De Costa In, Savio Out

West Ham have announced that Savio has been sold to ACF Fiorentina with the club receiving an undisclosed fee (which The Telegraph say is £5 million) and Portuguese centre-back Manuel Da Costa in return. West Ham have also retained 50 per cent of Savio's sell-on value in the future.

Savio has reportedly been unhappy with life in England. In recent weeks the club have been saying that he was suffering from a virus but it seems that he has been finding it increasingly difficult to settle at West Ham.

The arrival of 20 year old, Da Costa, a Portuguese Under-21 international defender, seems to herald the departure of Upson or Collins in the next 24 hours. Hopefully a striker will then be on the way in.

The Speculation Mounts

Sky Sports claim West Ham have turned down a bid for Matthew Upson from Fiorentina.

The Sun claim that West Ham and Wolves are both in talks with Valencia striker Zigic.

In the Daily Express, Robert Green thinks West Ham will struggle to qualify for Europe with a smaller squad this season,

"We have doubled the striker tally now. But it would be nice to have three strikers. It will be harder to get into Europe this season because we have a smaller squad and other teams have strengthened.

The same few guys are going to have to battle hard throughout the season."

The Daily Mail says that Martin O'Neil wants to sign Upson or Collins. It doesn't say if it is O'Neil who can't make up his mind or whether the paper doesn't know which of the defenders he is interested in.

The Daily Star believe that West Ham and Stoke will make £2m bids for Sunderland defender Phil Bardsley.

Collins Out, Chamakh In

Gianfranco Zola has hinted in his post match comments that James Collins may be sold to Aston Villa,

"James was really good, to be honest," said Zola. "He played a good game. Considering the rumours around him, his concentration is 100 per cent spot on.

"Villa have said they are interested in him, so we'll see what happens."


The People claim West Ham are poised to sign Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh, after offering to treble his salary. They claim Bordeaux have accepted West Ham's £7m bid for the 25-year-old.

However The Mirror claim that Arsenal are going to make one final attempt to sign Chamakh.

Blackburn 0 West Ham 0

A fairly even first half, with West Ham playing the better football and Blackburn playing the long ball, saw few chances for either side.

Blackburn made a few half chances from set pieces and balls pumped long. In the 9th minute Roberts shot wide from 5 yards, stretching for a headed down ball from a free-kick. In the 27th minute Keith Andrews headed a corner over from 8 yards.

West Ham's chances came from the more pretty football. In the 14th minute Jimenez set up Cole on the edge of the area but Cole's shot was blocked. In the 18th minute Cole picked up the ball 40 yrds out, beat three players as he drove into the box, but then shot wide from 6 yrds out. In the 22nd minute Cole set up Jimenez just inside the penalty area but Jimenez's shot was blocked.


West Ham started the second half quite brightly, Collins and Cole both shooting over in the first four minutes of the half. However as the half went on the West Ham players started to tire.

The Blackburn players however began to realise that they are a far better side if they ignore Fat Sam's advice and start passing the ball along the ground. Dunn, in particular looked lively. He set Roberts up in the 67th minute only to see Roberts fire wide from 7 yrds. In the 71st minute Dunn shot himself, but the shot flew straight at Green from 25 yrds.

In the 76th minute the best chance of the half came when Dunn played Hoilett through on goal. Green rushed out and Hoilett tried the chip from just outside the area, only to see the ball fly just over the bar.

In truth it was a poor game and a draw was probably the fairest result.

West Ham Draw Bolton Away

West Ham have drawn Bolton away in the Carling Cup. The game will be played during the week commencing 21st September 2009.

West Ham don't have the best record at the Reebok. I think we have only managed to draw two games out of nine games at the stadium.

Blackburn vs West Ham - Live Streaming

Lawro says that West Ham have only one centre forward, Carlton Cole, and if he gets injured Zola will have to play himself. He also says that Blackburn are in 'angry bear mode'.

Lawro predicts a 2-1 West Ham loss



Sky point to Blackburn's poor defence and say that new signing Pascal Chimbonda should therefore make his début. Sky say that Carlton Cole is the player to watch in this game.

Sky predict a 1-1 draw

The MyP2P EPL Media Player. has the West Ham game scheduled on channel 2 of the player.

MyP2P also have links to a number of Sopcast streams.

Fsi have links to some Flash streams, including Iraqgoals.

LiveFooty have a link to a Sina TV stream.

Diamanti Signs

West Ham have now officially announced the signing of forward Alessandro Diamanti from AS Livorno Calcio. West Ham say they have bought the striker for an undisclosed fee however it is a bit late for the club to go all coy over the price as Livorno announced two days ago that "West Ham will pay €6.5 million over three years".

Diamanti has suuccessfully passed a medical and agreed a five-year contract with West Ham. Diamanti said,

"I am very happy to be at West Ham United and to get the chance to play for Gianfranco Zola. This is a big club and I want to give everything for the supporters.

"I chose West Ham because the club has the tradition of playing great football. Also because the West Ham fans are really passionate and that is the way I am."

The West Ham official website talk about Diamanti's "long-range shooting and set-piece prowess."

Upton Park Street View

This is the Google Maps Street View for Upton Park. If you click on the 'User Photos' link that appears when you mouse over the street view you can check out photos of the Boleyn as well. Click on the Street View link to go back to the street view.

Sullivan and Gold Look Elsewhere

David Sullivan and David Gold are interested in buying West Ham. Sullivan in particular has publicly stated his interest in owning West Ham once he has sold off his interest in Birmingham.

However it is also clear that Sullivan and Gold are not prepared to meet West Ham owner's £150 million valuation of the club. Gold and Sullivan are now said to be holding exploratory talks with Cardiff City and Norwich.

Diamanti Transfer Moves Nearer

Diamanti's move to West Ham from Livorno seems to have been agreed between the two sides. Livorno club president Aldo Spinelli spoke to the press this morning about the move.

"It's practically done for Diamanti to West Ham. The player deserves to make the step-up after his stint at Livorno. Just a few details need to be finalised before the move becomes official.'

The club's sporting director, Nelso Ricci says West Ham will pay around £5.7 million in instalments for the 26-year-old.

"West Ham will pay €6.5 million over three years. We couldn't have kept a player who wanted to leave for another club. Diamanti told us he wanted to go to England as it was a chance of a lifetime for him."

The move could also herald the departure of James Collins to Aston Villa in order to finance the deal.

West Ham 3 Millwall 1

Collison left the field in tears tonight.

I'm sure his father would have have been incredibly proud.

Not many others can hold their heads held high tonight.

Diamanti Begs in Tears to Join West Ham

Livorno forward Alessandro Diamanti may well be on the way to West Ham. Livorno Director of Sport Nelso Ricci yesterday told the Corriere dello Sport that

"Diamanti literally begged us in tears to let him join West Ham. He said this is the opportunity of a lifetime. He thanked the President for having signed him from Prato in Serie C2, but now he wants to leave.

"West Ham will pay £5.5m in three years. What could [President Aldo] Spinelli do other than sell a player who no longer wants to be here? We cannot keep unhappy players. Spinelli had already improved Diamanti’s contract to match the higher earners, like [Cristiano] Lucarelli."

Family Tragedy for Collison

Jack Collison's father was killed in a motorcycle accident on Sunday morning whilst on his way to watch West Ham play Spurs. He crashed on the M25 near Epping and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Collison only found out about his father's death after the game. Condolences and sympathies to Jack and his family.

West Ham Secure Pandev?

Goal.com (another far from reliable source) claim West Ham appear to have secured a deal for Macedonian forward Goran Pandev. They say Lazio have accepted an initial €5m offer from West Ham.

Gudjohnson Agrees to West Ham Move

VitalFootball (not the most reliable of sources) claims that Eidur Gudjohnson has agreed to a loan move to West Ham. VitalFootball claim the striker has agreed the move and that the clubs only have to agree the percentages of his wages that West Ham pay.

West Ham Bid for Pandev

There are rumours today that West Ham have bid five million Euros for Lazio forward Pandev with a 50% offer on any future transfer fee. Pandev's present contract runs out next summer so Lazio may be tempted to sell.

West Ham Injury Update

In his Manager on Monday statement on the West Ham official website Gianfranco Zola says that Dean Ashton is "still doing his rehabilitation" on his long-term ankle problem. This seems to deny the rumours that Ashton has been told he will never play again.

Zola also says Kieron Dyer had sat out yesterday's game with "tightness in his muscle" and should be OK for Blackburn Rovers away on Saturday and that Savio has been unwell this week.

Valon Behrami and Terry Dixon are also set to train fully later this week, meaning the only other absentees are Herita Ilunga (jaw) and the long-term Luis Boa Morte (knee),

West Ham 1 Sp#rs 2

A fairly even first half saw both sides making chances. Sp#rs came closest to scoring in the 29th minute when a King header from 7 yrds looked to be looping in but ended up rebounding off the crossbar.

West Ham's best chance came after a brilliant run from Stanislas, which saw him beat Corluka on the left wing and run into the area. His ball across the six yard box just evaded the onrushing Cole. Cole also had an earlier chance in the 22nd minute, when a great ball from Spector put him in behind the Sp#rs defence. Unfortunately the out rushing keeper managed to save Cole's poked shot with his feet.

At the other end Huddlestone forced a good save low down from Green in the 26th minute with a fizzing shot from 25 yards along the ground. In the 28th minute Bassong had a good chance to snatch the lead from Sp#rs but he shot wide from just 7 yards out.


The second half was mainly about Carlton Cole. In the 48th minute Cole did brilliantly to turn his marker and half-volley a superb left footed shot into the net from 25 yards. Five minutes later Cole received the ball just inside the West Ham half and under no pressure passed the ball back to Defoe unmarked on the edge of the West Ham area. Defoe scored an easy equaliser.

In the 78th minute Spector seemed to win the ball from Lennon and then stumbled, letting Lennon in to shoot home from 13 yards. Green got a hand to the ball but the power in the shot forced the ball into the net.

West Ham did have chances to get a second themselves. In the 69th minute Jimenez powered a header from a corner only to see the keeper save it low down to the left of the goal. In the 83rd minute Stanislas shot over from 10 yards and in the 85th minute Collison ran into the area, took the ball on his chest and then saw his poked shot saved from 7 yrds.

Did someone say we need another striker?

Ashton Told to Retire

The Sunday Mirror say that Dean Ashton is set to announce his retirement from football. The paper claim Ashton has been told by a Dutch surgeon Niek van Dijk that he could end up wheelchair-bound if he carries on playing.

Ever since Ashton's so called Stoke transfer didn't materialise there have been rumours that he failed a medical with the club. The rumour claimed that West Ham had now decided he would never recover fully and were ready to just release the player.

The Mirror claim that West Ham are now in the process of lodging an insurance claim while negotiating a pay-off for Ashton.

The paper does not have any quotes from Ashton, his agent or West Ham to back up this claim. Although West Ham may want to keep this quiet until after the end of the transfer window.

West Ham vs Sp@rs - Live Streaming

Today's game is live on ESPN.

LiveFooty have a Sopcast feed, a TVUPlayer feed, a UUSee feed and a Flash link.

Fsi have SopCast, TVAnts, PPStream and Flash links.

MyP2P.eu have a lot of links for all the major streaming formats.

James Corden on his Love of West Ham

James Corden talks to the BBC's Dan Walker about his love for West Ham United and takes a tour of the ground.

Calum Davenport Stabbed at Home

West Ham United have released a statement announcing that Calum Davenport was stabbed last night whilst at home. Sky Sports News are reporting that the West ham defender was stabbed in both his legs.

The Telegraph report that two men, aged 19 and 25, have been arrested in connection with the attack. They say that sources close to the footballer claim the attackers were “not unknown” to the family.

The club statement reads:

"West Ham United can confirm that Calum Davenport was being treated in hospital on Saturday afternoon after an incident late on Friday night.

The 26-year-old defender and his mum both suffered stab wounds at home in Bedford. His mum is recovering while Calum underwent surgery this morning and his injuries were described as serious by doctors.

The club's medical team are in contact with hospital staff. The thoughts of everyone at West Ham are with Calum and his family and, due to the ongoing police investigation, no further information will be released at this time."

Chamakh Turns Down West Ham

The Times say that Marouane Chamakh has turned down a move to West Ham. The paper say West Ham have now turned their attention to Alessandro Diamanti. However they say West Ham's initial offer is considerably short of Livorno's £8 million valuation.


The Mirror quotes Ginafranco Zola saying he wouldn't change his side with Real Madrid,

"I'm not jealous of Harry Redknapp. I do respect and admire him, he had done a great job, but I wouldn't change my team with any other team," he said.

"To make it clear I wouldn't even change my team with Real Madrid or Barcelona - maybe! I like my players and I trust them.

"They are improving, working hard and doing everything to be successful. I admire these qualities in players."

Ilunga Has Fractured Cheekbone

West Ham have confirmed that Heria Ilunga suffered a fractured cheekbone in the game against Wolves. The left-back was initially thought to have escaped relatively unhurt but subsequent examination by club doctors and further tests revealed the extent of his problem.

It is likely the injury will keep the left-back out for at least a month.


In other news Gianfranco Zola has confirmed that he has no intent to quit West Ham,

"There has a lot of talk about that (quitting). It's not true," he said. "I know the club is working and trying to make the team better but we are short.

"I haven't threatened the club that I would leave. It is not true. We're not really under pressure to sell players. Not for the moment. As far as I know, we are trying to reinforce the team."

West Ham in for Diamanti

Livorno president Aldo Spinelli says West Ham are interested in signing forward Alessandro Diamanti. It sounds like Diamanti wants to move to West Ham and that Spinelli believes a deal is possible.

"We have requests from England - mainly from West Ham - even if we do not consider them satisfactory. However the player wants to go to London; for him, the gains would be substantial.

"His value is around €10million, but the figure West Ham have offered is not a problem. If they seriously want Diamanti, they could be accommodated."

West Ham Increase Striker Offer

The consensus seems to be that West Ham have increased their offer for Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh and that they are looking to sell James Collins to finance the deal.

Stoke apparently remain hopeful that they can still sign Collins but West Ham are also hopeful of a bid from Aston Villa.


The Independent report that Herita Ilunga is doubtful for the Sp~rs game after suffering a face injury against Wolves. They say that whilst Spector is favourite to step in Fabio Daprela played well in a behind closed doors friendly and is also in contention.

The paper say Radoslav Kovac also featured in the 2-1 win over a Watford side. Josh Payne and Zavon Hines were West Ham's scorers.

Danny Gabbidon Interview

Channelbee have interviewed West Ham and Wales defender Danny Gabbidon. The interview isn't particularly interesting, in fact it is annoyingly trivial - but what the hell - some of you might like it.

Villa in for Upson

It seems that The Daily Mail have given up trying to sell Matthew Upson to Man City. Instead they are now trying to sell him to Aston Villa. The paper claim that Villa have made a £12 million bid that West Ham will find difficult to turn down for the 'ambitous centre half'.

Obviously not that ambitious if they think he would move to Villa, who seem to be in a downward spiral at the moment.

Toni Not Coming, Collins Staying

The newspapers have for weeks been quoting the name 'Jose Alberti' who they have been claiming is Luca Toni's agent. They have repeatedly quoted 'Alberti' as saying the player wants to play for Gianfranco Zola at West Ham.

I've been pointing out since the story started that Luca's agent is Tullio Tinti and not Jose Alberti. The press have finally woken up to the this and, rather than apologise for misleading their readers, are now trying to create a story out of Tullio Tinti's outrage at someone pretending to be Toni's agent.

As Tinti has been saying all along Toni has no intention of leaving Bayern Munich and the papers have no intention of letting the facts get in the way of a good story.


On which note the newspapers today are claiming that James Collins walked out on Stoke yesterday after failing to agree personal terms.

West Ham Still Chase Chamakh

Most of the press seem to believe that West Ham are set to sell James Collins to Stoke to raise the finance to buy Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh. French newspaper L'Equipe say that Bordeaux have already turned down an offer of £5.25m from West Ham for the striker and expect the club to increase the offer.

No Forced Sales at West Ham

You have to love The Mail. First they publish a story claiming that West Ham are being forced to sell players by the owners. Then they try to make a huge story out of the inevitable denials from the club and owners.

The paper report that Straumur have again denied that West Ham have to sell. This doesn't stop The Mail from then claiming that West Ham are in negotiations to sell James Collins to Stoke for £5 million.

West Ham in the Sunday Papers

The Observer say West Ham are in talks to sign Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen.


The News of the World, The People and Sky Sports News all report that Matthew Upson says he might be sold.

"West Ham's financial predicament is quite well noted," he said in The People.

"Whether or not that means someone will have to be sold, I don't know, but I don't think the outlook is great financially.

"It hasn't been mentioned to me that we need to sell but, if there was a situation where they accepted an offer and it was down to me whether I wanted to move, I would have to look at the club in question and make a decision."


The News of the World say West Ham will make another offer for Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh this week but may have to sell Upson to finance the deal.

Mirror Claims Big Sales at West Ham

The Daily Mirror claim that the future of Zola and Clarke are in doubt at West Ham. They say that the club's owners are demanding the sale of West Ham's best players and that the management are at loggerheads with the board.

Only last week West Ham denied a similar story in The Daily Mail. In the same paper today Zola said, "I’m sure players will arrive before the transfer window closes". Which doesn't sound like a manager being forced to sell.

In support of its story The Mirror quotes a 'spokesman' from a consortium who have pulled out of buying the club because of what Straumur are supposedly doing. This in itself doesn't make much sense. The Mirror claim the consortium is pulling out because if they don't buy the club the present owners are going to sell players. That is some kind of weird logic.

Wolves 0 West Ham 2

An open first half saw both sides making lots of chances. West Ham started brightly with early shots from Cole, Collinson and Noble. Unfortunately all flew well wide.

After the opening ten minutes Wolves began to look the more dangerous. In the 17th minute Wolves managed to create a flurry of chances. Ebanks-Blake headed over, Andrew Keogh shot over from just outside the area and Jarvis had a shot blocked by Faubert.

West Ham however still looked lively when in possession. In the 21st minute Cole received the ball on the left wing and played the ball square to Noble, who had an age to line up his shot and shoot from 25 yards. His shot from the centre of the goal flew straight into the top left of the goal.

In the 30th minute West Ham had a flurry of chances to increase their lead. Noble set Cole free behind the defence. Cole's first touch sent him wide and his turn and shot was blocked by the keeper. The ball fell to Dyer on the edge of the box and his shot was cleared off the line for a corner.

From the corner Ilunga's header from seven yard was just tipped over by the keeper. The resulting corner saw a shot from Ilunga and then a back heel from Dyer both blocked.

After that, for the rest of the half, both sides continued to look lively and create chances but with neither side managing to find the net.


At the start of the second half Wolves came out flying and West Ham relied on Green to keep them in the game. Milijas in particular looked threatening. In the 46th minute his shot from just outside the area was deflected and was looping goalwards but Green just managed to stretch and tip it over the bar. From the corner Milijas then shot from the edge of the area again, forcing a good save low down from Green.

In the 52nd minute Collinson had an excellent chance to extend West Ham's lead when he rounded the keeper and then saw his shot blocked on the line when he really should have scored. However in the 68th minute West Ham did get their second when Upson rose to meet a corner and headed home from 4 yards.

The second goal took the wind out of Wolves and as the game progressed West Ham saw more and more of the possession. Wolves had a a couple of chances in the last two minutes but Green stood strong in goal and West Ham held out for the win.

Wolves vs West Ham - Live Streaming

Fsi have a number of links for today's game including this Ustream (flash) link.

MyP2P also have a number of links to the game.

BBC London has full radio commentary on 94.9 FM, DAB & online.

Clarke Wants 20 Goals from Cole

The Daily Mail has an interview with the West Ham manager and his assistant today.

In amongst the questions about Chelsea The Mail do manage to ask a couple of questions about West Ham. In the interview Clarke and Zola both sing the praises of Carlton Cole and Clarke reveals he wants 20 goals from the striker this season.

Zola also says, "I’m sure players will arrive before the transfer window closes."

West Ham Sign Kovac

West Ham have finally officially announced the signing of Radoslav Kovac from Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee. The transfer was widely reported last week but it seems that the deal has only recently been finalised as the club say they are still waiting to receive international clearance.

It therefore looks doubtful that Kovac will feature in tomorrow's game. The 29 year old played nine times for West Ham on loan last season.

Kovac has signed a three year contract with the club.

Wolves vs West Ham

Wolves have a couple of injury worries. Striker Kevin Doyle might start on the bench after recovering from a groin problem but goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey should recover from an ankle injury.

West Ham will be relieved that all the players came back from international duty unscathed. Zola is therefore likely to start with the same eleven that started against Napoli.

The starting eleven for West Ham looks fairly strong. However with Ashton and Behrami still injured the side don't look to have many options coming off the bench to make an impact on the game late on.

Sky Sports are predicting this as a 2-2 draw. The Wolves players and the crowd will certainly be up for their first game in the Premier League. West Ham have looked goal shy in pre-season but Cole did look in awesome form for England mid-week.

West Ham Want Two Strikers

Gianfranco Zola says that West Ham want to bring in two forwards before the end of the transfer window.

"We're looking for at least two strikers, that's the idea," said the West Ham manager.

"We are focused on that but we also know that its not an easy market. There are not many good players around and those that are around are very difficult to get because when a team has a good player they don’t release him very easily.

"But we are confident. I think West Ham right now is an attractive team and I’m sure I will find the right person".

One player West Ham are being increasingly linked with is Bordeaux's Moroccan international Marouane Chamakh. Chamakh is also said to be wanted by Fulham and Arsenal.

West Ham Draw Millwall in Carling Cup

The draw that many West Ham and Millwall fans were hoping for happened this evening, when Millwall were picked away to West Ham in the Carling Cup.

The game will be played in the week commencing 24th August.

Leandro Rinaudo for West Ham

The Daily Mail say that West Ham want to get Napoli defender Leandro Rinaudo on loan. They claim this is in case West ham lose Upson or Collins.

Earlier this week The Daily Mail sold Matthew Upson to Man City. I'm not sure who they are selling Collins to.

Savio & Ashton Problems

Gianfranco Zola has been speaking about Savio and Ashton and has hinted quite heavily that both players are struggling with life at West Ham. Zola, speaking to the London Paper said,

"He (Savio) has quality but is really struggling with the heavy expectation on him. We’re still working on the boy - but won’t be putting any pressure on him."

"I’m thinking about Dean Ashton as a person," he added. "He is feeling down but we have a very good spirit here and everybody has been trying hard to cheer him up."


In other news Lucas Neill says that West Ham are on a short-list of teams whose offers he is considering. He said he is 'loyal' to West Ham but is seriously considering two overseas options. Both of these would involve him moving to countries where he doesn't know the language.

City Priced Out of Upson Bid

The Daily Express and The Independent both claim that West Ham's £15 million valuation of Matthew Upson is more than Mark Hughes is prepared to pay for the 30 year old. They claim he has now turned his attention to signing Sylvain Distin.

The Guardian, however, disagree. They claim city are prepared to pay £12m for him, with a further £3m in 'add-ons'.

West Ham say they don't have to sell.

West Ham Sign Kovac

The Independent say that West Ham have completed the signing of midfielder Radoslav Kovac. The Independent report that the Spartak Moscow website says the Kovac has joined West Ham on a permanent basis.

No Change to Transfer Policy

West Ham say there has been no change in the transfer policy and the club do not have to sell players. Scott Duxbury said today,

"The club's position today remains the same as it was last week or as it was in January. There is no question of Straumur forcing us to sell anyone - in fact we are actively looking for new players.

"The papers are unsurprisingly full of speculation at this time of year but the situation is clear. The only way a player would be allowed to leave is if Gianfranco thinks it is in the best interests of the squad as a whole and it is right for the club. It is as simple as that."

Upson Set to Join City

KUMB are reporting that a deal to sell Upson to Man City is set to be completed. They say that West Ham are selling Upson for £12.5 million but that an announcement will be delayed until West Ham sign a forward.

KUMB claim that most of the £12.5 million will be swallowed up by CB Holdings but some will be released to secure a striker.

Noble Wants the World Cup

Most of the newspapers are running with the story that Man City have given up on trying to sign Lescott and are now targeting Matthew Upson.

Mark Noble thinks West Ham can get into Europe next season and also hopes to personally push for an England World Cup place,

"Obviously the World Cup is on my mind. I want to impress and push on now. I need to work hard and if I do, hopefully I can impress the right people.

"I want to get on the scoresheet more and we want to build on last season and achieve a higher finish. A European place is the aim and with this squad, we can achieve that."

West Ham Told to Sell by Owners

The Daily Mail claim that Straumur, who own West Ham through CB Holdings, have told West Ham they have to raise £10 million before the transfer window closes. They then claim this means that West Ham will sell Upson.

Three days ago the same newspaper claimed that Luca Toni's agent believes the player will join West Ham.

West Ham 0 Napoli 1

West Ham started with what looks like Zola's first eleven of Green, Ilunga, Upson, Tomkins, Faubert, Collison, Parker, Noble, Dyer, Jimenez and Cole.

Napoli started the brighter and looked threatening in the opening minutes. After about 8 minutes West Ham woke up and began to have the better of the possession and territory.

In the 26th minute Jimenez broke into the box, Collison took it off him but the ball got stuck under his feet and his scuffed shot flew tamely wide of the goal from 8 yards. In the 34th minute West Ham's best chance fell to Parker, who was sent clear into the penalty box by Cole. Parker, however, skied his shot high and wide from ten yards out from the right hand side of the area.

Napoli were forced into playing on the break for most of the half but, despite not having as much possession, probably had more attempts on goal. Unlike West Ham Napoli didn't seem afraid to shoot from outside the box, although none of their shots ever looked like troubling Green.

Napoli's best chance actually came from a header. Hamsik got to a corner before the West Ham defence but headed wide from only four yards. His missed header was the last action of an entertaining half.


Collins came on for Tomkins at the start of the second half. Three minutes after the restart Dyer played a square ball to Noble who shot just over from 20 yards. In the 54th minute Cole played Parker free in the box for the second time in the game. Parker managed to round the keeper but played the ball a little wide and then fell over as he tried to screw the ball back into the box.

West Ham rang the changes throughout the second half, which disrupted the side a little and we didn't seem quite as in control of the game as in the first half. In the 78th minute Maggio launched a long hopeful ball into the box and Quagliarella beat Collins to the ball and his flicked header looped over Green from 10 yards.

In the 84th minute Blasi was given a second yellow card for a foul on Ilunga. West ham pressed their advantage for the remaining minutes and came close to an equaliser from a Stanislas shot from the edge of the area. His shot just missed the outside of the post to the left of the goal.

In the end West ham were beaten by a very well taken goal. They won't be too unhappy as they looked the better side for much of the game. However they will be slightly worried that they only managed one shot on target in the game.

West Ham in the Saturday Papers

Various newspapers are reporting Scott Duxbury's claim that West Ham are working hard to bring in a new striker.

The Independent and The Mail repeat the rumour that Luca Toni's 'agent' says the player will probably end up at West Ham.

The Mail claim that Sunderland are confident of signing Neill.

The Daily Mirror say that Manchester City have now switched their attention to trying to capture Matthew Upson.

West Ham Still Looking for a Striker

West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury says West Ham are still actively looking for a forward in this transfer window.

“I know the fans are waiting for us to sign at least one more forward and that is what we are working to do.”

“Gianfranco, the technical director Gianluca Nani and I are absolutely aware that we need to bring at least one more into the squad as soon as possible. We are talking every day and working very hard to make this happen. The reality is we are looking at top-quality players and these deals can take time.”

“It is important we keep the supporters updated as much as we can with the squad and what we are doing during the transfer window. We all recognise their concern about striker recruitment and this is our top priority. As the manager has also said, we are trying to add more attacking options.

“Luis Jimenez was an important signing for Gianfranco. Rest assured, everyone at the club is working hard to bring further recruits to the squad – especially a forward.”

Who is Jose Alberti?

Sky and The Telegraph are both picking up on yesterday's story that Jose Alberti thinks Luca Toni will join West Ham,

'I think it will happen. At Bayern (Toni) is not playing and Zola is a great friend of his.'

The media continue to report that Jose Alberti is Luca Toni's agent when he clearly isn't. Luca Toni's agent is Tullio Tinti.

So who is this Jose Alberti? Jose Alberti is a name used continuously on Goal.com to appear to give credence to otherwise speculative stories. Goal.com describe Alberti's job in a number of ways, depending on the subject of the story. He has been called a 'talent scout and transfer consultant', a 'South American football expert' and in yesterday's story Goal.com called him an 'Argentine agent'.

This seems to be where the confusion started. Goal.com, in its story, clearly strongly implied that Jose Alberti was Toni's agent to give credence to what was really a wildly speculative claim that was very unlikely ever to happen. The website however never actually said that Alberti was Toni's agent, just that he was an agent.

The rest of the media, perhaps knowingly to give credence to their own repetition of this wild claim that Toni will join West Ham, have missed this subtle implication and have gone on to report that Alberti is Toni's agent.

Aberti is not Toni's agent. Luca Toni will not be joining West Ham.

Toni's Agent Says No to West Ham Move

Bayern Munich claimed this week that they had not received any offers for Luca Toni. Today however it is being widely reported (including on The Daily Fail) that the player's agent Jose Alberti thinks Toni will be soon playing at West Ham.

Jose Alberti said today,

'I think it will happen. At Bayern (Toni) is not playing and Zola is a great friend of his.'

The problem with this however is that Jose Alberti is not Toni's agent. His agent is Tullio Tinti, who has said all summer that Toni is staying at Bayern.

No Serious Offer for West Ham

West Ham's owners say that no offer has been made for the Premier League club that meets its asking price and dismissed The Sun's report today that it is negotiating a sale to U.S. sports tycoon Clark Hunt.

Georg Andersen, an executive of Iceland's Straumur bank, said today,

"There is no buyer out there willing to pay what we believe the club is worth."

American Bid for West Ham?

The Sun claim that West Ham owners CB Holdings are in talk with US tycoon Clark Hunt about a possible £120 million buy out.

West Ham's owners Staunmar have to convince creditors today not to force the company into liquidation. This story has emerged exactly on the day that the owners of West Ham need to convince creditors that it would be more valuable to hold shares in Straunmar rather than their current debt.

West Ham Owners Face Liquidation

Straumur, who own 70% of West Ham through CB Holding, need to convince creditors today to accept shares in place of debts in the bank. If the company fail to convince more than 30% of the creditors to swap their debt for shares Straumur will be put into liquidation.

If the company is put into liquidation they will then be forced to hold a fire sale of their assets, including West Ham.

No More Transfer Action Today

Bayern Munich have ruled out the possibility of West Ham target Luca Toni moving clubs. Bayern Munich director of sport Christian Nerlinger has said that, "There is no bid regarding Luca Toni and we are not really considering his future."


In Stoke the locals seem unsure whether Dean Ashton is on the verge of signing or not. The Stoke Sentinel say Stoke are distancing themselves from a move for West Ham striker Dean Ashton because of on-going concerns over his fitness.

The paper claims that local radio reports in Stoke today claiming a deal has been signed and sealed with West Ham are wrong. Stoke are now looking at other targets.


Oh, and West Ham still haven't signed a striker.

Slow News

Another day passes with no one bought and no one sold.

Lucas Neill still doesn't seem to have agreed on a new contract with West Ham.

Dean Ashton has still not be sold to Stoke.

Matthew Upson still hasn't been sold to any of our rivals.

Eidur Gudjohnsen has still not agreed to join the Hammers.

Neill in Talks With West Ham

Sky Sports News are reporting that Lucas Neill is meeting with West Ham tomorrow in the hope of finalising a new deal. Sky Sports say that sources have informed them that "West Ham remain favourites to sign Neill after interest from several clubs over the summer."

The News of the World say Stoke boss Tony Pulis has admitted that he is having a tough time persuading Dean Ashton to join Stoke.

West Ham Sign Daprela

Nouble scored twice to help a West Ham XI beat Kingstonian 3-0 yesterday. I think that's three goals in two games for the youngster since signing from Chelsea.


West Ham confirmed yesterday the signing of Switzerland Under-19 defender Fabio Daprela from Grasshopper Club Zurich for an undisclosed fee. Daprela, a left-back, has presumably been signed as cover for Herita Ilunga.