Tuesday 22 May 2012

Carlton Cole

Carlton Cole took a 50 percent wage cut to stay with West Ham. The 28-year-old striker turned down a move to Stoke after the Hammers were relegated at the end of the 2010-11 season, instead slashing his wages to £14,000-per-week from £28,000.


"I’ve kept my mouth shut for quite a while but I did take a wage cut to stay in the Championship. Half of my wages just went... 'I didn’t want to leave the ship, I am that sort of guy. I would not have been able to live with myself. It is just such a reward today to get to the Premier League again with West Ham at the first time of asking. This was D-Day for all of us. I can’t explain how proud as a player, person and family man I am to be here. Obviously I want to earn as much as I can in my career. But when you have been relegated, you don’t deserve it and you need to work back to where you need to get to. Then they give it back to you. That is the way I felt."

Monday 21 May 2012

Promoted to the Premiership

David Gold talking about why it was important to win promotion this year: "It would have cost probably another £30m.... If you own 150 oil wells, then it's no problem. If you own 150 Ann Summers shops... it is."