As predicted, the media retain an unhealthy obsession with the alleged departure of our key players for other clubs!
In the headlines at the weekend, there was a report about Valon Behrami allegedly speculating on one day playing for a bigger club! I would suggest that the original quote from Behrami be scrutinised before any Hammers fans take hard and fast view on this. The quote printed in the UK press looked a tad clipped and manufactured for my tastes! Also, I doubt that Behrami is unaware that in today’s world a comment made in Geneva will be reported in the UK the very same day! As such, I would expect that those comments need to be firmly put back in to the right context!
Next up is Matt Upson, who appears to have been questioned post-match on Saturday about the effect of West Ham’s current position upon his world cup ambitions. The bottom line appears to be that he said he is a West Ham player and that he is happy at the club. He concedes that it is better to be in a team doing well, but the situation will not effect his England chances one way or the other!
He must have also been asked about the prospects of moving club, because he stated that a choice has not been put on the table and as such was not worthy of consideration. In other words, no move is in the offing, so why talk about it? All very reasonable and commendable from a senior professional and our club captain!
Finally, there is the whole issue about Liverpool and Man Utd eyeing up Carlton Cole for £20m! The club have now come out and stated that he will not be sold at any price. No doubt the media will ignore that and carry on speculating regardless. I am surprised that they have not also floated a ‘Green to Spurs’ story in response to Cudicini’s unfortunate motor accident. However, I guess there is still plenty of time for that to emerge as a headline?
Still, on one hand, West Ham should arguably expect loyalty from these players. Why? Well, because when West Ham signed them, Green (Norwich City), Upson (Birmingham City) and Cole (Chelski) they did not arguably have the reputation or profile that they do now; and I do not actually remember anyone seriously competing with us for Behrami’s signature before we signed him!
Now Green, Upson and Cole are all England regulars and the big boys of Italian football are interested in Behrami! Not a bad transformation in fortunes for any of them at ‘little old’ West Ham Utd FC, is it?
On the other hand, I guess that international players do have a right to expect their clubs to show some sort of ambition to compete regularly in Europen competitions! Until we make that transition as a club we are always going to have players becoming discontent or unsettled.
It is probably too much to ask for loyalty in the modern game, but at the same time we should not condemn players on the back of spun news stories. Hopefully all four players will contribute to rectifying the current situation at West Ham and stay to build something worthwhile in the longer term. Who knows, with an alleged impending change of ownership, we may even get to see the injection of ambition that players of their class are entitled to expect from their club!
Fingers firmly crossed!
Sorry don't expect loyalty in this game,where cash is king,also you can't stop any player from leaving when the top 4 come in for them,they just sulk and get their own way.Terrible as it is but we will continue to lose good players until we find that billionaire,the only players that show some loyalty are your youth players.
We need a massive cash injection then we can really start talking and thinking big but until then the scaremongers will constantly haunt our club until we have owners who will stand up to these predators and put them exactly in their rightful place!
Behrami made it clear in his interview that he was commited 100% to West Ham. Upson, on the other hand, spoke about himself and how he hasn't made any individual mistakes in the season. He also added the caveat and I'm paraphrasing, "you never know what's going to happen".
I know who I think is more commited to West Ham United Football Club!
As an aside, I saw 5 million compensation being quoted for Dean Ashton (yes, I know it's not official yet), but how much would he be worth in today's Man City inflated market? Nearer 15m for me.
Cash is one of many things that motivates people.
I think KaKa proved that money isn't everything when he could've practically doubled his earnings with a move to Man City.
Whilst I understand the concept that some are motivated mainly by financial reward I wouldn't tar everyone with the same brush. To some it's about doing their job well. Some crave fame, some want to help others in life and there are also people who want to win things and be viewed as achievers in life. Famously there are players who's spouses happiness have come first. Simply enjoying the game can also have a massive bearing.
It's probably true to say that there are elements of all of these motivating factors in Premier League players. One player's loyalty might be outweighed by his focus on wages – to another he might want to have the best possible lifestyle but it may be more important that trophies adorn the shelves.
As for Green, Uspon and Cole I don't know enough about them to make a judgement but I do know that a move to a bigger club would be massively risky when it comes to their chances of making South Africa next year. Let's hope that they're motivated by having the experience of playing in a World Cup final competition. I think that's the pinnacle of any player's career.
I think that the Kaka situation was a "one off". As he was already on £8m a year (after tax!) at Milan that may have has some bearing. He also obviously wanted Champions League football and, it seems, is a decent human being – giving a proportion of his earning to his church.
Players who are on £20-30k per week will always have their heads turned by an offer of double that. Unforunately that's got nothing to do with a lack of loyalty – just something that most people would do if they were offered a 100% increase in their pay.
I had a top player living next door to me until recently and he totally changed my thoughts on how the footballers mind worked.
A/ It's a job
B/ If you get offered a job with more money…go for it
C/ Loyalty is to the other players not the fans
D/ Kissing the badge is for the cameras
your rich roshi
Ha ha, I wish.
If anyone has to go then it should be upson,although I don't want anyone to leave,selling Cole or parker would cause massive riots on Green street.
No it wouldn't Chris. It would just be met with an apathetic shrug of the shoulders by most fans.
Most professional footballers must surely want to play on a regular basis, rather than warming a bench and making an occasional appearance. If any of our players were to go to a big four club they would inevitably be subject to that club's rotation policy. This in turn could affect their international/World Cup status (unless your name is Ben Foster). Is it naive to think this would play a part in the thinking of our prize assets come January?
There has been and will continue to be many stories run through the press rumour mill that is peddled as 'fact' and in the end just sells papers. We, as fans, show our loyalty by reading these stories and worry about the effect they will have on our players and our club – our loyalty is not in question as many of us have support WHU for most of our lives. However much I would love to see us in the CL and winning trophies with star players at the moment it will not happen unless we are Man Citied, and even then it will depend on the strength and cashability of the top four, or six. I tend to read the same paper each weekend and follow some websites, but try not to let these stories bother me too much.
I do not expect loyalty from players for the reasons some have highlighted above, but I expect that whoever plays for us plays with passion, commitment and a desire to win! Therefore, for me, they have earned their wages. Sadly, not many in the team have done that regularly, but I place my trust in Zola and Clarke. I hope that come January we keep our players, have investment and can place ourselves in a table position that justifies our investment playing the sort of football that excites and entertains. Might be too much to ask for, but its what I hope for nevertheless. (sorry for the split post)
Over the next 6wks we will see whether all the takeover talk is of a positive one and not just the daily tittletattle that our media friends dish out against us.
If this be true and Straumur/CB come to an agreement with buyers to invest in the club we can be sure that a transfer kitty will be available January to strengthen our squad. If not then we have to look at the other option that S/CB will put some money in themselves and not just let us barter our way through the TW with players to bring in new blood. We hope that Green Upson &co will still be with us to help our PL status. However if they are moved on for financial gain and help us in that way to strengthen so be it. We as fans have no say on who goes & who comes to the club that is down to GZ/Dux & board. Ambition for anyone in any job is to be commended. However in football that is only as good as what is in the latest pay packet and that loyalty means very little.
I think one advantage of having Zola as our manager is that he instills an environment of loyalty and closeness within the football staff. Apart from Bellamy I don't think any player has actively wanted to leave despite the poor results and constant financial dilemma.
It will only be a continuation of poor results which may lead players to be either pushed or to want to leave for a stronger club in Jan. I think all the big name players mentioned would most likely stay if new owners came in and Zola had money to spend. Very few players ever actively leave Wenger and when they do many regret it. I think Zola is in the same mould – we just need some success on the pitch and fast.
The only thing all this negative press will do is further destabalize the team at a time when we need them more switched on than ever. Hopefully Zola and Clarke can keep their minds on the job.
Great to hear the reserves play with such style against a far more mature and seasoned opposition. Kearns was supposedly on fiire – a player who has the ability to dribble past players with ease and one to watch.
I agree broganq, Zola has similarities with Wenger. It's vital that players enjoy their football. This has to be equally as important to any salary demands a player makes. The feeling that you want to play for your manager is vital, I would imagine someone like Carlton Cole feels exactly this way. Ultimately it is down to the club and manager to create and convince players that this club is going somewhere and that they are trying to do it by playing creative football. Obviously a bit more financial backing would really help.
Liverpool want Cole and now Upson & Illunga. Man City wanted Parker, the big italian clubs want Behrami and every one wants Rob Green.
With a bunch of young England players making up almost all the remainder of the first team I'd like to know just hing, why we are so crap!
Phillo, Harry Redknapp said once that he played in a team that had Moore, Hurst and Peters and they still finished 17th so its just went to show how crap the rest of them were!
In the current case its because we are converting about 10% of our chances and yet we are getting punished for 100% of our mistakes. Unlike other teams in the bottom half we have lost almost every game by the odd goal and its not like we are taking a tonking every week. Its impossible to believe that this will continue and I think that after the break we will start stringing a run of results together I fancy having a cheeky flutter on us to win our next 3 games including the one against ManU (need it to make the odds decent if I am honest). I reckon 5 or 6 of our next 7 are winable!
If you can remember back to the last January transfer window there wasn't much movement despite the strenuous efforts of the tabloid press and Sky Sports News to splash rumours around like confetti. Any price that is paid in January is usually inflated as these purchases are generally a case of desperation – teams in relegation trouble, key player with a long term injury etc. Most clubs don't budget for spending big money in January and look to the summer to overhaul their squads.
All of this could actually be good news for us.
With Chelsea having their transfer embargo suspended till the summer it will mean they will be looking to buy in January. MCity have said they will not be buying until the summer. However this will undoubtedly mean inflated prices for those players in the market. With Green&Upson potentially on the radar we hope that WH will either receive the investment needed by S/CB or with the takeover by new owners. If this is not the case despite WH saying that they do not need to sell and are looking to strengthen in all areas in may mean that an offer is too big for WH to refuse to help us move forward.
Is see that Diamanti's old boss reckons he is having trouble adjusting to the English game! Well he's on his own there because I reckon the guy has taken to it like a proverbial duck to water. The international break will have done the team the world of good and hopefully the team are now in tune with how he plays the game.
For me the key player to make Diamanti work for us at the point of the diamond is Parker. He is going to have to drop deep and cover the width of the centre circle to pick up any scraps, break up and attacks and feed the ball back to Diamanti. Personally I think Parkers footballing intelligence is dreadfully underated as he is seen solely as a physical player with a great engine. He is for my money the most complete English defensive midfielder and an extremely intelligent player who gets overlooked because of his selfless style of play and his willingness to do whats needed and not what gets him noticed.
As for January, sell Upson, buy a striker and give Parker the armband! Easy as that!
Celtic I hope Diamanti didn't say that,that's honest but a bad thing to say,that's not what we want to hear,hope he hasn't thrown in the towel all ready, coz the guy has some great skills,but surly he can only be judged him after a few full games.
I was advocating selling Upson in the summer but found myself in the clear minority. I felt his value was then at its peak and we should have cashed in but like you I'd still be tempted in Jan if offer £8m or so.
Anyway just to cheer you up I see couple of reports that Specs played well as CB for USA and suggestion he could play there if Upson sold!
If that depresses you look at BBC report that club shop to sell Perry lingerie!Now whatever happened to the Hammerettes?
There was a debate on her at the last Transfer Window about which of the core players (Green, Upson, Parker, Cole, Behrami), if one had to go, would we mind least losing. I went for Upson mainly because we had plenty of cover at the time. I would now go for Upson on his performance level.
Celtic – Parker's shortfall is his distribution. If that improved he would be the most complete English defensive midfielder.
Roy I agree that Parkers distribution is the weakest part of his game but its not that far behind the likes of Gareth Barry and his strengths completely out strip Barry. Carrick is probably the best passer of a ball in the holding midfield role but he cant tackle, run or lead like Parker.
Trying to be realistic – and I'm a great fan of Scotty Parker – I think Barry's passing is far better than Parker's. He has the same problem as Carrick, i.e. he is not the quickest around. I agree with you about Carrick and I guess that Hargreaves – if he ever gets fit – will probably be a contender for the holding position although he could end up at right back.
Even though England had a "reserve" team out against Brazil I still feel that we are some distance behind the top teams and to get beyond the quarter finals in South Africa would be an achievement. Even that may be ambitious depending on the initial draw when we could get the likes of Holland and the Ivory Coast in our group!
As you will have gathered from my posts CH, I couldn't agree more mate. Parker pivotal to us and Diamante looks like the creative talent we have missed since Benayouns departure. He gets you off your seat doesn't he!
I think Perhaps Loyalty v Ambition would be a better heading
and the winner is AMBITION !!!! anyone lucky enough and good enough to become a pro footballer, I would think be a natural winner and to play in finals and win titles is what it is all about that coupled with the higher income shrinks loyalty 10 fold. Which one of us given an oppotunity to be more successful and earn more money would'nt take it , I am sorry to say Loyalty is a thing of the past as far as the top players are concerned with very few exceptions MONEY TALKS and the medals are a BIG plus.
_E1, you are very right to say that ambition would win every time and loyalty does not come into the equation at all. But, and it's a big but, the World Cup is just around the corner and these guys are play every week, OK some are playing rubbish, but playing every week. They could get more money, maybe even a trophy THIS season with another so called bigger club, but they could also lose the regular football that has got them into the England team in the first place, and bang goes that ticket to South Africa. Lets face it, All of these players we are talking about know this. It is essentially why some of them are playing at West Ham, because they were bench warmers are club with massive squads. Cole, Upson and Parker have all fallen foul of this. If they stay it will be through self -interest not loyalty. Having said all of this, I think that players will go in Jan, simply because the club is in the poo, and they need the money. I think Behrami & may be Upson depending on the length of their contracts.
A bit off topic but I thought those with wives and girlfriends might appreciate and idea for that special Christmas gift for her this year: –
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/w/... .
If we have to lose one of our 'stars' in January, it has to be Upson for me. Firstly, he needs to go to Specsavers if he thinks he hasn't had a poor game this season. At times he's been average at best. His manner is like TC before his big money move to Everton. He just doesn't look bothered to me anymore. Behrami puts so much in for the team, I don't think for a second he is looking to go anywhere right now. We simply cannot afford to lose CC. GZ has turned him into an amazing player lately. He has far exceeded my expectations of how he can improve. If he knocks a few more in he'll be the finished article and I never thought I'd say that. Parker is so important to Zola that it isn't even worth speaking about. Probably our most important player, (would be skipper). I know I'm covering old ground here but we all know how important he is. Greeno hasn't been at his best this season at times, but I rate him and I think as many have said, we have helped him get the recognition he deserves so I am keeping everything crossed that we can keep him. We need players who want to fight this season, and sadly I'm not totally convinced Upson falls into that bracket. Would love him to prove me wrong!
It is amazing how’ Cottee the legend ‘loves talking doom and gloom about the Hammers,that is why he took the bigger offer and signed for Everton cos he did not give a damn about us he was no legend a traitor more like!Today he is talking armaggedon for our club,perhaps one of his so called consortium,s wants to buy us on the cheap stop undermining us you dont deserve us you had your days of glory with Macavennie then it went to your wallet keep your money!
For what it's worth this is how I see the possible departures mentioned in the press.
Upson – very ambitious and looking for a move to top four. Will go in Jan or Summer so if we can replace him best grab 8mil this Jan.
Cole – won't look to move yet. Zola and Clarke have too much influence over him.
Green – not sure about Greeny. If we get new owners and give him a healthy contract I think he'd stay. He's had a great run at West Ham.
Behrami – again depends on new owners. If the club doesn't look stable his agent may influence him to leave. Is close to Zola and players.
Parker – going nowhere. Could have gone to City and wisely didn't. Don't understand why he isn't captain and would have had him in that role last year.
Ilunga – not sure, I think he's potential to turn bad and demand a move, especially if Liverpool come in for him. Only for 7-9mil I say.
Collectively we're a good judge on here and the consensus seems to be upson is the player to be sacrificed. His captaincy has been low key to say the least!
Hard to disagree with much there apart from possibly more than 8 mil for Upson. Ilunga is a star although I'm unsure where he is with us this season, but he needs to show his previous form b4 he commands a large fee. Personally realise the tabloids talk rubbish but Matty isn't giving me much reason to think other than he wants to go, or is certainly open to offers. Want to be wrong though
You may be right Ray regarding Upson's fee but I believe he is near the end of his contract so we're not in a great bargaining position. Otherwise he can run his contract down and we get nothing. Yes, Ilunga seems lethargic this season. At first I put it down to a lack of match fitness but there seems more to it. Shame if he does want to go but Daprela, though he's young, looks a very good prospect.
Sullivan he's having a larf!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
StraumurMD:- We have an offer on the table chaps Intermarket are offering to buy WH for £100m which takes the debts and cluboff our hands and gives us £30m in our pocket.I know we wanted £120m but at least we will have some money for us to pay off our creditors.
We also have another on the table which is for us to give 50% of WH to DS for free and he will invest £40m of his own money into the club and turn it around. Leaving us with club debts of approx £60m.
Could we please have a show of hands on which way everyone wishes to vote:-???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????__DOH!!!!!!!! WATCH this SPACE!!!Lol!
Now here's a new line for the Club Store: A limited edition of Katy Perry lingerie!
Well we now know the way forward for finding investment to put the club on a stable financial footing.!