Pre-season friendly
Peterborough United v West Ham United
London Road
Wednesday 14 July 2010
Kick-off: 7.45pm
Referee: Kevin Wright
HIGHLIGHTS AND REACTION TO COME ON WHUTV I LIVE TEXT COMMENTARY ON WHUFC.COM
Introduction
• West Ham United travel to League One new boys Peterborough United for their first pre-season fixture ahead of the 2010/11 Barclays Premier League season. The match will mark new manager Avram Grant's first game in charge of the Hammers.
• Wednesday's friendly could also see Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger make his first appearance in a West Ham shirt following his summer arrival from S.S. Lazio.
• The two teams have met on a number of occasions in pre-season friendly matches in recent seasons. Jermain Defoe and Frederic Kanoute scored in a 2-0 win at London Road in July 2001. Three years later, Teddy Sheringham made his debut in a 1-1 draw at the same venue, while Craig Bellamy scored twice in a 2-0 win at Peterborough in July 2008.
Last meeting
• West Ham United scored a 2-1 home Division Two victory over Peterborough United in the club's most recent competitive meeting at the Boleyn Ground on 9 February 1993.
• Peter Butler and Steve Jones put West Ham 2-0 up within 13 minutes and, although Marcus Ebdon halved the deficit nine minutes before half-time, Billy Bonds' Hammers held on to pick up all three points. Butler scored his first goal for the Hammers in front of a 12,537-strong crowd.
The teams that day were -
West Ham United: Miklosko, Breacker, Dicks, Potts, Gale (Holmes), M.Allen, Robson, Butler, Keen, Morley, Jones
Goals: Butler 4, Jones 13
Peterborough United: Bennett, Luke, Spearing, Halsall, Bradshaw, Welsh (Howarth), Sterling, McGlashan, Curtis (Iorfa), Adcock, Philliskirk
Goal: Ebdon 36
Last time out
Sunday 9 May 2010
Barclays Premier League
West Ham United 1-1 Manchester City
West Ham United: Green, Faubert, Da Costa, Upson, Daprela, Parker, Boa Morte (Stanislas 64), Kovac, Diamanti (Spence 87), Ilan, Cole (Franco 64)
Subs: Kurucz, Gabbidon, Spector, McCarthy
Goal: Boa Morte 17
Sunday 2 May 2010
Coca-Cola Championship
Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Peterborough United
Peterborough United: Lewis, Morgan, Little, Bennett, Andrew, Lee, Rowe, Simpson, Mackail-Smith, Dickinson (Wright 64), Koranteng
Subs: Griffiths, McKeown, Green, Mills, McCrae, Piergianni
Goals: Mackail-Smith 63, 69
Old boys
• There could be a familiar face on show on Wednesday evening in the shape of Academy graduate Grant McCann. The midfielder joined the Posh from Scunthorpe United earlier this summer. McCann made four substitute appearances for the Hammers between May and October 2001.
• Academy of Football graduate and former West Ham United full-back Noel Cantwell was Peterborough manager on two occasions, taking charge at London Road between 1972 and 1977 and 1986 and 1988.
• Other famous faces to have played for both clubs are Bobby Barnes, Matthew Etherington, Bill Green, Steven Laurie, Dave Llewellyn, Adam Newton and Alf Tirrell.
Previous meetings
Head to head (League unless stated)
9 February 1993 - West Ham United 2-1 Peterborough United
12 September 1992 - Peterborough United 1-3 West Ham United
Overall record v Peterborough United (all competitions) W 2 D 0 L 0
West Ham United
• West Ham United will be seeking to make a positive start under new manager Avram Grant, having ended last season in a disappointing 17th place in the Barclays Premier League table.
• The Hammers will travel to Peterborough United unbeaten in two competitive meetings with the Posh. Both Division Two fixtures played during the 1992/93 season ended in wins for West Ham.
• West Ham will travel to Germany for a pre-season training camp this weekend. The camp which will include matches against German Bundesliga side VfL Borussia Monchengladbach in Ruhpolding on Saturday 17 July and just across the border in Austria in Kitzbuhel against Greek champions Panathinaikos on Friday 23 July.
• Aside from new manager Grant, assistant manager Paul Groves and goalkeeper coach David Coles will also be in the West Ham dugout for the first time at Peterborough, having both followed the Israeli to the Boleyn Ground from Portsmouth.
• Young professionals Matt Fry, Olly Lee and Anthony Edgar have all signed new contracts with the club and will hope to impress the new manager this season. Defender Holmar Orn Eyjolfsson will also be eager to push on after spending the second half of last season on loan at Belgian side KSV Roeselare.
• A number of players have departed from West Ham since the end of the 2009/10 season. Josh Payne, Bondz 'Gala, Ilan, Guille Franco, Davide Ferrari, Danny Kearns, Terry Dixon and Tony Brookes have all departed after their respective contracts expired, while Mido's short-term loan from Middlesbrough was not renewed.
• Grant's side will kick-off their Premier League campaign with a trip to Aston Villa on Saturday 14 August.
Peterborough United
• Like West Ham United, Gary Johnson's Peterborough United will be seeking a positive start to their pre-season schedule after a disappointing 2009/10 campaign that saw the Posh relegated from the Coca-Cola Championship after a stay of just one season.
• Peterborough began their pre-season preparations with a friendly meeting with Portuguese First Division side SC Olhanense at the Jose Arcanjo stadium in Olhao on Saturday. The match ended in a 2-0 victory for the hosts.
• West Ham Academy graduate Grant McCann, who appeared in Tony Carr's Testimonial match at the Boleyn Ground in May, joined Peterborough from Scunthorpe United on a free transfer earlier this summer.
• Peterborough have brought in a number of other new players during the summer. Twenty-year-old defender Seth Nana Ofori-Twumasi has signed from Chelsea on a three-year contract. Forward Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, 18, has joined from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a season-long loan. Mark Little has also moved to London Road from Wolves on a free transfer, while James Wesolowski has joined from Leicester City for an undisclosed fee and defender Kelvin Langmead has arrived on a three-year contract from Shrewsbury Town.
• A number of players have left London Road during the summer. Defender Craig Morgan has joined Championship side Preston North End, while Argentinean midfielder Sergio Torres has moved to Crawley Town. Forward Shaun Batt has moved to Championship new boys Millwall for an undisclosed fee, while teenage striker Kwesi Appiah has departed the club by mutual consent. Striker Scott Rendell, meanwhile, has joined Wycombe Wanderers, while full-back Danny Andrew has linked up with Cheltenham Town.
• Winger George Boyd, who spent part of last season on loan at Championship play-off hopefuls Nottingham Forest, has signed a new three-year contract with the club this month.
• Peterborough will begin their quest to gain promotion from League One with a home fixture against Bristol Rovers on Saturday 7 August.
Team news
• West Ham United will be without their four representatives at the 2010 FIFA World Cup - England's Robert Green and Matthew Upson, Switzerland's Valon Behrami and the United States' Jonathan Spector - as well as Scott Parker, who returned to training this week after spending the early part of his summer with England's provisional World Cup squad.
• Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger could make his West Ham debut following his summer arrival from Italian club S.S. Lazio.
• Herita Ilunga and Kieron Dyer have returned to full pre-season training following back and calf problems respectively and could both be involved at London Road.
• Jack Collison and Young Hammer of the Year Zavon Hines will be unavailable as both continue their recovery from long-term knee injuries.
• Frank Nouble will also be absent after joining up with the England squad ahead of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship finals in France later this month.
General information
• Tickets for Wednesday's fixture are available from Peterborough United. Seating is priced at £22 Adults, £14 Over-65s and Students and £8 for Under-16s. Standing tickets in the Noyes End terrace are priced at £17 Adults, £14 Over-65s and Students and £8 for Under-16s. To order your tickets, visit www.theposhtickets.com or call 0844 847 1934.
• The weather forecast is for sunny intervals with a top temperature of around 23C.