Palace: Guaita, Ward, Cahill, Kouyate, Mitchell, Townsend, Milivojevic (c), McArthur, Eze, Zaha, Benteke Subs: Butland (GK), van Aanholt, Dann, Ayew, Clyne, McCarthy, Batshuayi, Kelly, Riedewald
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Fornals, Benrahma, Antonio Subs: Randolph (GK), Johnson, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Noble, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Odubeko
Having had their fingers incinerated by the purchase of Sebastien Haller from the Bundesliga, and just seen the fall out at Chelsea following Frank Lampard's dismissal due to him 'wasting' £116 Million on Timo Werner and Kai Havertz, BOTH from the Bundesliga.
One would assume David Moyes and the Hammers hierarchy would be extremely reticent about returning to such a potentially fiscally punitive area. However, West Ham are following up their interest in not one but two players from RB Leipzig, South Korean striker Hee-Chan Hwang and highly sought after left back Matthew Bondswell, the latter of which was subject to a late failed 'ambush' attempt by Leeds United. Hammers also recently signed another young defender Frederik Alves, the 21 year old Dane was also pursued by Leeds before putting pen to paper at the end of last month when he officially joined the Irons.
Acquiring Bondswell is seen as a bit of a coup because the highly rated 18 year old left back, who started out at Nottingham Forest, has already appeared for the England U-18 team and has also played first team fixtures this season for RB. The signings of Alves and Bondswell are a clear sign of the 'Moyes' template, pursuing the mantra of young hungry players.
In addition to laying the foundations for the next generation of defenders, Moyes has also identified Hee-Chan Hwang as the ideal forward to work alongside Michail Antonio. Hwang has eight goals in the Champions League and Europa League from just 14 starts, so he knows his way around the pitch, of course as West Ham know only too well, the Barclays Premier League is an entirely different animal to the Bundesliga and there is a possibility Hwang could do 'a Haller'!
However as Hwang's nick name is the Bull, fans will not need to be too concerned, he is a very direct player who eases past opponents, and is known for his link up play as well as being a fine passer of the ball. Strong, fleet of foot and a good finisher, does that remind you of anyone? Hee-Chan Hwang who is 25 years old today, is not an Antonio clone, but he does possess great strength and would be an ideal back up, or even strike partner for Antonio.
Although they come with the caveat of arriving from a league that has questionable overall qualities, both Bondswell and Hwang are exactly the sort of players Moyes and West Ham should be trying to bring to the London Stadium, young, fit and above all, hungry! Both deals are expected to be concluded within the next couple of days, and that will almost definitely be your lot as fans, there may also be a couple of players loaned out, although given how thin Moyes' squad is, those players would only be from the periphery. - Ed
Frank Lampard's 18 month tenure as Chelsea manager has come to an end following a run of dismal results, Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich, known for his lack of patience with managers, has pulled the trigger on the ex-Hammers' managerial stint half way through his original three year contract.
Lampard's dismisal and Chelsea's lamentable recent form might just have something to do with buying duds from the Bundesliga, hot on the heels of Hammers wasting the best part of £30 Million in losses on Sebastien Haller, Chelsea, not wishing to be outdone by 'ittle ol' West Ham, outstretched themselves with the recruitment of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz for a combined totalof in excess of £116 Million, they too have both proved to be as ineffective as 'Le Sulk', Haller.
That old chestnut of an expression comes to mind, be careful what you wish for, you might just get it! - Ed
Delighted to see the Fat One fall flat on his anus bearing in mind I think its as ridiculous a decision as it was by Chelsea to appoint him in the first place. On a positive note for us Hammers fans, one would presume that Declan Rice will be in no hurry to go there now>
Hammers are looking to sign ex Everton striker Henry Onyekuru on loan from Monaco, the cash strapped Ligue 1 club are prepared to let the 23 year old join the Irons on loan for a fee of £1.3 Million, a deal that would include a £4.9 Million option to buy in the summer. The Nigerian youngster spent two years with Everton but didn't even play one league game before moving to Monaco in 2019. He has only played eight games for the French club and spent last season on loan in Turkey with Galatasaray.
Onyekuru has 57 goals in 152 career games to his name which isn't a bad ratio, although the quality of the opponents faced is questionable. The Nigeria international is supposed to possess blistering pace, a quality that David Moyes looks for in his strikers. The small loan fee involved for Onyekuru does make signing him an attractive option, and if he proves to be a decent player, then to make the deal permanent for just under £5 Million in the summer would be a great bit of business.
Although most of the Barclays Premier League teams who are NOT owned by massive corporations, or indeed by entire nations, are pretty brassic at the moment, their plight pales in to insignificance when compared with those clubs in Ligue Une. The collapse of the massive TV deal that had been on the table has left clubs not only broke, but in serious danger of going to the wall financially, and unlike in the UK, the government in France will NOT be holding out a financial olive branch for the clubs affected by the TV debacle as well as the fiscal losses caused by the Covid epidemic.
Onyekuru has 57 goals in 152 career games to his name which isn't a bad ratio, although the quality of the opponents faced is questionable. The Nigeria international is supposed to possess blistering pace, a quality that David Moyes looks for in his strikers. The small loan fee involved for Onyekuru does make signing him an attractive option, and if he proves to be a decent player, then to make the deal permanent for just under £5 Million in the summer would be a great bit of business.
Although most of the Barclays Premier League teams who are NOT owned by massive corporations, or indeed by entire nations, are pretty brassic at the moment, their plight pales in to insignificance when compared with those clubs in Ligue Une. The collapse of the massive TV deal that had been on the table has left clubs not only broke, but in serious danger of going to the wall financially, and unlike in the UK, the government in France will NOT be holding out a financial olive branch for the clubs affected by the TV debacle as well as the fiscal losses caused by the Covid epidemic.
Henry Onyekuru may not be the most glamorous of options, but most Hammers fans would prefer a player who has fire in his belly and wants to come to the London Stadium as opposed to a player who only views West Ham as a stepping stone to the 'bigger clubs'!
The irony being that, whisper it quietly, West Ham are now being referred to as 'tough opponents' when pundits discuss upcoming fixtures for Barclays Premier league teams, including Liverpool! Now who would have thought that after watching the dismal home defeat to Newcastle in the season's opening fixture? - Ed
West Ham: Fabiański, Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, Johnson, Noble, Souček, Lanzini, Benrahma, Fornals, Yarmolenko Subs: Trott (GK), Coufal, Cresswell, Dawson, Ogbonna, Baptiste, Rice, Afolayan, Antonio
Doncaster: Balcombe, Halliday, James, Anderson, Wright, Okenabirhie, Lokilo, Taylor, Smith, Butler, John Subs: Jones, Amos, Richards, Williams, Simoes, Blythe, Ravenhill
Despite his protestations to the contrary, West Ham manager David Moyes will NOT select club talisman Michail Antonio in the starting line up for today's 4th round FA Cup tie against Doncaster at the London Stadium. The chronic lack of striker availability that Moyes is dealing with is unprecedented and due to the fact that record signing Sebastien Haller's transfer to Ajax essentially came out of the blue.
The suddenness of Haller's transfer left West Ham with a paucity of front men available, with only Big Michail Antonio as the recognised striker, and even he is a converted winger! The club's planners can be forgiven at snatching whatever deal was on offer from Ajax because Haller's presence and general moodiness was beginning to have an unhealthy effect on the rest of the squad.
There are those who will argue that there is no point in 'wrapping Antonio in cotton wool', and that instead of aiming to qualify for Europe via a league position, that a path to the Europa League is there via the FA Cup, the only problem being that if, and it is a big if, Hammers overcome Doncaster today, the reward will be a fixture against either champions Liverpool or champion's elect manchester United!
Moyes is not stupid and knows that he has to 'balance' his judgement with regards to Antonio, he will more than likely keep big Mich in reserve and only bring him on in case of emergency. Whether he can risk not starting either or both of Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice is debatable, as they have both played a hell of a lot of games recently and can probably do with a short break before facing Palace in the Barclays Premier League on Tuesday, the games come thick and fast from now on. - Ed
Leave the Boleyn move to the B.O.M. do this and the land of milk and honey awaits Hammers fans and the golden promise of the next level and the carrot of champions league football..........rmbr those promises? of course you do and now because of whats happened in the world we actually find ourselves in a position where that could become a reality all we need is a bit of belief and to back the manager and get the striker he desperately needs and we could well do the unbelievable and get that top four spot........WTF Gold says i have no money the Haller and Anderson deals left us potless so make do with that kid we got from Manures academy......now stinging as it may be Gold and Co have now to fulfill there promise to the Fans and dig down the back of the sofa and find the cash and show that the promises made were real and not just Bollox...but hearing on the grapevine we are now looking at the loan market FFS you just no it will go pear shaped and we will never have a chance like we have this season for a top four finish.
As we are still within the January transfer window, ridiculously far fetched rumours about potential acquisitions are generally the flavour of the day, however some of those 'corkers' have been cast in to the shadows with one of the 'latest' transfer rumours doing the rounds, namely that of Issa Diop being given permission to go out on loan to SPURS of all people!
There is stupid, and there is plain stupid, and that is what West Ham would be by even countenancing such a move for a player who was briefly their record signing, and to send that player to the club's bitterest rivals would provoke widespread outrage among fans.
'Sourpuss' Mourinho is a known fan of Diop and was particularly impressed when 'the monster', as he dubbed him, completely dominated the defence against Mourinho's then team Manchester United. No amount of money is enough to warrant any exchanges with a club that has done it's absolute upmost to prevent West Ham from sitting at the 'upper table' of the Barclays Premier League.
The catalogue of Daniel Levy inspired 'crimes' against the Hammers is extensive, most notably the espionage attempts while Hammers were trying to tie up a deal for the London Stadium for outright ownership, followed closely by Levy's 'picking off of Hammers top players following the club's relegation and finally the list is supplemented by Levy's refusal to sanction any loan deal in the past between the clubs that could possibly benefit the East End club in any way shape or form.
And anyway, why loan out a really decent player to a team that the club will be scrapping with for a Champion's League or Europa League slot? - Ed
Having been linked with any and every striker that has a pulse in the last fortnight, West Ham have now apparently decided that there were so many options available that they needed to trim the list down drastically by narrowing their player acquisition criteria, the simplest way of doing so being to concentrate on the potential arrivees fitness levels, especially their hamstrings.
Having long been known as the retirement home with the kindest medical team for old past it and/or perpetually injured players, the Hammers hierarchy have come up with a 'cunning' plan, realising that star player Michail Antonio's only restriction that stops him from being a top WORLD player is his hamstrings! Consequently the club's search for a striker to work along side or even compete with the 30 year old fans favourite, is massively influenced by the long term fitness potential of who ever arrives.
It may seem daft, but the matter is as simple as that, the club need a player who can combine Antonio's physical presence with a turn of speed, but essentially a player who can do it week in week out, and to that purpose the name that keeps floating to the top is that of 23 year old Seviile hot property, Youssef En-Nesyri.
After failing with their usual low ball opening bid, the Irons will need to up the ante significantly if they are to prise away this genuine, if rough around the edges, player from Champion's League competitors Seville who are also riding high in their domestic League.
Hammers followed up their initial offer with a further failed bid of £22.5 Million rising to £27 Million for the Morocco striker, it is believed that West Ham's hierarchy have sanctioned a further improved bid of £25 Million rising to around £32 Million if the player hits certain targets with West Ham.
Unfortunately Sevilla don't want to play ball, and as such want at least £35 Million for En-Nesyri who has scored 13 goals in 26 games this season, sources close to the Spanish club insist they want a higher fixed fee, paid up front and not the instalments that have been offered.
Sevilla manager Julen Lopetegui doesn't want to lose En-Nesyri, who is one of his favourite players and is also the club’s top scorer, but talks are continuing with West Ham. Spanish teams like all their European counterparts are massively impacted by the Corona epidemic and, with the exception of Real Madrid, receive NO support from the Spanish Government.
At 23 years of age En-Nesyri does fit within David Moyes' template of young hungry players, this one could be a goer, so long as his hamstrings stand up to acute scrutiny! - Ed
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