Championship players

One of my main themes last season (before this website did a Burton) was the untapped brilliant potential to be found in the Championship. The pessimistic amongst you would always fire back with "unproven, never experienced the premier league, too risky". My argument always was that the risk between a young hungry British talent, on reasonable wages and a relatively low signing fee was the same or lower than a foreign older mercenary on higher wages also untested in the Premiership. The worse that could happen is that it didn't work, or conversely - that it did, and the player can be sold for more money later.

The chairmen at the start of this season seemed to buy into this and issued statements to the affect that we were going to build a younger squad with potential. I think this policy needs to continue - regardless of who the manager is next season. Indeed, it should be written into the manager's contract that this is what is going to happen and reinforce the West Ham tradition as an academy for young footballers. (Don't you feel pangs of jealousy when you see Southampton, Tottenham and now Aston Villa fielding their youngsters, and it working? I do.)

So anyway, last year I got Aaron Cresswell right (but he was a pretty obvious one if you saw Ipswich beat us 5-0 in the championship). I also got Jordan Rhodes, Tom Ince and Nathan Redmond wrong. Another one I think I did get right - but Sam never plays him - is Diego Poyet. I think he is outstanding. And with only 2 games to go this season and with Song, Noble and Nolan all struggling I just cannot understand what Poyet has done to not get a game. He is potentially better than all of them, seriously!

We already have Reece Burke and Reece Oxford coming through, and I hope that continues. Sad to see Lletget go. He will probably be a massive hit back in the States now. Stephen Hendrie (LB) is joining in the summer from Scotland and he looks good too.

This year, I would urge the Chairmen (or whoever it is buying our players nowadays) to look at the following urgently.
Sam Byram - RB from Leeds. Outstanding potential. Could be as good as Cresswell, and a must if Jenkinson leaves. (Compare his wages to Glenn Johnson!!)
Will Hughes - CAM from Derby. Just missed out on promotion. (We surely all agree we need a replacement for Nolan?)
Lewis Dunk _ CB from Brighton.
If Jamaal Lascelles (CB from Forest) wasn't already on loan from Newcastle I would have him in a instant.