Fellaini??
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Wtf moves come on
Forum | Non-Football Related
The Elephant In The Room Is Right Back!
Although Panto season is officially over, there are always a few 'shows' that keep on running, and 'Hamstrung United' has been such a hit that it could continue on it's run for weeks, even months to come!
Normally the audience are drawn it to a situation where they are forced to shout out en masse "look behind you", as the wicked witch enters the stage. In the case of 'Hamstrung United', the wicked witch hasn't been replaced by Lady Brady, but has been usurped by the 'Elephant in the Room' known as the 'Hammer'.
The Hammer has certainly made it's presence felt throughout West Ham United football club, players have flocked to attend the inaugural 'test days' in their droves, the latest to sign up for a lengthy course is Ryan Fredericks who passed the entry exam by 'pulling up' during the hard fought victory over Gillingham in the FA Cup.
Fredericks was replaced by the veteran Pablo Zabaleta, who put in a great, if slightly creaking performance, a Premiership side would have ripped him to pieces! The problem is that alternative options are thin on the ground for what is a crucial position, other than Zaba, the only other 'genuine' right back available is Ben Johnson.
Johnson who is 20 years old later this month is an ideal option, he made his main first team debut at the Etihad against Manchester City, and performed with aplomb. His progress has been hampered by, you guessed it, Hamstring issues, which have taken their time to resolve. Originally a right winger, Johnson has the perfect athleticism required to 'burn' up and down the flanks and his availability will complement Fredericks once he has recovered.
Manuel Pellegrini had many critics, but his two players for every position mantra is as true as it has ever been, bulking up a porous defence should, and more than likely is, one of David Moyes first priorities as he looks to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window. Relying on a 20 year old with very little first team experience, or on a veteran with almost too much experience to fill such an important role, is a recipe for disaster, and West Ham do disaster extremely well.
Moyes has begun his recruitment by, intelligently adding a 'proper' back up keeper in the form of ex-hammer Darren Randolph from Middlesbrough, if he can add an additional right back and left back, he would only then need another central midfielder to make the squad much more balanced, as it is currently top heavy with 'creative' players like Anderson, Fornals and Lanzini.
It might seem sacrilegious, but if a decent offer came in for the 'little jewel', Manuel Lanzini, then it should be seriously considered, because Lanzini is now a shadow of the player he once was, the season long injury that he sustained while training with the Argentine national team was potentially career ending, he has never looked the same since, and judging from his performances looks unlikely to rekindle the dynamism with which he once played.
The same thing happened to Michael Owen when he sustained a similar injury, he came back, but never returned to his previous best, unfortunately Lanzini seems to be on the same course.
West Ham United have, as is usual during the window, been 'linked' with just about every player that (a) has a pulse and (b) is of interest to Everton or Tottenham, nothing changes. - Ed
Bilic Returns
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W.B.A. home in the cup tough game they are flying but we should get through 2-1.....be good to see Bilic again although i believed he had to move on for his sake and ours i am pleased he is doing well with west brom but be even more pleased once we beat them and march on to Wembley COYI
It Had To Be As Hammers Draw Billic's Baggies In FA Cup 4th Rd
Having battled through the difficult 3rd round FA Cup tie away to Gillingham, West Ham United have been rewarded with a home tie in the 4th round, against Slaven Billic's West Bromwich Albion!
Wouldn't you just know it, out of all the clubs remaining in the draw you could have bet your house that the Irons would be matched against some form of nemesis, possibly Millwall or Tottenham, if they manage to overcome Middlesbrough in the replay.
To be drawn against a team that is topping the Championship is tough enough, but the fact that the opposition are managed by fan's favourite Slaven Billic adds a bit of extra spice, and jeopardy!
The fixtures are due to take place between Friday the 24th and Monday the 27th of January, at least Grady Diangana will be unable to play against his parent club, but it would have been preferable to have been matched up against a team that has no direct association, past or present to West Ham. - Ed
Its the Transfer topic
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Deal agreed for Randolph to return £4million.......
A Costly Victory- Again! Hunt For Right Back Begins
The managers of most Premier League clubs bemoaned the amount of games their team's have to play during the festive period, the combination of playing so many matches and having to travel to and from them in such a short space of time can really rack up injuries, especially if the team is involved in more than one competition.
So it is almost de rigueur for West Ham United, a club famous for it's academy and for it's ability to sign injury prone players, to pick up at least one serious injury per game! Which is exactly what happened during Hammers' tense FA Cup 3rd round victory at Priestfield against a very well organised Gillingham side, and of course it had to be in a position where the squad lacks cover.
Ryan Fredericks, who has made the right back berth his own with a series of decent displays, is the latest to succumb to injury, pulling his hamstring during the first half, having to be replaced by Pablo Zabaleta. As it turns out 'Zaba' managed to score his first goal for the Irons, after 74 games, and put in a fine performance, but his legs can no longer do what his mind wants them to do.
So it should come as no shock that the club are considering a move for various right backs including free agent Mehdi Zeffane, the 27-year-old came through the academy system at Lyon but has been without a club since being released by Rennes, despite helping to win the French Cup last season, as well as the Africa Cup of Nations in the summer with Algeria. Zeffane started both the semi-final and the the final for Algeria, keeping Sadio Mane, among others, quiet in the competition last July.
Espanyol had been in talks with the player earlier in the season, but he prefers a move to the Barclays Premier League. As a free agent Zeffane can be signed at any point during the season irrespective of transfer windows, and at 27 is still in his prime, however certain questions have been raised as to why exactly Rennes let his contract run down, there are rumours that he can be a trouble maker.
Trouble maker or not, Hammers desperately need a right back, as the only cover for 'Zaba' in Fredericks' absence is Ben Johnson, but he too has hamstring issues, talk about 'Hamstrung United!'. - Ed
Gillingham FC v West Ham United Team Sheets
Gillingham: Bonham, O'Keefe, Ehmer (c), Ogilvie, Hanlan, Fuller, Jones, Lee, Jakubiak, O'Connor, Tucker Subs: Walsh, Hodson, Willock, Ndjoli, Charles-Cook, Pringle, Marshall
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Ogbonna (c), Masuaku, Snodgrass, Rice, Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Haller Subs: Roberto, Zabaleta, Reid, Sanchez, Fornals, Holland, Ajeti
Utter Tosh! Irons 'Linked ' With Kalidou Koulibaly
Living not far from Park Lane, it is easily within a person's remit to walk past all the Aston Martin, BMW and various other high end vehicle manufacturers, with Ferrari and McClaren being just down the road in Knightsbridge and once in a while pop in to the gleaming showrooms hoping that a rooky salesman might invite you for a test drive, when offered, most people generally accept.
So news that West Ham have emerged as shock contenders to seal a £70 Million deal for Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly, should really be taken with a significant pinch of salt, this 'breaking news' is in addition to the proposed moves for two south american stars with a combined transfer release value in excess of £150 Million! In both cases, the mighty wallet of the two Daves will be up against the wallstreets of various middle eastern families who like to 'play' the Barclays Premier League' and the other European leagues, so realistically the London Boys can be blown out the water by the resources available to others, but they still enjoy being in the same show room!
We should quickly mention that Sheik Mansoor has done wonderful things far and beyond his responsibilities at Manchester City, and is a shining light in an otherwise murky world of corporate ownership. However Manchester City is essentially the exception, so how on earth are a bunch of grunts from the east end going to be able to 'lure' these up market players to the london Stadium?
By cutting the club's cloth according to reality, acting as a shop window for top global talent is not necessarily a bad thing, OK so the player moves on, but that also means during that same period that the club is able to hang on to some of it's own young assets, buying time in order that they may take their place in the match day squads.
There is nothing wrong in being a 'feeder' club, so long as the food you are serving is not your own, but you benefit from it's consumption - Ed
Should Hammers Sign Out Of Contract Diafra Sakho?
BT Were Hoping For Hammers FA Cup Loss
A week can be a long time in politics, and two weeks a lifetime, but two weeks in football can be an eternity! Just ask the chaps at BT Sport, when as soon as the FA Cup 3rd round fixtures were announced, their programmers looked for the 'best' potential cup upset and decided, following 'Oxford Gate', that Gillingham's home tie against West Ham United meant that they could have a 'giant killing' on the cards, after all, it's what the FA Cup is all about isn't it?
Of course hindsight is a wonderful thing, because the tie was scheduled while Manuel Pellegrini was still Hammers' manager, his disdain for the cup competitions was well documented, and his approach and team selection for cup matches confirmed his particularly stubborn stance. BT Sport were licking their lips at the prospect of the 'mighty Hammers' being embarrassed by 'lowly' Gillingham.
However, that was then and this is now, one of the first public statements newly appointed manager David Moyes made was to confirm his desire for the club to progress in the FA Cup, he clearly understands that a 'Euro' spot is out of the question through the team's Barclays Premier League potential finishing position, but knows how important the FA Cup is to fans who have been starved of the excitement the competition can bring, it may not be a 'big earner' now, but fans still love it!
There is no point in 'saving' players for the final push, because by doing so the management would essentially be writing the season off, fears of relegation have been temporarily suspended following the thumping of Bournemouth, and while future opposition will be far more difficult to beat, the fact is the entire squad, bar a couple, were playing as if they had lead in their boots, David Moyes is known for his fitness regimes, and his desire to have his players to be playing on the front foot, play a pressing game but also being capable of hitting teams on the break.
The 'new manager' bounce won't last forever, but given the fact that the team was perpetually so massively under performing, Moyes would be extremely hard put to do any where near as badly! His back to the basics template works, and this time he has a much bigger arsenal at his disposal to work with compared with that of his last tenure at the club, so essentially all he has to do is get the players to perform to the level that they are capable of, by getting players to play in a position that brings out the best of their qualities, Felipe Anderson playing in the middle means support for Haller, and Moyes also knows what a talent Pablo Fornals is, he even knows to play Authur Masuaku as an advanced left winger, it's not rocket science, just basic logic.
Hopefully Moyes doesn't go too gung ho though, if 'the beast's' troublesome hammy is playing up, then rest him, no one will accuse the manager of playing a 2nd strength team if he is ensuring the player's availability for the league matches to come because of his fitness issues, but by the same measure fans will want to see a team full of purpose that doesn't underestimate the opposition, but gives them a hard game that culminates in a victory that will be seen by a huge hunk of the football viewing nation.
Bt Sport were looking for an upset, it is to be hoped that Hammers can upset the upset! - Ed
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