Forum | General Discussion

The murky world of football finances has always been 'mudded' by strange accountancy terms that leave the layman baffled and that is exactly the intention. The most common term most people read is the ubiquitous "undisclosed' fee, when clubs reveal, or in most cases don't reveal the actual fee paid for a player.

The reasons are duplicitous, and one of the principal elements is 'amortisation', yes it does sound like some kind of 24 hour anti-perspirant or 'love' scent advertised by Johnny Depp, but actually it is a term used to describe a 'scaled' system whereby a player's value generally decreases the longer they are at a club, with the coefficient being how long there is left on their contract as well as contract renewal clauses inserted when the initial contract was enshrined.

Confused yet? You are supposed to be, essentially to understand the minute details involved you have to be an accountant! To put things into Layman's terms, some of the catastrophic losses Hammers have 'endured' through Pellegreedy's transfer profligacies will be offset against TV revenue and any operating profits, if any, during the next fiscal year.

So the losses generated by Haller, Anderson, Wheelchair, Yarmolenko and possibly Diop in the near future are not as tragic as they first look. In a way West Ham are a bit like a person on low income who receives Universal Credit, as soon as they actually earn anything, 65% of that 'additional income' is offset against their benefit, meaning that for many there is a 'grey window' whereby it is more financially beneficial NOT to earn any income, it is an anomaly but one that exists, I occasionally work with a charity to help people caught up in this 'under class' which is why I understand the issue. 

If you think of West Ham as a Barclays Premier League benefit claimant it becomes easier to understand, the club is currently losing money, but if it started to make money it would be tax liable, therefore ALL the losses are written off against tax liability, which in Hammers case means the difference between receiving a massive 'assessment' or a Nil request for payment.

The main expenditure of the club is on wages, but offset against that cost is also the magic 'amortisation' element so despite having been thoroughly 'spanked' on Pellegredy transfers, the club hasn't sustained as much long term damage as it initially seems.

Although the club might have 'got away with it' in the short term, HM Tax authorities look very badly on companies that continue with loss making activities that they then write down against tax, and the last thing the club needs is to have HM revenue and customs on their doorstep, HMRC being the ONLY authority that DOESN'T require a warrant to enter anyone's premises.

Financially West Ham have been skating on thin ice, hoping for a minor miracle, and that is exactly what they got when David Moyes, his support staff and the team managed to attain 6th place in the Barclays Premier league against all odds, events like these rarely re-occur, it is up to the Hammers board to be brave and not to bullshit as they have done consistently in the past, because they can't keep getting away with it! - Ed

The expression cracked record doesn't mean much to a 'soshall' media driven audience nowadays, even a 'blipping CD' has become a passé expression, so perhaps an Xbox digital glitch or server outage is more of a 'current' term. Whatever phrase you care to use, it wouldn't be far off describing West Ham United's pursuit of 'fresh legs' for what is an ageing and wafer thin squad.

There is a fine line between hitting the panic button and sitting on the fence so long that the world passes by. David Moyes has an 'extremely' limited transfer budget to operate with, players sales are unlikely to yield any form of substantial funding, the best that can be hoped for is a 'weight loss' off the wages bill!

Although the news outlets are full of this club buying that player etc, the fact is very little real business has been concluded as yet, there has been the usual 'frenzied' speculation, but most clubs have kept their powder dry until the Euro's are completed.

The positives of delaying deals far outweigh the negatives, in that although prices may go up if a player performs well, the prices go down if they don't. If the history of international football tells us anything, it is that a player can shine brightly at a tournament, but then fail to replicate that high domestically, Hammers' Andriy Yarmolenko being a classic example, stunning for the Ukraine, a cart horse for West Ham!

Even the most optimistic of Hammers fans will know it is unlikely the club will reach the same points tally next season as it did during the season just completed, other teams will 'bounce back', meaning mid table is probably the best that can be hoped for, although of course that is far more favourable than the 'traditional' relegation scrap fans have become used to on a depressingly regular basis.

Next season will be one of consolidation, at least another 12 months of pain will have to be experienced before David Moyes can finally throw of the shackles of the 'Pellegreedy' era, only then will the manager be able to move forward without being hampered by an insanely high wages bill.

Hammers will remain one of the highest wage payers, but at least the wages bill will make some kind of sense. Losing Yarmolenko's £115,000 per week and Anderson's £85,000 per week trims an eye watering £10 Million per year off the wages bill.

So while fans might get irritable at the club's apparent lack of activity, they should be mindful of 'buying for print' and concentrate far more on buying for the future, by that we mean the next few years, not the next few months. It is time West Ham stepped out of the shadows and fulfils it's destiny to become the 'big club' it should always have been given it's massive fan base.

To successfully move forward the club needs to be more pragmatic and efficient, more importantly the club MUST learn from it's past mistakes, if it doesn't, the same circle of 'nearly' will occur, and keep doing so until the harsh lessons learned are acted on. - Ed

There is no mistaking the massive impact Jesse Lingard from the moment he arrived on loan from Manchester United, goals, assists and an England recall, albeit only a temporary one, were the order of the day. Hammers boss, David Moyes, is an obvious fan of the industrious midfield playmaker, and hopes were high of the player making his move a permanent one before the beginning of next season.

Lingard's recall to the England squad put any transfer talk on hold, however he didn't eventually make the final cut of the squad contesting the Euro's and instead has been enjoying a 'colourful' (parrot on his shoulder) rest. The loan deal worked well for all parties, only a little too well for Manchester United, due to the lack of a 'right to buy' clause in the loan contract.

Consequently Manchester United held all the aces with regard to the player, and ensured so by triggering a 12 month extension to his contract. Lingard's parent club hoping to either start a bidding war, or, as has been reported recently, welcoming him back to their ranks with the promise of more game time and an improved contract on the horizon.

So, as much as fans would like to have seen 'Lings' return to the London Stadium, it is becoming more and more likely that the player, who came through the youth system at the red devils, wants to return to the fold. Lingard cannot be blamed for his impending decision, but it will have a marked effect on Hammers' transfer activities.

Unfortunately it is time for the Irons to move on, Lingard's loan spell helped him attain an England recall, and helped Hammers achieve their highest ever Barclays Premier League points tally and qualify for the group stages of the Europa league.

All in all, things worked out well, but it would be a folly to persist with attempts to 'lure' the player back to the London Stadium if his heart isn't in the move, far better to say "Thanks for the good times" and move swiftly on, there are plenty of fish in the sea, but Hammers need to get a move on before all the 'tasty' deals are off the menu! - Ed

Having devoted a disproportionate amount of time and print highlighting the catastrophic cost of Manuel Pellegrini's profligacies, it is with some distress that news of the potential sale of 'bright star' Issa Diop is eminating from the London Stadium, with AC Milan being his purported destination.

The list of Pelle'greedy's' poor signings is vast, however, Pablo Fornals, Lukasz Fabianski and finally Issas Diop were the exceptions, so to see the club were even countenancing a parting of the ways with the towering centre back does bring forward questions as to the wisdom of 'abandoning' such a talent.

Jose Mourinho once described Diop as a monster when the Frenchman dominated the opposition's attack, 'Sourpusss' even went on to congratulate who ever had 'found' Diop, in a less than thinly vowed barb to his own club's recruitment team!

Allegedly, according to football news Milan need Diop as a result of fans' favourite Alessio Romagnoli leaving the San Siro, if reports are to be believed. There is also talk about Milan moving for Diop, even if Alessio Romagnoli DOESN'T leave, so we can take it that there is genuine interest in Diop,but why on earth would the Irons sell him?

Ok he did have an interupted season, partly due to the player getting Covid-19, and apparently he had LONG Covid and was only just returning towards full health as the season drew to a close. Along with Fornals, Diop represents everything that David Moyes wants from his players, young, fit and determined.

Make no mistake, Diop is one for the future, Hammers will be making a MASSIVE mistake if they part company with Issa, the 23 year old has already stated his desire to 'progress' with the club, surely he is a better option than most of the players who have been offered in his place?

With money too tight to mention, keeping Diop is a no brainer, anyway the current market depression would mean Hammers seeing a return of much less than their original purchase price. David Moyes has managed to 'cull' Jack wheelchair, le Strop Haller, the calamity Roberto, AWOL Ajeti, hopeless Hugill*, quirky Quina, no loyalty Jeremy Ngakia and is on the way to 'removing' Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko fro the club's books.

When talking about Issa Diop, Alan Shearer said: “A towering display. Everything he did was almost perfect. Reading of the game, tackling, pace, getting in front of forwards as he did constantly all afternoon. The awareness of what’s going on in and around him. He was immense…” Unfortunately Shearer was referencing a game played 18 months ago, it is NOT possible for a player to have regressed so much judging purely on their recent displays, like Fornals, Diop is young and took a while to adapt to the totally different styles of serial spender, Manuel Pellegrini, and serial saver, David Moyes.

Moysie, keep him! Diop represents the future, not the past! - Ed