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The Criteria For West Ham United's New Captain

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Sat, 27/06/2015 - 13:15

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

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Latest rumours

Bullyhammer's picture
Submitted by Bullyhammer on Fri, 26/06/2015 - 16:54

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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!

Hammers Web Site Crashes Due To Demand For Europa League Tickets

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 26/06/2015 - 14:12

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

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Transfers update

Submitted by Brooking is a legend on Thu, 25/06/2015 - 22:34

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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!

It's not our fault!

ANTKB's picture
Submitted by ANTKB on Wed, 24/06/2015 - 22:45

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So the costs for the conversion of the Olympic Stadium have reared their ugly head once more, after seeing an increase in costs from the early estimates. If the government and the Olympic committee had thought about the legacy before then maybe the initial build would have been very different and the subsequent costs would have been a lot less than what is being touted now. The comparison to Wembley is being mentioned by MP's but they forget that the costs for this also soared above the original estimates and warnings were communicated but ignored. As the costs rose towards the £1bn barrier, Multiplex announced that they would incur a multi million pound loss and they didn't expect to be bidding for the OS. They also went on to state that they hoped that 'the lessons learned at Wembley should be strongly heeded by the Games organising committee and the government'. So what went wrong in the 10 years of planning the new Wembley and the subsequent Olympic Stadium? and why should we be dragged through the mud when we are the only feasible option to ensure that the stadium is used appropriately? A victim of another government problem of failing tax payers when we are offering a solution??? Your opinions?

Hammers In For Michu?

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 23/06/2015 - 23:51

Although we have been deprived of the services of 'Doris The Tea Lady' since her retirement, we have, ironically touched base with a 'West Ham United Insider', known to us via an old media connection, and not in the Vicki Butler Henderson sense! Anyway, word has reached us that West Ham United are about to bid for Michu from Swansea.
Michu is seen as a bit of a Di Canio, he arrived in the Barclays Premier and was an instant success, he went from being a £2 Million player to a £25 Million player in his first season, but since then, following various contractual complications and a distinct falling out with Huw Jenkins and the Swindon hierarchy and an unsuccessful loan spell at Rafa Benitez's Napoli, Michu's value has plummeted.
With Swindon willing to accept as little as £4 Million for the spanish striker , it appears that the Obiang/ Adrian connection might well sway the player's choice towards a move to the East End, he definitely seems worth a punt , and David Sullivan has always liked a 'bit of a gamble'. The parallels between Michu and DiCanio are obvious, OK Michu did not make a referee fall over like a 'somme victim' with a little tap , but somehow, like Di Canio, Michu has managed to make himself a persona non grata with the sheep farmers! It is to be hoped that Hammers can benefit from, what from the outside looking in, seems like a ludicrous' cut your nose off to spite your face' situation.
If Michu could be successfully rehabilitated by Slaven Billic, a coach known for his man management skills, then Hammers could be set to reap a massive reward, this could really be a clever bit of business, and one that Hammers new head of player recruitment Tony Henry has been working on 'relentlessly' behind the scenes. - Ed

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contact the club

Burkie 1's picture
Submitted by Burkie 1 on Tue, 23/06/2015 - 16:59

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the more i think of it the more i think MY BRAINWAVE about selling little pieces of the pitch is is a runner , i haven't got a clue how to contact them( the club ) so maybe Nev you could do it , make a fortune for charity , any one good at maths ? work out how big the pitch is and how many 6" sq's you'd get , maybe 100 quid a pop , i duno , wat cha fink

Fixture Reverse For Hammers First Euro Match

nevillenixon's picture
Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 23/06/2015 - 11:11

West Ham United will play the first leg of their Europa League campaign at home to Andorran team FC Lusitans on July the 2nd, not July the 9th. This is after the initial schedule was reversed to avoid a fixture clash with Andorra's other representatives, Sant Julia, who were also drawn at home to Denmark's Randers in the first leg. The clear benefit for West Ham is that the tube strike threatened for the original home date will now have no effect! The benefit for the Lusitans is that they can move venues in Andorra to increase revenue, in fact they are entitled to re-locate the match ,for safety and logistical reasons, to virtually any stadium they want, so long as it is in Europe. The venue for the return leg is due to be announced by 18:00Hrs ECT -Ed

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