Forum | General Discussion

Javier Hernandez and Andy Carroll are on a combined wage in excess of £220,000 per week, which is ludicrous! Even though Pellegrini says he is happy with what he has, reading between the lines he didn't say he wouldn't get rid of 'waste' material during the January transfer window. Carroll has cost approximately £2.85 Million per goal scored, Hernandez even more at around £3.25 Million per goal! You don't need to be much of a 'bean counter' to realise that this sort of return is financially unsustainable, the funds could be used to 'firm up' the contracts of existing players of value, or to bring in new recruits who aren't past it or injury prone.

Hernandez averages one goal in every four appearances, Carroll a slightly better one goal in every 3.45 matches, both sets of figures represent an appalling waste of funds for players who are hardly sellable. Who in their right minds would by either player? Carroll's contract expires at the end of this season whereas Hernandez's expires at the end of next season, very few clubs outside of England could afford his £130,000 per week wages, and the player has not been able to put himself in the shop window either, when he has not been injured he has been ill!

Hammers began the season with great optimism, that heady feeling was quickly replaced by a feeling of dread following the club's dreadful start which saw West Ham become prime candidates for relegation with bookies across the globe, the odds on the club doing well or atrociously have fluctuated enormously. Shrewd observers will know that there is the possibility of making a decent return in the betting market if you choose your platform correctly, there are many incentives offered for 'new' clients which can be very lucrative.

The principal is really quite simple, by availing yourself of one of the offers available, for example at Free Bet with Betfred it is possible to take advantage of some of the lucrative incentives available, but be advised, as the song goes "fortunes always hiding" so it is worth planning your take up options in advance. West Ham's fortunes have already fluctuated to a ridiculous level less than a quarter of the way in to the season, so it is pretty difficult to gauge where the club will end up, whereas to us at the Org it seems highly likely that one or both of Carroll and Hernandez will be out the door come January!

It makes no sense in retaining the services of not one but two highly paid injury prone players, after all Jack Wilshere has arrived to take up the 'injured most of the time' mantle, and after all he has had plenty of practice and the medical team have to be kept busy don't they? For the club to move forward the age of players signed has to continue being reduced, and their fitness scrutinised to 'another level', after all the players the club signs are usually available for a reason and it not always a straight forward situation with contracts and overides kicking in, sometimes a club just has to cut their losses and move on.

In the case of Andy Carroll and Javier Hernandez that time has come! - Ed

Last season West Ham went on a relegation threatening run of poor results that ultimately ended in the sacking of Slaven Billic, David Moyes arrived and started to 'put things right', part of the process involved moving Marko Arnoutovic from the wing to a central role and playing Authur Mauaku as an out and out wing back. Aaron Cresswell was employed as part of a back three which meant Masuaku was given licence to roam down the wing, every thing went well until he managed to get himself sent off for spitting at an opponent which also earned him a six match ban.

During Masuaku's enforced absence the team's form suffered badly and fans waited anxiously for his return, yes really! Once back in the fold Masuaku picked up from where he left off and put in some stirring performances which eventually helped lift the club to a safe thirteenth place. So what has gone wrong and why has he suddenly become the fan's scapegoat? He really has come in for a huge amount of criticism, not all of it entirely justified, Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has elected to play Masuaku as a full back who is still required to get forward, unfortunatley he is not able to properly combine both roles and therefore gets exposed on a regular basis, relying on Issa Diop to cover him.

Sadly it seems that Masuaku has gone from 'King' to pauper in a short space of time and looks a shadow of his former self, there are alarming similarities with those of Hérita Ilunga back in the day, and that didn't end well did it? Is Aaron Cresswell a better option? He has been injured but will hopefully use the International break in order to up his fitness and may well end up replacing Masuaku who might benefit from being taken out of the firing line for a while.

In the end neither Masuaku nor Cresswell might be used for much past this season, as Pellegrini can be quite ruthless and won't countenance failure in such a prominent position, they will both be looking over their shoulders, and so they should! - Ed