EPL Talk » Dean Ashton

West Ham’s Takeover Is Well-Considered, Stable and Boring

tyduffy — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 14:38:11 +0000

For those not emotionally invested, the sale of a prominent Premier League club is chum in the water. We want easily caricatured nutballs in charge, huge transfer budgets, grandiose schemes destined to fail and decimations of the club’s staff. We want entertainment.

Given that context and the club’s unique penchant for disaster, West Ham’s sale was abominable, substandard and lamentable. Given one word, it was boring. Profoundly boring.

CB Holding, the original Icelandic creditors of Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson, took control of West Ham to keep it from going bankrupt and protect it’s investment. The ownership stays Icelandic. The only difference is the Straumur Burdaras bank rather than Landsbanki.

West Ham’s financial situation was perilous. There was the bank crisis, debt and the Tevez settlement. They easily could have entered into administration. There would have been furor over a points deduction, possibly one that could have effected the relegation battle next year. The club would have been offloading players, possibly replacing Zola with a manager who would accept it. It would have been messy. It would have been exciting.

Instead, the new Hammers’ ownership wants to protect and enhance its investment. There will be no sales of the clubs best players, though sensible sales such as Dean Ashton and Matthew Upson are possible.

The reasonably successful managerial partnership of Zola and Clarke will remain intact. The club will even have a sensible transfer budget, all with a sound financial backing.

CB Holding’s takeover is great for West Ham and their supporters. It’s great for the Premier League, who benefit from a large, successfully run club in London. It’s awful for those who have to write about it.

Cahill Does It Again, FA Cup Draw Thoughts, And Other Premier League News

Johnathan Starling — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 05:07:18 +0000

Is there anything Tim Cahill can’t do?

Tim Cahill’s week defines the word jet lag. From Liverpool to Japan for a World Cup Qualifier. His performance for Australia wasn’t exactly great, then again neither was Australia’s. Cahill had to be thankful Everton’s FA Cup tie against Aston Villa was on Sunday, I don’t think he would have played had the game been Saturday.

Despite the fatigue Cahill obviously had, he willed Everton into the Quarterfinals with a 3-1 thrashing of Aston Villa. It wasn’t his best day, but it was a day we are all too use to from Cahill. He set up the first goal with a header that Stiliyan Petrov should have been sent off for, only for Jack Rodwell to finish. You could almost not blame Cahill for the yellow he received in the first half, knowing there is a UEFA Cup game midweek, he could use the rest against Newcastle United. However with Steve Bennett’s allegations last week, one could wonder if he intended to get booked on purpose.

Everton’s third goal was a typical Cahill goal, right place at the right time. You would think teams would know to find him at the far post. But the way he ghosts onto said far post, he’s easily forgotten. His finishing though isn’t.

Manchester United finished off Derby County by halftime, enough said.

So that leads us into the quarterfinal draw. With a fourth round replay to be had, and a fifth round tie still to be played along with four replays, fourteen teams are still alive for those four spots at Wembley. Not one tie is set in stone either, which adds to the uncertainty of this draw. I can only go with draws I hope for. I think Chris Coleman’s Coventry City hosting Chelsea would make an interesting tie. What would Roberto Martinez’s Swansea City do at home against Manchester United? Could Burnley’s wait for the fifth round pay off with a home tie against Sheffield United, or could we see Hull City back at the Emirates? Does Everton really mind which Premier League side they get?

And now the rest of the news.
In something I said last week, Luiz Felipe Scolri has come out and hinted that John Terry did not have full support in the dressing room at Chelsea. Color me shocked.

In further Scolari post Chelsea backstabbing, Nicolas Anelka has attacked Scolari for not trying to forge the ‘dream’ partnership between Anelka and Drogba up front. That goes to show Scolari didn’t have a plan b, but I also wonder if had Scolari partnered the two up front if it would have worked out…I don’t think it would have because the two had already tuned Scolari out.

And in one last bit of Scolari news, could Manchester City be his next employer? I guess they really are that desparate for Kaka.

I wonder how much Jose Mourinho is enjoying what is going on at Chelsea?

Avram Grant is eying up the Portsmouth job. It just seems the only way he’ll get it is if Portsmouth can’t come to terms in order to get Sven.

Speaking of Portsmouth, executive chairman Peter Storrie has been rearrested with regards to the bung scandal. I guess that would leave massive tax issues.

Add Gary Neville to the list of those who have signed another year contract at Old Trafford.

And finally, Dean Ashton admits his season is over.

West Ham United v MLS All-Stars On ESPN Tonight

The Gaffer — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:26:42 +0000

Tonight West Ham United plays the Major League Soccer All-Star Team in Toronto, Canada. The match will be shown live on ESPN and ESPN360.com beginning at 7pm ET.

I’m intrigued by this match but it’s hard to get excited. West Ham is one of the most vanilla football clubs in the Premier League. The club has few players that spark a lot of emotion other than Dean Ashton. Then there’s boring old manager Alan Curbishley. And lastly, you have to wonder how different everything may have been if the original choice for the opposition was selected instead of West Ham: Liverpool.

Still, the passionate Toronto fans should make the atmosphere better than previous MLS All-Star games. And it’ll be fun to see the increased police presence surrounding the Hammers fans.

Let’s hope that both teams come out with a commitment to win this one. Keeping my fingers crossed, I’m hoping this will be an entertaining game to watch. We’ll see.

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