Forum | General Discussion

David Moyes has moved quickly to dispel the rumour that he wants to bring one of his favourites, Marouane Fellaini, to the London Stadium from Chinese club Shandong Luneng. The rumours themselves emanated from a piece of shoddy journalism which involved adding two and two together and making five!

Because Moyes signed Fellaini while he was the manager at Everton, and because Fellaini was his 'marquee' signing when he took over from fellow Scot, Alex Ferguson, at Manchester United an assumption has been made that Moyes will once again want to link up with his 'talisman'.

It was only this monday that David Moyes outlined his 'vision' for West Ham United, and the buzz words were 'energy' and 'youth', Fellaini falls within neither of each category, as he is 32 years old and unlikely to suddenly get more energetic!

Because NEW contracts signed with Chinese clubs are now sanctioned with a 75% tax liability for foreign players, there will be a raft of players leaving the country as soon as their current contracts expire. Fellaini, for example, is earning £200,000 per week but faces that figure being cut to £50,000 per week, so there will definitely be a surfeit of players available as contracts run down, including that of a certain Austrian who has an incredibly greedy brother!

As David Moyes has chosen the 'youth route', expect Grady Diangana to be recalled from West Bromwich Albion, as well as Ben Johnson being called up for the main squad. West Ham United's football academy was once world famous, most team's modelled their academies on the same principal, isn't it about time to give youth a chance? Moyes thinks so! - Ed

Although Panto season is officially over, there are always a few 'shows' that keep on running, and 'Hamstrung United' has been such a hit that it could continue on it's run for weeks, even months to come!

Normally the audience are drawn it to a situation where they are forced to shout out en masse "look behind you", as the wicked witch enters the stage. In the case of 'Hamstrung United', the wicked witch hasn't been replaced by Lady Brady, but has been usurped by the 'Elephant in the Room' known as the 'Hammer'.

The Hammer has certainly made it's presence felt throughout West Ham United football club, players have flocked to attend the inaugural 'test days' in their droves, the latest to sign up for a lengthy course is Ryan Fredericks who passed the entry exam by 'pulling up' during the hard fought victory over Gillingham in the FA Cup.

Fredericks was replaced by the veteran Pablo Zabaleta, who put in a great, if slightly creaking performance, a Premiership side would have ripped him to pieces! The problem is that alternative options are thin on the ground for what is a crucial position, other than Zaba, the only other 'genuine' right back available is Ben Johnson.

Johnson who is 20 years old later this month is an ideal option, he made his main first team debut at the Etihad against Manchester City, and performed with aplomb. His progress has been hampered by, you guessed it, Hamstring issues, which have taken their time to resolve. Originally a right winger, Johnson has the perfect athleticism required to 'burn' up and down the flanks and his availability will complement Fredericks once he has recovered.

Manuel Pellegrini had many critics, but his two players for every position mantra is as true as it has ever been, bulking up a porous defence should, and more than likely is, one of David Moyes first priorities as he looks to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window. Relying on a 20 year old with very little first team experience, or on a veteran with almost too much experience to fill such an important role, is a recipe for disaster, and West Ham do disaster extremely well.

Moyes has begun his recruitment by, intelligently adding a 'proper' back up keeper in the form of ex-hammer Darren Randolph from Middlesbrough, if he can add an additional right back and left back, he would only then need another central midfielder to make the squad much more balanced, as it is currently top heavy with 'creative' players like Anderson, Fornals and Lanzini.

It might seem sacrilegious, but if a decent offer came in for the 'little jewel', Manuel Lanzini, then it should be seriously considered, because Lanzini is now a shadow of the player he once was, the season long injury that he sustained while training with the Argentine national team was potentially career ending, he has never looked the same since, and judging from his performances looks unlikely to rekindle the dynamism with which he once played.

The same thing happened to Michael Owen when he sustained a similar injury, he came back, but never returned to his previous best, unfortunately Lanzini seems to be on the same course.

West Ham United have, as is usual during the window, been 'linked' with just about every player that (a) has a pulse and (b) is of interest to Everton or Tottenham, nothing changes. - Ed

Having battled through the difficult 3rd round FA Cup tie away to Gillingham, West Ham United have been rewarded with a home tie in the 4th round, against Slaven Billic's West Bromwich Albion!

Wouldn't you just know it, out of all the clubs remaining in the draw you could have bet your house that the Irons would be matched against some form of nemesis, possibly Millwall or Tottenham, if they manage to overcome Middlesbrough in the replay.

To be drawn against a team that is topping the Championship is tough enough, but the fact that the opposition are managed by fan's favourite Slaven Billic adds a bit of extra spice, and jeopardy!

The fixtures are due to take place between Friday the 24th and Monday the 27th of January, at least Grady Diangana will be unable to play against his parent club, but it would have been preferable to have been matched up against a team that has no direct association, past or present to West Ham. - Ed

The managers of most Premier League clubs bemoaned the amount of games their team's have to play during the festive period, the combination of playing so many matches and having to travel to and from them in such a short space of time can really rack up injuries, especially if the team is involved in more than one competition.

So it is almost de rigueur for West Ham United, a club famous for it's academy and for it's ability to sign injury prone players, to pick up at least one serious injury per game! Which is exactly what happened during Hammers' tense FA Cup 3rd round victory at Priestfield against a very well organised Gillingham side, and of course it had to be in a position where the squad lacks cover.

Ryan Fredericks, who has made the right back berth his own with a series of decent displays, is the latest to succumb to injury, pulling his hamstring during the first half, having to be replaced by Pablo Zabaleta. As it turns out 'Zaba' managed to score his first goal for the Irons, after 74 games, and put in a fine performance, but his legs can no longer do what his mind wants them to do.

So it should come as no shock that the club are considering a move for various right backs including free agent Mehdi Zeffane, the 27-year-old came through the academy system at Lyon but has been without a club since being released by Rennes, despite helping to win the French Cup last season, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations in the summer with Algeria. Zeffane started both the semi-final and the the final for Algeria, keeping Sadio Mane, among others, quiet in the competition last July.

Espanyol had been in talks with the player earlier in the season, but he prefers a move to the Barclays Premier League. As a free agent Zeffane can be signed at any point during the season irrespective of transfer windows, and at 27 is still in his prime, however certain questions have been raised as to why exactly Rennes let his contract run down, there are rumours that he can be a trouble maker.

Trouble maker or not, Hammers desperately need a right back, as the only cover for 'Zaba' in Fredericks' absence is Ben Johnson, but he too has hamstring issues, talk about 'Hamstrung United!'. - Ed