saturday's gossip includes west ham

An archive of Cockney Hammer's West Ham-related daily news digests from 2009-2015. For the latest daily digests, see the General Discussion Forum.

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saturday's gossip includes west ham

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Dynamic duo: Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke on the 'insanity' of their rescue mission at West Ham

By Matt Lawton


Colleagues at Chelsea and now West Ham, Gianfranco Zola and Steve Clarke have also been the closest of friends for 13 years. This is the first time they have agreed to be interviewed together…

Matt Lawton: When you arrived here 11 months ago, there were those who thought everyone involved was mad. You, Franco, for walking into a club in financial meltdown, and you, Steve, for leaving Chelsea. And West Ham for turning to someone with no managerial experience.

Gianfranco Zola: It was insane. Totally insane.

ML: You’re joking, right?

GZ: I’m not joking. I couldn’t believe West Ham were asking me to be their manager, because it amounted to a massive gamble for everyone. The Premier League is very competitive and you have to be prepared for that. They took a gamble, and I have to say they have been very good to me and I hope it is going to be successful for them. But before I took the job I had to give it a lot of thought. I spoke to Steve, and if Steve had said ‘No’ I’m not sure I would have taken it.

Steve Clarke: I wish I’d never taken the phonecall. When I saw his name, I thought: ‘What does he want?’ It came after one of the first summers in a long time when I hadn’t gone across to Sardinia to see Franco. Most did a lot of good work in a very difficult year (2007-08) under Avram Grant. We went very close to winning the Champions League.

But this was an opportunity for me at the right time. A chance to challenge myself. I could have sat at Chelsea. I could have had the easiest life. But I think every success under a different manager would have been diluted for me. It wouldn’t have felt the same.

With each change it would have become less about me and more about them. So for me this was a chance to push myself. I knew what Franco wanted. What he expected. It was a chance to work with a different group, see if I could get the respect of those players as a coach. I’m quite ambitious. I want to see how good I can be.


Sofa, so good: Zola and Clarke are smiling through the financial crisis at West Ham after turning round the club's playing fortunes in the second half of last season

ML: What did you learn from Jose Mourinho?

SC: I think you learn from every manager you work with. But I would say more from Mourinho than any other manager. I’d never seen preparation that was so meticulous. The attention to detail was staggering, at first. Then over a period of time you get used to it. You think, ‘OK, that’s the way to work.’ It was a good schooling.

ML: Now Chelsea have Carlo Ancelotti. The man, Franco, who sold you to Chelsea when he was at Parma. After years of upheaval will he bring stability to the club?

SC: Good question. Based on their track record, probably not. It depends how the team do. I don’t think they have shown themselves to be very patient. They are always chasing success, and if you are chasing success somewhere along the way there are casualties.

GZ: Carlo Ancelotti is a good coach and a good man. I worked with him for just three months at Parma, before I left for Chelsea, although I had worked with him before with the national team. In my first game for the national team I played with him.

But I agree with Steve. Much depends on results at Chelsea. The club is very ambitious and they want to achieve a high level of results.

SC: It goes with the job at Chelsea. It’s a job in which you have to be successful. And you don’t get long before you have to be successful.


Open relationship: In their fioorst season, Zola and Clarke guided West Ham into the top half of the Premier League

ML: You arrived at a club in crisis. You’ve had to sell players, drastically reduce the wage bill, operate without the kind of money now at the disposal of so many of your rivals. And yet amid all that you managed to guide West Ham to ninth place last season.

SC: There were difficult moments. October and November were tough. It required a lot of strong characters. There was a big cloud over the club but inside it was very strong. And Franco should take a lot of credit for that. It was down to his character. He kept everyone positive. We made a point of being bright and bubbly in front of the players and they responded.

ML: But look at what you’re up against. Manchester City have spent £93.5million this summer. You guys have spent nothing.

GZ: We do have a tough job. We are not competing with Manchester City on a financial front but on the football pitch, you never know. Money is important but it’s not everything. Sometimes good work is done with passion, enthusiasm — presence can be as valuable as many millions of pounds. A job can be done.

As long as the people realise the difficulties and understand that you cannot compete for the first five places. But if people back us, and everyone stays positive, and we believe in ourselves…

ML: You don’t feel, then, that the rug is being pulled from under you?

GZ: I don’t think anybody at the club is interested in undermining us. We can’t cry about the financial problems the club have endured. I’m sure the club are trying hard to strengthen the team. I’m sure players will arrive before the transfer window closes. But, in the meantime, we have to make sure the players we have are ready. We have some good players. Some exciting young players.

ML: You appear to have worked wonders with Carlton Cole.

GZ: It is mainly down to the player.

SC: He’s starting to grow up. The season before we came he had to work very hard. The West Ham fans were not sure about him, and he worked hard to get their respect. And then we came in and gave him a little bit more. We trusted him, we played him, never questioned him. And he just got more confident. I had Carlton as a youth-team player. Some players mature at 18. Others at 28. I think Carlton comes towards the higher end of that scale.

Chelsea sent him out on loan for a couple of years but he spent that time just waiting to get back to Chelsea. When he left he started to realise it was down to him, and if he gets 20 goals this season I think he can make it on to that plane to South Africa with England. I want 20 goals, though!

GZ: We haven’t seen the best of Carlton Cole yet. He is starting to realise the potential he has. Trust me on this.
West Ham United's Carlton Cole (left) celebrates with manager Gianfranco Zola

Double act: Cole has flourished under Zola's tutelage, with the Italian demanding 20 goals this season

ML: John Terry, Franco, is someone who has spoken of your qualities as a mentor. Do you have a talent for that?

GZ: I’ve been doing this job for just 11 months, so I don’t know if I’m good yet. But I like to spend time with the players. Talk to them. Share information with them. Try and add something to their game. I think you have to be honest. And when I say honest I mean you have to be yourself. Knowledge is the key, and if you are giving them knowledge, players will respect that. You can do it by being a nice boy or a dirty b******. But the key is to provide them with knowledge. As long as you are fair with them, that you show you want to improve them, then players will respond to that.

ML: Some might consider you to be too nice for management.

SC: I think there’s a side of Franco people don’t always see. There’s a steely determination. He knows what he wants and he normally gets it. And there are different ways of getting the same result. You can scream and throw tea cups, or you can speak to people in a more pleasant manner and gain respect that way.

GZ: You just don’t know me very well. I am a nasty piece!

SC: He just keeps all the bad stuff under the radar.
Chelsea players hold up the Cup Winner's cup after winning the match against VfB Stuttgart



ML: Here people clearly don’t think so. You remain the only player to win Footballer of the Year without playing a full season (he was crowned in the season he joined Chelsea, having signed in the November). And you were awarded an OBE.

GZ: There was a ceremony at the embassy in Rome. It was one of the most emotional days of my life. It was something I didn’t expect. I came to this country simply to play football and it has touched me the way people have been with me.

I was 30 when I came here and I played until I was 37, and I don’t think I would have played for that long had I not moved to Chelsea. It was the best thing that ever happened to me.

ML: Was it always your intention to move into management?

GZ: No, not really. When I stopped playing it wasn’t my intention to stay in football at all. To be a manager you need to have certain qualities and I wasn’t sure if I had them.

ML: Just out of interest. Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo?

GZ: Messi. They are both fantastic players. But I like Messi. Ronaldo is a fantastic goalscorer but I don’t think he is as good as Messi when it comes to creating chances for others.

SC: He’s only saying that because he’s the same size.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/footba ... z0OEZlOlNp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Arsene Wenger says Barcelona have as much chance of signing Cesc Fabregas as Arsenal have of signing Lionel Messi
Irish Independent
Chelsea are poised for a £42million bid for Atletico Madrid's Argentine striker Sergio Aguero.
Sun

West Ham boss Gianfranco Zola is still trying to persuade Barcelona striker Eidur Gudjohnsen to join him at Upton Park. (Daily Mirror)


Aston Villa could move for Tottenham's out-of-favour winger David Bentley, but only as a back-up player.
Times

Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez has made an enquiry about Aston Villa's England winger James Milner, who cost £12m from Newcastle last August.
Sun

Everton are trailing Spartak Moscow winger Vladimir Bystrov, 25, and are interested in a loan deal for Valencia's Argentine midfielder Ever Banega, 21. The Toffees are also watching giant defender Isaac Vorsah, who plays for German club Hoffenheim.
Daily Mail



Harry Redknapp says David Bentley still has a future at Tottenham - as long as he does not step out of line again after his recent drink-driving incident.
The Sun

Everton boss David Moyes has accused Mark Hughes of using underhand tactics to unsettle Joleon Lescott and claimed that it had cost Manchester City any chance of landing their latest target.
Daily Mail

Former Watford boss Aidy Boothroyd is set to become the new manager of Norwich, who sacked Bryan Gunn less than a week into the season.
Daily Mail

Paul Hart believes the proposed takeover of Portsmouth will not happen, plunging the club into yet more uncertainty on the eve of the new Barclays Premier League season.
Times


Defender Anton Ferdinand is planning a Michael Jackson goal tribute is he nets for Sunderland in the Black Cats' Premier League opener at Bolton. "I'm not too sure how it will work out, I actually thought of putting a glove in my sock to pull out if I score," said big Jacko fan Anton.
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by party iron »

Good morning Ch and thanks :thup:
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big day for junior

Post by cockney hammer »

http://www.whufc.com/page/News/0,,12562~1755500,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


lets hope the lad can push on from here :thup:
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Re: big day for junior

Post by Zola4ever »

My fav hammer :clap:
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more to come from cole

Post by cockney hammer »

http://www.whufc.com/page/News/0,,12562~1755502,00.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

big big season for carlton he needs to get on to the plane for the world cup in south africa has a lot to prove i am sure we all wish him well to suceed :thup:
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by Los Martillos »

Cheers CH - much appreciated!
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by cockney hammer »

Los Martillos wrote:Cheers CH - much appreciated!

no problem lads off to work now :cry:
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by rendog2 »

Cheers CH - nice work.
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Re: big day for junior

Post by Los Martillos »

He has the potential to be a great player. :thup:
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by gavind »

cheers CH, interesting read..
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Post by discopiglet »

Yeah I second that CH, We need a big season from Coley as a club and on a personal level he has already caught Capello's eye with that performance for England the other night so he is going to have to hit the ground running in order to to get to the World Cup.

For all Cole's work he is going to need Jimmy and Dyer to chip in with the goals though, What I don't want to see is Cole bombing into the channels like in some games last season. Ok, his main strength may not be natural finishing but he is as good at holding the ball up as anybody else in the prem so Im guessing Franco has been telling the midfield 4/5 to get up and support.

Im so glad the season is about to start again, the missus is not looking forward to me being hungover every Sunday and not being able to make the trips to the garden centre until next May!!

Cheers CH for the round up by the way, hope your well fella!!

Up the Hammers! :thup:
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Re: big day for junior

Post by DannyboyDJL »

He needs to learn to take full backs on imo. If he gets the ball when the full back is in front of him he just turns round and lays it off. Good little player, but needs a bt more anger and energy in his game.
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Re: big day for junior

Post by Iron Spine v2.0 »

Dannyboylister wrote:Good little player, but needs a bt more anger and energy in his game.
I think he could also stand to be a little more hungrier. 8-)
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by OsloHammer »

Long shots

West Ham United’s offer of £4.3 million plus half of any future profit for Marouane Chamakh has been turned down by Bordeaux. The French club have also rejected Fulham’s offer of a part-swap deal with Diomansy Kamara, also a forward. “My representatives spoke to Bordeaux but Laurent Blanc [the manager] has not called me,” said Kamara, who has two years left on his deal and has already turned down a move to Celtic.

West Ham, who signed Radoslav Kovac for £1.8 million from Spartak Moscow, have turned down Fiorentina’s inquiry about Jonathan Spector, the defender.
Not heard that one before
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by sussexhammer74 »

Nice one CH - cheers :thup:
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Re: more to come from cole

Post by Tommy B »

Totally agree huge year for the big fella. I hope everyone gets behind him definitely plays on confidence and I hope the pressure of being our key goal scorer (probably key player in general) doesn't play on his mind. Saying that I am expecting big things from him he will score tonight 8-)
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by il_martello_di_genovesi »

Unfortunately, with Lucas Neill's decision to keep us waiting, we can't really afford to get rid of Spector. But if Fiorentina were ready to offer us anything like £1.2m for him...we should be there like a shot, and add it to another player. For instance. Up the bid for Chamakh if needed.
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by Hammersfaniow »

I agree with nearly everyone, this season will be massive for CC, Zola has done a magnificent job in let's face it, getting his career back and most of that is surely a confidence thing. If people stay fit, it'd be frightening to think of him linking up with Jimmy and Dyer bombing forward, they could well get the goals we've been needing for a long time.
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by Canadianhammer »

Much appreciated CH! Poor bugger....off to work :(
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Re: saturday's gossip includes west ham

Post by cockney hammer »

Gold rumoured to take Hammers over

t

Birmingham City chairman David Gold has refused to play down speculation linking him with a takeover bid for West Ham United.Gold, who once owned a stake in the Hammers alongside business partner and current Blues co-owner David Sullivan, has been linked with a return to the Hammers should Carson Yeung complete a takeover at St Andrew's.

"I'm the chairman of Birmingham City football club. I have been for 16 years. I've got a serious football match coming up on Sunday (against Manchester United) and I'm focusing on that," he told BBC Radio 5 live.

"Does it surprise me that there's speculation? I've had great ties as a young man (to West Ham) and as a boy.

"I played for West Ham as a 13 to 16-year-old boy, so it's not surprising.

"I did, at one time, own 30 per cent of the football club, along with my partner, David Sullivan.

"All of my young life I spent there, so I'll always have an affiliation with West Ham until the day I die. I can't not have that.

"But, by the same token, I'll have an affiliation with Birmingham City for the rest of my life."

Yeung made a takeover offer for the Blues a couple of years ago but a deal failed to materialise.

His Grandtop company currently holds a 29.9 per cent stake in Birmingham City.
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