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Carlton Cole tipped by Nolan to fill Carroll void

December 7, 2012 By Iron Bobby 1 Comment

Carlton Cole will fill the void left by Andy Carroll’s injury as he has been chomping at the bit to get some game time according to team-mate and captain Kevin Nolan.

Carroll looks to be sidelined for up to two months after picking up a knee injury in the recent defeat to Manchester United.

Cole returned to the starting eleven in Carrol’s absence and even though I am not his biggest fan he played very well and scored the equalizer in what turned out to be a 3-1 rout of the Champions League holders.

Nolan has been singing Cole’s praises and insists if Carlton keeps up his good form then loss of Carroll wont really be felt, speaking to SkySports Nolan said:

Carlton has been chomping at the bit to get the chance to prove himself. Hopefully his performance against Chelsea will be the standard he sets himself.

I’m sure there will be more of the same coming up, so Andy will not be too missed for us.

Hopefully Mr. Cole will keep up the form he showed against Chelsea with West Ham hosting Liverpool at home in the Premier League this weekend.

Liverpool will be without inform goal machine Luis Suarez which is a blessing for West Ham as he looks in great touch and would have been a real threat to The Hammers’ goal.

Iron Bobby – West Ham United Blog

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Guy Demel retires from Ivory Coast duty

December 6, 2012 By Iron Bobby 1 Comment

West Ham United defender Guy Demel is understood to have announced his retirement from international football with the Ivory Coast.

Demel has decided to hang up his boots for his country to concentrate on his club career with West Ham.

Guy Demel West Ham

This news will come as a welcome boost for manager Sam Allardyce as he was set to lose Demel for the Ivory Coast’s African Nations Cup campaign in January.

Demel was a part of the Ivory Coast squad which included Didier Drogba that reached the 2006 and 2010 World Cup finals and he also helped them qualify for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

After signing for West Ham injury prevented Demel from playing a full 90 minutes for The Hammers’ for 9 months which came in the play off final against Blackpool.

The fullback signed a two-year-deal with West Ham when he joined from German club Hamburger, the deal expires next summer but West Ham have the option for a further 12 months which Demel may have his eye on.

Iron Bobby – West Ham United Blog

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West Ham to find out Olympic Stadium fate

December 5, 2012 By Iron Bobby 1 Comment

West Ham United will today find out if their Olympic Stadium proposal has been successful but the Hammers’ look set to be named preferred bidders.

Talks on securing a deal that would allow West Ham to be named as the preferred bidders are expected to continue right until the start of tomorrow’s meeting of the London Legacy Development Corporation board.

The Hammers’ latest offer is believed to be a £15m up front contribution, a £5m improvement on the original offer, as well as rent of £2.5m-a-year and £6m-a-year income for the LLDC from revenue from stadium naming rights and catering.

West Ham United Blog reported last week that sources close to the deal remain hopeful that an agreement will be reached that covers a funding gap of around £20m for the retractable seating, with West Ham United and Newham Council already putting in £20m to bring the cost down from £40m.

Olympic Stadium London

West Ham United are one of four bidders hoping to be chosen as the new tenants of the Olympic Stadium, which has already cost £486m so far and has been vacant since hosting the closing ceremony of the Paralympics in September. The other bidders are League One side Leyton Orient, a football business college and a proposal to bring Formula One racing to the Olympic Park.

In other Olympic Stadium related news, London Mayor Boris Johnson is seeking assurances from West Ham owners David Gold and David Sullivan that they will not be looking to sell the club on after moving into the Olympic Stadium or prepare to share the profits if they do as he believes West Ham will be a far more valuable club if they do indeed move in to the Olympic Stadium.

UPDATE:

West Ham have now been announced as the preferred bidder, read the clubs statement here.

What do you guys think? Leave us a comment with your thoughts.

Iron Bobby – West Ham United Blog

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Preview: West Ham vs Chelsea

November 30, 2012 By Iron Bobby 1 Comment

West Ham host London neighbours Chelsea in the Premier League this Saturday with the game being shown live on SkySports 2 for a 12:45 ko.

Sam Allardyce’s men are coming off two straight away defeats in the Premier League, having lost 3-1 to Tottenham last weekend and 1-0 to Manchester United midweek in a much improved performance with Robin van Persie’s fortunate deflected goal being the difference between the teams.

Chelsea will be under the charge of new interim boss Rafa Benitez, with Chelsea having failed to score since the Fat Spanish Waiter took over from Roberto Di Matteo with both previous outings ending in a goalless draw.

West Ham will need to keep an eye on Fernando Torres, even though he can’t hit a barn door against anyone else it seems the Spaniard has netted 6 times in 6 appearances against the Hammers’. However we have Andy Carroll who will be looking to build on his first goal for the club which he scored against Tottenham last week.

Interesting stat is that Torres and Carroll have netted just 18 league goals in 114 games combined since they fetched £85million in transfer fees! Makes your eyes water!

There will also be no love lost between Allardyce and Benitez with the two far from friends during their Bolton and Liverpool days.

West Ham News

Mark Noble is back from suspension and will be a welcome addition to the teamsheet as we missed him at Old Trafford.

Ricardo Vaz Te, Alou Diarra and Jack Collison all remain sidelined, while Yossi Benayoun is not available for selection due to loan restrictions from his parent club Chelsea.

Chelsea News

Chelsea will be without Englan trio John Terry, Frank Lampard and Daniel Sturridge through injury while Brazillian defender David Luiz is suspended.

It looks like a good time to be playing Chelsea but with the quality of individuals they have you can never be too sure, lets hope we can something out of this game and start moving up the able again. COYI!

Iron Bobby – West Ham United Blog

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West Ham to be named preferred bidder for Olympic Stadium

November 29, 2012 By Iron Bobby Leave a Comment

West Ham are set to be named as the preferred bidder for the Olympic Stadium next week after fresh efforts were made bridge the gap in funding required to convert the venue into a football ground.

The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) board is meeting on Wednesday December 5 with some sources saying they expect The Hammers’ will take a major step towards becoming the stadium’s tenants.

Preferred bidder status will not involve the signing of any contracts but will put West Ham in the driving seat to securing a new home away from The Boleyn under a 99-year lease.

olympic-stadium-londonThe gap in funding to convert the stadium into a football ground with retractable seating over the running track is understood to now be down to around £20million after West Ham and Newham Council agreed to put in more money.

West Ham are one of four bidders trying to secure tenancy in the Olympic Stadium, which has cost £486million so far and has been vacant since hosting the closing ceremony to the Paralympics at the start of September.

We are competing against League One side Leyton Orient, a football business college and a group keen to bring Formula One racing to the Olympic Park.

West Ham’s latest offer is believed to be a £15m upfront contribution, a £5million improvement on the original offer, as well as rent of £2.5m a year and £6m-a-year income for the LLDC from stadium naming rights and catering revenues.

The LLDC confirmed this month that the stadium will not re-open until 2015 at the earliest and possibly the summer of 2016 – which would be two years later than expected.

The retractable seating means the Olympic Stadium will be far better suited to hosting Premier League football matches than the original plans we saw where the fans would need binoculars to see the players. If this goes through then along with the sale of The Boleyn ground it could push West Ham onto the next level and attract further investors.

Iron Bobby – West Ham United Blog

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