Forum | Non-Football Related

At least West Ham United are headline news for other than a footballing catastrophe, as news and media outlets jockey for their respective conservative and outlandish candidates as to who will become the club's next manager. Appointing a new manager will be a bit of a long haul given all the varaibles, both fiscal and instituitionally in E20, who ever comes in will have to deal with the board, namely David Sullivan and others! The reality is that through share options and various financial underwriting David sullivan is essentially the owner and therefore the 'face' of West Ham and the person who pulls all the strings.

The much publicised meeting between Sullivan and Fonseca was rumoured to have gone well, and contrary to some reports a deal to bring the Jorge Mendes backed manager to London is still on the back burner. The 'Rafa' Factor is of course being given a lot of coverage, with the 'will he or won't he'? jump from Mike Ashley's frying pan to West Ham's fire question being asked.

Apparently Manuel Pelligrini's representatives have met with the West Ham hierarchy to discuss a possible 'arrangement' but that is so unlikely to happen given the massive wages that Pelligrini receives, and there would have to be a settlement with his current club, so given Hammers' owners' general disposition as to not spending a penny more than they can get away with, such a deal is highly unlikely to come to fruition.

Tinkerman anyone? Fresh from a less than succesful spell at Nantes and available without a 'compensation' fee, Claudio Ranieri is available and is a late arrival in the managerial race. He can operate on a limited budget and likes his teams to play attractive attacking football, in that respect he ticks all the boxes and might prove to be a perfect fit, and would be a far less expensive option than Rafa Benitez.

The Tinkerman story has legs, could they lead through the chaos that is West Ham?

West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan has today confirmed that which everyone already knew, namely the departure of David Moyes from the club. However the manner and nature of the announcement shows yet again exactly why neither of the owners should be allowed to make public statements without first having them approved a 'third party' who has the power to prevent verbal outbursts that usually prove costly!

Prospective new managers will have hardly been impressed with the way the previous incumbent has been dispatched. Here are 'Sully's' final words on Moyes' departure. "When David and his team arrived, it was the wish of both parties that the focus be only on the six months until the end of the season, at which point a decision would be made with regards to the future, We feel that it is right to move in a different direction. We aim to appoint a high-calibre figure who we feel will lead the club into an exciting future for our loyal supporters within the next 10 days."

Talk about lack of respect! Moyes wasn't everyone's cup of tea but he did a good job, and to be publicly 'slighted' was not a fair and proper way for him to part company with the club, and perhaps of equal importance, Moyes' assistants Alan Irvine, Stuart Pearce and Billy McKinlay will also depart with immediate effect. In the interest of fair play we should mention that when prompted David Sullivan also said "I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to David Moyes and his staff for achieving the target of keeping West Ham United in the Premier League, throughout his time here, David has carried himself with dignity and honesty and we have all found him to be a pleasure to work with. He, Alan (Irvine), Stuart (Pearce) and Billy (McKinlay) accepted the challenge and attacked it head on, turning around a difficult situation. They deserve great respect for the job they have done and they leave the club with our best wishes."

It is anybody's guess why on earth the club have set themselves a ten day deadline for what could well be the most important decision they ever have to make!
Good hunting - Ed