Forum | General Discussion

Ahead of this afternoon's game against Aston Villa on the final day of the Barclays Premier League, Hammers fans will be in the unique position of NOT fearing the outcome. For the first time in this truncated and topsy turvy season, one group of viewers who wear claret and blue will be able to watch the match with absolutely no fear, whereas the other group will go through the Mill, and then some!

Results don't lie, and the reasons Villa, and up until Tuesday's draw at Manchester, West Ham, have been involved in such a relegation scrap lie far earlier in the season. Both clubs spent big and unwisely, newly promoted Aston Villa 'splurged' out over £150 Million on new players in an attempt to hit the ground running, instead they flailed and sank. Hammers did exactly the same, spent big and got little in return, both clubs have now 'reviewed' their player acquisition template with the emphasis on young hungry players, from these shores if possible.

Villa came up through the play offs, as did West Ham and both clubs have achieved plenty in the past but little ever since, it should be remembered that the Villains won the European Cup. They did so on 26 May 1982 in Rotterdam, beating Bayern Munich 1–0 thanks to a Peter Withe goal.

This afternoon's visitors to the London Stadium have picked up seven points in their last three games including their crucial victory over Arsenal, so they have the inertia and also know that if they win they stay up, anything less than a win will leave their fans properly in the 'squeeky' zone as they wait for the results of the Watford and Bournemouth games.

For once today's game will be an enjoyable experience for Hammers fans, win, lose or draw, but the truth of the matter is neither team should have been in the league's basement in the first place, especially West Ham! Next season things must improve, and any attempt at getting 'exotic' should be rebuffed immediately, steady progress is what is called for, and no more trying to be billy big bollocks with the big boys.

Until, or unless the club is sold to extremely wealthy owners, the best fans can hope for is mid table safety and a good cup run or two, bearing in mind this season's travails that seems quite an attractive proposition. By around 6PM we will know which club sees West Ham as heroes or villains- Ed

West Ham are stepping up their interest in Brentford and Algeria forward 24 year old Said Benrahma, though much will depend on which division his club are in, Brentford needed four points from their final two games of the season to finish second after West Brom lost at Huddersfield, but back-to-back defeats mean Thomas Frank's side will now face Swansea in the play-off semi-finals as they bid to reach the top flight for the first time in 73 years. Benrahma is an excellent prospect with an impeccable injury record, he would be an astute signing but being one of the West London club's main assets he will not come cheap.

The complete polarisation of the interest in Benrahma is that the Irons are 'looking at' Callum Wilson, was once valued at £70 million by Bournemouth (Bleacher Report). The south coast outfit would surely get nowhere near that amount now, especially if they get relegated. The four-capped England international has scored nine goals in 38 games for Eddie Howe’s side this season, but Wilson has experienced horrendous injury problems in the past, so signing him would represent a huge risk for West Ham who must surely by now realise the folly of signing players with a track record of sustaining serious injuries!

No more crocks in the box please, offloading profligate 'vanity' signings like Jack Wilshere will be a herculean task, especially given the financial restrictions all but the most elite of clubs are facing, the squad David Moyes inherited for his 'second coming' was bloated, unbalanced and overpaid. Moyes will oversee a dual cull with two objectives, firstly trim the enormous wage bill, and up the energy levels of the squad by reducing the average age by a huge amount. He may have to recall Winston Reid if the New Zealander can stay fit, leaving him in America whilst paying 80% of his wages makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, Reid and Balbuena will be put on the market but realistically Balbuena would be most teams choice given the option.

In our opinion Fabian Balbuena has done little wrong, the pairing of Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna has been so successful that he has found himself occupying the bench for emergencies, and being used as a late sub to run down the clock. In an ideal world Balbuena would be retained but the layer himself wants to play and the club could get decent money for him, whereas no one would realistically want Reid because of his injury record, so if it comes to mainly being on the bench why not recall Reid? After all the club is paying just shy of £65,000 per week for him to be in the sunshine state playing for another club!

To end this report on a positive note, astonishingly Alavés are planning to sign goalkeeper Roberto from West Ham this summer on a permanent deal, the GaGo calamity keeper has been on loan there since the last transfer window AND they are very impressed with him! Crikey mikey, snap their hands off before they change their minds. The hapless keeper was the principal cause of Manuel Pellegrini's dismissal, having conceded over two goals per disastrous game when he played, cutting Roberto's £30,000 per week wages will be a huge relief but we will only believe it when it is officially confirmed.

Speculation will be rife as to player arrivals and departures, but one clear direction must emerge, no more crocks, in the box or not! - Ed

The Broadcasters of West Ham United's final game of the Barclays Premier League project restart have finally been named as BT Sport, the announcement ends the confusion there had been regarding this crucial fixture, the significance of which may have slightly waned for Hammers fans, given their team's confirmation of survival following their 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Wednesday evening, but it is a game of massive importance for the visitors!

Bt were always going to broadcast this fixture, which will be on BT Sport 2, essentially because they are based in the Queen Elizabeth Park or whatever it is called now, their offices are actually connected to the London Stadium and access to their studio is gained via the tunnel that runs under the Stadium itself.

Many fans will be relieved at finally being able to watch a game that doesn't have a fear factor involved, they will also be joyous that the match commentator will not be Alan (I hate West Ham) Smith, his hatred of all West Ham and his whining about the club's players would be the perfect platform for him to 'gush' about Jack Grealish and Villa's other 'fine' players, unfortunately Watford or Bournemouth fans will have to endure his vitriol.

This Sunday's game will be of acute interest, obviously to the Villa fans desperate to see their team pull off a miraculous relegation 'great escape', but also to David Moyes, the Hammers hierarchy and to the fans who will be watching the 'new look' West Ham. The recruitment of young and hungry players has become David Moyes' mantra, one which the club's owners love to hear, finding talented lower league players has always been one on the Iron's manager's best traits, and he has made it clear how he intends to proceed.

There may well be one or two players under the microscope, players who don't fit the Moyes template who will find themselves for sale to the highest bidder, Anderson, Yarmolenko and even Seb Haller could find themselves with e new club as soon as the beginning of the transfer window, there is interest in all three players with Haller being the most likely as Monaco hover. You might ask your self how it is that tiny Monaco always seem to acquire superb players and then sell them on, usually for a large profit? The reason is very simple, because the principality is tax free for high earners, Monaco can lure players by offering salaries that are essentially double that can be earned anywhere else in Europe due to no tax or national insurance being deducted.

David Moyes already knows he will have to sell in order to buy, but the Covid-19 financial fall out will make teams think twice about large expenditures, the £45 Million laid out, most of it in one massive hit, for Sebastian Haller now looks eye wateringly high, the club may have to retain him in order to wait until the market becomes more favourable to sell, unfortunately he has hardly set the world on fire since his arrival from Eintrecht Frankfurt and looks like a player worth only half the amount paid.

Sunday should have been a celebration in front of a packed crowd, all of them wearing claret and blue for one reason or another, hopefully the lads will put in one final performance on a par to the recent run of superb results, and ironically if Bournemouth win and Watford don't get three points Hammers would be in the unique position of having 'relegated' all three teams that go down, starting with the demolition of Norwich, followed by the game that essentially sank Watford. Victory over the Villains would more than likely send them down, who would have thought that both Aston Villa and West Ham would have been in a relegation dog fight, given the vast amount of money both clubs spent in the transfer market. - Ed