Forum | Non-Football Related

Hammers penny pinching finally came home to roost, big time, against Burnley during Saturday's lamentable performance, which ended in a 3-0 defeat that could have been far worse from a scoreline point of view, but could not have been much worse from an injury and performance perspective.

Mark Noble's early injury probably spared the Irons captain from a savaging by the Press for his team's performance, that injury was early doors and was a portent for what was to come. Hammers 'one time' talisman, Manuel Lanzini, was stretchered off with a suspected fractured collar bone, the medical staff having to use an oxygen mask on the clearly distressed Argentine player. This is Lanzini's third serious injury, those with a gallows sense of humour will say "at least he was playing for West Ham when he got injured", others might say " He is scheduled to be out for three months, but did he ever return from his previous injury?"

Lanzini has been, to put it mildly, inconsistent since returning from the horrendous injury he sustained while training with the Argentine national side, an injury that kept him out of the team for three quarters of the season! 'Manu' has not had enough integrated game time to bring him back up to full match fitness this season, and has been thrust back in to a team which is apparently devoid of any meaningful or purposeful creativity.

Hammers have been without the services of Michail Antonio, but the loss of one player shouldn't be so extreme that the team cannot cope without them, normally fringe or youth players are expected to fill the void, and usually they grab the opportunity with both hands of establishing their first team credentials. In the past West Ham have brought forward many players in similar circumstances, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and more recently Declan Rice, have all been fast tracked when needs must, however, there is one position that is under the spotlight like no other, that of goal keeper.

The injury sustained by last season's Hammer of the Year, Łukasz Fabiański, has had a devastating effect on match outcomes and team morale in equal measure, his loss has been catastrophic, but could the club have done better than signing Roberto Jiminez Gago as back up? The club also signed David Martin, son of Alvin, as back up to Gago, there is also young Nathan Trott out on loan at AFC Wimbledon as well as the superb U-23 keeper Joseph Anang. Surely one of these alternatives can be used in place of Gago? They could hardly do worse, and don't forget that the next fixture following the International break is against Tottenham, whose players will be relishing the thought of filling their boots with goals at the expense of the hapless Hammers keeper.

Roberto Jiminez Gago is an easy target, and the rest of the team will be thankful that he is taking the flack instead of them! Having had a 'mare' on his last three outings it would seem prudent to take him out the firing line and bring in Martin or even Anang for the remaining fixtures before the beginning of December, when Fabianski is pencilled in to return from his successful hip surgery.

The reason Hammers find themselves with such a goalkeeping situation is that they were unable to retain the services of Adrian San Miguel who, having been snubbed by the arrivals of Darren Randolph, Joe Hart and eventually by Lukasz Fabianski, decided he would rather warm the bench at Anfield than at the London Stadium. Fabianski played every minute of last season's Barclays Premier League campaign, so why wouldn't Adrian leave? On the basis of the year before Adrian would only play Cup games, and if he was only going to play cup games this year, then why not bench warm for a team in the Champion's League and one that will undoubtedly progress well in all cup competitions?

No one envisaged the injury to Fabianski, but surely those in the know must have looked at the Polish keepers stats? He was one of the best shot stopper and keepers out of all the top European Leagues last season, and as such really difficult to replace. Bearing in mind the importance of his role, it would have been prudent to have ensured that his back up was up to scratch.

Some people religiously insure their assets, others don't, and it doesn't take a genius to work out which camp West Ham United and it's hierarchy are in in does it? Thank God for the International break, at least the families of Hammers fans won't have to put up with the misery and fall out of yet another defeat! - Ed

There are times in life when being resilient and resistant to change can be commendable qualities, however West Ham United's beleaguered manager Manuel Pellegrini has found himself between a rock and a hard place when it comes to his team selections. Ahead of this Saturday's clash against Burnley at Turf Moor, Pellegrini's modus operandi is being called in to question by an increasing amount of fans.

IF the Chilean insists on playing the Veteran Pablo Zabaleta at right back, then all hope is lost! Great servant that Zaba has been, particularly when in his pomp at Citeh, the defender's legs have, to use an F1 anachronism for when tyres suddenly run out of tread, fallen off the cliff and no amount of will power can offset the fact that he no longer has the pace to deal with the rigours of the Barclays Premier League.

Even the most stubborn of managers must be able to see that Ryan Fredericks is a far better opition, no one knows exactly why Fredericks has not started the last couple of matches, there are rumours that he got a bit 'billy big bollocks' with Pellegrini when he turned up late for training, and that the Chilean 'slapped' Fredericks down to show who's boss. All very acceptable, a manager has to control his players despite the short term cost of his actions, but Hammers have definitely paid the price!

Hopefully Fredericks will return to the starting line up for the really important game against Sean Dyche's Clarets at Turf Moor, and maybe, just maybe Pellegrini will adapt his rigid one up top formation for one that gives the increasingly isolated Sebastian Haller more support up front. This game is one NOT to 'blood' players like Pablo Fornals in, as more likely than not it will be a bruising encounter with the home side pumped up to make amends for their last home defeat.

Predicted Hammers line up: Roberto, Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, Cresswell, Rice, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson, Yarmolenko, Haller.

The international break can't come soon enough for many fans who cannot wait to see the beast that is Michail Antonio return, how the team has missed his energy and work ethos. - Ed

As expected, following yet another poor result on Saturday, the airwaves have been full of 'professionals' putting the boot in on West Ham United, in particular manager Manuel Pellegrini. The venerable Chilean has been around the block many times, so it will come as no surprise to the 65 year old that the daggers are out for him due to his massive £10 Million per year salary.

Pellegrini is the third highest paid manager in the Barclays Premier League, only Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Liverpool's Jurgen Klopp earn more! The rumblings of discontent have come to a head for several reasons, each on it's own is could be dealt with, but the combination of all three simultaneously occurring is having a catastrophic effect.

Questionable team selection, allied with injuries to key players has compounded the situation, but the real culprit is the astonishingly low net transfer budget Manuel Pellegrini was handed. The signing of Pablo Fornals for £24 Million is being microscopically analysed, as the young Spain international is finding adapting to the pace of the Barclays Premier League difficult to cope with. The 'forensic' examination aspect of the signing should never really ever have come in to contention, and would not have done so had the purchase not wiped out 96% of the entire net transfer budget!

There is arguably more attention and scrutiny about the signing of Fornals than any other recent player acquisition, and that targeting is as a direct result of the meagre budget available to Mario Husillos and Manuel Pellegrini. If the purchase of Fornals represented say 25% of the budget, the pressure on the player and staff would have been a lot less, the moral of the story being, unless you invest your hopes will go west!

Inevitably people who support West Ham, and a lot who don't, have been calling for Manuel Pellegrini's head, the likes of Bournemouth's Eddie Howe and even Bayern Munich's recently sacked manager Niko Kovic are being touted as Pelegrini's replacement, but these speculations are are fanciful to say the least and will NOT happen. The reason is obvious to anyone whom has a knowledge of or who is associated with the club, West Ham United simply cannot afford to pay off Pellegrini's contract, it is as simple as that.

So whether you are a fan of him or not, it is the grey haired Chilean that will be occupying the managerial hot seat until the end of the 2020- 2021 season. Hopefully Pellegrini can turn things round, one should imagine that the recalling of in-form Grady Diangana from his loan spell with West Bromwich Albion will be high up the list of things to do, the return of Michail Antonio will be another crucial element, and finally Lukasz Fabianski's return cannot come quick enough.

With Diangana on board, and the return to fitness of Antonio followed by that of Fabianski, the ship should eventually stabilise, you can forget about a Champion's league slot, but equally about slipping in to a relegation place. Unfortunately early season aspirations have been obliterated, but there is still a chance of a decent cup run or even a top six to top eight finish, but this season will be known as the season that might have been! A real missed opportunity that hopefully the board will learn from, but don't hold your breath. - Ed