Curbishley is hoping to make Hammers pay over exit

West Ham may have reached a deal with Chelsea over Steve Clarke but they still face a compensation claim from former manager Alan Curbishley. The 50-year-old believes he has a case for constructive dismissal even though he resigned a fortnight ago. Curbishley's solicitor has sent a letter to West Ham and the claim appears to centre on whether the club broke the terms of his contract by selling George McCartney to Sunderland without his permission. He insists he was supposed to have the final say on transfers and was incensed because he had reassured the squad there would be no more summer departures. Curbishley wants a pay-off reflecting the £2.5million of salary remaining on his contract, but the club believe they are on strong ground because he chose to quit and was aware of overall transfer policy. Meanwhile, former assistants Mervyn Day and Glynn Snodin have been placed on gardening leave.

No wine but Ramos still bitter

With Tottenham deep in the brown stuff, manager Juande Ramos has turned to the black stuff for answers. Overlooking a choice of Spanish wines on the menu, Ramos was spotted supping a pint of Guinness with friends at the King William VI pub in Chigwell this week. After losing to Aston Villa, however, there won't be many hailing him as pure genius.

QPR fans find hike a bit rich

For the so-called richest club on the planet, the penny-pinching at Queens Park Rangers is surprising. After a huge rise in season-ticket prices, the club have announced a hike in matchday tickets which will see pay-on-the-day fans charged £50 for a "Category A" match. A QPR spokesman said: "As part of financial restructuring we need to increase our revenues. One hundred per cent of profits will be ploughed back into the club." But fans are not happy and there is talk of a protest at the next home game with Derby. Despite the arrival of mega-rich owners, QPR are yet to sell out a home game this season and only 13,770 saw them beat Southampton.

Millwall keep it in the family

Not all investment bankers are having a bad week. Goldman Sachs employee Robert Berlyson has been tipped for a place on the board of Millwall FC. After possibly not the most exhaustive of searches, Millwall's American chairman John Berylson has narrowed the candidates down to his son James and his sister Jennifer, a lawyer. Berylson said: "There is nobody I trust more."

Australians fail to play safe

Record numbers of English-based players chose to miss their club's start to the season in favour of the sideshow that is the Olympic Under-23 tournament. Besides the honour of playing in Beijing, the footballers have since returned with tales of other benefits. One Australian recalled that captain Mark Milligan distributed 1,000 condoms supplied by organisers for use during the Games. The Olyroos crashed out in the preliminary round.

CONTACT US AT talk@standard.co.uk