Tuesday 10 July 2007

The Angry Ant Reborn

The Football Association and FIFA are set to be called in to broker a solution to the Carlos Tevez affair. Reports emerging tonight suggest that some of those involved in the negotiations do not believe the Premier League can act as independent arbiter in the case any longer. Tevez's representatives are set to request help from the FA and FIFA - the two bodies who oversee transfers at a domestic and international level and it is understood any such move would be endorsed by Manchester United, who are anxious to get a deal finalised.

A 'source close to the negotiations' (but presumably not one on West Ham's side off the table) said: "Diplomatic moves are being made. We are in deadlock and we need an independent body to try and sort this mess out. The lawyers all agree Manchester United and Joorabchian are within their rights to do a deal - but the Premier League are saying they can't. The Premier League seem to have a vested interest now. They are covering their own backs after allowing West Ham to continue playing Tevez last season. Their whole argument is built on the premise West Ham tore up Tevez's contract and claimed to control the player. But any court in the land will tell you they cannot do that." Unless FIFA or the FA can help manufacture a breakthrough, the matter would appear to be heading for the courts. Meanwhile, Alan Curbishley is adamant West Ham United will have a say in whether Carlos Tevez joins Manchester United. Speaking for the first time about the situation, the West Ham manager insisted that the East London club must be involved in the decision-making process regarding Tevez's future. "Obviously, Manchester United are interested," Curbishley told Sky Sports News. "Whatever happens has got to go through West Ham, that's the situation. I've kept quite out of it, that's for other people and we'll see what happens."

In other news, Alan Curbishley believes that new signing Craig Bellamy will enjoy the prime years of his career with West Ham United. Having made the 27-year-old striker his fourth capture of the summer in a club record £7.5million deal this morning, the Hammers boss is looking forward to the impact he will make at Upton Park. "I'm really pleased to have signed Craig," said Curbishley. "He is the right age, with the right experience, and has two qualities that I really like - he is hungry and also a little bit angry. He is keen to prove to lots of people what he can do, having not been given much of a chance at Liverpool. They have moved on now, but so has Craig, and I'm certain that we are going to see the best of him at West Ham. He has an opportunity now to cement some roots and show everybody what a good player he is. I'm sure he will strike up a good rapport with the fans, because he tries his hardest in every match and desperately wants to win... He is hungry to do well and I'm sure he will be a great asset to us. Along with Scott Parker, Julien Faubert and Richard Wright, his arrival has added further strength to the squad, and we are all looking forward to the new season."

While Curbishley welcomes the new arrivals, one man seemingly on his way of the club is Yossi Benayoun. Reports tonight suggest West Ham and Liverpool have finally reached an accord over a fee for the Israeli midfielder, believed to be in the region of £5million.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bellamy is type of player you love to hate when he's with the opposition but hate to love when he's in your team.

Why people are comparing him to Tevez is beyond me, he's no Tevez but I think he'll turn out to be a great signing for us, if he stays for 2 seasons and scores goals so what if he moves on?

We have to remember how lucky we were as a club to have the little apache for one season. We're no Manure so we should set our expectations accordingly. He was never going to turn down Man Utd and we were never going to be able to attract the type of player who could potentially replace him

HeadHammerShark said...

Craig Bellamy is a goblin.

I'm opposed to his signing on humanitarian grounds.

Anonymous said...

Now if we could only get Robbie Savage...

 

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