Bas is the man for Sam! Allardyce makes £7m bid for Heerenveen striker Dost

 

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has made a £7million bid for Dutch scoring sensation Bas Dost.

Allardyce wants the 22-year-old – who topped the goals chart in Holland with 32 goals in 34 league games for Heerenveen – to boost his squad for the Premier League next season.

Hammer time: Bas Dost is a target for West Ham

The West Ham manager only has Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te as his main strikers after Sam Baldock and Nicky Maynard failed to make an impact in the Championship.

Allardyce also hopes to sign left-back George McCartney permanently after a successful season on loan from Sunderland.

The club’s £33m wage-bill was eased slightly with big-earning Julien Faubert released.

Keen to improve: West Ham manager Sam Allardyce wants to boost his strike force with Bas Dost

 

The founders of Hammers Army Holland

Peter Bos and Patrick Miltenburg at Wembley

 

West Ham set to make an offer for Sunderland midfielder

By talkSPORT | Thursday, May 24, 2012

West Ham are poised to make a move for Sunderland midfielder Ahmed Elmohamady.

Elmohamady, 24, has failed to make any impact at the Stadium of Light since Martin O’Neill took charge last season.

The Egyptian midfielder is keen to stay in the Premier League and regain the form which saw him become a regular under former boss Steve Bruce.

Sam Allardyce is planning to bring in at least four new players during the summer following his side’s promotion and wants players with top-flight experience.

With Henri Lansbury returning to Arsenal following his loan spell and both Julien Faubert and Papa Bouba Diop being released by the club this week, the West Ham boss is looking to bolster his midfield.

Allardyce would like to get his business done in the transfer market as early as possible and looks set to make a move for Elmohamady in the next few weeks.

 

Brooking: Time is of the essence

Sir Trevor Brooking accepts new England manager Roy Hodgson would probably have liked more time to prepare for Euro 2012 – but is in no doubt the players will know just what is expected of them when they tackle France in Donetsk on June 11.

Hodgson will meet up with the squad for the first time in Manchester on Wednesday afternoon, having allowed players to take a short break. Chelsea’s John Terry, Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and Gary Cahill – plus stand-by player Daniel Sturridge – have been given extra time off after the Blues’ Champions League final victory.

“Roy is an experienced coach, but I am sure if you asked him he would say he wanted longer in the job to prepare the side,” said Brooking.

The former West Brom boss will have just 19 days, with friendlies against Norway and Belgium, to fine tune his plans ahead of their Group D opener.

Brooking added: “Chelsea did really well and we congratulate them on their Champions League success, but it does mean some of their lads will be coming in after the first warm-up game and I know there are three or four injuries as well at present.

“Maybe the game against Norway in Oslo is more about giving all the squad members a chance to play and even some of the standby players who at present will be wanting to show their worth to Roy for the future.”

Brooking told Press Association Sport: “They meet up on June 5 and fly out on the 6th and then the first game against France is a really tough one, but by then everyone will know what is needed from them.

“It is about trying to get off to a good start, we all know group situations are pretty tight and looking at the group they will be very close affairs.”

 

Lansbury lauds top-flight Hammers

Henri Lansbury has tipped recently-promoted West Ham to “do well” upon the club’s return to the Premier League next season (West Ham – 9/4 to be relegated with bet365).

The 21-year-old’s future remains unclear after he impressed last term on a season-long loan deal from Arsenal (10/1 to win Premier League 2012/13) and he could yet earn himself a permanent switch to Upton Park.

The England Under-21 star played his part in helping Sam Allardyce’s side get to the play-offs but he was an unused substitute as the Hammers beat Blackpool 2-1 in the Wembley final last weekend.

Lansbury has been impressed with the quality of the West Ham squad and believes there is enough ability at the club to make an impact in the top flight next season.

“There are some good players here and they all want to do well,” Lansbury told the West Ham website. “People were talking about pressure and being favourites for the final and all of that but that has been around all season.

“I think the lads can do well next year, there is no reason why not.”

 

Cottee: I’d love to see Michael Owen at West Ham

Tony Cottee, West Ham Columnist

Hammers legend doesn’t think it would be the end of the world if Rob Green left the club

 

It is set to be another summer of change at West Ham but unlike last year I don’t expect that we will need to knock the house down a build again, writes Tony Cottee.

We have the nucleus of a Premier League squad at the moment, with the likes of James Tomkins, Mark Noble, Kevin Nolan and Carlton Cole and with a few additions over the coming months we should be strong enough for the top flight.

I would personally like to see six or seven new faces arrive at Upton Park and I think that the most important position we need to cover is defence.

We need two new full-backs as well as central defensive cover for Tomkins and Winston Reid, especially now Abdoulaye Faye has been released.

There is a lot of talk about Robert Green departing the club when his contract expires at the end of next month and I think if the England man does leave, he can do so with his head held high.

He has been a good servant to the club, but it won’t be the end of the world if he does leave.

There are suitable replacements for him with the likes of Paul Robinson of Blackburn and Sunderland’s Craig Gordon rumoured to be of interest.

I would also like to see the Hammers sign a creative midfielder and a striker, a real goalscorer which will be crucial in the Premier League.

My first choice would be to go all out to get Michael Owen.

He may have had some injury problems, but a frontline of him and Cole would be great to see in the Premier League.

People forget that Owen is only 32 years old and I think that he still has lots of goals in him and would love to see him at Upton Park.

In terms of departures, I won’t be too sad to see the likes of Papa Bouba Diop, Julien Faubert and John Carew leave the club.

Some of those players were brought in just to get West Ham out of the Championship and now that is done, they are surplus to requirements, unfortunately.

 

HAH At O”Connels Utrecht

 

Premier pride essential for Gold

West Ham co-owner David Gold claims the club’s promotion back to the Premier League has brought vital pride back to Upton Park.

 

Gold: Revels in restored pride

The Hammers secured their return to the top flight – and the estimated £90million that comes with it – after beating Blackpool 2-1 in Saturday’s play-off final at Wembley.

Gold said: “It’s brought back pride to the football club.

“People talk about money but pride is so important. We’ve had a tough time – the previous owners caused problems for the football club and we got relegated so this is about pride.

“People say it’s the richest game in the world and it is – but what we miss is the impact it has on the fans. It’s vital that this club, with all its tradition, is back in the Premier League.”

 

Allardyce ambitious over Premier League

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce says he is looking “beyond fourth from bottom” ahead of next season’s Premier League campaign.

The Hammers won promotion to the top flight via the play-offs following last weekend’s 2-1 win over Blackpool and Allardyce is now demanding more from his players as they look to cement their status as a Premier League club.
The former Newcastle and Blackburn boss told London 24: “My job will be to try and aim as high as we possibly can in the Premier League.
“Let’s look beyond fourth from bottom, let’s see how far we get. Let’s see if we can build it and sustain it from there.”
Allardyce admitted the 2012-13 campaign will be a tough test for the east Londoners, but that has not dampened his optimism.
He said: “As always in the Premier League it is difficult to get results.
“There will be times when we get turned over and lose 3-0 or 4-0, in year one that can happen.
“But you have to accept it and not let it affect you because at the end of the day whether it is 1-0 or 6-0 you have still only lost three points.”

 

Reid excited by Premier League

West Ham defender Winston Reid is looking forward to Premier League football after a dogged campaign in the Championship.

 

Reid: Relishing next season

The 23-year-old was part of the Hammers side that sealed promotion to the top flight with a win over Blackpool in the play-off final.

It was just rewards for the New Zealand international, who went through a transitional phase last term following his arrival in east London.

“It’s been a tough, long year with so many games and I’m really looking forward to next year now,” he told the club’s official website.

The Hammers had been the bookmakers’ favourites to claim automatic promotion and for long periods of the campaign looked like they would achieve that goal.

However, a late slump in form allowed Reading and Southampton to claim the automatic places, forcing Sam Allardyce’s side to contest the lottery of the play-offs.

But Reid was full of praise for the way his team-mates dealt with the pressure as they returned to the elite division of English football.

“We have been under pressure all year and to finally get promotion it’s amazing,” he added.

“Saturday was for the fans – all season they have been amazing and they really deserve to be in the Premier League and we have pulled it off.”