By time you read this i will be back in hospital due to my breathing becoming more and more laboured....Most of you will not get this bloody virus but if you are worried get tested take precautions and wear a mask if you are going to be in any kind of crowd....be back soon i hope.
Contrary to all the 'leaked' reports, West Ham United have finally managed to avoid playing one of the top six sides in their opening fixture of the Barclays Premier League. The Irons begin the 2020/1 season with a 'home' fixture against Newcastle, a team that should have had a 'big spending' prefix, however just like West Ham they are broke. The Toons troubles are due to the failed take over of the club by a middle eastern consortium, the Irons troubles are down to a certain Chilean! Unfortunately the celebrations will have to be slightly tempered by the fact that despite avoiding a top six side for the first game, the next six fixtures are ALL against top six teams!
Although all dates are subject to alteration we have listed the fixtures as they have been released, Cup competitions and more importantly TV scheduling will alter the actual days and times of certain matches, with the Irons as usual receiving a disproportianate an mount of televised games given their early opponents and the club's proximity to the headquarters of BT sports.
The full list is as follows:
September 12: Newcastle United (h) 19: Arsenal (a) 26: Wolves (h) October 3: Leicester City (a) 17: Tottenham Hotspur (a) 24: Manchester City (h) 31: Liverpool (a) November 7: Fulham (h) 21: Sheffield United (a) 28: Aston Villa (h) December 5: Manchester United (h) 12: Leeds United (a) 15: Crystal Palace (h) 19: Chelsea (a) 26: Brighton (h) 28: Southampton (a) January 2: Everton (a) 12: West Bromwich Albion (h) 16: Burnley (h) 27: Crystal Palace (a) 30: Liverpool (h) February 2: Aston Villa (a) 6: Fulham (a) 13: Sheffield United (h) 20: Tottenham Hotspur (h) 27: Manchester City (a) March 6: Leeds United (h) 13: Manchester United (a) 20: Arsenal (h) April 3: Wolves (a) 10: Leicester City (h) 17: Newcastle United (a) 24: Chelsea (h) May 1: Burnley (a) 8: Everton (h) 11: Brighton (a) 15: West Bromwich Albion (a) 23: Southampton (h)
Newcastle at home first game of the season ,then arse away then wloves liecester then spuds
In a meeting held last week between David Moyes, David Sullivan, David Gold and the other part of the 'unholy trinity', West Ham United's precarious finances and future transfer policy were discussed at great length and plans were made in order to try and offset the appalling fiscal downturn that has resulted due to the tragic Covid-19 pandemic.
The obvious issue was how to reshape a completely imbalanced squad without even a fraction of the money that was heaped upon Moyes' predecessor, Manuel Pellegrini, who is now doing his best to empty the coffers of Real Betis in Spain! The first 'luxury' player to have their head firmly put on the block was Felipe Anderson, the talented but lightweight Brazilian made the cardinal error of assuming David Moyes had only been brought in as a temporary 'fire fighter' and would then be replaced by a 'top' manager for the coming season.
Much to Anderson's chagrin, Moyes excelled after the beginning of the Barclays Premier League project restart and clearly showed that he 'didn't fancy' Anderson, and we are not referring to how attractive Anderson is in his shorts to the ladies! Felipe Anderson has more often than not flattered to deceive, and his stand out performances are more than offset by his many lack lustre performances in the Claret and Blue.
Put simply Anderson is a luxury Hammers cannot afford, particularly given the club's current financial plight. It seems the rigours of the World's most exciting and frenetic league have proved to be too much for him, with the final straw being when he was 'roughed up' during the game against Sheffield United, to be fair the Blades did get away with one that day, however the result was that Anderson was never the same after returning from the back injury he sustained, he just didn't look like his heart was in it anymore.
Unfortunately Hammers' other south American play maker's form has also fallen off the cliff, Manuel Lanzini has DEFINITELY never been the same since sustaining a severe cruciate injury while training with his beloved Argentina team and great Pal Lionel Messi. David Moyes gave 'The little Jewel' plenty of game time, but Lanzini is a shadow of his former self who has lost all confidence, and more worryingly seems to have forgotten how to play the way he used to.
If the club can sell Anderson and Lanzini it could generate much needed funds to begin the shoring up of what was nearly the leakiest defence in the entire 'top' flight last season. The benefit of selling Lanzini is that there are no outstanding finances due for the player and therefore all funds received can go in to the kitty, whereas Anderson cannot be sold back to Lazio for any real fiscal benefit due to the remaining tranches of payments owed by the Irons to Lazio,regretably they seem to be one of the only clubs interested in doing a deal for him. Even if Anderson and Lanzini are sold for a relatively low fee, their wages saved will be significant.
The 'butt' end of the meeting between the three Dave's and the other person was a decision to move on misfiring strikers Albian Ajeti and Jordan Hugill, Ajeti has gone to Celtic and it looks as if Hugill will be joining Norwich City. Both purchases were loss makers, with the club losing potentially £8 Million excluding wages...another fine mess.
Moyes will be keen to see a line drawn under the 'Hugill' experience, as he was the one who oversaw the transfer, a disaster which he has now mitigated with the brilliant acquisitions of Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek. Now they are the type of players the club needs to progress and finally get rid of the old people's home image of the club! - Ed
"Bulging veins, particularly on your face, are often no cause for concern, they're typically seen on the front of your forehead or on the sides of your face by your temples. While they can often be associated with age, protruding forehead veins can be a sign of pressure or stress." Well, those West Ham United players, particularly those who fall within the 'luxury' category, who haven't properly encountered Stuart Pearce, AKA Psycho, might well be focusing on the exit door pending his arrival, even if they were not that way inclined before.
Stuart Pearce is rejoining Hammers' backroom staff, and while it is unclear if he is being added to David Moyes’s current assistants Paul Nevin and Kevin Nolan, or replacing either of them, the fact is the 'combative' Pearce's input will be gladly accpted by fans who thought that the ex Forest captain should have been reappointed the same time as Moyes was.
West Ham announced the appointment of former Hammers captain Nolan and Nevin as David Moyes’s new assistants back in February, however the club initially only appointed the duo until the end of the season as revealed on whufc.com at the time. Moyes recently told The Evening Standard of his desire to ensure Nolan and Nevin remain at the club. “I also want to make sure coaches Paul Nevin and Kevin Nolan are here for next season, plus one or two other small changes I want to make around the club,” the Scot told The Evening Standard. As a result of the pair's 'success' in helping to keep Hammers in the top flight, both are attracting interest from elsewhere. Bolton Wanderers, another of ex- Hammer Nolan’s former clubs, want him to take a senior role, while Nevin is reportedly wanted by Bristol City.
'U' turn if you want to, Pearce appointment marks definite change of kilter from Sullivan and Gold Speaking to talkSPORT back in January, Pearce said Moyes’s plan to bring him back into the Hammers fold for the Scot’s second spell at the club was blocked by Sullivan and Gold due to his criticism of them in the past. “The owners felt I was a little bit critical of the regime when we left last time and put the block on it and that was that,” Pearce told talkSPORT .
That may have been the case, but having seen how 'inspirational' Pearce can be, not only on the touch line, but more importantly on the training pitch, the Hammers co-owners, who already probably have indigestion from the huge amount of 'umble pie that they have been forced to eat following the 'Pellegrini' period by their reappointment of Moyes as manager, will now be at the pepsinogen prevention bottle again as they have to 'digest' another main course, the return of Stuart Pearce.
So, even if you dislike the co-owners, which most fans do vehemently, you do have to take your hat of to them in this instance for them 'losing face' in order to get the best outcome for the club, and not their ego's, you see, we just did it, it's not so hard to admit you were wrong, sometimes it actually helps.
Welcome back 'Psycho', and if they are still at the club, Messrs Haller and Anderson might be in for a bit of a shock, imagine if Pearce decided to give Haller a 'one on one' session in order to help the club's most expensive signing ever deal with determined defenders, especially if he introduces the French man to that particularly English act of 'leaving something in', if he doesn't break him, he might end up making him, who knows?
Starting from the beginning of a season, albeit one that will have fixture congestion, will give Pearce the chance to 'stamp' his authority on the assembled squad, it is to be hoped he has mellowed with age to the extent that he doesn't take the 'stamping of his authority' too literally, you know how 'sensitive' Hammers' 'elite' expensive imports are don't you ? - Ed
In a similar way to the customer who walks in to a car showroom and leaves having spent twice their original budget, West Ham United are now having to deal with the excesses of the'Pellegrini' era, none more so than the 'Hall' of a deal that was negotiated to bring Sebastien Haller to the London Stadium. Fair play to Eintrecht Frankfurt for not only getting double Haller's value, but also for being able to sell his ex-team mate to Real Madrid for an equally exorbitant fee, both players have failed miserably at their respective clubs and have now seen their values at least halved within just over 12 months!
There is no way of putting a positive spin on the situation, and irrespective of who was to blame, the end result is a 'Hall' of a mess. It will be absolutely impossible to recoup the eye watering £45 Million paid, or nearly paid, for Sebastien Haller with a further £10 Million still owed on the deal. The Irons will be fortunate to get £30 MIllion for the french striker in the current climate, and by factoring in the debt still owed the figures don't make good reading, far from it.
The one ray of light in the situation is that Haller's manager while he was at Frankfurt, Niko Kovač, is now the manager at Monaco who are having a 'clear out' of up to nine players, apparently a good chunk of the funds are being earmarked to bring Haller to the Stade Louis II, such a move would make sense for all parties if a deal can be arranged. However Hammers will take a bath when it comes to the final figures, a salient lesson learned that if you play with the 'big boys', you risk getting your back side kicked!
The one course of action that can be controlled by David Moyes, is to make sure a similar mistake cannot ever occur again, and to that purpose talk of signing Haller's old team mate, Luka Jović, should set alarm bells ringing. Both players have endured a torrid time at their new clubs, confirming that as a 'pair' they are superb, but individually they don't cut the mustard. IF Moyes and the hierarchy can't shift Haller due to his massive price tag then a loan move for Jović might make sense, particularly if as has been suggested Felipe Anderson might go to Real Madrid.
This last option is the result of the club having it's hands tied due to the Covid-19 fall out, and the 'Pellegrinophile's' dreadful fiscal profligacy, there is literally no room for movement , just like the old gem puzzles from back in the day. Little or no room for manoeuvre! - Ed
I see that the spuds are going to sign Joe Hart today ,oh dear he was useless for us will he be the same for them i hope so
Opening day fixture rumour is that we will be playing the bin dippers at home....now is it just me or does the premier league computer have a problem with us considering our opening day fixture for the last 6 years or so.
Never thought this guy was a £45 million player be glad to see him go to Monaco even if we let him go for 40 mill we can't afford to keep him and if he goes, it will solve an awful lot of transfer problems and free up some money for 3 new players in positions we need to strengthen. Haller never seemed to be a very loyal player anyway always let you down when he was most needed for a crucial match and if you remember he was banging in goals for fun against Palace and QPR, soon as it got to the nitty gritty against Wolves and Spurs he goes missing, would'nt fancy him in another relegation scrap, please God it dont happen but I would'nt put my house on it. Let Kovac have him and lets get Esse and a decent Left-back and full back
The best laid plans of mice and men are there to be exposed by the trials and tribulations that life has prepared for them, an expression loosely taken from the Robert Burns' poem 'To a Mouse', might well be used as a paraphrase to explain West Ham United's lack of activity in the transfer market, with the club seemingly unable to even raise 'small' sums like £2 Million to invest in lower league players such as Antonee Robinson, which was the sum Sheffield United signed the full back for from Wigan who have gone in to administration.
Why couldn't West Ham bid for such a very promising young player who was available for 'chicken feed' money? The reason is painfully simple and is a classic example of why you should not put all your eggs in one basket, essentially it had been hoped by the club's owners that sufficient progress was going to be made in order for the club to 'firm up' a top six position. Had things gone the way that had been hoped for, 'surplus' players coming from an 'elite' side would have had more market value as opposed to those from a team that escaped relegation by the skin of their teeth.
Obviously the Covid-19 'affect' has exasperated the situation, but the reality is that West Ham United, just like many other teams, spent well past their budget and were 'living beyond' their means, anticipating 'substantial' funds from the sales of players such as Manuel Lanzini and the like.
No one could have envisaged the 'calamity' that was about to befall the World, least of all football clubs, but unfortunately the crisis came just as West Ham were beginning a period of transition and rebuilding, the problem now is the club simply cannot afford to spend any significant money on new players and really do have to sell before they can buy. Of course the club's owners might actually do what some thought would never happen, and that is either sell up, or bring in the sort of serious investment that would relinquish their overall control of the club to below 51%.
Maybe it might all get to the point where messrs Sullivan & Gold will decide it's not worth the effort anymore, some fans would love that, but be careful what you wish for, it might just happen, are fans really prepared to get rid of the 'devil they know' for one they don't? - Ed
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