal that clubs want the striker but today he is not in the market."

England vs Sweden

Zlatan Ibrahimovic seems certain to miss the game for Sweden because of an injury. For England Crouch and Gerrard, both on yellow cards, make way for Rooney and Hargreaves. Giving Owen a chance to prove his quality with Rooney seems a reasonable decision to me but I would prefer to have seen a more attacking choice than Hargreaves.

It seems to me that most of the top international teams have learnt from English clubs in the Champions League that the way to win tournaments in the modern fast game is to play quick, attacking foortball. In a game that we don't necessarily have to win, I would have liked to see Beckham moved to the centre and Lennon given a start on the wing.

Carr Not for Sale, Bilic to Manage West Ham?

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd has moved to stop speculation about the future of Irish full-back Stephen Carr. The player is reported to be keen on a return to London having failed to settle on Tyneside. Shepherd however is saying that the player is not for sale,

"Stephen is a member of our first-team squad, he is an experienced, international player. He will be back with the rest of the first-team squad when they return for pre-season training later this month."

West Ham manager Alan Pardew was said to be interested in Carr should he fail in his efforts to land Luke Young from Charlton.

According to The Sun Slavan Bilic has set his sights on managing West Ham. Bilic played for the Hammers for over a year before completing a £4.5million move to Everton in May 1997. The 37-year-old is currently coaching Croatia's Under-21 side but is keen to return to England.

He said: "I love West Ham and I have so many good memories of my time there. I have promised myself that one day I will go back there as the manager."

Some Top West Ham Goals

Hammers Mad forums has a rumour that Crystal Palace defender Fitz Hall and his agent have been seen at Upton Park.

Yeovil to Bid for West Ham Youngster

Yeovil Town are considering making a move for West Ham midfielder Chris Cohen. The 19-year-old made 30 appearances during a successful loan spell with Yeovil last season the club are keen to sign him on a permanent basis. New Yeovil boss Russell Slade has already held talks with West Ham about the player.

This news comes from a new Polish West Ham site WestHamPoland.

West Ham Transfer Rumours

West Ham, Spurs and Celtic are all reported to be interested in Chelski's striker Carlton Cole. Cole is likely to be allowed to leave the club for £2 million. Again rumours suggest there will be activity this week over the Addick's Luke Young and a number of rumours suggesting that West Ham are actively targetting two or three foreign players.

Ward Leaves West Ham

Not long after Spector signs for West Ham, Elliott Ward leaves for Coventry City in a £1 million deal. Presumably Ward has not been happy spending time out on loan and used only as back up for the first team.

Ward was an essential part of West Ham's Chapionship side team and played well towards the tail end of last season when he got his chance to play. I don't know much about Spector but at only 21 Ward was already begininng to look an established defender. Coventry have got a good player on the cheap and I hope West Ham have some quality players on the way in.

One rumour today links West Ham with 23-year-old Cameroon international Modeste M'Bami who plays for Paris St Germain. M'Bami was part of the gold winning Cameroon side at the 2000 Olympic games and according to UEFA.com he is "a powerful midfielder, strong in the tackle and likes to get forward."

West Ham Sign Spector

West Ham have signed Man Utd defender Jonathan Spector for an initial fee of £500,000. The 20-year-old American made just eight appearances after moving to Old Trafford in 2003 and spent all of last season at loan at Charlton.

"He has huge potential and we hope that bears fruition at West Ham," manager Alan Pardew told the club's website. He is a player we have been tracking for the past 18 months or so. He is definitely one for the future and, with the Uefa Cup campaign to look forward to, he will add to our defensive capacity.

Having developed as a young player at Manchester United, he arrives with a fantastic pedigree.

I was also very impressed by his character, which was a big factor in bringing him to the club."

England Highlights

Forget the goals, my highlights are all in the commentary:

"Crouch is too long with it, and in the wrong direction."

"Wayne Rooney is going to check in ... Lennon will also check in here."

"What are their odds of getting out of the groove?"

England Qualify for Second Round

England again looked far from convincing as they beat Trinidad and Tobago 2-0. The big problem for England seems to be the central pairing of Gerrard and Lampard in midfield, who despite having been the first choice for a couple of years have failed to strike up an understanding.

My preferred solution to this problem would be to drop Lampard and move either Beckham or Cole into central midfield and start with either Lennon or Downing on the wing. This would mean that Gerrard would have to play a more defensive role than he prefers and would leave us a little weaker in defence but Lampard already looks weak defensively.

The other big question facing Erikson is does he drop Owen or Crouch in the knockout round as Rooney returns. On form it seems an easy choice, as Owen has looked out of sorts and he might come on with a bit more fire as a substitute.

As an aside - Lampard must be worried about his position in the Chelsea squad as Ballack is looking more than twice the player than Lampard at the moment.

England goals to follow later tonight.

Katan Leaves West Ham on Loan

Yaniv Katan has returned to his former club Maccabi Haifa on a season-long loan, with a view to a permanent move back there. Katan joined West Ham January, but made only eight appearances whilst at the club.

Titi Camara has withdrawn his High Court claim against West Ham for breach of contract. The long-running dispute had been set to go to trial in July.

Duscher for West Ham

Deportivo La Coruna seem keen to sell midfielder Aldo Duscher. Depor have recently signed Sevilla midfielder Jordi Lopez and Duscher seems likely to now move to the premiership. Man Utd were once interested in Duscher but now seem to be intent on signing Carrick.

Duscher has declared he wants to move to England this summer. Duscher could be open to a move to West Ham, having been given a tour of Upton Park and the Hammers’ training facilities last season.

West Ham vs Olympiakos

Greek side Olympiakos will provide the opposition for West Ham's final pre-season friendly. The game will be at Upton Park on Saturday, August 12, at 3.00pm. This is just one week before the start of the league season, and will be the second time that the two sides have met at the Boleyn.

Mannure seem determined to sign Carrick and are rumoured to be now offering £15 million for the ex-West Ham player.

Not Another West Ham Blog

Sorry for the self-promotion but I've just completed the redesign of my other (non-football related) blog and would welcome comments/advice on the look/usability of the site.

The site is Virtual Tourism. On this site you can view satellite images of famous locations around the world and watch an accompanying video of the same place.

Have a look I promise you it is amazing.

I first experimented with Google Maps on this site (have a look at the Match Day Pub Guide)but the redesign of the Virtual Tourism blog is I think a big step forward.

Next I'll be working on redesigning this blog - so again any comments on how this blog could be improved will be welcome.

Saviola for West Ham

WestHamFans.org today report that West Ham are attempting to loan young Argentian forward Saviola. Saviola has failed to establish himself in the Barcelona squad and has spent the last two years on loan at Monaco and Sevilla.

I'm not sure how much truth there is in this rumour. I suspect that with Larson's departure Barcelona may think this is the year for Saviola to be given his chance.

More Luke Young Rumours

Fans FC today reports that Charlton have been showing interest in Toon defender Stephen Carr. So it seems the club is becoming reconciled to losing Luke Young. West Ham and Spurs seem to be favourites to sign the full-back, with West Ham reported to be making a firm bid in the next couple of days.

West Ham in Young Bid

According to Sporting Life West Ham are set to offer £3.8 million for Luke Young. However the Adiicks seem keen to hang on to their best player of last year, so this deal could all depend on how much Young wants to leave.

Deportivo La Courna defender Cesar has stated that he will be in London this week to secure a transfer to England. Could it be West Ham?

West Ham Transfer Fund to be Boosted

It is believed that West Ham included a sell on clause of between 10-25% when they sold Michael Carrick. With Carrick seemingly on the move for around £14 million it looks like West Ham's tranfer funds could be boosted.

Hopefully Defoe has a similar sell on clause. The player will also probably move this summer. Portsmouth are rumoured to have had a bid of £14 million turned down for the player. But the refusal may have more to do with Defoe himself, who would presumably want to boost his England chances by signing for a bigger club.

Oh, and well done Shaka for a superb performance against Sweden.

England Goal vs Paraguay

England vs Paraguay

José Cardozo, Paraguay's top scorer in qualifying for the World Cup, is injured and will not be able to play in the competition. Steven Gerrard however is expected to be fit and is expected to play.

Gerrard played reasonably well for his club side in his last competetive match and personally I feel he owes me rather a lot. So come on Gerrard and COME ON ENGLAND.

Bowyer Signs For West Ham

West Ham yesterday completed the signing of midfielder Lee Bowyer. The West Ham official website makes no mention of any fee but does refer to a sell on clause (The Independent report that the undisclosed fee for the player is believed to be £750,000). The site also claims that the player is taking a big pay cut to join the Hammers.

Lee Bowyer is a player who has created trouble on and off the field and has never fulfilled his early potential. Bowyer could still be a brilliant player, let's hope Pardew's the man to get the best out of him.

Lee Bowyer himself has begun his second stint at West Ham with this statement,

"I am desperate to do well for West Ham. I loved my time at Newcastle but this is my club. I didn't play well last time. I had a bad ankle injury and kept playing on it which was to nobody's benefit. I see this as unfinished business. I want to show the fans what I can do."

West Ham's UEFA Cup Campaign

With a little tournament about to start in Germany it seems an appropriate time to have a look at the more complicated competition that West Ham will be participating in next year.

The first round (proper) of the UEFA cup will be drawn on August 25. It will involve 31 high ranked teams who have been given byes to this stage. It will also involve the winners of the second qualifying matches as well as 16 teams eliminated from the third qualifying round of the Champions League.

The 31 high ranked teams include West Ham, Blackburn Rovers and Tottenham Hotspur from England, but also the likes of Roma, Lazio, Celta Vigo, Feyenoord, Paris Saint-Germain and holders Sevilla. This round is seeded, but it seems unlikely that West Ham will be one of those seeds, because of their low co-efficient and that could mean that they draw one of the highest ranked teams.

If West Ham win their round one game they will then progress to the group stage. They will go into a group of five teams, guaranteeing two home and two away games where the top three will qualify for round three. The 24 qualifiers from the group stage will then be joined by the eight teams who finished third in their Champions League group, and from then it becomes a proper knockout competition.

If West Ham get to the final they will have played 14 games and that will make it a gruelling season for the Hammers.

West Ham Warned Off Young

The Addicks and their new manager Ian Dowie are saying that Luke Young is not for sale. The defender handed in a transfer request after he was not offered a new contract by Charlton. However the club they have now offered him an improved contract and say that he is not available for transfer.

If Young is determined to leave then the club may be forced to sell, however it is likely they will hold out for much more than the £3.8 million that it was rumoured was being offered by West Ham.

West Ham Anger Addicks

According to the Daily Mirror Charlton are furious with West Ham over losing skipper Luke Young, poised for a £3.8m move to Upton Park.

The Addicks are bitterly unhappy at the prospect of losing Young and believe he has been unsettled by the Hammers, leading to him turning down a new contact with the South London club.

This seems the most believable of the transfer rumours and seems like a good deal for a good, young British player.

West Ham Crazy

Sunday Paper Rumours

The News of The World report today that West Ham are close to signing Luke Young for £3.6 million. The deal will consist of a £3.2million down payment with a further £400,000 dependent on appearances.

The People claims that West Ham are in talks with Mannure to sign American defender Jonathan Spector. The paper claims that Alex Ferguson has decided to cash in on the 20-year-old, who is behind Gabriele Heinze, Kieron Richardson and John O'Shea in the battle for a left-back slot.

And the Rumours Continue ...

Luke Young has handed in a transfer request increasing speculation over his future. Both Spurs and West Ham are keen to sign the defender but the Addicks have repsonded with the request by offering the player a new three year contract. Hopefully we shall soon see if the player just wants an improved contract or really wants to leave the club.

Turkish international Gökdeniz Karadeniz is the latest player to be linked with West Ham. West Ham are rumoured to be negotiating with Trabzonspor to sign the central/right midfielder for £3.5m.

West Ham to Miss Out on Kallstom

West Ham target, Rennes midfielder Kim Kallstrom, seems set to join French champions Lyon for £5million.

Bowyer appears to be priced at £750,000. This may represent a bargain in today's inflated market but Boywer is hardly the quality signing that Pardew has been hoping for.

Bowyer Deal Nearly Compete

The Evening Spamhead tonight reports that Lee Bowyer is close to signing for West Ham. The fee, according to The Standard, is likely to be very small and Bowyer will be taking a large pay cut. However it is reported that Bowyer would still be one of the highest paid players at Upton Park.

I can believe that West Ham would resign Bowyer but can't believe they would allow him to be one of the highest paid players at the club. Bowyer is a player who has never fulfilled his potential and it could only create discontent to pay him far more than players who have proved their worth to the club in the last two successful seasons.