Forum | Non-Football Related

Just when you thought things couldn't get much worse for West Ham's transfer aspirations, another unwelcome competitor for the club's targets have just been handed enough money to 'blow any Hammers' bids clean out the water. Barclays Premier League rivals Aston Villa's sale of Jack Grealish for an eye watering British record £100 Million to Manchester City, has put them firmly in the driving seat for any transfer target they wish to aim for.

Of course it's not all doom and gloom for David Moyes, you would expect any club that has received such a windfall to go out and spend, spend, spend! If West Ham had sold their prized asset, Declan Rice, then the East Londoners would go on a similar 'splurge', much like dear old 'Arrry' Redknapp did with the proceeds from the Rio Ferdinand to Leeds sale.

When Redknapp was suddenly given a whole load of money to spend, he did so unwisely, such 'luminaries as Rigobert Song, Florin Raducioiu, Davor Šuker and Titi Camara arrived at the Boleyn, all on massive wages and all totally useless! 'H' had been used to a 'cash lite' budget, when he could suddenly afford to dine at the top table he was like a fish out of water!

Dean Smith comes across as a very 'stable' manager, but he will also experience 'cash richness' for the first time in his managerial career.The old expression says "any fool can spend money, only a wise man knows how to keep it", however while that applies in 'normal' life, it does NOT apply to the world of professional football!

It should be remembered that Villa have just 'sold the family silver, and as such their fans will have a 'blood-lust' for new signings, irrespective of who they are! It is human nature, so having seen West Ham miss out on the Champions League by just 2 points it is human nature to expect the club to push on'

Of course there is still plenty of time to go before the transfer window shuts, the fact that the domestic season will have started before the window closes is counter-intuitive, but it is what it is. IF Hammers manage to retain Declan Rice's services, as it appears to have done, then the club can move forward, a couple of astute signings would 'silence the natives' and the club can move forward from a position of strength, as opposed to rebuilding to attain a position of strength.

The only real negative regarding Villa's sudden cash influx is that targets like Jesse Lingard and Tammy Abraham are more likely to end up at Villa Park than at the Bowl of London, however there are only a certain amount of players Smith can sign without destabilising the unit he has in place.

This is Villa's moment in the Sun, (not the crap red top) so they would expect to push on to greater things, they are about to find out how difficult it is to actually spend money, wisely. Everyone and his Aunt will know that Villa have bulging pockets as a result of the Grealish sale, and will hike their prices accordingly.

Spend to mend will be the Birmingham based club's motto, after all, they are about to face their '2nd season syndrome' in the top flight, so lofty aspirations may well give way to pragmatic survival hopes! - Ed

If you can't join them, beat them seems to be the order of the day for potential West Ham buy out group PAI. Having had their 1st offer firmly rebuffed by David Sullivan, the investment group vowed not to give up in their pursuit and have just fired their 2nd shot across the bows by doing a bit of a 'switcheroo'. A term usually associated with Formula 1 driving, but one that ideally describes PAI's actions by going public with the next part of their PR exercise, one that shows a complete change of tack.

By 'going behind the club's back', the suitors have been able to beat a clear path to the LLDC, an organisation that is incredibly desperate to get rid of their embarrassing White Elephant and would negotiate with Beelzebub himself in order to get shot of their financial millstone.

By negotiating with the LLDC, the PAI group hope to short circuit the situation by offering live money for dead assets, an accountants dream! In doing so they hope to put Hammers current owners on to the back foot, but they must be aware that the 'rental deal' done by Lady Brady is pretty airtight and as such cannot be undone.

By providing what is known as 'value added' in accountancy terms to the LLDC, they will hope to garner favour for their redevelopment proposals, some of which include upmarket real estate developments which we be an essential part of their business plan.

Below is a cut and paste of their statement, one point a reader just mentioned to us is "what are PAI going to do with the massive great beach ball that the LLDC have approved, a structure that will blight the skyline and dwarf all the other buildings?" It could be one of the many questions they will have to field if their bid is to progress further, it will be a rocky road.

You can guarantee that PAI's statement will be dissected by the West Ham PR machine, they will say there is no real substance to the statement and dismiss it as no more than people trying to take a financial punt claiming to be fans, sounds familiar? - Ed

The news that Hammers have switched their attention from signing Chelsea's Kurt Zouma to that of Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic, has been greeted with some enthusiasm given the player's status, experience and youthfulness. So well done to the recruiting team if Milenkovic does indeed end up at the London Stadium.

Unfortunately the Elephant in the room, the desperate need for an out and out striker, is transmogrifying into a Mammoth! Everyday a 'target' disappears, with Danny Ings being the latest in a long line of probables that then became possibles, before finally becoming impossibles!

Only an absolute fool could think that Michail Antonio's hamstrings will allow him to play more than 50% of this season's Barclays Premier League games, let alone the Europa League and the two Domestic cup competitions! It should also be remembered that Antonio isn't actually a striker, he is a converted winger who has played virtually every position except for that of goalkeeper during his tenure at West Ham since joining from Nottingham Forest.

We thought we would begin examining who is actually left available to sign AND who the club can actually afford! The one target that sticks out head and shoulders above the rest is, Blackburn's Adam Armstrong. The 24 year old is a natural born striker who will more than likely be able to make the leap from Championship to Premier league level relatively quickly.

Armstrong won't come cheap, but a 'structured' payment plan might do the trick. Realistically Armstrong represents the top of the pile that still exists, with the possible exception of Tammy Abraham, unfortunately Tammy seems to be 'doing a Zouma' and therefore cannot be considered as a viable option, much to the chagrin of Hammers fans.

Things are what they are, so any reinforcements will be more than welcome at the London Stadium with such a short time to go before the start of the new season...'in Moyes we trust' is the go to motto regarding Hammers transfers, but then the passengers trusted the Captain of the Titanic, and that didn't end well did it? - Ed

The PAI announcement due later today about their take over plans won't help matters that need urgent attention, no matter what they say it won't 'magic up' a striker from nowhere and perhaps their interest will only serve to have a derogatory effect on the club.

To be honest in a way their interest coild end up being a PAI'N in supporters' backsides, because it will just add smoke to back up the mirrors already in place at the club.

IF they really are serious about the club's welfare, surely they should be holding 'confidential' negotiations in order to not further destabilise a club that is undoubtedly about to hit a rocky patch.

We know this sentiment might not go down well with a lot of fans, it is just one way of looking at things. It is highly unlikely that David Sullivan would sanction a sale that doesn't meet his ultra high valuation, but if he was offered 'crazy money' he would snap their hands off.

It should also be remembered that the 30% clause regarding the London Stadium will still be applicable until 2023, so PAI would need to stump up an additional 30% premium in order to get the deal done quickly, as opposed to biding their time for another year and a half. Sullivan and the other shareholders would receive the same money either way, 10% shareholder Tripp Smith would have to acquiesce under company law if the remaining 90% were purchased.

Ironically a similar situation actually happened to David Gold and David Sullivan while they owned Birmingham City when the Icelandics purchased West Ham, as G&S had around a 10% stake in the club that they were forced to cash in.

Of course every long suffering fan wants the proverbial knight in shining armour to arrive and sweep the club of its feet, or the cavalry to come charging over the horizon to save the day, but it ain't gonna happen.

Any negotiations will be long and painful, that is assuming they take place at all. The club's shareholders are under no obligation even to listen to offers, as such they hold all the aces, so any offer made would have to be 'significant' and would have to be financed further down the line, PSI are an investment company that has to generate dividends for their clients, knights in shining armour they certainly are not!

The club has 'endured' ten years of Gold and Sullivan's ownership as a consequence of the Icelandic's splashing their borrowed cash indiscriminately, the club was lurching towards administration before the 'Twins' stepped in and bought it for a relative song.

So the essence of this tale is cautionary, 'be careful of what you wish for, you might just get more than you bargained for'. - Ed