Forum | Non-Football Related

Fortunately the Barclays Premier League bandwagon cranks up the volume again this weekend, although the Hammers faithful have to wait until Monday for their team's match away to newly promoted Aston Villa. During the domestic break the media have, as normal, never let the truth get in the way of a good story, consequently there has been a proliferation of 'Declan Rice' stories.

The vitriolic comments by some pundits regarding Declan's performances for England were bad enough, but what has really infuriated a plethora of fans is the outrageous arrogance of Manchester United in their pursuit of the 20 year old Hammer. Quite what has happened to the 'tapping up' rule no one seems to know or care, but the public nature of the 'red devil's' declared interest in acquiring Rice is nauseating to say the least!

Manchester United are not the Club they once were, they may well be super wealthy still, courtesy of the insanely brilliant sponsorship deal they have with Chevrolet, which, incidentally expires in just over 18 months time, however despite their obvious fiscal viability the Northern club's star is on it's wane. Since 'old red nose' left, a series of managers have come and gone at Old Trafford, the only thing they have in common is their failure to succeed, and a predilection for buying players at vastly inflated prices and on massive wages.

Most Hammers fans accept that should an offer in the region of £90 Million arrive for Declan Rice, the club would be hard pushed not to accept it, however Manchester United's attitude that they can steam roller other club's is based in the past when they were so much wealthier than others, that is not the case now. Should Declan be sold, Hammers fans will be annoyed but accepting, but if he was sold to Manchester United they would be furious, and rightly so!

The Hammers hierarchy will need to make some tough decisions during the January transfer window, it should be remembered that Declan Rice is only 20 years old, so there is plenty of time for future moves should they be required or even needed. - Ed

The International break is always difficult for journalists who cover the domestic game, tittle tattle and rumours are all there is to go on, slim pickings indeed. The fact that England are in the opposite to the ‘group of death’ makes the situation of even less interest to the cognoscenti.
We have already dealt with the ITV ‘acid heads’ and their weird observations of Declan Rice, fortunately he is thick skinned and won’t let a couple of has been’s put him off his game. Hammers other players on International duty have so far managed to avoid injury, it is to be hoped by the time they all return that they are able to hit the ground running against newly promoted Aston Villa, fortunately the match is played on a Monday night giving the squad that extra couple of days recovery time.

There has been a bit of a media frenzy regarding the strength or lack of strength of the squad Manuel Pellegrini has assembled for this season. It is not actually the squad he has assembled, more like the squad he has disassembled.So much dead wood has been removed fans almost expect to see Thor Heyerdhal and his Kon Tiki boat sail by!

Apart from slashing vast swathes of money from the wages bill, to the tune of £24 Million, Pelle has also managed to bring the average age of the squad down considerably, the Hammers rest home is soon to become a thing of the past.

Arguably the squad is light of a midfield enforcer, a right back and a back up striker. However these positions could be filled from within, Coventry, Diangana and Johnson could take up the slack instead of panic buying during the January window, bargains are rarely to be had in the new year.

The team spirit that Pellegrini and his coaches have engendered needs to be maintained, there is no point in having got rid of the old regime only to replace it with another one that reeks of ralgex, the way forward is definitely to sign young hungry players and to utilise the club’s youth set up to bring players through.

Considering the budget restraints of this new season, the board, the hierarchy and all those involved with the club can pat themselves on the back for a job well done and refusing to panic.

If Manuel Pellegrini can get West Ham in to Europe, it would be safe to say the board would look to avail themselves of his services for longer than his initial three year contract, he has started a project, one that he would probably like to see come to fruition.

Of course injuries and suspensions could upset the apple cart, but then again this season represents a real opportunity to break in to the top six due to the transition of Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea, this may be a unique time for the Irons to progress, even Tottenham are going to struggle because of their lack of recruitment.

The futuure is bright, the chairmen are orange! - Ed

The transfer window has 'slammed' shut in Europe, meaning only players who are free agents may be signed now, once the English transfer window closed there was speculation that Hammers might try and sign bad boy Mario Balotelli, fortunately he ended up signing for Brescia, so Hammers dodged a bullet there.

Having cleared the dressing room of ageing, expensive and/or disruptive players, surely the last thing Manuel Pellegrini is a 33 year old a striker who hasn't had a game this season and is unlikely to do so in the near future. Just because a player was good a few seasons back, it doesn't make sense to acquire such a 'risk', it is therefore extremely unlikley that West Ham want to sign Mario Mandzukic on loan from Juventus in January as has been reported by various red tops.

Apparently the Croatia international is on Manuel Pellegrini’s radar, there are claims that Pellegrini wanted to sign 33 year old Mandzukic last summer when he first became West Ham manager but now he has been left short of options in his strike force due to Javier Hernandez’s move to Sevilla and Michail Antonio's serious injury.

Mandzukic was a very very good striker in his heyday, but he fits the bill of a player looking for a final pay day in London, exactly the sort of signing Hammers made in the past and the sort of signing Pelle and the Huse have been trying to avoid, over 30 equals little or no sell on value and it is clear to see from the acquisition of players like Issa Diop, Pablo Fornals and Felipe Anderson that the club want to sign young players who will become an increasing assets rather than bench warmers and sick notes!

Spurious rumours do tend to emerge during the International break, it couldn't be because there is no real news, could it? - Ed

Felipe Anderson put in one hell of a performance during Hammers 2-0 victory over newly promoted Norwich City, as did most of his team mates. The Brazilain attacking midfielder shone as he bamboozled the Norwich defenders time after time, it was not uncommon to see three or four of them trying to undo his mazey runs.

One of the main reasons Anderson has been able to up his game from what was already a pretty successful debut season, is that the shackles of being the club's most expensive player have been removed. Since the arrival of Sebastian Haller as Hammers record signing, Anderson has played with the ambition and freedom that fans expected from him when he first arrived at the London Stadium, and while he did have some brilliant games, by his own admission it took him time to adapt to the frenzied pace of the Barclays Premier League.

In addition to his new found freedom, Anderson has been aided and abetted by Authur Masuaku in the last couple of games, and it really shows. Masuaku is not a full back, at least not in the traditional sense, but he is one of the new breed of left backs who's job is to bomb forward at virtually every opportunity. This advanced role requires the players around have to back up the defence during transition, and 'King Authur' ( it's what fans used to call him before he fell out of favour with some) confirmed on the official West Ham United site that he and Felipe Anderson had come to an 'arrangement' with regards to defensive duties.

Manuel Pellegrini obviously has faith in Masuaku otherwise he wouldn't have handed him a new five year contract, going forward he is far better than Aaron Cresswell, and defensively he is not much worse! The understanding between Anderson and Masuaku is plain to see, no longer does Anderson have to wait for the overlap, he knows instinctively that it will happen and is able to thread a pass through the eye of a needle when required.

The average age of the first team has come down considerably since the beginning of last season, with six over 30 year olds departing the club, not to mention a shed load of wages saved, the squad is in a far healthier position than before. Manuel Pellegrini has his two players for every position that he always said he wanted, and obviously likes and has confidence in the players that he has assembled, and those who were at the club on his arrival who have survived the 'cull'.

Of course only having two strikers is not ideal and a source of anxiety for many fans, however when did Hammers last actually have even two 'proper' strikers? At least the two in place have been brought to the club by Pelle and the Huse, if either of them get injured or suspended prior to the January window then the manager will have to get his remaining players to adapt to the situation.

Realistically Manuel Pellegrini will recall Grady Diangana during the window because of Antonio's serious injury, but by then Grady will have not only played and scored for West Brom, but will also have met up with his England under 21 colleagues for the first time following his inclusion in the squad. The board have resisted their usual urge to make up the numbers with expensive has been's looking for a final pay day, hopefully their faith in Pellegrini's judgement will be rewarded, he has taken risks, but who dares wins don't they? - Ed