Forum | Non-Football Related

Despite the Omicron variant of Covid's rampaging progress, the Africa Cup of Nations is currently due to go ahead as planned, the tournament which had been postponed for one year is due to kick off on January the 9th 2022 and runs until the 6th of February. ALL participating players Have to be in Africa TEN days ahead of the event starting, as a result Premier League players will miss the Premier League fixtures due to be played on New Year's day.
Hammers rivals on New Year's day are Crystal Palace, they might be losing up to four first team players for AFCON, Wilfried Zaha, Cheikhou Kouyate, Jeffrey Schlupp and Jordan Ayew are ALL scheduled to travel. Hammers only have to contend with the loss of one player, Said Benrahma.

The Premier League's most affected team are Watford, who stand to miss FIVE players, Arsenal, Leicester and Palace with FOUR, followed by Brentford, Liverpool and Villa who have to send THREE players, Chelsea, Everton, Man Utd and Southampton send TWO, Brighton, Burnley, Man City and West Ham have only ONE player going, Leeds, Newcastle, Norwich and Tottingham have NONE.

Bearing in mind how tight the top of the table is, losing players could seriously impact on certain clubs, particularly Palace and those other clubs who have to send significant amount of players away. Of course none of the players should really be jetting off during such uncertain times, unfortunately the 'financial beast' still reigns strong in football, so players will be risked irrespective of their personal welfare in order to line the coffers of FIFA and the African federations.

Premier League clubs have been accused of greed and complacency during the Covid Pandemic, surely it would have been in their collective interests to offer compensation to the competing nations at AFCON in order to keep players safe, or do they just see them as commodities? - ED

Hammers pursuit of more firepower to help enliven the club's faltering Champions League aspirations is about to come up against 'contract impasses', with TWO of their principal targets BOTH in the final year of their contracts being made available by their clubs, however each of those clubs are demanding INSANE fees for players who can walk away on a free transfer at the beginning of June.

David Moyes pursuit of Manchester United's Jesse Lingard has taken on a 'wuthering heights' (the Kate Bush version) aura, "come home Jesse" is the message emanating from Moyes to 'his boy', United are prepared to call the West Ham manager's bluff knowing full well that Newcastle are there to up the bidding stakes.

The Toon will have to offer Lingard a King's ransom for him to join their relegation scrap, but then again they can afford it! Whether Jesse wants to ploy his trade at St James Park is another issue entirely, he is already a wealthy man who has invested wisely, so money whilst important is not the driving force motivating his decision making process, that is down to his dad instead!

£20 Million For Lingard-Humorous Giraffe? Yes, that is the value placed on Lingard by his current club, it represents a conundrum for Moyes as it adds further to the 'complicated steps' the club has to take in order to secure a much sought after target.

At the same time as pursuing Lingard, Rob Newman and David Moyes have been 'reaching out' to Divock Origi, the 26 year old Liverpool striker is also in the final year of his contract and like Utd his club are demanding an unrealistic price, in his case an eye watering £25 Million!

So what is best for West Ham? Secure BOTH players for around £45 Million in transfer fees on a combined wage total that is LESS than has been paid to Andriy Yarmolenko and Winston Reid? Or wait until they are available on free transfers? Firstly there is no such thing as a FREE transfer, there are agent fees and signing on fees to pay, wages are also inherently higher for (sic) 'free' signings. Secondly there will be a HUGE amount of clubs willing to pay good wages, signing on fees and greedy agent fees in order to secure one or BOTH of these players, so Hammers have to strike while the Irons are hot!

£45 Million is a massive outlay, but the word massive should be a clue, to be massive, you must think massive and offset cost against potential reward. Qualifying for the Champions League proper is worth between £25 Million and £60 Million depending how far a club progresses, it could be argued that the club might also qualify via the Europa League Cup, but acquiring Origi and Lingard in January would also enhance THAT prospect.

It's a complicated issue, but if thought through carefully could give the club that extra bounce required to sustain a top four place. ED

The League Cup, Carabou Cup or even the Moose Cup or Elk Cup as some call it, is a competition that has become increasingly devalued, the final nail in it's coffin being the lack of European competition as an incentive for winning the domestic competition and the fact that Manchester City had made the Cup their own for a staggering FIVE years!

Of course David Moyes oversaw a famous victory over the serial winners, a win that was preceded by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford, so obviously it is a competition that the Hammers manager sees as important. The timing of the quarter final against London rivals Tottingham raised many eyebrows, as it comes right at the thick end of the Premier League's 'murder month' for fixtures.

The Omicron variant of the Covid Pandemic has arrived at such pace that it is impossible to predict events that are unfolding at such an alarming rate. The postponement of several fixtures has thrown the Premier League in to chaos, let alone the League Cup, but winning a trophy albeit a devalued one is still very desirable, particularly for a club that has won bugger all in 42 years!

The postponement of the Premier League Norwich game scheduled for today does have the positive of giving Moyes more time to reassemble his troops after what has been quite a battering of late, even having a couple more days on the training ground will help the team enormously as it works out how to cope with the loss of Angelo Ogbonna AND Kurt Zouma.

Fortunately Aaron Cresswell WILL be fit for the Tottingham game, as will young Ben Johnson who has recovered ahead of schedule from his low grade hamstring injury. Valdimir Coufal is also available but will have to sit out the game after against Southampton, as a result of harshly receiving two yellow cards against perennial divers Arsenal during the week.

David Moyes will have to choose who should replace Vlad for the Saints game, he may well elect to give Harrison Ashby his Premier League debut, because he desperately needs Ben Johnson on the bench as back up for Cresswell. Johnson's ability to play on either flank makes him an invaluable utility player for Moyes, an asset the manager will need to exploit during the rest of the season as it is highly unlikely reinforcements for the full back positions will be brought in during the January transfer window.

An additional centre back and a 'proper' striker will be the spearhead of Hammers January recruitment, but as events are unfolding so rapidly acquisitions will be made with one eye on the future, given how impactive a possible lock down could be, with games being played behind closed doors once again.

The much maligned League Cup DOES represent a chance of attaining silverware and should be pursued with maximum effort, however tarnished that trophy may be. Winning it would be real progress, despite people snivelling at it's value, after all it wasn't too shabby for one of the biggest clubs in the World to covet for so many years was it? - ED

It is Panto season the lights are up and reality disappears temporarily for many, in among the grease paint and smoke onlookers dream and scare in equal measure, a good time is had by all. To celebrate the festivities further, many football fans engage in that well known hypothetical board game, player transfer and all its derivates.

Lucky Hammers fans will receive their 'striker lottery' game, to be played by in excess of 60,000 only! Roll up, roll up, it's the greatest schmooze on earth. The rules are simple, think of a name then think of an outrageous price, spin the wheel and see if anyone bites, simples.

Well that is what you would think as Hammers are yet again linked with any striker who has a pulse, remember Braithwaite from Barcelona? The situation David Moyes is now in is partly due to his stubborn nature when it comes to player acquisitions, he is after all only human and does have some faults as a manager, faults that only come to prominence when results aren't going the club's way.

Selling Haller was a bit of a mistake, granted that is easier to say with the benefit of hindsight, but not replacing him was a BLATANT error, one for which the club is now paying a high price and will continue to do so until the situation is rectified.

It will be very enlightening to see how the Irons board approach the upcoming transfer window, of course their original plans will have been thrown in to chaos as the Omicron variant of Covid 'rampages' through the country, monies that had been put aside for transfers might well have to be dipped in to in order to stabilise the club's finances, as is what happened with the Haller money that had originally been earmarked to go straight to Moyes for a replacement.

Being a loyal 'club man', Moyes at no time referenced the fact that there was no money left for transfers, preferring to be the 'fall guy' in the situation and taking the criticism of being 'dithering Dave' on the chin without redress, the board and the fans are lucky to have him, so get of his back and just appreciate the phenomenal job he has done in the last two years.

The fact that Hammers are anywhere near the top four at this stage of the season is testament to just how well David Moyes has reformed and rebuilt the team, a few rocky results shouldn't detract from that fact, so give the guy a break and look forward to seeing the club in Europe soon in a competition that neither Arsenal or Tottingham, can possibly qualify for! LN