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Hammers put Spurs on their transfer blacklist
Ken Dyer27 Jan 2009
West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury said today that he will never sell any of the club's players to Tottenham.
Duxbury was speaking about the interest in Craig Bellamy from Spurs before the Welsh international eventually signed for Manchester City for £14million.
"I made it quite clear to Craig there wasn't any possibility of him joining Tottenham," said Duxbury. "There is a change of philosophy at this club. I keep referring to the football project and it's a business plan we stick to.
"Part of that is we need to be aware of our fans' expectations, we need to be aware of who our local rivals are and there is massive rivalry between ourselves and Tottenham.
"It's nothing about Tottenham but why on earth should we sell any player that would strengthen their team? It just makes no sense to me.
"I won't sell any of our players to our local rivals."
West Ham also unveiled new £9m record signing Savio Nsereko today and boss Gianfranco Zola insisted the move demonstrated that rumours of a financial meltdown at Upton Park were greatly exaggerated. The teenage striker, who was born in Uganda but moved to Germany at the age of two, should be in West Ham's squad for tomorrow night's Premier League match at home to Hull if the club receive international clearance in time.
Zola said: “There were a lot of worries about the club, about us selling players, but as you've seen, we sold the players who were not playing regularly here and some of them left because they wanted to go.
“There were a lot of rumours that we were not going to be able to buy anybody but that we had to sell.
“I am pleased because this is a good club, run by good people who were keen to reinvest some of the money we had received in the transfer window and take this club forward.
“We don't want to sell anybody unless someone comes to us and tells us they want to leave.”
Bellamy was one of those that the club sold but Duxbury revealed that Scott Parker, Robert Green and Matthew Upson will all be offered new contracts.
He added: “There was a lot of interest in our players but I contacted every single player and told them we didn't want to sell them and got the commitment back they didn't want to go.
“When the transfer window shuts I will be sitting down and talking to them about extending their contracts.”
Reader views (31)
Being and old East end boy myself I've never heard of any bother between hammers and Spurs fans, doubt very much that there ever will be. Just a good business decision not to sell to the competition unless your trying to unload some rubbish (Davenport)but then again how much of a good business decision was it to cut Spurs out of a bidding war for Belamy ?? if they hadn't they might have got 16 million from city, so whoes smart now ?
- Coloney John, Vancouver Canada, 30/01/2009 22:25
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MILLWALL have put the west ham clowns on the blacklist forever ! The sooner you go bankrupt the better.
- Joe, Swanley Kent, 30/01/2009 17:21
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what really makes me laugh is that spurs just do not care about west ham...over the last couple of years this "rivalry" has appeared from the west ham side...wheras genuine spurs fans are not bothered about the hammers...i actually used to quite like them
- Milo, london, 30/01/2009 15:17
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It's interesting that since Harry Redknapp joined Spurs, West Ham have said they don't want to deal with Spurs, Sunderland don't like the way stories of Spurs "interest" in their players seem to "leak" to the press and to say that Harry and Defoe have hacked off Portsmouth is putting it mildly.
It looks like the football world is finally seeing through mr Redknapps' fake chirpy cockney media image. You've got to love the way he joins a club, says the playing staff and club are great and the next week he's already talking about being "down to the bare bones" and "we need to get some quality in" and then starts buying many over-expensive players, just as he has at every club he has joined.
- Paul, london, 28/01/2009 16:20
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Are there any Spurs fans who can spell?
- Bill Prosser, Bookham Surrey, 28/01/2009 16:13
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"Well, if someone asked me if I'd like Scott Duxbury here then I'd have to say yes as he's a great Chief Executive. But he's West Ham's Chief Executive and I don't think they'd want to let him go. But he's certainly a Chief Executive I admire and would like at Tottenham"
H Redknapp, 10 minutes ago
- Joe Chapman, Romford, 28/01/2009 13:07
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And trust me, Rob, it'll only get worse.
- Stu, Beckton, 28/01/2009 12:09
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I am a Tottenham fan & I am becomming increasingly embarrassed by 'Harry's' style of management. He reminds me of a second hand car dealer.
- Rob Hotspurs, South London, 28/01/2009 11:33
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As for "deluded", who's the more deluded here, Nick? You personally for making out there's no rivalry between our clubs (see all the below posts from your fellow fans, and I can only assume you've never attended a game between the two), or the rest of your fans for the continuing belief you're a big, top four club?
- Stu, Beckton, 28/01/2009 11:17
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"All I know is that someone told me they won't sell us players no more, for sure"
H Rednkapp, 5 minutes ago
- Joe Chapman, Romford, 28/01/2009 10:29
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I don't understand why the massive outcry from you lot over this tiny change in West Ham policy. After all, you're all convinced we're worse than you anyway, and Arry's linking himself with every other player in the Premier League in that inimitable way only he can, so why all the toys out of the pram?
- Stu, Beckton, 28/01/2009 08:23
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Only Green is worth having from West Ham who are deluded to think there is some big rivalry with Spurs. Besides Sheff Utd are going to cripple the club and it's broke Icelandic owner.
As for the other wind up merchants, Arsenal will finish 5th if their lucky (big game against Everton) missing out all that CL dosh which they esperately need to pay off the new library and Mr Money at Chelsea has lost a bundle in the crunch and is looking to offload his expensive hobby.
- Nick, Cheltenham, ex of Hornsey, 28/01/2009 02:08
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You've got to laugh at good old Uncle Harry, what a great double agent he's turned out to be! If he brings back any other over priced and over rated 'old boys' they'll rename the ground Memory Lane.
Manager of the year 'for sure'.
Come on you Irons!
- Upton O'Good, Gloucester, UK, 27/01/2009 21:50
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Surely a case of horse bolted, gate closed, after!
We took the cream, exploited it and then sold it for a huge profit just as it started to go off! You should thank us for giving you cash to keep you solvent!
Thanks WHAMERS!
- Y, Sandgate England, 27/01/2009 21:42
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Spurs fans stop getting your knickers in a twist, at this rate you will be enjoying london derby's with Palace and Watford next season. By the way, Chimbonda, great signing LOL.
- Nathan Williams, romford, 27/01/2009 18:52
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Bent young? Good grief, man, what are you on?
When the Sheffield United arbitration award of circa £35,000,000 comes crawling out of the woodwork, then the colour of our money will turn your heads, always assuming that by then we need any of West Ham's players.
- Steven Dale, London, England, 27/01/2009 17:49
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Does 'good business' include recruiting a manager on the back of a claim to have followed Spurs as an 11 year old, even when every other documented claim suggests he spent his formative years on the terraces of Highbury. Not that this appears to bother the WHL faithful !
- John Bloomfield, Twickenham, 27/01/2009 17:39
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As a Spurs fan I applaud Mr Duxbury's forthright stance. But then are not Arsenal and Chelsea also great local rivals and does this policy extend to them? In fact if he's so concerned not to upset Hammers fans by selling their players to strengthen their rivals surely this must include the whole of the Premiership? He didn't want to strengthen Spurs by selling Bellamy to us but was quite happy to take £14m from Man City . Will Bellamy not strengthen City? Or did they not just offer more money?
- Ol'Git, Saffron Walden UK, 27/01/2009 17:16
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You Spuds make us laugh. For the past 5+ years you have been after many of our players and your present manager is obsessed with the current crop. For the past weeks we have heard, Bellamy for Spurs, Green for Spurs, christ, even Carlton Cole for Spurs. Problem is your record of ruining young expensively purchased players is second to none. Darren Bent is just the latest in a long line.
Keep up the good work. Spurs too good to go down? Redknapp and his cronies are on the way to doing just that.
- Christian, London, 27/01/2009 16:54
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you hammers have had your good run in the league, I do think the spurs beat you 2 -nil? 9 million? Na na 19 quid!
- Cormac, Whitstable kent, 27/01/2009 16:40
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Andrew Stedman.
No, it's not the transfer market that's mad - just Man. City. They are absolutely barking - a juggernaut crash waiting to happen. They could have bought de Jong this summer for £2.5m (a clause in his German contract apparently). Told you they are bonkers !
- Charlie, Nr. Crackpot, North Yorkshire, 27/01/2009 16:33
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This is childish petulance on the part of West Ham. a good businessman never rules out a god deal, whoever it's with. The West Ham CEO should spend less time on the terraces with the meat-heads and more time learning how to run a business.
- Stephen, London UK, 27/01/2009 16:00
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West Ham religated-please dont make me laugh-Spurs are trying to buy their way out of trouble and with our old manager at the helm they may just scrape it.
So glad we let Bent go to Spurs-lets see what loss you make on that deal.
- Dave, London UK, 27/01/2009 15:56
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Are Spurs still allowed to sell their lame players to the spammers?? Lets hope so....
- John, London, 27/01/2009 15:53
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yes, yes, yes, heard it all before, just trying to get some brownie points from the fans, you will sell anyone to any club if they bid the right amount. stop trying to get the fans on your side, you know it and they know it.
- Bog, london, 27/01/2009 15:36
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So when Spurs, Chelsea,Arsenal or any other London cub come calling with 20 or 30 mill for one of West Hams players he will tell the board,we don't sell to one of our rivals.
I don't think so in the current financial climate.
- Glennda, Berkhamsted UK, 27/01/2009 15:26
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Presumably Mr Duxbury thinks West Ham earn more points for beating Arsenal or Spurs than beating Man City or Aston Villa. Is that the "Football Project" to which he refers, is he in the real world ?
- Michael, Surbiton, Surrey, 27/01/2009 15:22
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They have not got any assets left too sell anyhow,if Bellamy is an asset at 14 mill for a 29 yr old , then all clubs need not worry...any club in the prem is a rival not just the London sides,im sure he put a sell on clause with Bellamy as im sure in about a years time when Hughes is probably out,the new man might not want him and he will move on again plus a hefty bonus again..
Perhaps when Mr Dux needs players in future they can be told too look elsewhere,min you Spurs have given them plenty of dregs in the last few seasons..
- Phil, croxley, 27/01/2009 15:14
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Surely your rivals are any team competing for a similar league position, ergo, every team, from 5th down is a competitor, including Man City and Portsmouth.
As already mentioned - I don't want any of their players so Duxberry can go spin.
- Steve Green, Brighton, 27/01/2009 15:13
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I would have thought selling Bellamy to spurs would have been good business as he is no team player and with Defoe already signed another small striker is not going to help! Plus 14 million quid for a player way past his best the transfer market must be going MAD!
Missing out might just have kept Spurs in the Premier League!
- Andrew Stedman, Guildford Surrey, 27/01/2009 14:54
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lol spurs wont want any of west ham players when west ham get religated this year.
- Shaun, preston uk, 27/01/2009 14:47
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