Being a West Ham fan is never dull, innit ? Another win, this time a very credible away success at Middlesbrough, plenty of rumours as could be expected of course during this time of the season and yes, the yellow-bellied toad from Reunion, is still officially a West Ham player. We have signed two new players (Fonte and Holland), will lose at least one in the coming days (Calleri), there will be more transfer rumours during the week and later today the BBC will broadcast another little nugget about the Olympic Stadium on the telly, about taxpayers’ money being wasted and no doubt the BBC (funded by the taxpayer too of course) will be pointing fingers at West Ham as the main culprit yet again.
But let’s try and keep things somewhat organised: Quick Concordia update, my lads won another winter break friendly on Saturday afternoon (Our Kevin scored again) which I obviously couldn’t attend because I wanted to watch our game as it happened, screwdriver in hand, cup of tea and a biscuit sitting ready on the living-room table. And what a thrilling game to watch it was, end to end stuff and finally a game where we created numerous chances while playing some nice free-flowing, counter-attacking football.
Just like in the Palace game it was a proper team performance and nice to see. Carroll looks fitter and hungrier than ever – and when he does he seems like he can’t and won’t stop scoring, but forever hovering above is his tendency to suffer yet another knock or even lengthy injury layoff. All we can do is keep our fingers crossed that he can find a way, in tandem with the West Ham physios and medical team, to keep himself sharp and healthy. His playing style however is so refreshingly passionate and all guns blazing that injuries will always be part of the Carroll package I reckon.
It’d be unfair to just single out Carroll here, the entire team did their bit to get the three points, but one has to say our bench looked incredibly thin/young again.
Yes, Calleri came on, had a decent cameo appearance and even scored his first goal for the Hammers (I’m sure he will claim it despite the deflection taking the ball into the opposite corner), but it looks like the first may also be his last as rumour has it he will fly to Las Palmas and join them on yet another loan deal after all.
Which, coupled with Carroll’s tendency to get injured, Sakho’s current injury absence and Browne being out on loan, means we do need a signing or two upfront.
After lengthy contract negotiations with Brentford it seemed like we had a deal agreed for Scott Hogan, but apparently West Ham or rather Bilic weren’t sure about him, being concerned about his previous knee injuries, and it now looks like Watford might have stepped in, offering a better deal and more money upfront.
Then again it could all be smokes and mirrors, bluff and counterbluff, it is that time of year again after all.
Defoe may or may not come, I’m sure we are still waiting and hoping he will submit a transfer request, but I wouldn’t want to bet my house on a deal happening, Defoe remains Sunderland’s only hope to preserve their top-flight status this season. So we do need a striker and maybe our club are following up different options as we speak, probably even working on a quick, behind the scenes deal like we did with Jose Fonte.
That came a bit out of the claret and blue and it was done, apparently, in a fashion I find exemplary. Due to Ogbonna needing season ending surgery to repair his knee (hats off to Angelo, he played through the pain barrier all season, obviously suffering in his performances as a byproduct of carrying that injury, but still played on regardless because we needed him, now, THAT is professionalism and sacrifice, talk about taking one for the team! Take notice, Monsieur Payet!) we identified Fonte and signed him for a few million less surely, due to keeping the Ogbonna injury secret enough not to impact contract negotiations.
We now have another very solid, experienced CB who may be just the ideal partner for Reid. I’m confident Fonte has still another two or three good seasons at the top level in him and don’t underestimate the fact he used to be Southampton’s skipper too. It can’t hurt to have a seasoned veteran like him in the side, not just for his footballing skills and reading of the game on the pitch, but also his ability to teach and lead the youngsters off it. A great signing at a reasonable price.
Talking of which I know it is unwise to get sucked into all those transfer rumours in the January window, with social media spreading rumours about bids submitted, rejected, re-submitted and so forth. It seems to be the modus operandi of our owners though to do what we all seem to criticise Marseille for in their pursuit of Dimitri Payet, insulting a selling club with lowball offers that in no way reflect the quality and skill level of the player in question.
I know I tend to be naive in many ways, however, I still think there is long-term merit in submitting realistic bids in the transfer market, showing respect and appreciation for the player and the selling club alike. I am not talking about throwing money away left, right and center or hopelessly overpaying on average players. But don’t insult the other party in a potential deal by making offers that are so far off the mark that you are essentially just wasting everyone’s time. As a side effect you may also cheese the player off if you merely offer a pittance to sign him as that would suggest you don’t really rate the player that much anyway.
Which brings me to Payet. Apparently various sources are claiming other clubs in France have woken up to Payet’s availability, Nice may be interested in an initial loan while PSG have apparently also put their nose in now. Which can only be good in terms of finally establishing a proper market for the player, if only to drive the price up to a more realistic level for Marseille who seem to remain Payet’s favourite option. It would be nice to see Payet accept a bit of a compromise solution here and go to any other club in France apart from Marseille as that would make sure that West Ham get a fair transfer fee for him – I think it is what our club very much deserve for helping massively to make him the player he is today.
We’ll see how things develop further in this matter. Where then do West Ham go from here, after two wins on the trot for the rest of the season ? Well, I shall make some not very bold predictions here.
a) We will not get relegated.
b) We will not qualify for European competition.
c) Andy Carroll will miss more games through injury this season.
d) We will finish the season with a positive goal difference.
Looking at those predictions one might argue we don’t need to make any more signings in January at all
(I think we have just signed one for the future in England U19 midfielder Nathan Holland, an attacking midfielder from the Everton Academy). But I would warn against that approach. Surely we need to try to finish the season in a positive fashion, on a high, and climb the table as much as possible. For our summer transfer negotiations we need to ride the crest of a wave of confidence. And we need to spend.
We have seen this season that just being a Premier League team in London, playing in a massive stadium alone doesn’t attract top players. It also doesn’t make top players want to stay. The simple truth is, you need money, and a lot of it, to attract top players, especially if you cannot offer Europa League or CL football.
So that means that eventually our board will need to spend some serious money if they are indeed serious about taking West Ham to the next level.
I wasn’t unhappy with the previous level to be honest, happy with the occasional decent cup run at the Boleyn, surviving most seasons in midtable obscurity while sometimes having an extraordinary one. But our owners, for better or worse, decided to go ahead with the stadium move. That now means that the previous level will no longer do, we need to aim higher and show ambition. And like it or not, we will only be taken seriously if we are prepared to invest in the club and the team.
Are our owners prepared to do that ? Or are we just happy enough to bumble along and avoid relegation while waiting for the filthy rich investor in shining armour, riding into Stratford on his Arabian (or Qatari) steed and make an offer to the Davids they simply cannot refuse ? I suppose our upcoming transfer dealings will give us a bit of an indication in that respect.
What do West Ham fans want, after the stadium move? I cannot and will not speak for everybody, I can only tell you what I want. For me the team is everything, playing positive attacking football, running, fighting, tackling for each other. I am not sure if we will ever be a club, stockpiling £40 million players like Chelsea, Man United or Arsenal.
Maybe that just isn’t in our DNA. I like the way Bilic acts, works and conducts himself. I want him to be a permanent fixture at West Ham.
And I want him to sign the right kind of player in future, one who will give his all for the greater good of the team, who will be happy to improve the play of their teammates and make them look good on the pitch too instead of just aiming to improve his own stats. Proper team players, ideally ones who will gladly settle at our club and be happy enough to play the best football of their careers at West Ham, rather than just seeing us as a convenient stepping stone for a move to another club where the grass may be even greener than the one covering the pitch at London Stadium.
Oh, and let’s see what that upcoming investigation by Mayor Khan will bring to light. Things at the stadium surely haven’t gone according to plan so far, neither for West Ham nor for the taxpayer. Will an ultimate sale to West Ham be the best option financially ? Will that even be feasible ? And at what stage will West Ham fans be able to call the new place home ? There are easier questions to muse about on a Monday I presume, but at least things have picked up at our club again. Which makes everything else a bit easier as well. At least for this German Mockney…:-)
COYI!