The Return Of Carlos

Carlos Tevez returns to Upton Park tomorrow with Sir Alex Ferguson convinced that West Ham United owe their Premier League status to the South American. Tevez netted seven goals in 10 games for the Londoners at the back end of last season, including the winner at Old Trafford on the final day as they beat the odds to stay up at Sheffield United’s expense. Although the 23-year-old promptly quit the Hammers, joining United on a two-year loan following a protracted registration wrangle, his immense contribution to his former club’s survival fight is unlikely to be forgotten by the home fans, who seem certain to buck their usual trend of booing the Red Devils by acclaiming Tevez as a hero.

Paul Ince, for one, always got a particularly hostile reception whenever he returned to Upton Park. Ferguson is unsure that Tevez will be afforded the reception most people expect. However, the United boss is in no doubt the club owe the stocky forward a major debt of gratitude. "Deep down the West Ham supporters must be thankful because Carlos kept them up last year," Ferguson said. "His performances for them were fantastic. There must be a grudging admiration for what he achieved at West Ham in such a short period. It is a part of football that when players leave a club and then go back, they don’t always get a reception you think they should, so it will be interesting to see what happens."

Soul Of Hammers Family

Inner sanctums reveal soul of Hammers family
By Russell Brand

After the second of West Ham's listless defeats at the hands of the vindictively efficient Everton I snided my way into the directors' lounge, as I was curious to meet the dignitaries within. Since writing this column I've had incredible access to West Ham players and behind-the-scenes personnel and I must say I've found the place to be reassuringly domestic.

The staff have an unaffected familiarity with each other and most of them have been at the club decades; the shop-floor banter between them could be found in any factory or call centre across these islands. I witnessed Lesley and Barbara behind the bar in the player's lounge discussing with eye-rolling boredom the concern of a trainer who informed them that they ought avert their eyes, as Lucas Neill was coming through in just a towel.

Lesley: I said, "I've got two grown up sons - he's got nothing under there that's gonna frighten me."

Barbara: Chance'd be a fine thing.

I heard Ron, whose job I was unable to ascertain, glibly dismissing the heart attack he'd had the previous week while filling a see-through bag with unused chops off the hospitality table.

Lesley: Did the doctor tell you to watch what you eat?

Ron: What'da they know?

For me, exchanges of this nature are as warm and familiar as dozing on my grandad's lap, and far more accessible as he's been dead for 15 years. Just to clarify; I only dozed on his lap as a child, not into my mid-teens, just before his death. A lapful of adolescent drug addict could only exacerbate bowel cancer and anyway I'd long grown out of the habit by then. The white radio-clock he'd received from Fords had long stopped but still it hung on the kitchen wall in Dagenham. A plastic monument to his years of toil, a black-and-white photo of him humbly accepting it was in the adjacent cupboard.

As he lay delirious with death approaching, on the settee, TV on as ever, I watched through tears as he struggled to remember Jimmy Greaves' name.

"Who's that?" he enquired, peering beyond the screen and into the cosy, hazy past.

"That's Greavsie," I said, all sad. Bert was a West Ham fan of course, like my Dad, and would've been thrilled at the new privilege I now enjoy, though probably too embarrassed to actually get off on it the way I do. I'm intrigued by hierarchy and a Premiership football club is a fascinating place to observe social strata. First there are the fans, themselves organised into myriad groups; then, in the ground and behind the scenes, security and hospitality and catering; the now sadly defunct Hammerettes; training staff; directors; and, fanfare please, the players. I was titillated by Tony Montana's ascent through the Cocaine cartels of Florida and South America in the movie Scarface: first he's hanging out with street dealers, then local Mister Big-type characters, before climbing to the top of the power pyramid where corrupt politicians teeter.

My own experiences at Upton Park parallel that exactly; Lesley and Barbara are cut-throat Cuban street dealers, Ron and Danny and Tom from security are local Mister Bigs and at the top of the pyramid are the families of John Lyall and Ron Greenwood. And me, well obviously I'm Tony Montana, strutting around in a white suit with a machine gun and a powdery moustache.

The analogy had broken down long before you were asked to accept me as a cold-hearted, hot-blooded killer; Lesley and Barbara wouldn't last five minutes dealing Charlie on a corner in Miami and the respective Lyall and Greenwood dynasties have more in common with the house of Windsor than that ostentatious tat palace that Tony and his cronies were holed up in. They truly had the demeanour of aristocracy, a cockney monarchy.

Clearly aware of the duty of legacy, they charmingly introduced me to their children; when Murray, John Lyall's son, said, "This is my son Charlie. John's grandson," it was touching. Neill, Ron Greenwood's son, a gentleman like his father, was hospitable and gracious, never betraying for a moment that my nervousness was evident. I met a few members of the current board but wasn't with them long enough to make an assessment of them or their intentions towards the club. But the presence of the club's two most successful and beloved manager's families was heartening.

If the line from this game's inception to present day can be preserved perhaps we can protect its soul through Ron Greenwood and John Lyall, my Grandad Bert, through Neill and Murray right to Charlie. Not his little brother Scott though. He supports Chelsea.

Guardian column

Capello's Trunks

Capello's trunks more titillating than his titles
By Russell Brand

I suppose my feelings about the FA's failure to appoint Jose Mourinho expose me as a rather shallow man influenced by the media, hyperbole and sexual charisma. Of course Mourinho is an exceptional coach but my interest in him being the national manager was enhanced dramatically by the convenient legitimisation that the appointment would've given my prurient interest.

I'm trying to get into the spirit of Fabio Capello's coronation but in spite of his incredible success he isn't a titillating choice. Whilst reading about his triumphs across Europe, the facts with which we are all now familiar, having received a crash course as a nation - nine titles at four clubs, one European Cup, he likes the art of Kandinsky and Chagall - made little impression. In fact I was much more interested in the photo of him as a youth diving into the sea.

Ah, the power of the image. He can top as many leagues as he likes and devour modern art with the rapacity of a Shoreditch fire but unless I get a snap of him in his trunks he can eff off. I was aware of Capello as a successful coach of Milan then as an opponent to David Beckham in Castilla. He said Beckham would never again play in the white shirt - people are always saying that to Beckham, he should work for Daz; no matter how much mud people sling at him he turns up a few days later in a pristine white top and saves the world. I hope the Ku Klux Klan don't learn of his abilities, they'll make him a grand wizard and the unity for which we've all toiled will go right down the plug hole as racism is suddenly made to seem fun.

Them briefs he had on were pretty spick and span an' all. With my easily stirred devotion to image he can count himself fortunate that I don't embark on a campaign to have his gorgeous knob made England boss; him sat there all seductive and reclined, his goolies bunched up into a taut smurf hat between his thighs. I think the ad is for the pants but I would query the rationale of promoting a product with an image so arresting that the subject of the advert becomes irrelevant. When I see that ad I don't think "Oooh, I must get myself some pants" I think "Oooh, I wonder if I'm gay." I'd never wear them pants, I'd feel the pants would be judging me - "Well these balls certainly aren't golden, they'd be lucky to get a bronze."

Capello for most of us is as untarnished as David's ballbag; a blank canvas upon which sharp lines of success can be etched or vague, blurred, draws and losses can be rendered. When I first see a beautiful woman my mind floods with expectation and I project a future on to her perfect form; "She could be salvation, a secular saint, the answer to my murmured prayers" then we embark on a journey that can only lead to disappointment just as certainly as the agonising euphoria of birth is death's first klaxon.

What will we and our red-topped spokespeople make of this apparently educated and brilliant man? Will he Fabio-lous or Crappello? I no longer care that he's not English - the idea of an English manager being a prerequisite was ground into the dirt like a dog...#8209;end with kid's knickers in its garage by the God-awful period under Steve McClaren.

Only Paul Ince seems bothered saying "it's a damning endikement of our game" or something but given Ince's "previous" around ties and loyalty - turning up in a United top after making all manner of oaths and pledges to a future at West Ham - we can rinse his comments down the same lavvy my childhood love of him was bitterly flushed.

It's going to be a little while before any of this matters with a barren few years for England but in the Premiership we have an enthralling weekend ahead of us - West Ham will avenge their midweek defeat when Everton come to Upton Park today and tomorrow the "big four" are all at it in an incestuous riot of money and hype.

Plus Joe Cole came and saw me do stand-up the other night, a man who left the Boleyn with his head held high and his integrity unblemished. So let's not get too worked up about Capello for a while, lose ourselves in the national game and use the holidays as an opportunity to ask some pretty searching questions about latent homosexuality. Merry Christmas.

Guardian column

Jose Makes My Day

Jose makes my day... in another dimension
By Russell Brand

Having Jose Mourinho as England manager would almost make up for our failure to qualify for next year's tournament. In a pointlessly constructed parallel European Championship where England qualified one can only assume that we would be attending a competition rife with potential embarrassment and eventual disappointment, although it seems a bit stupid to go to all the bother of manufacturing an alternative reality which is also disappointing so we might just as well imagine one where we triumph.

In fact, I'll be in the team as player manager, in goal will be Robert Green of West Ham United, Morrissey will partner me up front and at half-time of our opening game (at Upton Park) Daniel Craig and Lindsay Dawn Mackenzie will do a live sex show.

The FA's decision to appoint a "world-class" manager is a good one but makes me wonder what the previous paradigm might've been. A "jittery" manager? A "malleable" manager? A "nice" manager? The manager of a team of millionaire athletes needs to be big. And preferably swarthy. When was the last time England had a manager with even an ounce of "swarth"? McClaren if confronted with swarth would piddle. Sven was chic but at the last World Cup Big Phil Scolari's low swinging sack of swarth sent his his tackle on an inward flight. Keegan, Hoddle, Taylor, Robson, all lovely in their way but compared to a gent with Mourinho's obvious sass unlikely to scorch the retina.

I've been dying for an opportunity to like Mourinho ever since he entered the English game but his position at the Bridge meant mine remained a secret and shameful affection. I squirmed like Humbert Humbert when he announced his own and Barcelona's teams a day before their infamous Camp Nou clash - "Oooh he's such a dirty tinker". Mind games and arrogance are an intriguing and beguiling brew, even from the manager of a detested rival club.

If he were to be appointed it would legitimise my interest, like a knicker thief suddenly made manager of a launderette my prurience would be seen as diligence - "I was merely sniffing to see if the Lenor had worked." The position requires a substantial character. One can only truly love someone if they exist to some degree outside the sphere of your control; if in a relationship you can dominate someone completely how can they offer salvation? How can they place their self between you and death?

I bet if you went out with Mourinho he'd never call back when you wanted him to, he'd flirt with other people and sometimes just broodily stare off into the distance and when you asked what was wrong say "Nothing" - all moodily. McClaren would bring you breakfast in bed wearing a novelty pinny. The England team would have to respect Jose, he'd demand it and whilst I suspect there was some breakdown in his relationship with senior Chelsea players towards the end of his tenure that, in my opinion, is because he was sabotaged.

That wouldn't happen at England. Sir Trevor Brooking will do a wonderful job in the meantime as a caretaker, he was marvellous at West Ham; revealing unimagined inner wrath on the touchline, it was like seeing a deputy headmaster gobbing at Hell's Angels.

I think the FA should do whatever it takes to get Mourinho, not just because of my silly crush but because I think he could galvanise our crestfallen nation. He could handle the press, the players, the ever shifting tactical requirements and I don't think we're in any position to quibble about flamboyant football, what we need is success.

It'll be a drag watching events in Austria and Switzerland next year while the English game thumbs its impotent crutch but knowing that Jose was at the foot of the bed in a baby doll nightie would make the process seem almost tantalising.

Guardian column

Same Old Chelsea...

Alan Curbishley has ignited a potential war of words with his Chelsea counterpart Avram Grant by insisting the Israeli has done nothing to evolve Chelsea since becoming the manager there and is "picking up" wins because of the foundations left by his predecessor, Jose Mourinho. Curbishley expects the side he encounters at Stamford Bridge in Saturday lunchtime's Premier League fixture to mirror the one West Ham played last season in both style and line-up. Such comments are sure to anger Grant, who has put great emphasis on the improving quality of Chelsea's football since he became manager in late September in an attempt to step out of Mourinho's shadow and establish his worth at the club.

"They're talking it up but if you care to look at it, there's not much difference," Curbishley said. "Drogba is a handful, the midfield three are as strong as you get, John Terry plays when he's fit and the other players are put around them. The side is well established and they play a certain way, it's just carried on. When he [Grant] took the job on he must have thought, 'I'm gonna win more than I lose with the squad I've got.' The foundations Mourinho left were there for everyone to see and he's taken over nice and quietly and picked up the results."

A comparison between Grant's 14 matches in charge of Chelsea and Mourinho's last 14 indicate the club is not only winning more regularly but doing so in more flamboyant style. Chelsea have won 10 times since the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United on September 23, Grant's first as manager, scoring 30 goals in the process. Running from the end of last season and until the 1-1 draw at home to Rosenborg on September 18, Mourinho's last match in charge, Chelsea won only four out of 14, scoring 14 times.

But as far as Curbishley is concerned, the only difference at the club is the persona of the man in the hot seat. "He [Grant] was the perfect solution for the change Chelsea wanted. He's quite reserved, different to what they had."

Curbishley also criticised the so-called big four's attempts to influence referees, days after Chelsea were charged with failing to control their players during the 2-0 victory away to Derby. The club has also only just paid a £30,000 fine for threatening behaviour towards the referee Mike Dean during the defeat at Old Trafford. "The big four teams definitely get after the ref a bit more than other teams," Curbishley said. "All the top teams are that way inclined - decisions are disputed, especially when they're at home."

Curbishley is hoping Freddie Ljungberg will be in contention for the weekend fixture after missing Sunday's 1-1 draw with Tottenham with a migraine. Dean Ashton, a long-term injury concern, could also start.

This Crimson Blot

This crimson blot will take three years to fade
By Russell Brand

I first became anxious when I realised that beneath the twirling, hypnotic umbrella seeking shelter from the lightly drizzling rain permitted by the broken roof at Wembley stood the manager of our national team, Steve McClaren. I was at the match in incredible seats with my mate Nik and David Baddiel and his brother Ivor.

We were right behind the dugout in posh leather-look seats having enjoyed the delightful hospitality of one of the lounges which was a bit embarrassing for us all in the sense that it's quite far removed from the authentic trudge and bilge that's synonymous with the football of our youth. Actually though I do like a bit of luxurious nosh and privilege in this the final flush of capitalism before the revolution levels us all, a revolution that seems all the more attractive now the beautiful distraction of Euro 2008 has been smashed to bits.

It seems daft to harp on about the subsidiary consequences of England's failiure to qualilify because the immediate effects are so upsetting; after a knife wound to the heart one is unlikely to lament the blood stains on your T-shirt and this crimson blot will take at least three years to rinse away. I wonder if Brian Barwick'll feel embarrassed in South Africa at the World Cup qualifiers draw? If he'll avoid the pitying glare and condemnation from his counterparts?

I bumped into a Croat in the lavvy straight after the match and was still unready for good-natured prittle-prattle so I neglected to ablute to avoid handshakes. I bore them ill-will even before the final whistle because of what I perceived to be a needlessly fascistic form of chanting throughout the match. Perhaps this says more about my prejudices than the philosophy of those fans but it did seem terribly well organised - two huge, adjacent sections of the stadium spent the entirety of the match indulging in a terrifyingly simplistic call-and-response mantra that unnerved me as much as the sharp, acerbic presence of Slaven Bilic on the touchline first in a woolly hat and an awful off-white coat that the whole Croatian operation had been forced to wear, then when he re-emerged for the second half, assured of victory, in a shoddy suit.

Why I've reserved my vituperation for this obviously talented manager and former West Ham centre-half is a mystery when a more fitting candidate for wrath stood like Gene Kelly or more latterly Rhiaana meekly concealed beneath his brolly awaiting a holiday in the Bahamas that it turns out he'd already booked. I was distracted in that fabulous stadium. David was agitated by the fact that the roof hadn't been closed and queried whether it was a misjudged tactical flooding under the assumption that the Croatians would never have encountered a "greasy surface" before.

When we later discovered that the bloody thing simply doesn't work it was merely added to the list of heartbreaking metaphors that cluttered up the abominable evening. I was transfixed by Bilic - he has menace in his eyes, and in my nervous mind I likened him to an Eastern bloc pimp masquerading as a mini cab operator in Soho. I berated myself for being so racist, whilst my head still hung; ashamed by the comical escapades occurring on the pitch and my own misuse of stereotypes the Croatian fans again brimmed over into their regimented yawp.

Poor Scott Carson looked all daft in his yellow costume. After his intitial error, so ludicrous that all present paused to establish that it had actually happened and was not just a big stupid David Copperfield-style illusion before letting the nausea kick in, he became from then on merely some matter filling an outfit standing in a goalmouth. Every time the Croatians surged forwards, mostly on the break, a goal appeared likely and Ivor's remark that England seemed not to have prepared in any way for the specificity of playing Croatia and their ability to inflict punishing counter attacks but simply assumed that a side, already qualified would be happy for an evening out, was judged to be the most perspicacious of the evening.

Though it received little in the way of competition from me I confined myself to attacking the Croatian team's coats which I judged to be rubbish, particularly in comparison with the rather dapper England attire - in my mind a sartorial competition became the only kind of encounter in which we could triumph.

In the second half David Beckham, dear derided, adored David Beckham offered hope, he knew it was him alone who could offer it. Eighty thousand people scanned the pitch searching for something to be optimistic about and it wasn't til his arrival that that need found a destination. It was for him alone that I remained to applaud as he left the field, dignified still, saluting the crowd, teased to the precipice of a century. Who knows what will occupy this wasteland when, if he ever surpasses his 99th cap?

McClaren had already sought sanctuary in the dressing room knowing his holiday was already assured along with his severance. Better to be abroad - his umbrella can offer little protection from the current storm.

Guardian column

Curbs Turns His Back On England

West Ham manager backs call to stem foreign influence.
By Duncan Castles

It has been a week of soul-searching for the national game. 'Horrendous', 'impossible', 'a job no one will want to take' were just three of the negative depictions of the England manager's position. The nation's European Championship future at the mercy of Macedonia, Israel, Russia and Croatia; its long-term future darkened by the ever burgeoning horde of foreign footballers employed on these shores.

Eighteen months ago the country's most lauded home-grown coaches had submitted themselves to the Football Association's horribly drawn-out appointment process. Today, Steve McClaren is being hounded out by the media, Sam Allardyce is battling for survival at Newcastle and Alan Curbishley is emphatically not interested in serving the FA were they to come double-interviewing again.

When I was at Charlton I had all sorts of clauses in the contract - for other clubs, for the national side - and that's why I was given permission to talk in the first place but I didn't seek any of those sort of things in this contract,' says Curbishley, the West Ham United manager. 'I'm ruling myself out entirely. This is where I want to be and this is where I want to be successful, so I've got no intention of leaving the club.'

If that sounds like another victory for Premier League over patriotism it is deceptive. A consistent champion of Englishness from the grass-roots to his profession's senior appointment, Curbishley's passion for the national team remains undiminished - as concerned with the quality of player feeding through from youth levels as he is that England's manager should remain a compatriot.

Six of his 13 permanent transfers into West Ham, and the majority of his recruitment budget, have involved Englishmen. Curbishley's interview with The Observer came on an afternoon spent handing over FA certificates to a class of community coaches, one of several personal contributions to the Premier League's Creating Chances programme. 'The problems are obvious,' says Curbishley. 'At the start of the Premier League season, I think 40 per cent of the players playing were English. The second week it went down because of injuries or change of selection. That is very difficult for Steve McClaren. Secondly, [the under-21 manager] Stuart Pearce has got to scrutinise where he wants to go because he has to ensure that there are a few English players playing to make it worthwhile.

'It reminds me a little bit of Scotland a couple of years ago when you were going to a Scottish game and there were hardly any Scottish players on the pitch. It has become very, very difficult and I think one of the reasons is the global market. The Premier League is very attractive to a lot of players and it's going to become more attractive.'

Other statistics bear out Curbishley's concern. In the first week of the Premiership in 1992, a mere 11 non-British players started matches. Currently, it employs senior professionals from 62 different nations while its youth ranks become less English by the season. That is another worry for the West Ham manager.

'I think the clubs have invested so much money in the coaching and the facilities - at most clubs now they are second to none and totally different to what we had growing up - but I don't know if there is the enthusiasm coming from the raw material,' says Curbishley. 'That's one of the biggest problems. The standard and the number of coaches and the infrastructure is far greater than 10, 20, 30 years ago but we don't seem to have the same players coming through.

'I keep going back to the raw material. I think the raw material has got to want to be a footballer, or love the game, or want to improve. I think they see what can be achieved but I don't know if they want to go out and get it. I can't help thinking we're bringing up a softer generation, where there's other things in life, as opposed to football.'

Regulating squads through a quota system is a solution that Curbishley can see merit in. Be it the Uefa method of reserving a proportion of squad slots for home-grown players, the Scottish Premier League's mandate that a team lists at least two under-21s, or Sepp Blatter's proposal at Fifa that no more than five of the starting XI be foreigners.

'I think it's happened in other countries and sports and been accepted,' says Curbishley. 'It wasn't too long ago that cricket had to do that, stop the influx of the foreign cricket player. I'm quite into rugby union and haven't they got a similar problem, that half their squad is foreign? If there is going to be a development that is going to help the home nations bring more people through, then we're got to do it.

'It's no coincidence that Mark Noble's is the biggest-selling West Ham shirt. Because he's one of two home-grown players at the moment, because the fans can identify and see that he's one of them. It's so much better for a club and a team if that can be done.'

Artificially or not, increasing the number of Englishmen on Premier League teamsheets should diminish another problem handicapping the national team. 'No sooner does an English player break into his Premier League team than he's being touted for England,' says Curbishley. 'He's played a handful of games and people are talking about him that he's going to come through - because there's not a lot about.'

Their talents often exaggerated by observers, when such youngsters do make the national team the pressures increase again. 'They turn up, the focus of attention is on them and everything that they do. They can't even walk along the street. We all know it's a difficult situation the national side. Everyone is under pressure to perform, but it seems to me that they don't perform with perhaps the same feel and the same freedom as when they play for their clubs. Perhaps that's something we should look at.'

Curbishley still feels the current England team are 'better than what they're producing'. Though he no longer wants the job, he also refutes the suggestion that managing the team is mission impossible. What has not changed is his belief that the mission should be undertaken by an English coach, which he says should continue to be McClaren regardless of his Euro qualifying campaign.

Observer

My England Habit

I need a new way to feed my England habit
By Russell Brand

When organising warm-up gigs for the forthcoming, final leg of my current tour my tour manager, Ian (City), and manager, Nik (United), asked if I wanted to keep Wednesday night free for the England match. Whether the game against Croatia is of any relevance will be determined tonight in Tel Aviv when Israel play Russia - if Russia don't win then England can still qualify for the European Championship with a victory against the group leaders at Wembley.

In effect, my response to this inquiry will define me either as a patriotic optimist or an indifferent pessimist. Or, as is often the case in these times, there is a third way: I could remain essentially optimistic but affiliate myself only with the claret and blue corner of England where Bow bells chime and bubbles blow, like a Cornish separatist imagining new borders around a principality of the heart.

We all know of the pledge, of course, where we swear to never again be seduced by a national side that only ever lets us down, an oath that is easier to remain faithful to if you're a fan of Manchester United or Arsenal and have a happy and successful domestic football life than if you follow Huddersfield, no disrespect, or even West Ham. But perhaps that constituency is now being diminished. Fans of the MK Dons could find more joy and triumph following their local team than by going to all the bother of daubing a St George's cross with Milton Keynes and traipsing off to Vienna.

I can't seem to give up my England habit: although I've never seen them play I have been inveigled by the trappings. Esso World Cup coins, for example, which bore the faces of the Italia 90 squad were as prized as richly as golden doubloons by my teenage self and while people fret and query the benefits of adopting the euro I campaign tirelessly in my mind to have them made our sole legal tender - a Peter Beardsley for a loaf of bread, a Chris Waddle for a day pass at Thorpe Park and a weeping Gazza for unlimited lap dances at Spearmint Rhino (they were very rare).

Last week only 38 Englishmen played in the Premiership. Now I don't want to get all Oswald Mosley but is that enough? We're approaching the point where if you are a top-flight English footballer you can assume you'll be in the squad, just turn up at the airport in your PE kit and demand a chance. So perhaps Michel Platini and the brave Steven Gerrard are right, that there ought be a cap on foreign players or players should run out for the nation in which they earn their money.

That might be quite good actually, not just because then "England" would be bloody brilliant but also David Beckham would have to play for the United States, probably as skipper, affording me the delightful opportunity to write an article entitled "Captain America to the rescue" which would be a breeze. It might even help to loosen the stranglehold that nationalism still has upon us, and our atavistic tribal instincts, to the point where we abandon the concept of the individual and gather in stadiums just to cheer the idea of collective consciousness - it would be much harder to tell who'd won or when the game had finished and some people would still struggle with the offside rule but it might herald an age of global peace.

When I was a lad and Liverpool won everything, folk would harp on about Sammy Lee being the only English player because that side was made up largely of home nations players. Others would say he was like a little barrel that had come to life in a Disney film set in a brewery but they contribute nought to this argument and can just eff off.

I suppose what I'm saying is that England will always underachieve, and it doesn't seem to be something we can correlate to club football in a direct way. If we don't qualify there is talk of having a home nations tournament, presuming that Scotland are also available, and some of my mates are more into that idea. "Four meaningful matches," said John (Liverpool) and I'd be interested to watch such a tourney, but it might feel a bit like the third-place matches in the World Cup where two teams of disillusioned failures vie for mediocrity.

We'd be pretending to care about our mini-matches but actually in our heart of hearts we'd know we were watching a consolation cup, for little girls in their mum's high-heels tottering around, fancying themselves all adult but not contributing to the gas bill.

I'm doing my warm-up gigs on Monday and Tuesday night and keeping Wednesday free because I make decisions with my heart (especially now my goolies are out of action) so Wednesday I'll be watching England and I hope it'll be consequential. I know it'll be a lot more relaxed than the front room in Yarm where Steve McClaren will watch tonight's other group matches with his sons and a loudly ticking clock.

Guardian column

Soulja Boys

I'm joccin' on yo bitch ass
And if we get to fightin
Den I'm coccin' on yo bitch ass
You catch me at yo local party
Yes I crank it everyday
Haterz get mad cuz
I got me some bathin apes...

Protecting A Friend

Anton Ferdinand became involved in a fight outside a nightclub after running "to protect" his friend, he told a court today. The 22-year-old has pleaded not guilty to causing actual bodily harm on October 2 last year and affray outside Faces nightclub in Ilford.

He told Snaresbrook crown court he was trying to defend himself after the man turned on him "aggressively". Also in the dock is his friend Edwards Dawkins, 28, of Henry Adlington Close, Beckton, east London, who also denies the charges. Their alleged victim, Emile Walker, 23, has told jurors that after Ferdinand struck him he was punched and kicked to the ground by up to 10 men.

Giving evidence, Ferdinand said he was unaware that a friend in a white shirt, who has not been identified, struck Mr Walker to the side of the head outside the club. "I looked to my right and I saw Emile Walker aggressively running towards my friend and I'm fearing the worst," said Ferdinand. "My purpose was to go and protect my friend."

He said he put his left hand up to act as a "protection shield" and he was shouting but could not remember his words. "When he [Mr Walker] turned around I felt frightened because he did turn around aggressively and I knew it was time to defend myself. I tried to swing at him, to contain him, to grab him, to keep him close to me so he couldn't do anything to me. He was trying to come across to hit me and I'm trying to get to him to try and contain him."

Ferdinand's barrister Antony Chinn QC led him through CCTV footage taken of the events outside the club. Ferdinand said he was trying to restrain Mr Walker but as the pair were wrestling, "Emile Walker was getting the better of me, getting on top of me and pulling my head down."

Ferdinand said he suffered a "bust lip" and a moved tooth during the scuffle, which required treatment from the dentist the next day. "After feeling the pain that I felt from that blow, which shook me up and scared me, I wanted to protect myself," he said. "I tried to hit him back."

He said he tried to punch Mr Walker but he did not think it was a "full on blow". Ferdinand said he was relieved when the pair were parted as he was not an aggressive man and often did work with children from Peckham, south London, to advise them against using violent means. He said that on the way home he was shaken up and in a daze and his lips were throbbing with pain.

Ferdinand told the court he had been in a "bubbly and happy" mood but had drunk no more than four or five whisky and cokes. He said that as he was leaving the club a man kicked him from behind, aggravating a slight hamstring injury from which he was already suffering. He said the kick was "hard enough to make me realise that someone had done something to hurt me".

The bouncer ushered the man outside and a short time later Ferdinand himself went out of the club to wait for Mr Dawkins, who was bringing the car. At this point he saw Mr Walker, who was with a couple of other men and was staring at him. "He was looking at my watch, looking me up and down," said Ferdinand. "I felt uncomfortable with him looking at me like that."

He said he had been mugged the previous year near a nightclub in Croydon and one of the attackers had tried to stab his friend because he wouldn't hand over his belongings. He said that he himself was more co-operative, and handed over his phone, and his chain was ripped from his neck.

Of events outside the club, Ferdinand continued: "Another one of my friends comes up to me and he says to Mr Walker: 'What are you looking at?' and Mr Walker turned to his friend and said: 'Is he for real, I will kill you'." He said Mr Walker's manner was "very serious" but he put his arm around his friend and told him to leave it.

The court heard that Ferdinand had been at West Ham since the age of nine and turned professional at 17. He left school at 16 with three GCSEs, including for PE and music. He told the court that he had received "the odd yellow card" but had never received a red, "touch wood," he said.

He said he had been racially taunted during football games both by another player and by the crowd, but he had never reacted to this and was not an aggressive man. "A lot of people say that that is one of my downfalls as a defender, that I am not as aggressive as I should be," he explained.

The court heard Ferdinand was at the club with about 10 friends after driving there with his cousin and arriving at about 10.30pm. Alex Agbamu, prosecuting, said to him: "It is suggested that this incident was sparked off by a man who Mr Walker believes may be your cousin." Ferdinand, who would not give his cousin's name in court, said that the man who could be seen hitting Mr Walker in the CCTV footage was not his cousin.

Judge William Kennedy adjourned the trial until tomorrow when Ferdinand is expected to continue giving his evidence.

Throwing The First Punch

West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand admitted throwing the first punch in a confrontation outside a nightclub, a court heard today. Ferdinand told police he thought the man might be an armed mugger who wanted to steal his £64,000 diamond-encrusted watch. The 22-year-old, who had been mugged a year earlier, explained he "had worked hard" for the valuable timepiece and was not about to let anybody take it. Ferdinand, who is on trial for assaulting the "would-be thief" he insisted had been "eyeballing" him, said his alleged victim also threatened to kill his friend.Despite Ferdinand trying to act as "peacemaker" during the increasingly tense situation, a fight suddenly erupted. London's Snaresbrook crown court heard it was then he began trading blows with the man. However, when he was asked who struck the first blow, he admitted he had.

Ferdinand pleads not guilty to causing actual bodily harm and affray outside Faces nightclub in Ilford on October 2 last year. In the dock with him is Edward Dawkins, 28, of Beckton, east London, who also denies the charges. Their alleged victim, Emile Walker, 23, has told jurors that, after Ferdinand struck him, he was punched and kicked to the ground by up to 10 men. He managed to escape and flee from the scene with just a badly bruised jaw and a cut on his forehead. Jurors have heard Ferdinand was about to be driven from the scene when police stopped the car he was in and questioned him about the incident. Initially he denied being involved in any fight outside the club, saying his lip had been cut during an incident inside the premises, while blood on his T-shirt came from an old leg injury.

In his statement Ferdinand described leaving the nightclub at about 1am and being kicked by a man in the foyer on the way out. A friend told him to ignore the incident, but as they headed for the pavement he became aware of a group of men hanging about. "I became apprehensive because one of the men began looking at me and my watch," said his statement. "Although it was insured I was worried in case the man might try to take it from me. The fear arose in part because I was mugged about a year ago in Croydon during which my mobile was taken from me and a chain ripped from me. I found that incident frightening and I try now to avoid having to go through that again."

Ferdinand told police that as the man - allegedly Mr Walker - continued "eyeballing" him his friend asked the man what he was looking at. His statement went on: "He said to my friend 'Is he for real? I will kill you'. My friend got mad at being threatened like that. I told him to walk away. I was afraid there was going to be a fight, one I had not started, did not want and was trying to walk away from. I was worried he would take my watch by force and I had worked hard to earn the money to buy that watch and did not want him to take it from me. "The man who had threatened to kill my friend seemed to be acting on that threat by approaching us. For all I knew he had a knife. It worries me people who are prepared to start a fight do not do so without carrying a weapon."

Ferdinand said the violence he had feared then began. "Other people quickly became involved," he said. "I wasn't really focusing on anything other than protecting myself. It was very frightening." The interviewing officer then asked him whether he hit anyone. "Yes ... by punches and he did punches as well," he replied, in an apparent reference to Mr Walker. "Did you punch him before he punched you?" - "Yeah."

Ferdinand said one of the blows he received loosened one of his teeth and subsequently required dental treatment. He also aggravated an old hamstring injury during the melee. "It was all really a daze for me," he said. "I was very anxious. It was such a horrible experience." Even after arriving home 90 minutes later he was "still anxious and distressed". Ferdinand, who told police he had drunk no more than five "JD and cokes" during the evening, added: "Around that area it is a known fact that a lot of people in my profession go to clubs like that."

The trial was adjourned until tomorrow when Ferdinand is expected to give evidence.

Fergie's Flirtatious Feuding

My view from afar of Fergie's Flirtatious Feuding
By Russell Brand

I'm in Morocco and no matter how completely my senses are flooded with the mystery of the souks and the nobility of the Atlas mountains this will always be to me the nation that in Mexico '86 fielded a player called Mustafa Merry (I remember the Panini sticker book representation rather than the individual). I liked that name as a child as it seemed like a joke, and also pre-empted by a decade my mate Matt's nickname for me as an Arabic-tunic wearing junkie, Mustafa Skagfix.

The other prejudice I've been carting about was learned from the Joe Orton biopic Prick Up Your Ears where Joe and his murderous lover Kenneth Halliwell briefly holidayed here and copped off with loads of rent-boys. I don't know why that stayed with me, it just seemed so jolly, bathing costumes, giggling and Alfred Molina and Gary Oldman enjoying tense frissons. The memory of the pair of them, and Mustafa Merry, skipped through my mind while I was on the phone to the travel agent.

I've not encountered Mustafa or a single rent boy the whole time I've been here and am thinking of demanding a discount. I've kept my eye on things in Albion though and here's my round-up of football news, not to mention my "wacky, sideways" view of it all: Chris Hutchings' sacking; oh. I liked him, he was a friendly peep-eyed, thin-lipped, gel-haired uncle and I don't think Dave Whelan has given him long enough. Also talk of Paul Jewell returning to Wigan seems barmy because Hutchings was formerly his first-team coach.

What if Jewell does return and offers Hutchings his old job back? It'll be uncomfortable, Hutchings won't be able to tell the players anything - he'll be like a castrated step-dad. "Run round them cones lads," he might shout; "Eff off, you're not my real coach," Heskey'll respond. It'll be awful. It doesn't do to go backwards, unless you're an old lady descending stairs, then it's de rigueur.

West Ham have always been keen on the ol' "sell players then bring 'em back" technique and it's always a bit disappointing. Julian Dicks, Tony Cottee and Frank McAvennie all came back for less successful second spells and whilst it's romantic I don't know that it's good business. Though who wouldn't welcome dear Harry Redknapp back to the Boleyn in an instant? Why, only the loopy and the indifferent.

There was talk of Nicolas Anelka returning to Arsenal but I imagine Arsène Wenger is not one given to nostalgia, and it seems improbable that any of Fergie's former charges would be welcome back at Old Trafford - they usually seem to be kicked out from 'neath the protection of his coarse petticoats like incestuous toddlers. I admire Sir Alex Ferguson's need for conflict as much as his appetite for success, and his remarks this week about Sepp Blatter's proposed cap on foreign players were tremendous fun; implying that Arsenal and Liverpool would suffer most under such a ruling then nonchalantly awaiting the protestations from the Emirates.

Wenger was of course unable to resist retaliating and I thought his riposte was a good one: "His own foreign players must feel undervalued by that." I enjoyed this particularly as I was following this minor dispute as if it were a soap opera and after Ferguson's initial dig I knew Wenger would respond but was unable to anticipate the quality of his parry. It's like flirting a bit, or any form of seduction: one must destabilise the target to make them suggestible to new ideas, like bumming.

Not that I'm suggesting that this was Ferguson's ulterior motive although the chemistry between them is exciting. The cursory, eye contact-free handshake that followed last Saturday's clash, whilst brief, must have felt enormous to either man. Like having a fingernail traced up the nape of your neck or sweet breath blown into your ear, how could it not engender an electric shudder? I wonder if they think about each other much when they're alone, initially angry - "the security was a bloody joke" - but lapsing into the whimsical - "he has such inviting lips, ever wet and puckered, each rebuke a prelude to a vicious kiss" - almost certainly.

Actually Yossi Benayoun would be carried shoulder high along the Barking Road should he ever return. His hat-trick against Besiktas, like every ball Joe Cole has ever kicked whilst clad in blue, induced a gut-pang, and now as a nation we must hope that he uses his much missed and lamented skills to give England a chance of qualifying for the European Championship perhaps, if the mischievous deities of nostalgia have their way, under the stewardship of Terry Venables.

Guardian column

Dealing With A Crisis

There are many ways to deal with a crisis. If you're Heather Mills, you book a breakfast TV slot and launch into a tearful rant about the wicked, nasty, evil media. If you're the England rugby team and you've just lost 36-0 to South Africa, you ignore the boss and adopt a siege mentality that takes you all the way to a World Cup final. And if you're the prime minister, you simply quash opposition hopes by saying no, thank you very much, we won't be holding a general election just now.

Similarly resourceful in the crisis-handling stakes is Alan Curbishley. The West Ham United manager is still planning to add weight to his injury-prone strike force by recruiting Internazionale's Adriano according to the Guardian. The generously proportioned Brazilian apparently rejected a planned summer move to Upton Park on the grounds that the nearest West Ham will get to Europe this season is a midwinter break in Benidorm. However, that was before Roberto Mancini decided that Adriano's fulsome figure couldn't be accommodated within the narrow confines of his 25-man Champions League squad, dashing the striker's pregnant expectations of Euro frolics and prompting him to dream anew of blowing bubbles at the Boleyn Ground.

Luis Confused

Luis Boa Morte's inability to establish a regular first team place at West Ham seems to have affected his memory. He yesterday described the club as one which is "always in the top eight" and can fight for Europe, months after they survived relegation on the last day of the Premier League season. The former Fulham captain also said West Ham are the bigger of the two teams and that was the main reason why he moved from west to east London in the last January transfer window.

Since his £5m move, Boa Morte has made 27 appearances at Upton Park with 12 of those as substitute. This season he has started only six out of 11 matches, scoring one goal. The 30-year-old admits his slow progress has caused unrest in his relationship with manager Alan Curbishley. "I don't want to be sitting around while West Ham play," Boa Morte said. "I respect the decisions the manager makes but that does not mean I have to be happy about it. I get frustrated sitting on the bench, I want to show the fans what I can do, that would make me feel better. I will work hard to get into the team."

But Boa Morte, who has started West Ham's last two matches - the league draw away to Portsmouth and the midweek Carling Cup win against Coventry, insists he has no regrets about moving to West Ham, having made more than 200 appearances for Fulham in seven years scoring 44 goals. The Portuguese said: "I had a good time at Fulham but I was at a stage in my life where I had to move on. West Ham is a bigger club, being here gives me a different challenge. Fulham were fighting all the time to stay in the Premier League but at West Ham it is different, this is a club that plays always in the top eight. We can definitely be in Europe." West Ham finished two points and one place above Fulham last season and are currently in 11th place.

The Hammers could climb to eight should they beat Bolton on Sunday afternoon but will to try and take three points without a host of injured players, including Dean Ashton, Craig Bellamy, Kieron Dyer, Scott Parker, Freddie Ljungberg and Bobby Zamora. Hayden Mullins and Anton Ferdinand picked up knocks in Tuesday's match at Highfield Road although the former is expected to be fit for the weekend.

Curbishley is refusing to use the absentees as an excuse for any slip-up against Gary Megson's side. He said: "We have just got to get on with it. Some of the players who are fit have had to play out of position and have been picking up results along the way, which is great credit to them." It is almost 12 months since Curbishley became manager at West Ham. He is certain he will not spend 15 years at the club as he did at Charlton and in Bolton's recent change of manager, sees a pattern which will be repeated again soon.

He said: "I had 15 years at Charlton and Iain Dowie [his successor] had 15 matches, Sam Allardyce had 10 years at Bolton, Sammy Lee had 10 matches, it's just the way it is going unfortunately, managers no longer have time to establish themselves at a club."

Curbishley has given his backing to a winter break in English football but admits it would be difficult to implement. "A break would do everyone good but how would you fit the games in?" He said. "We're already a match behind and can't fit it in because of Champions League and Carling Cup games during the week. If you took two weeks off in January, and then there was bad weather after that, the problem would get worse and we'd struggle to finish the season on time. One solution would be to start the season earlier."

East Will Always Be East

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A Striker Reborn

It is difficult to believe Carlton Cole could "go missing" on a football pitch given that he stands 6ft 3in tall but many Upton Park regulars will have endorsed Alan Curbishley's choice of words when the West Ham United manager reflected on a career that has promised much and delivered little.

The injury-time goal that took West Ham past Coventry and into the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup on Tuesday could be a sign that Cole is rediscovering the form that prompted Chelsea to offer him a six-year contract as a teenager. With West Ham's treatment room now overflowing an opportunity beckons. "I have been under a lot of pressure from my own fans," said Cole. "Sometimes I think it has been a bit unjust but that is football. I am trying to come to terms with that. I came to the club and a lot was expected of me. But I have never been given a great chance to fulfil my potential at any of the clubs I have been with. What the fans have seen of me so far has not been good enough. Hopefully I can change that now.

First Rule For Life In The Lounge

First of all, apologies for the lack of updates for the last fortnight. I doubt anyone cares but severe technical problems, logistical hindrances and ill-health combined to put a stop to my posting. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

How a public encounter with my boyhood hero Tony Cottee could have gone better
By Russell Brand

Tony Cottee requested that I be his guest in the lounge for West Ham's last home game against Sunderland. In this context "being a guest in the lounge" is not like it would be in Lady Windermere's Fan where one would sit demurely exchanging epigrams with toffs. No, what it entails is appearing on a low-budget chat show, where you stand - that's right, stand, I said it was low-budget - and are interviewed by Tony before an audience of West Ham fans tucking into their nosh.

One suspects that the sedentary diners have paid handsomely for this unique afternoon of entertainment and I was determined not to let them, or Tony, down. Cottee is a hero of mine, occupying a place in my affections so formative that it is almost impossible to view him objectively. He exists in a realm shared by childhood pets, Wurzel Gummidge and Morrissey; a realm that precedes rational judgment, for the retina of my consciousness was scorched by his image before the facility to analyse had evolved.

Like when I first saw that poster of the tennis player lady scratching her bottom it made me feel angry as at that early stage I didn't know how to be aroused. Actually, I'm still a bit angry with her post-pubescently - why didn't she put some knickers on if she knew she was going to be playing tennis? It's flouting the sport's conventions.

When I think of all the bother Andre Agassi endured at Wimbledon just for wearing those colourful cycling shorts it makes my blood boil. At least he didn't turn up on Centre Court nude from the waist down dragging himself along the baseline like dogs do to scratch their arses. It's one rule for the rich and one for the poor.

So with all that borne in mind you can imagine it was important I didn't disappoint TC. He runs the executive lounges at Upton Park with the same febrile tenacity that he ran West Ham's attack in the 80s, and he stoutly issued me with instructions: there are two lounges, we do them consecutively, Tony does the quiz and player of the month (my current heartthrob Mark Noble) then brings me out for a chat.

He asks me five questions - "No pressure, it's just a laugh" - then we repeat the process in the second lounge. Oh, and "No swearing". Simple. Here are just some of the blunders I managed to jam into my five-minute interview in lounge one:

a) I said that I thought Dean Ashton would be influential even though Dean is currently out with a knee injury. Damn. I've been away for weeks in Tuscany with no internet or papers writing my autobiography. I was oblivious. I'm so sorry;

b) I implied that in the legendary partnership between Tony and my beloved Frank McAvennie, Tony was a goal scrounger while Frank did all the running, deftly comparing it to the onstage relationship between myself and the show's esteemed host;

c) To illustrate the nature of man's curiosity I evoked an analogy in which I queried whether the audience would open an envelope which contained a photograph of Her Majesty The Queen's vagina.

And, finally, d) I said fuck. Before we embarked on the second lounge Tony's main note was "watch the swearing", he was quite firm about it, then during interview two, which was better, as I went to relay my royal analogy Tony expertly steered me into some chat about Billy Bonds.

And then to watch the match. I sat with Tony, his mate John and his lovely dad Clive to witness West Ham's flattering 3-1 victory against the "Black Cats" (I struggle with that nickname as it was only issued as the result of a poll in a local paper in Sunderland and I query whether or not actual Sunderland fans use it conversationally. Or if they're too self-conscious thinking maybe they should've gone down a less obvious route of talismans for ill fortune in a blatant affront to their rivals Newcastle United's nickname "the Magpies") more shy about chanting than usual and profoundly touched that a man whom I used to study with awe as a child as he hustled defences and keepers and scored now sat beside me watching the team we both love.

Guardian column

Dum Spiro, Spero

Kieron Dyer is hoping to get the all-clear today to start his long recovery from a broken leg. Dyer, 28, suffered the double leg break in a Carling Cup tie at Bristol Rovers in August in only his second game for the Hammers after a £6million move from Newcastle. According to the Sun, the midfielder is already targeting a place in next summer’s Euro 2008 finals. "It’s a very big day for me," he said. "I’m having an X-ray and if the specialist is happy I should be able to put weight on my leg." Looking ahead to the impending England games, Dyer added: "I have no doubt that we will get the results. It would be great if I could be involved. But I’m concentrating on rehab. The bones are pinned and it feels solid."

Another injured West Ham player with international ambitions has been assured by Steve McClaren today that he will get another chance to pull on an England jersey. Dean Ashton was forced to withdraw from the England squad for the Euro qualifiers against Estonia and Russia with a knee ligament injury that is likely to keep him out for six weeks. "I spoke to him on Monday and he was devastated," said the England manager. "I watched him play against Aston Villa on Saturday and when I left with five minutes to go he looked okay. It's terrible for him to miss out again but I've told him not to worry. Once he gets his fitness and form back he'll be in contention for a place."

Ashton's injury means only Carlton Cole is fit among the five forwards at Upton Park (gulp!). Henri Camara has a hamstring problem and Bobby Zamora will be out for two more weeks after knee surgery. Alan Curbishley may even be forced to push Luis Boa Morte into attack, although the manager hopes that Craig Bellamy will soon be available after a groin operation. Anton Ferdinand could also be out of action for a further six weeks while The Times report a possible setback in the recovery of Scott Parker, who Curbishley had hoped would return at the end of the month. Happily, Boa Morte showed he had recovered from the dead leg he picked up in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa by heading the winner for West Ham reserves in the 1-0 win over Tottenham today.

One further piece of good news is that Craig Bellamy has joined up with the Welsh international squad after recovering well from surgery on his groin last week. The club have declared themselves happy with the progress Bellamy has made since having the operation last Thursday out in Germany and fully support his wish to make himself available for Wales' two Euro 2008 qualifiers, against Cyprus and San Marino. The Mirror call it an sensational return for a player who had been expected to be sidelined for at least 12 days. Bellamy has been in light training with West Ham over the last couple of days and participated in full training with his Welsh team mates today in Cardiff before flying out to Cyprus for the first match.

Welsh FA spokesman Ceri Stennett said: "It has been something of a surprise. Craig had a groin operation last week and we were aware that he was training with West Ham, and the intention was to wait to see how he went and then, if he was okay, fly him out to Bologna on Monday to join up with the party heading for San Marino. Craig has had the same operation that Michael Owen has had, and Owen was back playing in just a few days. We were prepared to wait a little longer and for him to be monitored by West Ham. But Craig has always said to us that he wanted to travel for both matches, and now West Ham are happy for him to do so and for him to be available for both matches". If he plays in either of the qualifiers, it would mean him getting important match action under his belt ahead of West Ham's next league match, at home to Sunderland next weekend.

On a separate note, The Sun have continued their 'anyone but Robinson' campaign by trying to flog Robert Green to Arsenal, citing the keeper's frustration at being continually overlooked by Steve McClaren as a possible reason for the move. Andrew Dillon claims Arsene Wenger wants to buy our £6million-rated keeper as he remains unconvinced about his current stopper Manuel Almunia. The article intimates that Green could be receptive to an approach by one of the 'Big Four' and suggests the only sticking point could be that Green will demand first-team football.

Back To Basics

Dean Ashton has been ruled out of action for up to six weeks after scans confirmed the striker has a sprained medial knee ligament. The forward was yesterday forced to withdraw from the England squad to face Estonia and Russia in Euro 2008 qualifiers on Saturday and Wednesday week respectively after being hurt late in Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa. Head physiotherapist George Cooper confirmed the extent of Ashton's injury on the official site. "We received the results of Dean's scan and they were what we expected which is that he had sprained the upper third of his medial ligament," he said. "In the majority of cases it will take up to six weeks for full recovery." The injury is a bitter blow for the 23-year-old whose previous call into the England squad for an August 2006 friendly against Greece saw him pick up an ankle injury in training. On a more positive note, Craig Bellamy began running again last Friday after an operation on a groin injury and is to join up with the Wales squad ahead of their own qualifiers against Cyprus and San Marino, although he is set to sit out the first fixture.

Meanwhile, West Ham have announced that young winger Hogan Ephraim has extended his loan at Queen's Park Rangers for a third month. The 19-year-old Academy graduate has been on loan at the Championship club since August and has made nine appearances in his first two months at Loftus Road. His most recent outing came last night with Ephraim impressing in the 1-0 home defeat of Norwich City - the club's first victory of the season. Ephraim's loan will see him stay with QPR until November 6. Two other West Ham players are also out on loan. Scotland defender Christian Dailly, who is in his country's squad for the Euro 2008 qualifiers at home against Ukraine this Saturday and next Wednesday's trip to Georgia, is at Championship club Southampton until 22 October while 18-year-old goalkeeper David Blackmore is on loan at Conference South side Thurrock.

Finally, Hayden Mullins believes the international break will allow West Ham United to get "back to basics" as they look to push on from a respectable mid-table position. The versatile midfielder was naturally disappointed with the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday but insisted: "I think we have to get back on the training field, work hard and get back to basics. What we were doing right before we went on this bad run. We had a very good record. We want to get back to that." Once the international programme is out of the way, West Ham entertain Sunderland at home on Sunday 21 October before a trip to Portsmouth six days later and then the Carling Cup fourth-round tie at Coventry City on Tuesday 30 October. According to Mullins, there is every chance of taking league points and reaching the last eight of the cup competition. "We know there a couple of good games coming up for us later this month and we're looking to win them," he added.

Looking back to Saturday, the midfielder paid tribute to the effort shown despite conceding from a free-kick he felt was harshly awarded. "We did really well in the second half, we were the much better side and we're disappointed to come out of that losing. It's just a reminder that we have to take our chances and keep it a bit tighter at the back. I think we always looked dangerous but didn't get that bit of luck that we needed. That was the decisive factor. Once you get half a chance, Carlton Cole had one, Lee Bowyer and Matty Etherington, you have to take them, which we didn't today. We'll be going back to the training field and working on that."

Aston Villa 1 West Ham United 0

Wing Wizard Young Keeps English Flag Flying by David Lacey

While the presence of 14 Englishmen on the Villa Park pitch at the start would have pleased Sepp Blatter, the president of Fifa, who wants teams to be restricted to five foreigners, the match itself supported the view of Arsenal's Arsène Wenger that such a move would undermine the quality of the football... Guardian

Walls Have No Fears For Gardner by Duncan Castles

Hundreds of millions have been spent on purchasing and renovating these two stalwarts of the English game, yet still they inhabit the twilight zone of the Premier League. Capable enough to trip up a superpower once in a while, but struggling for the consistency that would earn their owners a European away day... Observer

Ashton Injury Compounds Misery by Brian Doogan

FOUR goals failed to accomplish the job for Aston Villa on Monday night against Tottenham but, with a converted free kick by Craig Gardner and a much more assured defensive display, Martin O’Neill’s team needed just one strike to rise to fifth in the Premier League at the second time of asking... Sunday Times

Villa Park Remains A Fortress by Peter Lansley

Manchester United are the next side to visit Villa Park and it is testimony to the platform Martin O’Neill is building that since the Barclays Premier League champions ran out 3-0 winners there before last Christmas, Aston Villa have been beaten at home only by Arsenal and Liverpool... Times

Ashton Injury Is Hammer Blow by Mike Rowbottom

An afternoon of increasing frustration for West Ham ended in something distinctly worse, both for themselves and England, when Dean Ashton suffered a knee injury that reduced him to the role of walking wounded by the end of this frantic but largely unaccomplished match... Independent

Ashley Young Shines As Dean Ashton Suffers by Clive White

Steve McClaren was at Villa Park yesterday afternoon – well, it's not as if there was anywhere else for him to go – ostensibly to run the rule over West Ham's Dean Ashton and Villa's Ashley Young for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers. The latter will have left the deeper impression upon the England coach, along with his Villa team-mate Gabriel Agbonlahor, rather than the lumbering West Ham target man... Sunday Telegraph

Friends Reunited

When Nigel Reo-Coker left West Ham for Aston Villa last season, there was much acrimony. Now he can't wait to clatter a few old team-mates today and upset the fans who berated him. But the truth is that he had to get out of London to rekindle his career — or risk sinking with the temptations around him, according to his former midfield colleague, Hayden Mullins. Mullins could have been on the way out too, as a makeweight to Charlton with striker Darren Bent going to Upton Park, but the move fell through and Mullins' professionalism has led to him re-establishing himself in the team. Reo-Coker and Mullins still socialise and keep in constant touch but once the white line is crossed at Villa Park today, expect the tackles to fly.

"Nigel has already told me that anyone who gets in his way is going to get kicked — and he wants to score," admits Mullins. "I spoke to him on Wednesday and he's up for the game, there's no doubt about that. He'll want to show what he can do and put one over on us, but all the lads are ready for it and we want to put one over on him. It was the usual banter, it's all friendly — but once that whistle goes . . . it's different." Mullins understood Reo-Coker's desire to get away from London, especially after he began to be linked with big moves. The Hammers player said: "It's very easy to get distracted with his profile as a Premier League player. There are distractions like nightclubs and other bits and pieces. Nigel probably felt for his own sake he needed to get out, and it was probably the right choice. He was probably getting pulled here and there by other people so the best thing to do, to concentrate on his career, was to get away from those kind of people."

So why didn't Mullins face similar temptations? He said: "I'm married. So I rarely have the chance to get out. It doesn't really apply to me, it's more the younger lads." West Ham assistant boss Mervyn Day said: "Nigel wanted to leave as soon as me and Alan Curbishley walked in. He and Marlon Harewood (also at Villa) moved on because they wanted to. It was their choice. It was disappointing." Mullins added: "I tried to convince Nigel to stay because if we'd had him in our midfield, with the players we've signed, we'd have an even better squad. " After a season which began with the midfielder being linked to Arsenal and ended with a last-day Houdini act, Reo-Coker chose to swap the Icelandic revolution at Upton Park for the American-financed revival at Villa Park. And so far his new club are two places higher in the table. "Nigel put in everything he had when he played for us and he was a very good captain," Mullins said. "I told him that the club is going in the right direction. We are trying to become a top-half table club and we are pushing for Europe, and the signings prove that. He has his own people talking to him and he had his mind made up. He was very impressed with Martin O'Neill, who sold the club to him."

O'Neill has been very happy with his contribution so far, but has warned his £8.5million signing not to overstep the mark. He said: "I hope he has enough experience to know it does not really matter how the West Ham fans react to him. I'm pretty confident he will concentrate on his game and, if he does that and plays the way he has been doing since he joined us, then I have nothing to worry about." The Villa manager believes Reo-Coker is capable of breaking into the England squad for the Euro 2008 finals as he prepares to face former club for the first time since his £8.5million summer switch. Reo-Coker skippered the England Under-21 side during the European Championship finals in Holland in June before making the move to Villa Park. O'Neill said: "There were other teams very interested in signing him. I was very pleased he decided to come to us. West Ham told us there were other offers and I was very pleased to get him. He has done well for us and is very conscientious. He is still finding his feet here and that is pleasing because there is much more to come from him. I think if England qualify for Euro 2008, which you would expect them to, then Nigel would have time to make a big enough impression to be heading with that squad to Austria and Switzerland in the summer time. That should be a driving ambition of his - and I am sure it is."

Despite being labelled a "bad egg" at West Ham, Reo-Coker's attitude and form so far has delighted Villa boss O'Neill. "Nigel made his point about feeling he was hung out to dry but we have been able to get his services and I have been very pleased with him," O'Neill said. "So far I have found Nigel very conscientious and he wants to improve his game and do very well. He does not want to be a shrinking violet, he is keen to win and get involved. I have been pleased with what he has shown me." O'Neill is particularly happy with the way Reo-Coker and Barry have combined in the centre of the park but is not getting carried away with first impressions. He said: "All those things I thought I saw from a distance, Nigel has shown so far for us. I think his game has helped Gareth although Gareth has been making significant progress for some time and he was a very good player before Nigel arrived at the club. Gareth has done a lot himself but I would accept the fact that there has also been some sort of influence on the side from Nigel. They are doing fine as a pairing, and they are playing strongly together, and I am very pleased for both of them, but it is early yet to make positive assumptions you expect to last for the rest of the season."

Elsewhere, West Ham assistant manager Mervyn Day has revealed that he and Alan Curbishley tried twice unsuccessfully to sign Ashley Young from Watford. Young was on the verge of signing for West Ham in January before moving to Villa Park for £9.65m following a last minute change of heart. The midfielder will be up against West Ham tomorrow and Day, speaking in the absence of Curbishley who is unwell, admitted: "We also tried to sign him when we were at Charlton. We tracked him for some time and I must have seen him a dozen times. He can play anywhere along the front, right or left-side midfield. He has a trick, he crosses with both feet, he's decent in the air and he can score goals." Ashley Young revealed: "West Ham did come in for me and I had talks with them. I chose Villa over West Ham and I believe I made the right choice and I'm happy here. From the time I joined the club I knew it was going places."

Regarding team news ahead of today's clash, West Ham United will be without Anton Ferdinand and Scott Parker. Defender Ferdinand misses the trip to Villa Park with a slight hamstring strain, while Parker, the former Newcastle United midfielder, faces another spell on the sidelines after damaging medial knee ligaments in last weekend's 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal. Alan Curbishley's team need to get back on track in the Barclays Premier League after two successive defeats. But they are without forward Craig Bellamy, who is struggling with a groin injury, and long-term casualties Kieron Dyer, Julien Faubert and Calum Davenport.

Shaun Maloney could come into contention for a rare start for Aston Villa after returning to training following an ankle problem. The former Celtic player, who has netted three goals as a substitute this season, may challenge Luke Moore for a place alongside Gabriel Agbonlahor. Moore has struggled to recapture the form he showed in the early part of last season before undergoing a shoulder operation and is still to score in the league during the current campaign. Patrik Berger (calf) and John Carew (knee) are still ruled out as Villa look to recover from the shock of conceding three goals in the final 21 minutes of the 4-4 draw at Tottenham Hotspur.

Aston Villa (from): Carson, Mellberg, Laursen, Knight, Bouma, Gardner, Reo-Coker, Barry, Young, Moore, Maloney, Agbonlahor, Petrov, Harewood, Taylor, Davies, Osbourne.

West Ham United (from): Wright, Green, Neill, Upson, Gabbidon, McCartney, Bowyer, Mullins, Noble, Etherington, Ashton, Cole, Pantsil, Collins, Spector, Ljungberg, Boa Morte, Reid.

The game is the only one which kicks-off at the traditional 3pm today and Day said: "I'm a bit of a traditionalist and I find it quite sad although we all take a lot of money from the TV companies."