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i don't know about everyone else but i'm still waiting for the so called 'big' signings that we were promised to arrive. Payet yes ok, good one….but jenkinson and song back, obiang and a couple of others? with the new tv windfall i was expecting to see an impressive haul of better quality players for Bilic to work with but in all honesty i'm feeling a bit deflated. the new season is upon us and looking at the squad we're talking ourselves into hoping the likes of valencia and zarate come good still. the owners have a habit of promising much, linking us to so and so and simply not producing. lets not fool ourselves other clubs are improving rapidly, even the likes of southampton have put their money where their mouths are, villa spending big, liverpool etc. is this going to be another case of 'the signings that got away?' because the owners won't spend to match other teams? we're a mid table prem league side based on our squad, nothing more…so expectation for me is low especially with a new manager who has to learn prem league management this year, but i did expect and hoped for three or four big name signings to arrive but it looks like this won't happen.
I agree that if our spending
I agree that if our spending has finished it will be a con-job by our owners. But I expect a big money striker to be signed (our biggest purchase of the summer).
And at least one other big money purchase before the window closes. There will likely also be some Sully wheeling and dealing, but with the like of Newcastle and Palace spending big, if our net spend is below £30 million I'll be very disappointed.
i still expect Charlie will
i still expect Charlie will sign
If they are after Austin they
If they are after Austin they are being damn clever about it, cus they have shown no sign of the slightest interest. Sully seems to love Mexicans much more! :-)
I think it "rock and a hard
I think it "rock and a hard place".
Bilic is new to Prem management and as such would you want to hand him say 3 or 4 "big time stars"?!
At the end of the day "what is a big time star"?!
Ballotelli?!!! Di Maria?!!! That midfielder (amonst many others) that Liverpool signed (canny remember his name)?! The forward (South American) that Soton signed (and played about 30 games and scored 1 goal before sticking the head on a team mate and leaving in discgrace?!!
Even Song (lets be honest he had about 3 good games before then looking total gash)!!!!!!!!
You can "throw money" (as in the Di Maria case) at so called "big players" but theres an awful lot more to it than that.
At present it looks like (and I only say LOOKS LIKE) the players that have been brought in HAVE A WORK ETHIC and thats about the biggest thing you can bring to a club (sure you need to back it up with actually producing something) but the early signs are good.
ONCE AGAIN we have been absolutely dealt the worst hand possible with injuries to forwards!!!
On a personal level I feel Valencia has been a huge disappointment so far but he might (just might) have been turning a corner......particularly now there is more energy and link up play behind him.
The "Carroll saga" speaks for itself sadly.
To that end I definately want to see a CF in before long.
In view of the "Balotelli fiascos" and knowing we are not in the "Augero leagues" its a case of "looking for another Sakho(esqe) player or going for "tried and tested". For me Charlie Austin who has proved he can do it at this level meets the required criteria.
2 of our biggest problems (literally) at the moment are Nolan and Maiga.
2 players on huge wages which IM ABSOLUTELY SURE Bilic know he doesnt want anywhere near the team but unfortunately using up a lot of the wages budget!!!!
Whilst its easy to criticise Gold and Sullivan lest we not forget where we were a few short years ago!!!!
Or we could put a bid in for Di Maria and Ballotelli and then phone Eggy and ask him what Plan B is?!!!!
What is it "I go over the top
What is it "I go over the top on"?!
You say "we are an established Prem side".
I would ask you " how and why did that happen"?!
Im not in the "all Gold and Sullivan do is the amazing" camp but I will ask the question again.....would you like to return to "the famous Eggy days"?!!
I dont know about you but I like to think I will have a West Ham to support in the foreseeable!!!!
The only other way would appear to be "the Oil Sheik" way.
Again dont know about you but thats not something I find very attractive!!!
Soton have proved that with the right management bringing in the right personel its possible to vastly improve as a club......AND DO IT IN A WAY THAT DOESNT SEEM TO THREATEN YOUR VERY EXISTANCE!!!
Some of that will do for me....I believe we have a similar (though yet to be proven obviously) manager in place and a lot of the signings appear (although again as previously stated its very early) to be players very much" on the up".
Im not going to get into (unless you can very simply) explain what having owners like Abromovic and Oil Sheiks means to a club as I dont really understand the fundamentals of that side of things so on that basis I personally think we are doing alright on all accounts.
I agree Dicksy,apart from
I agree Dicksy,apart from Payet there has been no real quality signings,but there has been some squad strengthening which is encouraging.I think it was Gold or Sullivan that stated in the media a season or two ago that Westham were looking to add one top quality signing each season .So far it has been Carroll,Song,Payet,so with the Song situation still up in the air,it's like two steps forward one step back.Progress is slow but sure, lack of finances the main obstacle but it hasn't helped Westham's cause Allardyce signing a few expensive duds along the way.But like you state ,other clubs at a similar level to Westham are spending money ,even bettering Westham's transfer budget so far,so you have to wonder whether any real progress in the league will be made.I think the one positive thing we have guaranteed is an end to that boring hoofball style and a return to some entertaining football
Why is it "spending money"
Why is it "spending money" seems to be the objective?!
Is "identifying players players that can do a good job for us not just now but potentially in the long term" not an objective?!
Any manager (and chairman) can go out and throw money about (as ive said many times Eggy showed that) but surely working within" your restraints" is pivitol to the wellbeing of the club?!
Are we forgetting all the players that are in the game who have cost vast fortunes not to produce 1 single thing for their respective clubs?!
Perhaps the time is right for G and S to move on and open the way for the next Abramovic (assuming there is one).
Only hope we are not on here in the future discussing what its like to have a club that used to be in existence because of it though!!!!
Speculation but nothing concrete
I agree it is a bit underwhelming at the moment. I had hoped we would have bought Austin by now. The price is not particularly excessive by present day costs. Wages might be an issue but I think we should just bite the bullet. The injury doubt seems to be a bit of smokescreen and likewise doubts over Ba never materialised and he has played with little injury problems since. Austin is a proven goal scorer and has premier experience. Hernandez is the other option I guess but I see we may be offering 12m for him. I would rather Austin. Now that a deal for Mirallas has fallen away we could do with a proven winger but not sure we are in for anyone. I agree we need some big signings. Payet does look classy and is a good buy and as someone else says some of the youngsters looked promising. I just feel that so far, we haven't done enough to give us a real chance to progress. I am hoping it still may happen. I am sure the style will be more attractive though.
The owners always try and
The owners always try and whip up a frenzy at this time of year and more often than not don't deliver, my biggest gripe about them is the way that all of our transfer activity gets leaked to the press, my guess is that's very much intentional. It's early days but Payet seems a decent buy, will he be happy playing for a midtable team, only time will tell, as much as the owners proclaim a 'watertight' deal if the club don't match the players ambitions then the player still holds all the aces. Realistically I don't expect much from this season, mainly because the majority of the side will be the same players as last year, I see the press are reporting that Andy Carroll is actually moving around and starting to get fit, maybe this was released to give us some hope because we can't get a striker on board, masters of spin as an old poster used to proclaim, perhaps he's right
Our signings so far I believe
Our signings so far I believe once properly bedded in will do a job for us, regards spending more money yes we do need another striker but as bully has said some young guns looking decent and Lee may fill a void at some point. For me it is better to build a machine that will ably do a job and not just have cogs, nuts and bolts that don't fit together and are indeed ineffectual. Patience is the key, Poo have a windfall from the sale of Sterling, Villa have a windfall from the sale of Benteke we have £5m from the sale of Downing I think that sums up the owners thinking in that sphere.
No ,no, no. Spend spend spend
No ,no, no. Spend spend spend!!!!!
Eggy did!!!!
That was good fun!!!!
If we go out of Europa
If we go out of Europa tonight will that stop certain players that might have thought about signing for us.?
You could never say never Cat
You could never say never Cat but any player looking "realistically" would surely factor into the equation the fact we havent been in Europe for a long time" through merit" and would make their decision accordingly.
Our biggest "selling point" at the moment has to be the vision of playing in the new staduim and sending out the message that " we are building a team for the near future".
All the signs are that is what Bilic is trying to do given the age of the players he is bringing in.
Hungry ambitious player( the kind you want) will recognise that and if they dont then its better for us that they wouldnt come.
Lets be honest we have been "the pension provider" for far too many in recent times!!!!
I'm concerned
There has been a positive air around, particularly with Payet signing but the reality is the squad is no stronger than last season. If 2-3 quality signings come in, then great, if not I fear for us. Where are the goals coming from, if Sakho is out we are in trouble. We must sign a quality striker and a wide player. The owners have been good for the club but they are masters at making it appear we have done amazing transfer business when we have actually done less than many other clubs. We need a Hernandez or Austin type signing, linked with them and Mirallas, if we don't get any of them I don't want to see someone we have never heard of on loan instead, that is what makes people doubt we were ever serious about them
Mirallas has just signed a
Mirallas has just signed a new 3 year contract with Everton,so that's him out of the running.It seems we are back to the same old scenario,plenty of quality names banded about, but none of them signing.Bilic must see the desperate need for a quality goalscorer as number one priority,if he has to settle for the likes of Jelavic (who was excellent a few seasons back) it just proves how tight the budget is....worrying times.Lets just hope Carroll is ready for a comeback soon as they seem to indicate
Now that
Now that we are out of the Europe, our spending is over.
Would appear so.billic said
Would appear so.billic said yesterday Jimenez on loan and possibly another midfielder.
I've heard even the Jiminez
I've heard even the Jiminez deal might be on the rocks, we'll likely end up with a Borini, if we are lucky! I'm going to be VERY unhappy with G&S particularly if they don't bring in a replacement for Downing; Song was here last year so if he does sign it's not an improvement. You might be right Dicksy, if the spending has ended we HAVE been conned! :-(
Rumours abound
That we are in for borini again,liverpool reject is that the best we can do??
There has been a lot
Of hot air spoken by the board this close season. They keep saying they want to push on , loads of names but they just have not backed it up with money.
Do they want to come to us ?
That is the question.