Forum | General Discussion

West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Cresswell, Scarles, Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Bowen, Kudus.
Subs: Fabianski, Soler, Paqueta, Guilherme, Ings, Emerson, Rodriguez, Ferguson, Mavropanos.

Newcastle: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento, Joelinton, Tonali, Bruno, Barnes, Isak, Murphy
Subs: Dubravka, Targett, Willock, Krafth, Wilson, Neave, Longstaff, Osula, Miley.

In irony of the previous Tim Steidten chant created by fans, it appears it’s no longer he went to Dam, it’s now Dan!

In light of Tim Steidten being relieved of his duties, West Ham have been in search of a new Technical Director and have landed eyes on the Englishman Dan Ashworth. It has become more and more to light in recent times that Dan Ashworth could be appointed come the summer.

Ashworth has previously worked with Graham Potter, It was said a while ago that if Potter was to be appointed as Manager, he would want to work alongside Kyle Macaulay as well as Dan Ashworth.

Dan has had is acknowledgeable stints at Brighton, Newcastle and his most recent stint of 5 months at Manchester United before being relieved of his duties at the club. He achieved success at Brighton as well as Newcastle, and if the United stint worries people, it shouldn’t.

Considering the ongoing and everlasting chaos that Manchester United are under, ‘Sir Jim Ratcliffe' since coming in has ransacked the club, and it is seemingly a continuous downward spiral, and unfortunately for him, Ashworth was one of the many victims of this.

Similar to Moyes during our European stint, we had all the tools of the pitch, forming the backroom staff team he desired, which ultimately was a huge part to play in our success. Interestingly, during Lopetegui’s short stint, the club brought over his desired team, but not behind the scenes, and he had to work alongside Steidten. So far, under Potter we’ve brought in Kyle Macaulay and have the vision to bring in Dan Ashworth, clearly showing some sort of backing which is a pleasant change.

Someone in the club must’ve had a word with Sully and coerced him into acknowledging that to be successful, it takes a lot more than just what’s on the pitch and having a good background off the pitch is much more important than many think.

Hopefully, those above don’t consider Ashworth as a summer signing and part of the limited budget we supposedly have. Though, it wouldn’t surprise me if on his arrival day he’s asked what Kit Number he’d like!

As the season closes, it means Graham Potter has, as of today, 120 days to decide on who renews and who departs from the club in the upcoming summer.

The headache of a decision will apply to FIVE players that we own: Vladimir Coufal, Danny Ings, Lukasz Fabianski, Michail Antonio and Aaron Cresswell.

A combination of these players’ weekly wages adds up to a staggering £360,000 PER WEEK. The most expensive of the bunch award going to… who else but Uncle Igy! At a con of £125,000 per week, it could only be described as ridiculous and comical if his contract was to be renewed.

It is best that the club departs from this mistake and lets someone else have him in the summer; we all sincerely hope this is the endINGS of an era.

Vlad’s been sniffered after by a plethora of clubs, Fenebache have been hot on his heels for years now, and Fulham also ‘highly admire’ the Czech international and are expected to make a move for him in the summer.

As much as Vlad has done for us and been part of our recent success, he has, as of late, been forced out of the squad, and this seemingly looks like the end, especially with the likes of Walker-Peters and Lamptey available on a free in the summer.

Fabo and Micky are expected to renew, it seems Fabo can go on forever, but eventually, the gloves will have to be hung up. Despite being at the age of 39, he’s the only one of the five mentioned that does have a renew clause in his contract, so it’s whether the club wants to trigger it or not.

Big Micky was nearly sold to the Brazilian side Gremio, but we rejected their ‘insulting offer’ of £2,000,000 for him.

Since then, unfortunately, Antonio has had his horrific car accident and fortunately is making a good recovery after completing two weeks in Dubai and is now back in England for training. It is expected for a contract to be offered to Antonio but on a reduction of his current wages, which currently lie at £85,000 per week.

Aaron Cresswell appears to be the one who’s most likely to renew out of the five, with Graham Potter finding form again in the 33-year-old and preferring to use him over Mavropanos in recent games.