To nobody's great surprise, former boss Alan Curbishley has won the court battle for unfair dismissal against his old club and can look forward to significant compensation from the Premier League manager's tribunal as a result. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Curbishley's resignation, it can be pretty much guessed that if there is any chance of the Hammers having to fork out money somewhere, then someone from the Upton Park offices is going to be seen running down to the bank with a cheque book before the month is out.

The ruling that decided that Curbishley had been forced to resign when certain clauses in his contract were not upheld, is yet another financial blow for the Hammers. Curbishley was quoted after saying: "The club completely ignored my contract when selling Anton Ferdinand, and when George McCartney was then sold, the club having given me assurances that no players would be leaving the club after the sale of Anton Ferdinand, I had no alternative but to resign."

"My authority and integrity were undermined and my position was made untenable.''

Gianfranco Zola's admission that he is concerned over the future of Dean Ashton is at least a recognition of something that most fans have been discussing for some time. Even someone with a bit part on 'Casualty' knows only too well that an ankle injury that has taken the best part of two years to heal does not sound right and it can only be guessed at the problems that have really taken their toll on the Hammer's striker.

It's hard not to feel sorry for both parties in this matter; Dean Ashton would surely have been contemplating South Africa next summer had he remained fit and West Ham would either have benefited from the 15+ goals a season Ashton would have supplied or, perhaps, the £30m+ that Dean would surely have recouped in the transfer market as his Premiership goal tally mounted. The fact that the infamous Hammers injury blight originally occured at an England training session is an ironic fact not lost on anyone

West Ham today announced the signing of Mexico striker Guillermo Franco on a free permanent transfer following the end of his contract with Villarreal.

The Argentinian-born forward has scored four goals in his last six internationals since June, including one in the 3-0 win away to Costa Rica in the World Cup qualifer last week and had been linked with a return to South America but CEO Scott Duxbury and technical director Gianluca Nani managed to secure his services after careful negotiations.

The transfer deadline closed at midnight with just the much reported and wholly expected James Collins deal being completed, as the centre back joined Aston Villa in a £5m move.

As Hammers MD Scott Duxbury had earlier spoken of 'only offloading the fringe players' you have to wonder exactly how the management are going to explain away the Ginger One's transfer. The arrival of Da Costa reported earlier presumably brings cover to the defence but Collins had started the season partnering Upson and, even after he supposedly turned down a move to Stoke, was still playing in the centre of defence last Saturday against Blackburn. Disguise it which ever way you want but a fringe player Collins wasn't!

In a surprise move, West Ham announced that they have signed Portuguese defender Manuel Da Costa from Fiorentina and sent attacking-midfielder Savio Nsereko in the opposite direction in a swap deal.

The Hammers will retain 50% of any fee gained if Savio is sold on and West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury called it: "..a good deal for everyone concerned." Duxbury explained further "Although not for the want of trying, Savio has struggled to make an impact for various reasons, while Manuel is also looking for a fresh start. Had our financial situation been different we would have preferred to have kept and developed Savio."

"We will continue to look at home and across Europe for the brightest prospects as they best fit our vision for this club's future. However, we are required to make savings and our policy has always been to sell players on the fringes rather than established first-team players.

"With the fee we received for Savio and 50% sell-on together with acquiring the highly-rated Da Costa, it represented a great deal.''

West Ham have announced the signing of Italian striker Alessandro Diamanti on a five-year deal.
from Serie A club Livorno.

The 26-year-old forward has cost a reported £6m and his capture is considered quite a coup as a host of Italian clubs were vying for his signature, the player preferring to join Zola at Upton Park in what appears to be another success for the growing reputation of Gianfranco as a Manager.

This is what I like; the 'English Disease' proper. I'm not referring to a love of violence, mindless chanting or the destruction of a few kebab vans following the annual challenge of throwing street furniture as far as you can. No, I refer to that other disease; the one that means no sooner do we get served up a 'Night of Shame' then we have to endure months of pious, sanctimonious drivel from the press and media, a group who used to, let's not forget, once reside in an area known as the 'Street of Shame'.

West Ham were left stunned following news that reserve defender Calum Davenport had been stabbed in both legs during an attack on his Mother's home in Bedford.

Davenport and his 49 year old Mother suffered injuries during a 'vicious attack' and both were taken to hospital where their conditions were described as 'stable'.

I'm old enough to remember when the start of the new football season was a time of great excitement and possibility. I'm pleased to say I'm not that old to deny the excitement is still there, but possibility? - I think not - this is the Golden Age of the Premiership and the story has virtually been written before a ball has been kicked.

West Ham have started the season in fine style by revealing two crap strips for the new campaign. The new home strip completely moves away from the traditional claret body, blue sleeves design - something fans are never happy about - and the away strip just ignores the fact we even play in claret and blue at all.

The new home strip is already being called the Marmite strip and, if, like me, you hate Marmite then you pretty much know what to expect. Good news is though, the club shop still do a fine assortment of classic shirts and I recommend that Hammers fans vote with their feet and purchase a '64. '75 or even, at a push, the '80 shirt. It saves dubious sponsorship associations too...

The world of football is a sadder place this morning. Bobby Robson was one of the good guys; a top manager, one of the last of the old school of players and management and one of those people that you just know you'd like if you ever met. What he achieved with Ipswich shows just how good he was as a Manager (and let's not forget he was an England footballer as a player too) and his star could even have shone a little brighter but he was cruelly rewarded in 1990 when England went out on penalties in the semi-final of the World Cup. That England side deserved better luck and Robson, in particular, was dealt a cruel hand, as he showed throughout that tournament not only his tactical acumen but also his ability to get the best from his players, in particular his man-management of the difficult Paul Gascoigne. In retrospect, it was probably only Bobby Robson who successfully handled the mercurial Gascoigne's talent and we can only guess what might have happened had Robson been able to harness his talent for longer.

I know the Soccernet bosses like us to turn up in the office regularly over the close season, but I think it's a well known fact that I believe the period between early May and mid August should be entirely for the domain of summer sports (and I'm fully aware many of you were involved in late May and are already ironing your club shirts for pre-season tournaments) and it's something I like to resist where possible.

Be that as it may though, I've just popped in to do a spot of tidying and dusting and thought I'd just mention a few WHU related topics to keep the wheels turning.

I was going to summarise the English Premier League season by quoting the ancient Chinese proverb ‘May you live in Interesting Times’, but when I went to source the material – you didn’t think I just chucked these things together, did you? – I was both surprised and heartened to find that the phrase is probably not even Chinese in origin, let alone an ancient proverb. Why heartened? Well, this at least saves me from the task of trying to paraphrase it and, as it seems the phrase is reckoned to be the first of three curses, it’s actually quite appropriate…

The Barclays Premier League is, apparently, the biggest and best football league in world football and is enjoyed by millions worldwide. It is certainly the richest, contains a large proportion of the world’s best footballers (Manchester City hope to have the rest by the end of this year) and is watched by the most spectators both in the stadia and on TV worldwide. It’s certainly not without excitement and it’s often fast and competitive with no team ever prepared to roll-over to a stronger side so, why then, does the end of season league table produce such feelings of déjà vu?

I know from emails that I receive - and I don't mean the ones offering viagra or penis extensions - that a lot of you are not UK based and have come to football only since Year Zero, when the Pol Pot of the FA came up with that brilliant concept of the Premiership.

Many of you, therefore, will be unaware of 'The Big Match', the flagship ITV equivalent of 'Match of the Day' from the Seventies that used to show about 2pm on Sunday afternoons in the UK; just after you'd returned from your 10 - 0 thrashing on Wansted Flats (what?....oh... Only me then..) and an hour before you passed out in a lunchtime post match stupor over your roast potatoes, cooked for you, of course, by your hot-panted girlfriend with a bubble perm. (what?...oh...Only me again then...)

It might seem as if it has not much to do with me personally, I know, but I was sad to see Southampton FC relegated from the Championship and forced to carry a 10 point penalty into next season. In fact, I think situations like that at Southampton affect every fan no matter how big your club, and all supporters should be in condemnation of the ridiculous situation that currently presides over the league at every level.

It may be that I used to have a good friend who came from the area and supported Southampton passionately - ensuring I check the Saints result very week - or that Blagg Jnr is at University there and I spend a lot of time in the town, but, whatever my affinity, I feel for any fans who are forced to suffer the pain of points deductions.

Apologies to anyone who sent in a comment and hasn't able to see it on the Correspondents page. Due to technical incompetence on my part none of them had been added to the log page.
My stupidity has now been amended and all relevant comments have been added (I hope).

I welcome all comments - however idiotic (and by God there are quite a few odd people out there!) - and I will publish all that I can. Please note, however, by I am unable to publish Anonymous posts or anything profane and these will be deleted. I'm the only one allowed to swear here!

If you come from Scunthorpe, you may want to leave this information out of your comment.

West Ham keeper Robert Green has pledged his support to the Premier League Reading Stars project by revealing his favourite read is Homer's 'The Iliad'.

After getting over the initial shock of seeing Rob pledge his support to a Championship side - just goes to show how we call all mis-read things sometimes! - I was heartened to see our goalkeeper erring on the side of something as bold, weighty and, frankly, as old as Homer's great work.

Green said: "Reading is such a big part of all our lives, everyone should try to make a bit of time each day to read more. You should never be scared of a book either, reading classics like The Iliad might seem daunting, but if you take your time, they are realliy interesting and you gain such a lot from trying them."

At the risk of sounding patronising (he says patronisingly); Good on 'yer Robert!

West Ham United, the board and fans, were rocked again yesterday with the news that Soccernet and WestHamOnline self-styled pundit Billy Blagg, is set to sue the club for an undisclosed sum following the two years wrangling over the Carlos Tevez affair.

This follows earlier news that ex-Sheffield United boss Neil 'Nice Guy' Warnock, several United players who suffered the pains of relegation in 2007 and Leeds supremo 'Cuddly' Ken Bates, were considering their own legal actions against the East London club.

Aargghh! I knew I shouldn't have stuck me head up over the parapet.

No sooner had I suggested the whole mess may be over than we hear that the poor Sheffield players who were relegated when West Ham won at Manchester United on the last day of the season in 2007, may well be pursuing their own claim for compensation. Worse still, that bastion of all that is good at football - Neil Warnock - is said to be considering starting his own claim against the Hammers.

West Ham and Sheffield United have brought an end to the Carlos Tevez saga by agreeing an out-of-court settlement for compensation.

The two clubs have been in dispute ever since Tevez helped secure the Hammers' Premier League status at the Blades' expense in 2007. However, with the affair having dragged on for almost two years a conclusion to the matter has finally been found.

The figures for the final compensation package differ depending on what newspaper you read, but most seem to believe the final total to be in the region of £15million spread over five seasons.

The agreement now means that the independent tribunal which was due to reconvene this week will no longer proceed.

In a joint statement, West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury and Sheffield United chairman Kevin McCabe said: "Both clubs are pleased to announce that a satisfactory settlement for compensation has been reached which brings the dispute between Sheffield United and West Ham United to an end. The tribunal will not be resuming."

There's always a certain trepidation when you open the West Ham calendar on Christmas morning. You skip through the twelve months in personal hope and expectation, wondering what the year has in store for you and, at club level, contemplating if any of the players and staff pictured will still be there when you consign the calendar to the bin the following December.

I'm pretty sure if you'd told me then, as I tucked into my mince pies, that thirty five days or so later, when I turned the calendar onto February, the pictured action shot of Craig Bellamy would leave me looking at a player who was no longer wearing the claret and blue, my heart would have sunk and spoiled the whole day.

It's easy to forget how perilous West Ham's position looked before Boxing Day. Situated just above the relegation zone more because Manchester City's form was even worse than ours and with the Red Tops proclaiming the whole squad will be sold to prevent financial meltdown, it all looked grim.

West Ham have confirmed the signing of Germany Under-20 forward Savio Nsereko from Brescia. The 19-year-old, who was born in Uganda, has agreed a four-and-a-half year deal after the two clubs agreed an undisclosed fee, though it is rumoured it will eventually reach £9m.

This record purchase comes just two days after West Ham allowed Hayden Mullins - at the time West Ham's longest serving player - to leave the club to join Portsmouth, Pompey having offered a reported £2m for the 30 year old.

Look let's be honest shall we?

Craig Bellamy is a loathsome specimen of both a man and a footballer. You know it, I know it. His only reedeming feature is that he is extremely fast and....errrr....well, that's about it really.

Apropos of nothing in particular about football - but when did that matter on this column? - the Blagger is proud to announce that his alter ego this week became the 1000th link on the 'Chain' on the ever-inspiring Radcliffe & Maconie show on Radio 2.

Out with the old and in with the new? Do me a favour! January has brought more of the same as the FA and the Premier League have announced a new investigation into West Ham's dealings with Carlos Tevez' Representatives following the fine that was handed out for the original punishment metered out for the breach of league rules that allowed the Argentinian to play for the Hammers in 2006.

This latest move follows claims from the solicitor for Tevez's agent, Kia Joorabchian, that West Ham's Chief Excecutive Scott Duxbury had stated in a conversation that the third-party agreement for which West Ham were originally punished was still in place when Tevez completed his season with the Hammers, famously scoring the only goal in the 1-0 win at Old Trafford that kept the Hammers up.

As this conversation only came to light during the court case that Sheffield United opened up as a result of their relegation, West Ham may actually welcome the investigation if it is shown that the third party agreement was actually torn up after the Premier League fine.

However, many fans will fear the investigations, particularly as the involvement of Scott Duxbury - a man many feel should have paid for Tevezgate with his job, if not his head - is once more under scrutiny. Ultimately though, unless the League and FA have information that isn't in the public domain currently, it is hard to see how they can react to verbal conversations that were never recorded.

It will be interesting to see what would happen if the FA and League decide West Ham do not have a case to answer, bearing in mind the club face payment of some compensation fine later this year. Any finding that West Ham are innocent will surely open up counter-claims by the Hammers against Sheffield United.

If the investigation brings further dodgy dealings to light though, it is possible that a points deduction - something many feel the club should have had in the first place - may be the inevitable result.

My feelings on this fiasco are well documented but anything that brings this soap opera to an end cannot come soon enough as far as I am concerned.

News that Matthew Etherington has signed for Stoke for £2m and that Lee Bowyer and Calum Davenport are likely signings for Birmingham and Bolton respectively are encouraging signs that Gianfranco Zola's promises may be coming to fruition.

The scandal rags still insist that Scott Parker is being offered parts of Persia and a harem of long limbed lovelies to quit and join Manchester City but West Ham - at the moment - seem to be holding good on their promise that no-one barring resource draining fringe players will be sold.

I can think of a couple of other players whose sole responsibility seems to be keeping the bench warm with their expensive bums who I wouldn't mind seeing the back of for a few mill but, a week into the transfer window, things are encouraging.

It won't last though, will it?

Well, it's time to take the decorations down so the Blagg Advent Calendar of Christmas Songs has gone into a box and put back into the loft for another year.

Many thanks to those of you who took the time to email me with your suggestions and rude remarks, and those of you who think the whole project smacks of insanity will be only too pleased to learn that I have enough links available to ensure that next (this?) year's list will probably start being researched sometime in July.

Enjoy 2009!

Not without resonance to me this year, as I missed mine and had to settle for a Christmas in the Town - and it is not the same thing at all. In fact I'm not sure it hasn't knocked the whole season out of kilter... but I digress.

Recorded in December 2003 and to be found on Volume III - Ding! Dong! - of the sometimes wonderful and other times downright puzzling 'Songs for Christmas' CD Box set, comes this stirring version of the classic Carol.

As the Day draws closer there is more time for quiet introspection No one raced off to work through the din of honking horns / There was truly peace on earth on a quiet Christmas morn