Hammers net PetricWest Ham United are delighted to announce the signing of Croatia international striker Mladen Petric
West Ham United are delighted to announce the arrival of Croatia international forward Mladen Petric on a deal until the end of the 2013/14 season.Petric,
who spent last season in the Barclays Premier League with Fulham, has played at the highest level in Germany for Borussia Dortmund and Hamburger SV,
along with appearing in the Euro 2008 finals for his country.
He notched 51 Bundesliga goals prior to moving to English football last summer, where five goals in ten starts for the Cottagers followed.
He told whufc.com of his delight at linking up with the Hammers.
"I'm very happy, excited and looking forward to training with the team and to the first game," Petric said.
"I know [the Premier League] and I'm happy to be back in the Premier League, because it's a fantastic league and I'm really looking forward to being part of this team and this Club."There are a lot of good players here and I'm happy to be part of such a good team and I hope we can all celebrate my first goal for West Ham as soon as possible."I didn't speak to Sam [Allardyce] until today but I've heard a lot about him and I spoke to Guy Demel, who I know from my time at Hamburg and I'm sure I'll have a good time here.
"I remember playing at West Ham last year and it was a very tough game for us at Fulham. I think we lost 3-0! It's not easy to come here [as the away side] and take points away."
Petric was born in Dubrave, then in Yugoslavia, in January 1981 and began his career in Switzerland after moving there with his family as a youngster.
Spells at FC Baden, Grasshopper and Basel, where he was the Swiss League's top scorer in 2006/07, saw the 6'1'' striker establish himself before earning
a move to Germany with Borussia Dortmund in summer 2007.
He helped Dortmund reach the final of the German Cup, as well as notching 13 league goals in his only season with Die Borussen,
moving on to fellow German club Hamburg in 2008.
Petric remained equally prolific with his new club, scoring 12 times in 25 league games in his first campaign and bagging 38 in total, along with 15 assists.
Martin Jol, who managed him for a time at Hamburg, then took him to Fulham in 2012. He has also appeared on 45 occasions for Croatia, netting 13 goals -
including the winner in their 3-2 win over England at Wembley in November 2007.
The striker has been maintaining his fitness over the summer and will begin training with his new team-mates immediately.
http://www.whufc.com/articles/20130910/hammers-net-petric_2236884_3453575 Carlton Cole fails West Ham medical
West Ham have opted against re-signing free agent Carlton Cole as the striker was unable to prove his fitness.Cole, 29, was released by the Hammers at the beginning of the summer after failing to agree a contract extension at Upton Park.
After struggling to find a new club following talks with the likes of Hull, Crystal Palace and Karabukspor, the former Chelsea man had been training with West Ham in a bid to earn a new deal.
And it had seemed likely that Cole would be returning to West Ham, with the club saying in a statement: "The club are pleased to announce that popular striker
Carlton Cole is also undergoing a medical today."
However, first-team coach Ian Hendon has confirmed the reasoning behind West Ham's decision not to bring the striker back to Upton Park.
"Carlton's had a summer off. He's not been doing the sort of training that he needs to be doing to be ready to go," Hendon told the
Daily Mail. "
The medical staff do all their assessments.
We've got all these physical stats from last year and he's let it go a little bit. It's up to Carlton now to prove his fitness.
"He was offered a new deal early last season and he never signed it, he's only got himself or his agent to blame for that. But he's a good lad -
a good person to have around. He's not a sulker and he doesn't get the hump."
The decision leaves the club short on strikers - leading owner David Sullivan's son Jack to reveal that they are now looking at other free agents.
"Cole is not fit enough to offer a contract to. But he's thinking over getting fit with us and improving his fitness," Sullivan tweeted before deleting.
Meanwhile, West Ham remain hopeful that record-signing Andy Carroll will be fit for their next fixture against Southampton on September 15.
"We're hopeful that he may play a part in the Southampton game. He's training hard and we're hopeful," Hendon said. "It's not a definite yet.
We want him back as soon as possible but we don't want to risk anymore setbacks. He's in good hands with the medical staff."
http://www.espn.co.uk/football/sport/story/235941.html [ 此帖被羅力亞在2013-09-10 22:11重新編輯 ]
