West Ham: Fabianski, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Johnson, Bowen, Noble (c), Haller Subs: Randolph, Fredericks, Dawson, Diop, Snodgrass, Fornals, Lanzini, Benrahma, Yarmolenko
Brighton: Sanchez, White, Webster, Dunk (c), March, Bissouma, Lallana, Burn, Trossard, Maupay, Welbeck Subs: Steele, Bernardo, Veltman, Mac Allister, Gross, Jahanbaksh, Alzate, Propper, Zeqiri
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that Hammers manager David Moyes' patience has run out with the club's record signing, the misfit striker Sebastien Haller. Moyes didn't sign him, and perhaps the player himself would not have opted to move to the London Stadium had Moyes been in charge, either way the situation is a 'fait accompli' that suits neither party.
Time and time again, Barclays Premier League clubs, not only West Ham United, exert extreme pressure on their managers to play the expensive acquisitions they have bank rolled, more often looking at the figures on paper as opposed to the player on the pitch. Even a blind man and his dog would fail to see how ill suited Sebastien Haller is for the rigours of the Premier League, in fact the entire process of Haller's purchase is mired in mystery, with some observers saying there might have been a 'bit of a back hander' involved between 'certain parties' and Eintrecht Frankfurt!
With the health of main striker Michail Antonio's hamstrings as tenuous as a last minute Brexit deal, there is a distinct need for a plan C, as plan B involving Haller has obviously failed. The fact that flying winger Authur Masuaku was also injured heaped even more pressure on Haller, pressure he has been unable to convert in to goals, plenty of near misses, but no banana!
Having no other established striker available, Moyes has the choice of 'promoting' an U-23 player, or 'creating' a new striker from the pool of players that ARE available. There aren't that many! However he does have Andriy Yarmolenko available, 'Yarmo' is obviously not a traditional lone man up front, but he is good in the air and has scored a lot of goals playing up front for the Ukraine national team.
Utilising Yarmolenko as a 'false' number nine is not an ideal solution, but he can hardly do any worse than Haller, a man whose confidence is clearly shattered, the big French man, with the exception of his over head goal against Palace, has been unable to replicate even a fraction of the powerful striker performances he put in on a regular basis in Germany.
Haller will leave the club at the end of the season, that is without a doubt, if Moyes had his way Haller would be off in the January window, except given Seb's atrocious form of late any price offered would be way below even the bargain price set by the Irons! It should be remembered that while Moyes didn't sign Haller, he DID sign Hugill, the difference of course being that the Irons paid around £9 Million for Hugill, eventually selling him for £3 Million, thus losing £6 Million over three years.
The numbers for Haller are far more depressing, signed for £45 Million how much is he worth now? Even generous appraisals have his value at £25 Million, a loss of £20 Million, a 'hit' the club would probably take in order to get his £115,000 per week wages off the books as well!
So it looks as if Moyes will start Yarmolenko, because Haller is a salient lesson in how NOT to move a mid table club forward, pigeon steps can work a lot better than great hoof marks left by amateurs, albeit well meaning in their own way! -Ed Jnr
So here we are faced with that what is Moyes going to do? because of Arthurs injury his preferred formation is buggered so we have a flat back four so will he choose say Fredericks and Johnson and Diop to start at what on paper looks the easiest of the 3 fixtures(given our record against Brighton thats never a given!)or do you as i feel start with your strongest side win the game in front of you and then assess the fitness of players because Saints and Toffees away in 3 days is certainly going to test the fitness of our squad and considering Everton will have had the whole week to rest the strain and the legs deffo going to be showing in that one.
Having little cover it is going to take some juggling by Moyes and his team to get sides out that can compete through what will be the obvious fatigue and miss him as much as we do i hope Moyes is not tempted to throw in what will clearly be a non match fit Antonio because we saw how poor he played last time we tried that.....so a difficult week ahead for us and if we get five points from those games it will be a very good achievment...COYI
Having built up a very good relationship with Slavia Prague, West Ham United are now actively engaged in bringing Prague’s striker Abdallah Sima, to The London Stadium. The negotiations have accelerated due to 'sudden' interest in the young striker by fellow Barclays Premier League teams Manchester United and Arsenal.
Normally this would mean that 19 year old Sima would have his head turned by the offers on the table from the 'big clubs', and would choose them as opposed to their 'poorer' East End rivals, however in this instance the Irons for once hold most of the aces in that Sima is far more likely to choose West Ham over his other suitors because his former colleagues, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, are already in situ and would be a very welcoming presence for what after all is a very young and probably very impressionable player.
The acquisition of Sima probably represents the last real opportunity for West Ham to get their 'Czeck' book out before the 'vultures' swoop, because you can bet your house on the fact that Man U and Le'Arse, along with a host of other 'elite' clubs, will be looking to the Czech league for bargains, with the inevitable consequence of pushing prices through the roof.
At least in this instance Hammers were way ahead of the pack, but unfortunately this seem of gold is about to run out as the other 'prospectors' lump on the bandwagon. David Moyes is probably annoyed that the opposition will now attempt to usurp the Irons as the main outlet for Slavia and the other teams in their league, but he can console himself with the fact that he has managed to get the cream of the crop ahead of the rest. - Ed
PS: As if to add substance to the inflationary aspect of other team's involvement, apparently Slavia Prague Club President Jaroslav Tvrdik recently responded to the Arsenal rumours by stating: “It takes £50 million to let him go in January.” Although his comment was believed to be a bit tongue in cheek, we have learned that any deal for Sima would involve a very substantial sell on fee.
What a year it's been, a year like no other, the whole football community as in other walks of life has been put on hold, we wish all fans, not just West Ham United fans all the best in the coming year. Stay safe and be lucky Orgers young and old- Ed
As we approach the beginning of the 'window that never was' for West Ham United, it is common knowledge regarding the lack of funds available, the club is currently borrowing large amounts of money just to survive during the Covid-19/20/21 Pandemic! So when rumours regarding an ex-tottenham and an ex-arsenal, now Chelsea, player began to circulate they were greeted with a fair amount of scepticism.
West Ham cannot afford either Christian Eriksen nor Oiver Giroud, there is an argument that the arrival of both players would help the club push for one of the coveted European places at the end of the season, however another line of thought is that neither player would come cheap or anywhere near that, also Giroud is the wrong side of 30 years old and the Irons have had more than their fair share of highly paid ageing duds!
Inter CEO Giuseppe Marotta confirmed Eriksen has been placed on the transfer list and WILL leave in January after a nightmare 12 months at San Siro, “Yes, I can confirm that Christian Eriksen is on the transfer list,” Marotta told Sky Sports.
“He’s going to leave in January. He’s not functional to our plans and he has had difficulty here at Inter. I think it’s right that Christian goes away to find more space.
At 28 Eriksen still has plenty to offer, and he is well acquainted with the demands of the Barclays Premier League having spent seven seasons with tottenham before his disastrous move to Italy, there will be lots of competition to sign Eriksen, who favours a move back to the capital, from other clubs, and do West Ham fans really want an ex-tottenham player in the ranks?
Giroud on the other hand has a distinct agenda which involves him getting as much game time as possible in order to ensure he plays in the delayed Euro 2020 finals for France, the issue is like many players in their 30's, Giroud is only one tackle away from a lengthy and costly spell on the sidelines, a situation that West Ham are used to but a route they cannot undertake anymore.
Fans are always screaming out for 'one of our own' to make the step up from the U-23's to the first team squad, well given the circumstances, now seems as good a time as any to go down that route, and who knows, there might even be a hidden gem just waiting for the opportunity? Rather that than an extremely wealthy player who has no need to shine 'oop north' on a wet and windy evening! - Ed
Going in to a 'compressed fixtures' season with a light weight squad was always going to be a tall ask for David Moyes, and so it came to pass with long term injuries to two of his most trusted first teamers, Michail Antonio and Authur Masuaku, each one a linch pin in the team he had forged using the Moyes template.
There can be no criticism for any lack of planning, the unfortunate fact is that previous manager Manuel Pellegrini's profligate player acquisitions left absolutely nothing in the kitty, moreover it also left the unpleasant obligation to pay off for his mistakes for a considerable period of time to come, in what is already the most fiscally challenging period in the club's history!
Something had to give, but no one had anticipated losing both Antonio and Masuaku at the same time for lengthy periods during the season as it now looks will happen. The injuries mean that Moyes has been forced to change from his preferred three at the back to a more conventional set up, and since then results have not been so good.
Normally the transfer window opening as it will on January the 1st would be accompanied by all sorts of speculation, West Ham usually feature prominently in the Gossip columns, however this window, without a shadow of a doubt will be a 'very, very quiet' window. The simple fact is there is no money to spend, any significant acquisitions would have to be funded by player sales in an already incredibly stifled market, values have dropped by at least 40%, in some cases closer to home, a whole lot more!
Younger fans will have been distressed to see the club tumble down the Barclays Premier League to end up in 10th place for Christmas, instead of possibly 5th, but it should be remembered that most Hammers fans would have snapped your arm off to be in mid table at this time of the season instead of being embroiled in a relegation scrap, be careful what you wish for, but be grateful for what you have! - Ed
its not asking to much now is it
The club have confirmed that West Ham United have signed Danish centre-back Frederik Alves for an undisclosed fee, probably around £1.5 Million, from Danish club Silkeborg. The U21 international will join up officially on the 2nd of January 2021. Alves spent the past three-and-a-half years with Silkeborg and made 48 senior appearances.
The 6ft 2in defender, was initially linked with the Irons during the summer, but has now signed a three-and-half-year contract that will run until the summer of 2024. Alves had already agreed personal terms back in November and passed a medical at the same time.
Initially seen as a player who will need to play in the U-23 team, Alves does possess the quality to play first team football, his signing will give additional strength in depth to David Moyes' 'thin claret and blue' line.
Alves also looks extraordinarily similar Sebastien Haller, it is to be hoped he plays with more vim and vigor when given the chance- Ed
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