Julien Faubert

Date of Birth : 1st August 1983 Place of Birth : Le Havre, France Signed : July 2007 (Bordeaux) Position : Midfielder Height : 5.10 Weight : 11.08 Appearances: 4 Goals : 0 International Appearances : 1 (1)

KB: KUMB; HM Hammers Mad; ST Sunday Times; SE Sunday Express; SM Sunday Mirror; OB Observer;
DM Daily Mirror; GU Guardian; TM Times; HD Hammers Diary; SK Sky; DE Daily Express

Iain Dale's Diary : Faubert and Ljungberg ran Newcastle ragged down the wings for the first twenty minutes. What a shame Freddie was stretchered off with a cracked rib (and may miss the Euros) mid way through the first half to be replaced the Boa Morte. Scott Parker was absolutely immense, especially in the first half, while Mark Noble took his goal brilliantly and combined superbly with Parker both defensively and in attack. But special pride of place goes to Julien Faubert, who showed some amazing bursts of pace and put in some excellent crosses.

Hammers Mad: As early as the third minute, Julien Faubert launched a curling free-kick onto the roof of the Magpies net and, shortly afterwards, Ashton's 18-yarder forced Steve Harper into a low stop, before Bobby Zamora almost diverted home a far post header. It was not a matter of if but when West Ham would break the deadlock and, on ten minutes, Noble met ever-present George McCartney's excellent cross with a falling, 12-yard drop volley to claim his third goal of the season.

KUMB: The first real opportunity of note came when the Hammers won a free kick on the corner of the box, on the right hand side as I saw it from my seat in the Centenary Upper. Julien Faubert took it and it grazed the top of the angle between bar and post before flying into the away end. It wasn't long before the second chance came and Mark Noble was more than happy to take full advantage of it. George McCartney's pull-back from the left channel finding him, and the England Under-21 star slammed it into Harper's bottom corner for his third goal of the campaign. West Ham started to pass it about and even when the Geordies did win back the ball and mount an attack the defensive precision of the back four of Pantsil, Neill, Tomkins and McCartney was such that all searching through balls were snuffed out with ease. Soon, however, the second goal did come and when it did, it was another good goal. Ashton received the ball just inside the six-yard box, held a defender off and shot home between the legs of Taylor. This scoreline was more than most of us could have realistically hoped for, particularly after half an hour, but sadly it wasn't to last. A long ball from midfield arrived, and James Tomkins, who had been near-impeccable thus far lost out to Obafemi Martins (in the same manner that he had lost out to Yakubu at Goodison Park a few weeks ago) and the Nigerian international finished with ease to halve the deficit. A few minutes later Martins was involved again as his shot deflected first off Geremi, then George McCartney to equalise for the north-east team. (Alex Shilling, 28th April 2008)

The Observer: The squad Curbishley has been allowed to assemble means it is now - having inherited Alan Pardew's team and problems - purely a test of his managerial abilities. 'The way in which we've been reported suggests we've spent loads of money. But if you examine it you'll see that £23million has gone out and £21m has come back. Five other clubs, including Portsmouth and Fulham, have spent more than us,' the manager said. 'And what I've done is replaced those players who have left rather than added. The chairman (Eggert Magnusson) has been quite bullish since he came in. And he accepts we're still a bit skinny in some areas.' While Yossi Benayoun, Nigel Reo-Coker, Paul Konchesky and Marlon Harewood have left, the manager has spent a club record £7.5m on Craig Bellamy, £7m on Scott Parker, £6.1m for French midfielder Julien Faubert and landed Freddie Ljungberg on a bargain free transfer. (28th July, 2007)

BBC News: New West Ham signing Julien Faubert has been ruled out for six months with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Faubert was injured during West Ham's 1-0 friendly defeat against Czech side Sigma Olomouc in Austria on 17 July and has returned to France for surgery. The 23-year-old France midfielder joined the Hammers from Bordeaux for £6.1m on 1 July. West Ham manager Alan Curbishley told his club's website: "It's a devastating blow for everybody, especially Julien." Curbishley's frustration at seeing one of his key summer signings ruled out until the New Year was evident. "Julien had fitted in so well and was showing all the attributes needed to be a success in the Premiership," he explained. (19th July, 2007)

KUMB: Julien Faubert could miss the start of the season as West Ham United's summer injury jinx struck yet again. Faubert - making only his second start for the Hammers in Austria against Sigma last night - is understood to have sustained an injury to his achilles ten minutes before the break in last night's 1-0 defeat. The 23-year-old is set to undertake a scan tomorrow in order to determine the extent of the injury. The Achilles tendon is the largest tendon in the human body, and is a common injury amongst sports men and women. The worst case scenario - a complete rupture - could see the French winger out for three to four months. (18th July, 2007)