Forum | General Discussion

David Moyes is known to be meticulous when planning the acquisition of a new player, he is also very, very good at keeping his cards close to his chest when questioned about possible arrivals, usually defaulting to the missive "I don't discuss players who are currently contracted to clubs elsewhere, it would be disrespectful and unethical".

With public respect and ethics dealt with, Moyes is free to carry on with his plans. The long term injury to Angello Ogbonna is a curve ball that was not expected, but must have been anticipated given the player's age and recent injury record, it should be remembered that the Og was only just fit for the beginning of the season as a result of having sustained, yes you guessed it, a knee injury!

James Tarkowski is the media's choice as a replacement during the January transfer window as he is in the final year of his contract and would be available for a relatively low price compared to the crazy figure of around £50 Million quoted when Hammers were interested in the defender a year ago. However we have heard through our very well placed contact at Chelsea that West Ham have expressed more than a little interest in getting Kurt Zouma's old defensive partner Antonio Rudiger to come and join him in East London.

Rudiger's original five year deal expires at the end of the season and contract negotiations have reached an impasse over an extension, apparently the German International has been offered a deal of £150,000 per week which is a 50% increase on his previous wage of five years ago when he first joined Chelsea in a £29 Million deal from Roma. From what we have heard Rudiger wants his wags DOUBLED to £200,000 per week, far too rich for West Ham you would think, but therein lies the rub.

Football transfers are notoriously deceptive in their detail, with many clauses and sub clauses being added at will, but the maths can also be very confusing, we will attempt to elucidate. Kurt Zouma is only 18 months younger than Antonio Rudiger, but Hammers paid around £30 Million for him and gave him a wage of approximately £130,000 per week, sounds a lot doesn't it? But that is the going rate for a top player playing for a top team, IF Hammers are to pursue their aspirations to the fullest, then players with the calibre of Zouma are required.

Rudiger will be available on a free transfer in June, or Chelsea might seek to get some form of transfer fee in rather than wait until his contract has run down entirely enabling him to leave for free. If hypothetically he accepted £160,000 per week, his wages would be £8 Million per year. If he signed a three year deal ther club would be obligated to fork out around £24 Million in wages, he could then be sold on BEFORE entering the final year of his contract enabling the club to recoup anything between £10-20 Million in the process.

Compare those figures with the acquisition of Kurt Zouma, the club paid £30 Million and pay £130,000 per week in wages, over three years that is an expenditure of £20,300,000 in wages which combined with the purchase price is an expenditure of over £50 Million, small change compare with the overall cost of bringing in Rudiger.

Some might say "why are we buying 'Chelsea rejects'?" The answer being that they are very good players, Hammers are NOT yet ready to dine at football's top table quite yet, but acquiring top players who are NOT past it is a good start! Again there are those who would criticise a potential move, but there are those who can see the benefit of Zouma operating in tandem with Rudiger, as they have done so successfully in the past for the current Premier League leaders.

Of course a host of Europe's top clubs are interested in Rudiger, but the prospect of linking up with his old mucker for the 'new project' in East london, while still being able to live in the capital is a quite an incentive. It should also be remembered that apart from PSG and Real Madrid most clubs don't have a pot to do the proverbial in, as such Hammers might be in the driving seat.

Long term planning results in long term benefit, the club's old scatter gun approach has gone, hopefully never to return. -ED

All good things is an expression usually completed by either of the juxtaposed following words, 'come to those who wait' or must come to an end'. Well having waited so long for a series of empowering victories, Hammers fans were rewarded with a quite remarkable sequence of positive results, that covers the 'All good things come to those who wait'.

Unfortunately fans are now experiencing the 'All good things must come to an end' feeling that has accompanied the club's first Premier League away defeat, thus leaving only London rivals Chelsea with an unblemished record on the road. They do have a slightly larger squad though!

Anyone who expected Hammers NOT to lose games during the season is as stupid as they are naive, but there is NO logic in being a fan and Saturday's 1-0 defeat away to a resurgent Wolves seems especially painful. "The bubble has burst, and we burst your bubble" Wolves fans were singing at the final whistle, on the balance of play they probably deserved the win.

There was however NO disgrace in failure, yes Soucek looked a bit leggy, but he has done so all season, and the rest of the team looked a bit laboured, but it shouldn't detract from the fact that Hammers were beaten fair and square, it is what it was.

It is funny how times change isn't it? The very fact that fans are disappointed following a narrow 1-0 defeat AWAY from home shows just how far the club has progressed since David Moyes' 'second coming'. Were some of the players guilty of a bit of complacency? Maybe, but if they were, one thing that is guaranteed is that those players will have a rude awakening on Monday morning at the club's 'Goose Green' training ground when confronted by the animated 'attentions' of Chicken Kev and Psycho!

It's not all gloom and doom though, the club is still sitting FOURTH in the Premier League and have fixtures coming thick and fast, so there is NO time to dwell on the past. While a 'who should play alongside Kurt Zouma' debate rages, fans should at least take comfort in the fact that they are NOT supporters of Manchester United, if the 1-0 defeat at Wolves felt bad, just imagine how all those 'Mancs' fans who live in London and the home counties feel, let alone those who actually live in the Metropolitan area of Manchester themselves - LN

Many Hammers fans, particularly the older ones, are having some difficulty coming to terms with the team's current success and are waiting for the inevitable 'bursting of the bubble' to happen. Having lifted his team to the summit, the hallowed ground that is the Premier League top four, David Moyes is under no illusions as to the test(s) ahead of him and his team, it is one thing to reach the top, it is another to stay there!

That task begins this afternoon with the away trip to Molineaux against a resurgent Wolves team guided by Bruno Lage, both teams have microscopic squads compared to their more illustrious neighbours and although steeped in history, both teams have had little success since the Premier League began.

Today will be the first time Angello Ogbonna will not be available, unfortunately he will now NOT be seen in Claret & Blue until NEXT season as a result of needing surgery for his ACL injury. Moyes has Dawson and Diop to choose from and will more than likely use Dawson.

We worry that Dawson's lack of pace will be exposed by 'Antonio 2:0' in the form of Adam Traore, his pace will shred virtually any other player and he is sure to show 'Les' a clean pair of heels given any opportunity. In addition it should be remembered that a little less than two years ago Wolves were juggling competing on four fronts, sounds familiar?

What is also 'familiar' is the fact that Wolves have a very impressive goals from corners statistic bettered only by West Ham, their goals scored from other set pieces is exceptional as well. This will be a HARD game, make no mistake about it, a nil nil draw it will definitely NOT be!

During his pre match presser, David Moyes alluded to the fact that there are NO easy games and how getting a result at Wolves is a tough ask. IF Hammers can navigate a tricky fixture like the Wolves game, it will bode extremely well for the club's efforts to keep its place in the upper echelons of the Premier League, failure to do so will NOT be the end of the World, but it would bring back the 'points paranoia' of certain sections of the club's support.

One reassuring aspect ahead of the game is the togetherness of the players, which is obvious to any onlooker. Back in the day Hammers would follow up a sensational victory, as was the 3-2 win over Liverpool, with a timid capitulation to a lesser placed team. The result might not go Hammers way, but at least fans know that their team will give it their all, and if their all is not good enough on the day, then so be it! -Ed