Jul 05

West Ham confident Scott Parker will stay at Upton Park

• Aston Villa reportedly planning to bid £10m for midfielder
• Co-owner ‘optimistic’ club captain will decide to stay

West Ham remain confident that Scott Parker, the midfielder, will still be playing for the club next season.

Aston Villa are reportedly planning to make a £10m bid for the Hammers’ captain but David Sullivan, the club’s co-owner, said: “I am extremely optimistic that we can persuade him to stay at Upton Park. He is the backbone of our rebuilding plans, the team’s talisman.

“No way do we want a rerun of last season when we finished on 35 points as normally that amount means you’re relegated.

“The last time I spoke to Scott [before the summer break] he was enthusiastic [about] staying. I guess he wants to hear about our plans for rebuilding. And at the moment we have not had any offers for him. We’ve just heard rumours, that’s all.”

West Ham UnitedTransfer windowAston VillaJamie Jacksonguardian.co.uk

No Comments | Tags: , , , , ,
Jan 16

Martin O’Neill content under Aston Villa’s quiet American Randy Lerner

• Martin O’Neill hails Randy Lerner’s stewardship
• ‘Having a stable owner takes excuses away’

Martin O’Neill will welcome West Ham United to Villa Park after another quiet week in the upper echelons of the Midlands club. While the American owners of Manchester United and Liverpool have been unleashing ­unsettling bond issues and abusive emails, the Aston Villa chairman, Randy Lerner, has been grabbing attention ­simply by not being in the country.

However, the American billionaire has resolved the issues with his American football franchise, the Cleveland Browns, and is prepared to spend more time tending to his Premier League club, who sit sixth in the table.

Not, says O’Neill, that Lerner is likely to announce his return with any grand gestures before the close of the transfer window. “No, he’s not [reckless],” said the Villa manager. “He’s still very enthusiastic about it all, he’s still got some plans for Villa Park as well, which will be great if they happen, but overall his view is not one where he will be reckless.”

Since completing his £62.6m takeover just days after O’Neill was hired by the former chairman Doug Ellis, in August 2006, Lerner has backed the ­Northern Irishman’s patient team-building, with Ashley Young, James Milner, Stewart Downing and the former Hammer James Collins joining the club. “The owner put in a substantial amount of money in the third year which has been good and given us a springboard to keep momentum going,” said O’Neill.

“But ours has never been a case of going out and throwing lots of money at the whole scenario for a short-term fix. It’s great if that materialises but you have to look at the overall structure.”

O’Neill admitted his squad could still be stronger and despite offers – “some tentative, some stronger” – is ­reluctant to sell any of his current players, with a gaggle of clubs linked with the midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker. The right to retain ­players might be denied his opposite number and Gianfranco Zola admitted on Friday that the takeover talk surrounding West Ham is ­”affecting ­everybody”. O’Neill concurred that off-field uncertainty can filter onto the pitch.

“If you have a bit of turmoil in the background I’ve often felt it gives ­players excuses because something is not right,” he said, before admitting it did not take something like the collapse of the ­Icelandic economy to distract him in his playing days. “There’s nobody had greater excuses for playing badly than myself.

“I had an excuse for everything, my shoes weren’t tight, breakfast was poor, I even blamed John Robertson for not giving me the ball. Having a stable owner takes one set of excuses away.”

Premier LeagueAston VillaMartin O’NeillWest Ham UnitedMikey Staffordguardian.co.uk

No Comments | Tags: , , , ,
Jan 15

Squad sheets: Aston Villa v West Ham United

West Ham won 2-1 at home back in November but without a senior striker to call upon and with four points from six games, the chances of a double in tomorrow’s early game are unlikely. Guillermo Franco was injured in training so Freddie Sears may get a first Premier League start since being recalled from Palace while Scott Parker and Mark Noble look to be over hamstring problems. Villa will make at least one change to the side that saw off Blackburn in the Carling Cup as Brad Friedel returns for Brad Guzan. Mark Tallentire

Venue Villa Park Tickets £19-£40 (0800 612 0970) Last season Aston Villa 1 West Ham 1 Referee M Jones

This season’s matches 10 Y36, R1, 3.70 cards per game

sportingbet odds Aston Villa 1-2 West Ham 11-2 Draw 13-5

Aston Villa

Subs from Guzan, Collins, Sidwell, Carew, Delph, Reo-Coker, Beye, Albrighton, Delfouneso

Doubtful None

Injured Davies (shoulder, 20 Jan), Bouma (ankle, 27 Jan)

Suspended None

Form guide LLWWWW

Disciplinary record Y38 R2

Leading scorer Agbonlahor 8

West Ham United

Subs from Kurucz, Stanislas, Daprela, Nouble, Da Costa, Jímenez, N’Gala

Doubtful Parker (hamstring)

Injured Ilunga (hamstring, 23 Jan), Gabbidon (hamstring, 23 Jan), Noble (hamstring, 23 Jan), Cole (knee, 26 Jan), Hines (knee, 26 Jan), Boa Morte (knee, Feb), Franco (hamstring, Feb), Davenport (legs, indef), Dyer (hamstring, indef)

Form guide LWDLLL Disciplinary record Y41 R3

Leading scorer Cole 7

Match pointers

• Only one team have managed to score more than once at Villa Park in the 13 league matches played there this season – Wigan on the opening day

• West Ham have won none of their last nine league away matches and lost the last three in a row

• Aston Villa have conceded just one headed goal, fewer than any other team

• West Ham have won three of their last 20 league games against Villa

• Eleven of the last 19 league meetings between these teams have ended in a draw

Aston VillaWest Ham UnitedPremier Leagueguardian.co.uk

No Comments | Tags: , , , , , , ,
« Previous Page