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  • Wolves Will Accept £10m For Traore Irons & Toffees

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 14/07/2022 - 09:24

    Wolves will accept a £10 Million bid for Adama Traore this summer, the pacy winger's contract expires in 12 months and the Midlander's want to get something now rather than nothing next year. Everton are showing a lot of interest but it is believed the 26 year old is holding out for a top four club or at least one playing in Europe.

    Traore went on loan to Barcelona in January and they had the option to make the deal permanent this summer, however for one reason or another they chose not to trigger it. Traore played less than 20 games for the La Liga club, his disappointing goal return for the 2021-22 season of one goal and four assists in 40 appearances highlighting he is far from the finished product.

    The former Middlesbrough and Aston Villa ace has played 160 times in the Premier League but has failed to score much, a total of eight goals and 16 assists in the top flight is not good enough. If ever there was a player that David Moyes could 'convert' from being a winger into a striker then Traore would fit right in the frame.

    Could you imagine the sheer terror of defenders as they try to cope with Antonio and Traore on either flank? They would cause absolute fear and chaos, of course neither player is an out and out striker which of course is still the primary offensive target, but Traore for £10 Million seems an absolute bargain!

    Traore would take some convincing to move to Stratford, but he would get game time and the fans would LOVE him, get in there Moysie! - Ed

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  • Friendly Fixtures Folly?

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 12/07/2022 - 22:19

    Hammers split the main squad of players available into separate teams to play at Ipswich and Borehamwood this evening, a narrow win and a draw were acceptable results as players get used to the travails of playing again, although both Hammers teams were devoid of those who had been on International duty until late on.

    Manchester United's tonking of Liverpool was a classic example of a pre-season money earner rather than a pre season preparation game for both teams, but you get the feeling the Reds that will be doing the damage once the season has begun will be from Merseyside.

    Not streaming either of tonight's games was a strange one, surely the home teams were able to sell a lot of tickets, unless they priced them badly? That said tickets for Hammers home game against City are eye watering, even IF you can get them.

    The pre season is all about building players fitness, game awareness and giving them more time on the ball than they would otherwise have. The results ARE focused on, but the overall progress of the team is more important than the results, UNLESS they include comprehensively embarrassing results.

    It was hotter in the UK than in Singapore today! - Ed

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  • Diop, Soucek and Vlasic

    Submitted by Gravs on Tue, 12/07/2022 - 16:11

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    Listening to 'Moore Than Just A Podcast' and the subject of bids would be accepted for these players, correct me but Soucek is a 1st team player, not just a squad member. Diop may not be in the 1st team, but it's going to take Aguerd a while to settle, we've signed Downes but he is raw and never played Premier League football before. If these players are sold then this makes the squad even smaller than last season.
    As is Vlasic, he may not have set the Premier League alight last season but he's still 'Strong' We read Dawson wants eventually to return up North, as does Cresswell so it's been reported. Unless the squad will be bulked out by the U23's.

  • All time favourite Penalty taker

    mcbikeman's picture
    Submitted by mcbikeman on Tue, 12/07/2022 - 15:11

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    Tonka?/Terminator/Mr West Ham.......difficult one isn't it.

    For me it has to be Tonka he was such a great penalty taker nobody who is a West Ham fan can forget the last gasp penalty against the bindippers in the league cup final 120th min steps up places it past Ray Clemence a world class gk....then the Villa cannonball in he quarter final of the F.A.cup two pens that live long in the memory.

    Terminator putting Schmeichel as well as the ball in the net another memorable one another exceptional talent from the spot...none of the bollox you see from players who hop skip jump get a haircut before missing!.

    Noble prob missed a few more but he was ice cool from the spot and the Manure farce from last season aside he has been our most reliable taker for a long time.

    so the Kings are dead who will be the new king? and whoever it is FFS learn from those three stop the mind games with the keeper just get it on target and hit the bloody thing...keeper saves he saves but FFS don't make the pen a pass.

  • What Is A Loose Agent?

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Tue, 12/07/2022 - 14:39

    As expected at this time of the transfer silly season, everytime someone gets a text message 'live on air' speculation is immediate that a transfer is in the offing, or at least an agent is suggesting so.

    The Express earlier reported that the Irons have held loose agent talks over Stuttgart star Sasa Kalajdzic, so that would be no surprise if he was the man who triggered the pocket wobblers.

    What are 'loose agent' talks? In our opinion there is no such thing as a loose agent, in fact they are far from loose in their negotiating, with a nice chunk of every penny squeezed out of a deal coming their way. Either Hammers are in communication with Sasa Kalajdzic's agent or they aren't, that doesn't mean they are in communication with Stuttgart nor that Kalajdzic has requested a move.

    Too many media reports are agent driven, it takes very little to 'trigger' interest in a deal, especially one involving the likes of West Ham who receive a disproportionate amount of coverage compared with other mid to top table Premier League clubs.

    As Louis Nixon covered earlier, David Moyes and Rob Newman have their targets which are numerous given the nature of the beast, putting all your eggs in one basket is a recipe for disaster, as is adopting a brainless scattergun approach, there is hopefully a happy medium to be achieved somewhere between the two and this IS the first window that Moyes will have TOTAL control over the signings and more importantly money to make them.

    When the company accounts are issued it will become clear why Moyes didn't make signings, before Daniel Kretinsky's cash injection the club was in serious financial difficulties, not the sort of insolvency issues clubs like Derby have faced but still pretty debilitating. The offers made in the last window for Nunez etc WERE real, it is just that the proposed 'never never' financing was unacceptable to the selling clubs. It is already clear that in this window instant funds ARE available which can be used to bring deals to fruition so much faster, as in the Flynn Downes deal.

    To some David Moyes pursuit of Jesse Lingard is bordering on the embarrassing, but so what? Moyes is made of tough stuff, so a little tittle tattle is water off a duck's back to him regarding a proposed deal, even at a purported £150,000 per week, Lingard arriving on a free would be a bit of brilliant business. It is worth taking a look at the wages other clubs are committing themselves to in order to appreciate Moyes' position and of course newly minted Newcaslte have helped spike player's wage expectations with the ludicrous money they are offering.

    Stay calm in the heat and enjoy a transfer window where the club ISN'T selling other than on its terms, while actively pursuing players WORTH buying rather than those whose clubs are willing to accept low ball terms for. - Ed

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  • Pointless Pursuit Or Perseverance?

    Submitted by Louis Nixon on Tue, 12/07/2022 - 09:54

    Having 'sold' or virtually given Sebastien Haller away nearly TWO years ago, Hammers manager David Moyes has searched far and wide to find a striker that he considers 'fit for purpose'. Thus far the search has proved fruitless with more blind alleys than a Mayfair exit on a Pride day attended by over 1,000,000 people!

    Having refused to sign up to the previous smoke and mirror edicts of GSB, Moyes has elected to keep his powder dry and ONLY purchase players he actually wants. Sounds simple doesn't it? Unfortunately there is little that is simple in the way 'elite' football teams are run, except ON the pitch where it is still 11 v 11 unless you are a 'top' club, at which point it is invariably 11 v 10 in your favour thanks to the officials being the beneficiaries of some kind of 'thanks'.

    Having secured Areola on a permanent deal, signed Aguerd to strengthen the back line and Flynn Downes to bolster the midfield, Moyes is now focusing on bringing in an attacking midfielder, a left back and of course the Elephant in the room that has been there so long it has virtually attained squatter's rights, a striker!

    Even if Moyes fills ALL those positions he will still be left with a bare bones squad for the coming season, now it is common knowledge within the club that Moyes has 'enormous' faith in many of the youth players who are now a year older and more capable of being selected AND not being thrown to the Lions if they do play.

    Teams with even an inkling of wanting to compete near the top of the Premier League need at least TWO top players available for every position, preferably three! However keeping so many players happy is a battle in itself, so it makes good sense to 'feature' as many youth players as possible, players who won't have the hump and throw a strop if NOT selected.

    So when reading about the 1,000th player supposedly 'interesting' the club it is worth bearing in mind that whether you like it or not West Ham are NOT a top club, yet. Without being bank rolled by a Pariah state a club like West Ham can ONLY proceed effectively by utilising their youth players in a similar way to the Red Bull clubs whose business plan is greatly admired by Moyes.

    Having waited so long, it is surely worthwhile waiting a bit longer to see if some of Moyes' targets are acquired, what would Irons' fans prefer, smoke and mirrors or genuine results? Journalists make a living out of the 'divide and conquer' aspect of sport, make gans jelous and they have a habit of 'wishing false truths' which of course means trawling the media until they find something they want to believe.

    Rather wait a while longer than get involved in trying to sign one hit wonders like Beraton-Diaz, far better to fight tooth and nail to get Broja from Chelsea, yes some decent players will slip through the net, but others with fire in their belly are around, THEY are the type of players Hammers need, the club has had enough of 'big time charlies' and 'big time losers'. - LN

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  • Laughable

    hammergirl's picture
    Submitted by hammergirl on Sat, 09/07/2022 - 15:02

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    all the stories about another target missed out on this time it is Ake £40 million moyes admits the bid of £50million for Raphina along with the Nunez bid of £40million so please tell me how the club can say this and keep a straight face and then plead poverty and only a small budget for this summer.

    so we were willing or could of spent £130million+ in last window but now for some strange reason we have only a small budget for the summer.

    Do they really expect fans to be so gullible with the names they throw out and then claim ohh we just missed out on the player lol cloud cuckoo land if you ask me.These kind of stories may massage the egos in the boardroom but realistically they make them look dumb.

  • Won't They Ever Learn?

    Submitted by Louis Nixon on Thu, 07/07/2022 - 16:53

    When Sebastien Haller was sold on to Ajax the club were asked, by ourselves as to what sort of sell on clauses had been added to the contract, we were answered "well the club would be crazy NOT to have added them given such a huge drop in value, there would have to be a 'substantial' value added factor for the numbers to make any sense!"

    Well the truth seems to have been unravelled with the Haller deal, the club also 'allowed' Fabian Balbuena AKA The General to leave as well as paying off the remainder of Winston Reid's deal. The season ending injury picked up by Angelo Ogbonna which was swiftly followed by an injury to Kurt Zouma exposed just how paper thin the squad was even THEN!

    Hammers centre back pairing was more often than not, Dawson and another! Fortunately the 'another' when Kurt Zouma was unavailable was Issa Diop who despite being often called upon in difficult circumstances performed admirably when required.

    So seeing Fulham 'lining up' a £12 - 15 Million bid for the imposing Frenchman which apparently might be accepted seems a strange piece of business, bordering on the Halleresque!

    Surely the club have learned that it needs strength in depth and retaining Diop is essential EVEN if it means losing him on a free next year, selling him at a vastly reduced fee during the next transfer window, or extending his contract by a further year, only the club know if they have THAT option!

    The fact that the club has brought in, at great expense, a superb centre back in the form of Nayef Aguerd doesn't mean it is exactly flush with central defenders. Craig Dawson has been an immense and impressive signing, however he played most of last season using cortisone injections or the equivalent thereof.

    Ogbonna is coming back from a career ending injury, so it makes absolutely NO sense in even thinking about getting rid of Diop UNLESS a club is willing to step up with a 'proper offer', more in the region of £25 Million plus AND that money was instantly used to bring an extra defender in, then it MUST be seen as incredibly short term thinking!

    Won't They Ever Learn?

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  • Downe And Out!

    nevillenixon's picture
    Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 06/07/2022 - 20:19

    Perhaps a degree of realism had descended over West Ham from a fan perspective as well as an overall feeling within the club, one that has punched well above it's weight for the last two and a half seasons and now needs a thorough overhaul even just to keep on the coat tails of the top six let alone the top four!

    So news that Swansea midfielder Flynn Downes is due to complete a medical at West Ham in the next 24 hours after the two clubs agreed a fee rising to £12 Million, should come as no surprise and the fact that his signing is being viewed as a potential coup just about sums up the reality of where the club is.

    It is understood that the payment will be structured with an initial £9 Million up front for the former Ipswich Town man with a further £3 Million in add ons and performance bonuses. A significant percentage of the fee going to his former club but there will still be enough to represent a substantial profit on the £1 Million that the Swans paid for the midfielder a year ago.

    Downes had a n encouraging first season in the Championship as Swansea finished in mid table and it looked as if it would be Crystal Palace who would sign him up after a bid was submitted on the weekend. David Moyes has now seemingly hit the Go button and come in with a strong bid for the player who is a boyhood West Ham fan which will could swing the signing to East instead of South East London.

    Making the move to potentially become a replacement for Mark Noble, Downes could become a fan's favourite. He looks as if he can take the move up to the Premier League in his stride, especially if he gets to learn his trade next to Declan Rice while the much coveted England International remains at the club.
    A Forward, a left back and a utility player are still a must as well as REPLACING the departed Yarmolenko's left wing role in addition to 'upgrading' Authur Masuaku, again on the left flank. So it can be argued that the left side of the club is currently 'creaking' and is the area most in need of attention.

    Perhaps actually bringing in players who WANT to come, albeit from the lower league's is not necessarily a bad thing, for one it is an area of buying that newly minted Newcastle aren't currently looking to exploit as they need players with an instant 'rush' for their fans and their new 'Stoners'.

    The vast majority of fans will be happy with steady progress and REAL deals done, in private, maybe not 'Marquee' signings but not the usually leaky tents that fans ended up with for year after years, too damp even for the smoke and mirrors eventually!

    Signing Downes may not be the solution to the herds of Elephants in the room, he will go a small way to relieve a bit of 'signing blood lust', although it should be remembered that a certain Jack Wilshere was also a Hammers fan. - Ed

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