Please let it not be true that we are buying Borini from Liverpool for 8 million. The guy is injury prone and not a formidable striker. His strike rate is probably on a par with Carlton. I was pretty happy with our buys so far but this one has really got to me if true! Nolan could also be off to Bolton rumour has it.
And he is The Terminator returns. Great to have Julian Dicks Dicks back at the club in a first team capacity. Bilic and Dicks "The Dynamic Duo"....
I actually like the passion of the geordie support and have been in the company of a small portion of the 'Toon Army' in Hamilton Hall many years ago after they lost to Assnal in the FA Cup final, I was on me way back from the MIddlesex Sevens Rugby at Twickenham. Despite losing, they sang with the Assnal supporters and behaved fantastically whilst being very pished. I can't think of many clubs fans in football that would have mixed with support of the other side, after travelling down so far and losing, and made the best of a day out. I will never forget that day, as I have so often seen the ugly side of supporters acting like complete idiots under the influence and damaging the reputation of the beautiful game.
So why do we not see a massive club with huge support in the market for players after a bad season? Is it the influence of the Cockney 'you know what?' I'm a bit miffed to be honest as they announced record profits last year but they seem 'nowhere to be seen' in the transfer market. Your thoughts?
For the poor british holidaymakers slain in tunisia on sunbeds of all places (R.I.P)......
Its been a great weekend for festivals,i attended hyde park on friday to see 2 of my favourite all time bands,the who & paul weller.50,000 people doing what the brits do best,partying & having fun,without a hint of trouble,whilst not knowing what was going on,on beaches in tunisia.It wasnt until saturday morning,whilst nursing a hangover that i saw the tragic news,in front of me unfurl on the tv.All i can say is these extremists can try & destroy our liberty,but they will never win.Once again i say R.I.P.the british holidaymakers.....
Is anyone else freaking out that our only option at right back at the moment is JOB. I know it looks like we will be getting Jenkinson on another loan but we seriously need another rb to cover for Jenkinson. Nothing against O'Brien as a person but the guy is a championship player at best and shouldn't be around the first team, let alone playing. We are being linked with more cb's any chance any of them play rb as well??
New West Ham boss, Slaven Billic, will undoubtedly want to have his 'general' on the field, obviously it will not be Kevin Nolan, but who? Firstly who ever it is will need to be able to speak a bit of french and spanish as well as english and geordie! The arrival of Dimitri Payet and Pedro Obiang is a clear illustration of where the club is going, a more 'continental' balance while still retaining a UK identity, the question is who is best suited to what could be a rather difficult role? There will be plenty of large ego's to contend with, none larger than many million pound signing Dimitri Payet, one player who seems a perfect fit is not actually officially a Hammer, Alex Song. Should the deal cheekily being arranged to get him on a free transfer from FC Barcelona succeed, then Song could be awarded the arm band. Rumour has it that Song was promised the Captaincy as a carrot to lure him to the club for his loan spell, and that he was less than pleased to see 'Nobby Nolan' deny him it, this was a possible reason for his spectacular dip in form during a season he started so brilliantly.
Mark Noble is a Hammer through and through, he has recently signed a five year deal and would make a superb vice captain, but his lack of pace and slightly limited playing style might make him a less attractive proposition to Slaven Billic, Noble would be a fans' favourite, but he may not even make the first team on a continually regular basis this season, particularly if the current midfield recruitment campaign continues at it's current pace.
This leaves Winston Reid, another player secured on a long term deal, he ticks all the boxes and would present a stylish and mature captain figure, Reid has been round the block enough to know what's what and is used to pressure, also he is a player who will not suffer fools gladly, no matter how big their bank account is!
It is unlikely that a new captain will be a player without some previous connection to the club, but this is West Ham United, so you never know. One thing for sure, it is an exciting time to be a Hammer, a time made even more enjoyable by the constant griping of others who think 'good ol' west 'am' shouldn't be moving in to a Stadium that could help them break the monopoly of the Premier League's top dogs! -Ed
Will Nolan stay as Captain under Billic ? I would hope not. but who would you give it too? I don't see anyone Standing out as Captain Material.
It is being said we have lodged a bid for Aymen Abdennour, Tunisian central defender currently with Monaco. Would be another BIG purchase if it happened as Monaco want 20 million Euros for him! Possible long term replacement for Ginge. Juventus, Tottenham, and Newcastle have ll been mentioned as interested.
If we are also after Remy, as rumoured, that would make a mockery of us "only" spending 25 million this summer!
West Ham United's official website www.whufc.com has gone into melt down, continually crashing since tickets became available to the general public, such has been the demand that the club has been forced to advise ticket purchasers to 'try going back to the main page and start over again'. Unfortunately this results in another site cul de sac!
We will let you know when it is possible to actually go through the whole purchase process, and end up with a ticket! Don't try phoning either, the phone lines are perpetually engaged as well! -Ed
So many rumours, but which are to believed? Firstly, let's deal with some known transfers: we've let a few go and among those, two stood out for me. Although it's probably best for both them and us, there will always be a place in the heart for two guys, one coming to the end of their career, and one at the beginning of his, who now needs some regular football. Carlton Cole and Dan Potts. Good luck to them both. Also, good luck to Jussi. Not much said about him, but, he did us proud for several seasons and was integral to getting us up and keeping us up. I don't know the goalkeeper replacement, Darren Randolph, who comes in from Birmingham but it seems a sensible "swap" for Jussi, allowing Adrian to continue centre stage. Basically, there are no transfer outs (so far) that feel particularly painful. Then we have Obiang coming in from Sampdoria, a Spanish U21 player. This is definitely exciting and without raising expectations too high too early, let's hope for another Kouyate. We also have some players coming back, all of whom are likely to be fringe, but with Europe considered they may get some more game time than last season. Mauro Zarate, Doneil Henry, Diego Poyet, and even Modibo Maiga. And now let's turn to the recent rumours. The strongest one seems to be Dimitri Payet from Marseilles. This would seem to be a real coup and by today's standards, good value too if just over £10m is true. Jenkinson seems likely to return on loan again at RB. If he doesn't, we really are struggling in that position so let's hope so. And can we possibly get Song back in for a bargain price? It seems possible and if (big IF) these guys all come in we really are assembling a high quality squad of both quality and quantity. I hope it's not too much to ask to retain Carroll and Downing, both rumoured to be heading back to the north east. I think they will stay and I hope so, because we need all the quality players we can get. Can I be greedy and ask for more, Mr Gold and Sullivan? I think we saw last season how much we struggle when Carroll and Sakho are injured. Maybe Valencia will be better in his second season but I think we need another striker with a goal record per game as good as Carroll and Sakho. Charlie Austin and Loic Remy have both been rumoured. I'd be happy with either of them, but would personally prefer Austin. I'm very excited about this season and I just can't wait for some of the rumours to start coming to fruition. Come on you irons!
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