EPL Talk » West Ham

Can Diamanti Emulate Di Canio?

David Schiavone — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:17:19 +0000

Can Diamanti emulate Di Canio?

Can West Ham United’s new Italian talent have the same impact on the Hammers as club legend Paolo Di Canio did between 1999 and 2003? Gianfranco Zola signed Alessandro Diamanti for a fee of around £6 million in the summer. Big money for an untested player especially in light of West Ham’s supposed financial handicap. But it could prove to be a smart acquisition by Zola in light of the past weekends game.

After scoring a controversial penalty against Liverpool on Saturday he has been thrown into the limelight for the wrong reasons. Chris Waddle who commentated on the match for ESPN UK was convinced that Diamanti touched the ball twice – as he took the penalty- but the Italian himself is adamant he scored a legitimate goal, “I don’t care what TV shows. It deserved a goal. I don’t believe I touched it twice. I was trying to hit it down the middle and that is what happened.” I will leave you to make up your own mind.

Signed from Livrono in Serie A, Diamanti was a star in Serie B last year, guiding the Amaranti to promotion with six goals in the final ten matches of the season as the Tuscan side went up via the playoffs. He is also accustomed to scoring magnificent long-range efforts, such as the edge of the box volley for Livorno against Triestina.

His current boss has likened the player to himself and former Hammer, Di Canio, as Zola told Italian sports daily, Gazzetta dello Sport: “He’s a cross between myself and Paolo Di Canio.” These are large boots to fill given the standing Di Canio has amongst the West Ham faithful and after the performance against Liverpool he showed that the potential is most definitely there.

Alessandro Diamanti is a very pacy player with fantastic ball control and explosive shot, with the added bonous of being a set-piece specialist, it appears West Ham have unearthed another Italian gem. He is somewhat of a late bloomer, spending most of his career so far in the lower divisions of Italian football with hometown club Prato, and it wasn’t until he befriended Fabio Galante who recommended him to the Livrono chairman.

More recently, for West Ham reserves he banged in two magnificent free kicks in a 6-0 rout over Birmingham, after almost six months out. It is his goals but also his personality that will win over the fans, Diamanti stated on joining, “I chose West Ham because the club have the tradition of playing great football. Also, because the West Ham fans are really passionate and that is the way I am.”

Once full match fitness is achieved he will be a real thorn in the side of Premier League defences. You have been warned.

Stabbing And Major Crowd Trouble Delay Play At Upton Park

Dominic Mather — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:27:27 +0000

In the build up to, and during, the West Ham/Millwall match violence took hold in and around Upton Park.

One man was stabbed in the chest, and a BBC reporter has heard that a second stabbing has occured. Another fan said that his father had to receive medical attention after having a dart thrown at his head. There have been five confirmed arrests so far.

The Metropolitan police say that the hooliganism is likely to have been organised beforehand.

These events have been responsible for interruptions to the play; riled fans invaded the pitch a number of times resulting in the players being taken off.

This is all after West Ham player, Calum Davenport, was stabbed earlier in the week whilst staying with his mother.

Update: Fans are being told to stay in ground whilst fighting continues outside

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.

Tevez Saga Is Finally Over

Christopher Walker — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:17:35 +0000

Tevez and Mascherano sign for West Ham

Finally nearly two years later, this matter has come to a close. As a Sheffield United fan i found the behaviour of my own club at times to be embarrassing.

The blame though has to be laid at the Premier Leagues door. The initial punishment for West Ham United’s actions at the time was pathetic. A £5.5 million fine at a time when the club was spending freely in the transfer market under who appeared (how wrong we were!) to have very deep pockets . The actions were no doubt worthy of a points deduction, 3 points probably would have been fair.

Instead the Premier League was able to hide behind the legislation determines that such matters are referred to an independent tribunal. What this does is create a grey area and leaves the rules and punishments open to interpretation. Surely at some point when the rules and regulations were drawn up there could have been a set punishment for fielding i players or withholding transfer documentation? This matter could have been sorted within two weeks of the accusation but the matter dragged on until the end of April, smack-bang in the middle of a dramatic relegation dogfight involving both clubs.

There can be little doubt that West Ham’s conduct over the transfers was deceitful but Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe became obsessed with the matter. The so-called campaign for fairness dragged the Blades name through the mud. This reached its peak when McCabe wanted reinstatement to the top-flight, something that would not and could not happen. I remember seeing Blades fans at Westminster with campaign banners, posters and T-shirts naively protesting after the Blades were relegated. I remember the protest on the steps of Sheffield city hall and cringed. Yes, every club has the obsessive and over-biased fans who somehow always manage to get interviewed about their club on the television, but this was on the national news!

So here we are after 2 years, endless court proceedings that even affected the blades preparations for the 2007/08 championship and for what? £15million in installments that equate to about £3million per year with United (who are no strangers to controversy!) with a tarnished reputation.

I sincerely hope that the Premier League and the FA learn it’s lessons and set punishments in stone for similar matters and address them swiftly. I don’t know about everyone else but i never want to see a debacle like that EVER again.

Football Transfer Twaddle: Defoe, Arteta, Toure and Pennant

tyduffy — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 17:42:16 +0000

After accepting a sordid envelope with £20m for “Lass” Diarra, Portsmouth rejected shrewd dealer Harry Redknapp’s £30m overture for Jermain Defoe, Glen Johnson and Peter Crouch. Pompey then lessened Defoe’s value markedly, by announcing they would sell him for a fair price.

“It looks like Jermain wants to go,” Portsmouth executive chairman Peter Storrie said. “If Jermain goes it will be at our price and if there is an offer which appeals.”

Spurs remain favorites to sign the striker.

West Ham, contrary to previous statements, confirmed the club’s inevitable fire sale this winter. Icelandic chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson was severely crunched by the collapse of an Icelandic bank. Manager Gianfranco Zola will “not be compelled” to sell anyone, but the club will listen to any offer for any player, probably ones he’d want to keep such as Craig Bellamy and Matthew Upson.

Arsenal may flout tradition by making a £12m bid for ready-made Everton man Mikel Arteta. The Spanish midfielder would be Arsenal’s ideal signing. He’s an experienced 26, plying his trade in the Premier League the past few seasons. Arteta can provide a credible Fabregas facsimile in the middle for the next few months. He can also fill in on the wings when Fabregas returns.

Arteta would be a perfect fit for Arsenal, so expect Arsene to balk at an extra £2m for him and sign a 19-year-old raw French African.

The Gunners may also sell defender Kolo Toure in January, after he handed in a subsequently rejected transfer request. The defender, not surprisingly, has struggled to regain fitness after a bout of malaria in the summer. He and William Gallas also hate each other, though why you would choose Toure over Gallas is unclear. Out of the squad for much of the season, Toure’s potential £10m fee from Manchester City could give Arsenal funds to strengthen the midfield.

Manchester City have a £60m transfer budget for six players to help them avoid relegation. Hughes has made a £10m offer to Chelsea for left-back Wayne Bridge. They may bid over £20m for Craig Bellamy and Scott Parker from West Ham and throw in £17m to Blackburn for Roque Santa Cruz, just for shits and giggles.

Finally, Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant may join Hull City after rejecting an overture from Real Madrid, in what would undoubtedly the first time that statement could be made. The Tigers would like Pennant “at the right price,” but will face off with Wigan, who view Pennant as a replacement for Luis Antonio Valencia, possibly on his way to Real Madrid.