Forum | Non-Football Related

In what will come as wonderful news and a considerable relief for West Ham United manager and current saviour David Moyes, Manuel Lanzini has declared that he will be ready and able if selected to play Hammers next fixture against Liverpool at Anfield on the 24th of February. Lanzini has been recovering from a serious hamstring injury that he acquired during the 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, but encouragingly he has taken to social media to declare his fitness, he has also confided with his team mates, most noticeably goal keeper Adrian San Miguel, about how well his recovery has gone.

The little Argentine's recovery will however now throw up a selection problem or two for his manager, 'Super Mario', on loan from Inter Milan, has flourished since arriving at the London Stadium during the January transfer window and has slotted in to the team seamlessly, but maybe he will have to be the one to make way? This would be a pity given how well João Mario has managed to integrate with his new team, losing the inertia of his arrival could prove to be costly to Hammers avoiding relegation campaign, it is a selection headache for Moyes but one that shows the crippling injury list might finally be dwindling.

Marko Arnautovic returned to the West Ham starting line up for the 2-0 win over Watford last weekend and put in a fine display of style and grit culminating with his sharply taken goal, the opportunity to link up with Lanzini is a prospect 'Elbows' is licking his lips at, the pair had been on fire prior to their respective injuries and it is to be hoped they can pick up where they left off.

Adrian has revealed that "the little jewel' Manuel Lanzini is "ready to come back" after nearly a month out with his hamstring injury. Speaking to the Hammers official website about the combination of Arnoutovic and Lanzini, the Spaniard said: "Marko is a great player, everyone knows that, and you absolutely miss this kind of player [when he is out injured] and you have to adapt and work in a different way, but now we have Marko back and Manu [Lanzini] is ready to come to the team. "We hope all the injured players will come back as soon as possible and we can work all together until the end."

Lanzini's availability is a massive boost for beleaguered Hammers supporters, but someone somwhere's joy will be tinged with the reality that they will not be getting nearly as much game time as they recently had, but who will it be, and more importantly how will they take the news?

That's Moyes' problem, but not a bad one to have! - Ed

West Ham United are set to sign former Manchester United left back Patrice Evra until the end of the season, the disgraced 36 year old Frenchman has been without a club since he left Marseille by mutual consent in November after kicking one of the club's fans before a Europa League match. In what many will see as a 'pound store' purchase Evra, who was banned from Uefa competition for the rest of the season, but is able to play for West Ham will arrive on a free transfer. He played for Hammers boss David Moyes when he managed Manchester United, but was not a first team choice, Evra then left Old Trafford for Juventus in 2014 and had three seasons in Italy before moving to Marseille in January 2017.

During his time at United he won nine major trophies including five Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008. Evra made nine appearances for Marseille this season before the incident prior to a European game against Vitoria Guimaraes on the 2nd November that saw him banned. Authur Masuaku's six match ban for spitting at an opponent has had a serious impact on Hammers' survival prospects and Evra's signing will be seen as a serious 'fire rescue' action from the West Ham United hierarchy who seriously under performed in the recent transfer window.

West Ham have a history of signing maverick footballers, but Evra is not exactly in his prime. Pablo Zabaleta has been a revelation since signing from Manchester City, however we at the org are of the opinion that 'Zabba; is the exception rather than the rule when it come to players approaching their later years and that Evra would only be a viable option in the very short term. There are already social media posts that are assuming Evra has been signed in order to kick fans who dare speak out against the Holy trinity of Sullivan, Gold and Brady!
Pound store Hammers? = Ed