So rumours abound that Erik ten Hag wants to bring Haller with him to Man Utd. That could be interesting. Suppose.....just suppose..... he scores for fun here. Utilised correctly. I seriously hope so as a Haller fan and not a basher.
For me, Id go all out to break the bank for him. We have to sign him in the summer. He's been loyal to Brentford and they have had an efficient first season in the league.
Harry Kane aside, he has to be the best English number 9 in the country and god knows we are crying out for a central figure. Big strong throwback to the English game. Coolest penalty taker you've ever seen (sorry Nobes)! For me he is a late shout for a World Cup place.
Ticks all our boxes and will get Benny playing again to his full potential I believe.
If the Bees want 40 million plus, then lets pay it. Ivan Toney the BOM is waiting for you!!!!
It is about time Hammers fans received some GOOD NEWS regarding centre backs, first the Og 'did' his ACL, then Zouma got injured but recovered and then got injured again. Then Issa Diop, who was just starting to show the sort of form that earned him his 'monster' moniker courtesy of Jose Mourinho, managed to pick up a season ending ankle injury and finally Les 'Balon' Dawson got a straight red from 'Lord Olivier' in the rigged match against Chelsea which was paid for by Marcos Alonso, how else could he have stayed on the pitch?
Well, a glimmer of hope is emerging from Hammers Goose Green Portakabin site which doubles as a training ground, Kurt Zouma is on course to make an unlikely return from injury way ahead of schedule. Good news indeed, especially given the three match suspension Dawson will have to serve. Apparently Lukaku's go fund me page for people who suffer from a loss of balance while wearing their sketchers, has now been taken down!
Even IF Zouma does return, David Moyes will still have a massive defensive issue to resolve, should he also try and rush back Angelo Ogbonna? The 34 year old has been back in light training and IS ahead of schedule in his recovery program, but it would be an ENORMOUS risk to start BOTH Zouma AND Ogbonna against 'Ze Germans' on Thursday evening, he will HAVE to ring the last drop of energy he can out of Dawson ahead of the centre back's enforced absence, he has little other choice. - Ed
Keep him or sell him in the summer? for me its Sell......for all the undoubted ability he has he just does not do it when given the chance and thats why he is in and out of the side on a regular basis....Vlasic?paid way to much for him and i wonder if thats what keeps Moyes so cautious when it comes to transfers and how it reflects on his judgement.....lessons will be learned? who knows but for me Benny has to go but we'd be lucky to recoup what we paid for him.
Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta (c), Silva, Christensen, Loftus-Cheek, Kante, Jorginho, Alonso, Mount, Werner, Havertz. Subs: Arrizabalaga (GK), Lukaku, Pulisic, Chalobah, Saul Niguez, Barkley, Ziyech, Kenedy, Sarr.
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Cresswell, Johnson, Soucek, Noble (c), Masuaku, Fornals, Benrahma, Yarmolenko. Subs: Areola (GK), Antonio, Lanzini, Vlasic, Bowen, Fredericks, Kral, Rice, Alese.
News coming out of Hammers 'Goose Green' training ground yesterday is that veteran Angelo Ogbonna is being 'fast tracked' back from his ACL injury in order to provide emergency cover for the Premier League game against Chelsea AND more importantly, the UEFA Europa League semi final 1st leg against Eintrecht Frankfurt at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium.
Ogbonna had been pencilled in to make an appearance for a couple of games before the end of the season, but the cataclysmic*' injuries to Kurt Zouma AND now Issa Diop have left a massive centre back vacuum to be filled with only Les 'Balon' Dawson available as a recognised first teamer.
Youngsters Alese and Baptiste are both highly rated, but it is believed that Ogbonna's experience could prove vital, particularly against 'ZE Germans' and therefore he might well be risked. Hammers next opponents are Chelsea this coming Sunday at the Bridge, the host side have their own injury problems and will be 'smarting' from their home defeat by rivals Arsenal yesterday evening.
David Moyes HAS to now deal with a problem partly of his own making, how does he approach the Chelsea game? send out the kids and get tonked? Or send out a strong team, risk injuries and add to the work load of an already stretched squad ahead of the club's biggest game in forty years?
Something's got to give, hopefully NOT The Og's ACL! -Ed
* Ouch bad pun!
Kurt Zouma may have kicked a cat recently for which he has been sanctioned and profusely apologised for his 'stupid' actions, but the rest of the defence must feel as if they have run cats over given the back line's appalling injury status. The news that Isssa Diop is out for the rest of the season with an Achilles injury has only added to the burden now faced by the club ahead of it's most crucial week for 40 years
First stalwart Angello Ogbonna, then Vladimir Coufal, then Aaron Cresswell, then Kurt Zouma and now Diop! This leaves Les 'Balon' Dawson as the club's only centre back and he has been playing with a long term injury that requires frequent cortisone injections just to get him through games, just like Alvin Martin used to, he is also nursing a recently twice broken nose to boot.
Losing the services of Diop at this stage of the season is an unmitigated disaster, he had just successfully stepped up to the plate to fill in for the injured Zouma and had begun to show glimpses of the superb form he showed when he arrived at the club from Toulouse in a £26 Million deal when Pellegrini was the manager. The young Frenchman's form had fallen off the cliff, but he has the support of his manager who only last week was quoted as saying "we really like Issa and look forward to him developing further with the team in the future".
Well that's all to cock now isn't it? What Moyes and his staff do to accommodate yet another defensive injury is a matter of some conjecture because there is NO ONE left to take up position alongside Dawson except Alese or Baptiste from the youth set up, neither have had any 'big game' experience and would therefore represent a risk if selected.
The only other option David Moyes has is to move Declan Rice to a centre back position, but by doing so he will rip the heart out of the midfield. Hindsight is useless now, the fact that no one was brought in during the January window has come back to bite the club venomously, it might just be a 'bite too far' this time. - LN
After lengthy delberation we have decided to take a financial hit and remove ALL google ads from the site, we have reached this decision because we have found their ads have become increasingly obtrusive and we are also apppaled how they and their associated companies continue to allow scam sites to operate with apparent impunity.
This will cost us big bucks, but you know what? We'd rather cover football on our front pages than have them plastered alll over with lingerie adverts, ther are plenty of soft and hard porn sites available elsewhere! We do hope you will now enjoy a better viewing experience and welcome your opinions.
A happy 'uncluttered' easter to all our viewers, google ads removed the Org! - Ed
Hammers go into the business end of the season with all their hopes and aspirations now pinned on the UEFA Europa League Cup, qualification for Europe via League position is now virtually academic given the club's inability to capitalise on other clubs poor results.
This observation is not meant to be a criticism of the players and staff who have mostly given their all for the cause, but a reality check of a club that is trying to mix it with the big boys but on a children's take away budget! It is not to say money hasn't been spent on the squad, unfortunately some of the investment has been more long term and at a low level for the Premier League.
Kurt Zouma WAS a big big signing, this shows in his on field performances which have helped the other defenders reach a different level, unfortunately the same cannot be said for Nikola Vlasic and to some extent Sáid Benrahma. The situation regarding Benrahma is still unclear, it is rumoured that David Moyes did NOT want to sign the ex-Brentford forward permanently instead of on loan but his hand was forced due to 'economic reasons'. This seems a little strange, the loan deal being made permanent ahead of schedule DID free up the club to sign Les 'Ballon' Dawson on loan which WAS an astounding bit of business, but was there more to it than that?
The club's annual accounts had an 'veiled entry' regarding a substantial player insurance pay out, the club is not obligated to detail which player was involved, it could have been for Declan Rice, but the figures involved seem much higher and indicate a 'settlement' regarding Benrahma's medical condition that was flagged up.
At the end of the day things are what they are, the club goes into the next fortnight knowing it is the biggest in over 40 YEARS! There is still a chance of glory, but it is an incredibly uphill task for such a 'big club' operating on such a tiny budget and with a microscopic sized squad compared to it's rivals.
The club has reached a turning point, in the Premier League it is necessary to invest just to maintain a club's top division status but to progress needs careful but well backed acquisitions, especially given the average age of the current squad, as they say in the business world, invest or die. - LN
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