From time to time, people have asked for a wider forum to discuss matters related to this site. I have now set up a Facebook Group for readers of the blog, which will make it easier for people who read the blog to interact with each other, assuming you’re members of Facebook of course.

I’ve just set up the basic framework. It’s up to readers to decide how the Facebook Group should develop.

To jin the Facebook Group, click HERE.

I’ve just set up my Fantasy League on the FA site once again. If you registered last year you’ll automatically get put back in if you reactivate. Go to the FA site HERE.

If you’d like to enter a team use this code: 364959-93125.

I’ve entered a team of current and former West Ham players except for up front!

Here’s the team

Rob Green
Rio Ferdinand
John Pantsil
Glen Johnson
Paul Konchesky
Scott Parker
Yossi Benayoun
Matthew Etherington
Frank Lampard
Wayne Rooney

Subs
Ben Alnwick
Kevin Phillips
Anton Ferdinand
Darren Bent
Frank Lampard

By Reece Bateman

Not so long ago, West Ham were crying out for a decent striker to partner Carlton Cole, and even before that Dean Ashton, in attack. Recently the club acquired Frederic Piquionne for around £2million, which in todays game is a fairly cheap, and in my eyes decent, signing. West Ham now appear to be in the driving seat with regards to Loic Remy after Sullivan agreed to pay all the money up front, although Liverpool have since returned with a cash + 2 player offer, however with Martin Jol’s impending arrival at Fulham, West Ham could also be set to sign Miralem Sulejmani. Should Jol move on to pastures new [Update: He turned down Fulham], it is believed West Ham will look to revive the season long loan deal for Sulejmani which, should all go well, will mean the Hammers will have no less the 7 first team strikers in the ranks. There are also reports that West Ham have agreed a £5million fee for Argentine youngster Milton Caraglio, and he is just waiting for a work permit which would make 8 strikers! For a change, Upton Park could be treated to goals galore, attacking flair, and free flowing football – something us fans have all be crying out for since the departure of Yossi. Obviously no-one knows if all or even any of these transfers will come off but lets hope we can attract at least one or two of these strikers to the Boleyn Ground.

Rumours are still rife that Carlton Cole will be axed to make way for this new attacking line-up, with Stoke apparently about to offer £8million for the England International. To me, £8million is not enough for someone who, despite a lot of injuries last season, still managed 10 goals, add to the fact he is now capped by England and possibly will be a big player over the next couple of years should Capello be true to his word and really shake things up i think we should be looking for at least £10million. However, Gold and Sullivan will need to fund the transfers in some how, and it could well be that Cole is the sacrificial lamb.

It seems as though Parker is definitely set to stay after Sullivan confirmed nothing has changed and the midfielder is still not for sale. Perhaps you could read further into it and say maybe Sullivan is saying ‘tempt me into selling,’ but hopefully he stays true to his word and Parker is here come September 1^st.

For now, the West Ham management and board seem to be listening to the fans and addressing the issues we’ve all said needed solving for quite some time. Extra fire power, and decent and vastly experienced right back seem to be the next completed deals, although the Francois Clerc move has gone quiet after the reports yesterday. Hopefully now, they add a centre back and a decent back up goalkeeper to Rob Green and it looks like we could be set for a very exciting new era!

I have just ordered my XL new kit! If you place an order today you’ll get it in the post for 5 August – launch day. I love the collars.

Click HERE to order – and no, I’m not getting any commission!

I am aware that one swallow does not make a summer, but there does seem to be a definite lifting of the gloom that has long hung heavy over the club. 

Unlike last summer’s window, we do appear to be targeting and competing for players in the transfer market.  And if the signing of Loic Remy comes off it could prove quite a coup.  There is no doubt that the squad needed a transfusion of new blood; while the existing players seem to have adjusted well to Grant’s management style.  There was a slight concern that some members of the squad would retain a loyalty to Zola and Clarke and resent the new regime, but that does not appear to have occurred.

We fans never fully know 100% what is going on behind the scenes, but there is a positive vibe around the club.  Pre-season, so far, has been promising,  the Borussia MGB result being particularly impressive in the clinical nature of the performance.  Lets hope that they continue in that fashion.

As well as getting in new recruits, I am hopeful that the youngsters will respond to the new challenges at the club.   There are a number of prospects that need to step up their progress and increase the competition for first team places.  Their objective should be to set the type of team selection dilemmas that Grant will welcome.  We need a strong squad, with real competition for places in all positions, and they can certainly help provide that. 

Perhaps that was part of the problem last season, too many players were guaranteed starting places?  I hope that the whole squad come to realise that they must earn their places and perform consistently well or there will be another squad member pushing to displace them.  That internal competitive ethos is healthy and it is the way that all top clubs should operate. 

I anticipate that Carlton Cole will overcome his World Cup disappointment and start the season determined to get back in to the England reckoning.  Cole improved greatly under Zola, but there is still a lot more to come from him.  Whilst others such as Noble must conclusively prove that that they are, indeed, the players that we have long suspected them to be.

Most of the attention so far has been on the forward positions, but no doubt we will soon start to see movement in defence.   There are rumours that we may sign Clerc and no doubt other names will enter the frame.  A lot depends on Upson’s future and whether he will sign the contract extension still on the table.  The club need to try to resolve that issue, one way or the other, as soon as possible.  Whilst decisive decisions also needs to be taken on the future of the likes of Spector and Gabbidon.

I am not getting too carried away just yet, I have been a Hammer far too long not to realise that the club often flatter to deceive.  Last season it was was tough  following the team, although we all continued to do so in a typically Trojan fashion.  So, we would all warmly welcome a lifting of the gloom and the advent of an exciting and winning Hammers team to recharge our optimism and resurrect our belief .

There are many candidates for the role of arch-villain in the perilous recent journey that the club has undertaken.  However, there is only one big, collective victim, the long suffering Hammers supporters.  They are the best supporters in the land and they deserve some good times.  Lets hope that they are just around the corner?

In hope, but without expectation!   COYI.

SJ. Chandos.

I’d like to start a new series called MY UNSUNG HAMMER HERO. All you need to do is write up to 500 words about your favourite unsung and underrated West Ham player and why you admire him so much. A player will only feature once, and I’d like to encourage readers to write articles about players from the fifties and sixties as well as the modern era.

All you need to do is write up to 500 words and email me your article. I’ll do the rest. Assuming I get enough entries, I’ll post three or four each week.

OK, by (un)popular demand, here’s a quick poll designed to ask whether you want the thumbs up and thumbs down feature to remain…

Click HERE to vote

By Reece Bateman

West Ham have reportedly upped their offer for Nice striker Loic Remy to £13million in the hope this will head off rival teams. Co-Owner Sullivan has also reportedly offered to pay the majority up front to ensure that Nice accept his proposal over all others, another bonus is that Roy Hodgson is refusing to meet Nice’s asking price of £13million and with Arsenal and Tottenham yet to make an official approach, The Hammers appear in the driving seat. The only problem with this being that, with another striker targeted, and no official word on the chase of Milton Caraglio yet, could a first team striker be heading for the Upton Park exit?

Another target of the last few weeks that has seemingly now disappeared off the West Ham radar is Asamoah Gyan. The Ghanaian had a cracking World Cup, and West Ham seemed to show a genuine interest at first, but since the beginning of July, no more has been said on the forward personally, i would prefer to see Gyan come in over Remy, however the West Ham board and management obviously feel Remy is the better option, the only concerns I have, is it worth paying £13million for a striker who see’s West Ham as his last option?

Unfortunately, its all too quiet on the transfer front at the moment after the arrivals of Piquionne and Barrera. The only other move expected to be near to completion is Tal Ben Haim’s switch from Pompey and, contrary to reports from the Jewish Chronicle last night, he didn’t fail his Upton Park medical – he excelled apparently, but he is yet to agree personal terms with the club.

As a little aside, my name is Reece Bateman and i come from sunny Southend in Essex. Iain was looking for someone who was able to add daily transfer updates to the site and I offered my services and he accepted, which i am very grateful for. I will hopefully be posting up the headlines each morning and if any serious transfer goings-on occur during the day, I will update in the evening as well. So thanks to Iain and Chandos for giving me this opportunity and thanks to you guys for reading. Let’s hope West Ham do manage to pull off a few more signings before the closure of the transfer window in 41 days.

AFTERNOON UPDATE

Things seem to have gotten a lot busier as the day has progressed and many reports are circulating that West Ham are close to tying up a deal for France international defender Francois Clerc. The 27 year old is available on a free transfer after leaving Lyon and West Ham are thought to be top of the pile to sign the player. Its a wise move in my eyes, as good as Faubert was, he isn’t a natural right back and Clerc has lots of experience both domestically and internationally and this could be an ideal signing for the Hammers. Could this be the end of Faubert though? With a new right back in place and the midfield looking full, could this be one of the first team players Avram is willing to sacrifice?

The chase for Loic Remy could also be over as far as West Ham are concerned as reports today suggest The Hammers are close to completing a deal for Argentine forward Milton Caraglio. .html obviously its not certain that West Ham will pull out of the running for Remy, but do The Hammers need both Remy and Caraglio? They already have Piquionne, Cole, Sears, Hines and McCarthy jostling for the striker roles, so if both Remy and Caraglio are to sign, could this see someone leave. Of all those listed, surely Cole looks the one most likely to generate top funds, but he is already performing well in pre-season. Most Hammers fans would love to see McCarthy sacrificed but no-one is surely stupid enough to buy him from us after how he looked at the tail end of last season.

Another striker who was apparently set to complete a move to West Ham until his manager blocked the move was Ajax forward Miralem Sulejmani. The move would have only been a year long loan deal, but Sulejmani was at one pointed rated as one of the top young attacking prospects in world football and he may have had enough flair to make West Ham an exciting team to watch again. Whether or not this deal can be resurrected is unsure, but that again would increase the front line even more, almost certainly paving the way for at least one forward to leave the club. For now though, this one looks dead, and it seems Avram and the board have their sights set on Remy and/or Caraglio.

Will Remy join West Ham or not?  How serious is the alleged competition from Spurs and Liverpool?   Is there an emerging interest in the player from Arsenal and will that be decisive in him ending up at the Emirates? 

It would appear that West Ham have agreed 95% of the deal with Nice, but the sticking point remains the scheduling of the transfer payments.  It has been alleged that Nice have some debt problems and they need a greater % of cash up front to enable to to address these.  That would certainly explain Nice’s negotiating position.

I am aware of Reny’s reputation second hand.  He may well be the next Henry, his goal to game ration last season was certainly good.  In Cole, Nouble, Piquionne and (to a lesser extent) McCarthy we have a broadly similarly type of player.   Strong players that can lead the line well and chip in with their share of goals.  What we are missing is a pacy, penalty box,  goal poacher to play off them.  We have youngsters in Hines and Sears that could potentially play that role, but both players, in different ways, have still to prove themselves.  So bringing in Remy could prove to be an excellent move.

At the end of the day, whether we fans want the player or not, he is obviously highly rated by the Hammers management.   So, if they want him, they should back their judgement and make the deal happen.  One gets rather weary of the club being continually linked with players, only for the deals to fail to materialise.  

On thing is certain, if Remy joins Arsenal or Liverpool and proves a major success, there will be bitter recriminations amongst our fans that we failed to land the player when the club were clearly in pole position.   Regrets, are to be avoided as much in football as in life, in general, so make the deal happen!  Who knows, it could be a season defining signing, a bit like Frankie McAvennie in 1985-86!

Ok, not likely I know, but I can dream can I not!!!!   And if we do miss Remy, how about gazumping the deal for Eduardo!  He has to be worth a punt at c.£5m and Upton Park must be preferable to the prospects of playing football in the depths of a Ukrainian winter?  Failing that, we could rectify the mistake of failing to sign Tuncay from Middlesboro and rescue him from his current footballing exile at Stoke City!  Any alternative suggestions for pacy striker transfer targets?

SJ. Chandos.

Yesterday I put up a post by Reece Bateman, which seems to have caused a right old ruckus about who he is. Well, I’ll let him introduce himself later this morning but he is going to provide a daily post about latest transfer rumours. It’s always good to introduce something new onto a blog like this and for some time I have thought it would be good to have a new blogpost up before 9am every day which people could then use to chew the fat about latest West Ham news. Neither I nor SJ Chandos can commit to this because of our work, but Reece can. We’ll see how it works, but nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh? I and SJ Chandos will continue to post as we normally do, so nothing will change there, but you, the reader, will hopefully gain something from this. I hope you will all give Reece a warm welcome to the team.

I have noticed that comments have disappeared from some of the recent threads. I have no idea why this is and can only imagine it’s a software issue with Intense Debate. If it continues I will contact them to try to resolve it.

Oh, and while I am at it, from next Monday I will be presenting the evening show for a month (7-10pm) on LBC 97.3 every weekday. Hopefully some of you may phone in to keep me company!