Here We Go Again – Season 67 as a West Ham Fan begins with a 5.30 kick off on Saturday for the visit of Aston Villa

It all began for me on Saturday 23rd August 1958. 1958-59 was the first football season I remember. West Ham had just been promoted from the second division and I believe this was the first time back in the top-flight since the 1930s. After 6 games we were on top with a win and a draw against the champions from the previous season Wolves and a win against runners up Manchester United. It was a successful campaign finishing sixth, a feat we have only bettered twice since.

This season will be my 67th as a fan and I’m looking forward just as much as ever to see what it will bring. We were warned to be careful what we wished for but I am hoping for a more enterprising brand of football than that we have witnessed in the last couple of years. The appointment of a head coach who had been in charge at Seville, Real Madrid and the Spanish national team was not especially welcomed by many but I am happy to wait and see. I hope that he can deliver a more progressive style of football than his predecessor. I read some statistics (which I have not verified) which suggested that Moyes has a better goals scored per game record than Lopetegui, but concedes more goals per game on average than our new Spanish boss. Whatever, it was time for something different.

The recruitment in the close season after a sluggish start has picked up in the past couple of weeks (with eight new recruits at the time of writing and perhaps one or two more to come if some existing players can be moved on) and on paper it would appear we have a much better, bigger, (younger? I’m not sure) and more balanced squad than the previous manager had left. Tim Steidten would seem to have done a superb job bringing in the likes of the Championship player of last season, an Argentinian World Cup winner, a current German international centre forward, a highly rated French international centre back, and the head coach’s number 1 pick from Wolves into the squad. Guilherme has also arrived from Brazil with a big reputation (and price tag considering his experience) but he would appear to be one for the future, we shall see.

All the new recruits have joined us without the prospect of European competition this season. The lack of the Thursday / Sunday fixtures should however be an advantage in one respect though given the reduced number of games to play – our record in Sunday games (partly due I suspect due to the small size of the squad) was poor last time. Ten Thursday games in Europe were followed by just two wins on the following Sunday. Perhaps with a fresher and bigger squad we can have a better tilt at the domestic cup competitions than of late.  

Of course, this is on paper (and as Brian Clough and others have said the game is not played on paper). It remains to be seen how quickly the new boss can integrate the players into a cohesive unit. Many fans writing on social media are perhaps going a little overboard expecting a challenge for Champions League places but I believe that this may be a little premature. It would be great of course but it is likely to take time for the team to produce consistent results with so many new faces at once.

I am especially excited by Summerville who looked superb when I watched Leeds games on TV last season. He should hopefully provide the balance on the left that has been missing. With Bowen on the right and Kudus perhaps in a central ‘number 10’ role behind a goalscoring centre forward then our attacking threat should be potent and balanced. We have a number of alternatives in midfield – let’s hope that Paqueta can show his skills and best form alongside whoever plays there, probably Rodriguez to begin with while Alvarez is out. Unlike many fans (it would appear) I am a fan of JWP but he is likely to struggle to make the starting eleven such is the depth of the squad in the middle. For the times he does get onto the pitch I hope he rediscovers his free kick shots on goal speciality.

The central defence looks more solid than before with Kilman and the highly rated Todibo, and Wan-Bissaka should hopefully be an upgrade on Coufal, certainly in a defensive sense where he is highly regarded especially in one-on-one situations facing attacking wingers. Hopefully as a result we can improve considerably on our poor goals conceded record – the worst in the Premier League after the three relegated clubs. 74 was the biggest number we have ever conceded in the Premier League and the most ever since 1966-67! I’ve seen last season’s defence described as Swiss cheese – very apt.

The club were hoping that Zouma, last season’s strange choice as captain, could be offloaded to Saudi Arabia saving around £7million in wages. His legs seemed to have gone some time ago and it was no surprise when he ironically failed the CAT scan!  

The squad as a whole should give us a much stronger bench than Moyes’ thin numbers could ever achieve, and I wondered if any of the promising youngsters would find their way into it. There were high hopes for three or four of them to do so, but with the strength in depth that we are likely to have it seems that there may be loans to lower league clubs to ensure that they gain experience that they would not have if they stayed this season.

In his relatively short time at the club the new head coach has completely managed to revamp the team from front to back with just days to spare before the new campaign gets underway. A big improvement on previous campaigns where late arrivals in the transfer window after the season had already begun was the order of the day. Nevertheless not a lot of time for the players to gel as a team and it may take a while before we see the best of the new recruits.

Where will we finish? Last season we were ninth so with the changes and investment we’ve got to hope for an improvement. Seventh or eighth perhaps or even better pushing for a place in Europe the following season. And wouldn’t it be great to have long runs in both the League and FA Cups with perhaps a trip to Wembley in one or the other (or both!)?

The season may well turn out to be a transitional one but I’m hoping for visible progress, a desire to retain the ball and not give it away so cheaply, and football that is better to watch than it has been for the past couple of years. I fear that if it takes too long for the team to adapt to Lopetegui’s methods then the fans will get restless. We’ve got to be patient and allow some time for it all to come together.

Aston Villa, newly qualified for the Champions League, will be a stiff test for the first game. We’ve already had one Duran score against us this season (for Celta Vigo), let’s hope that Villa’s Colombian Duran doesn’t do the same on Saturday after all the early transfer window shenanigans! Some fans have complained about our pre-season performances and results but I seem to recall that we had a poor lead into the 1985-86 season where we achieved our best ever finish. Conversely in the Avram Grant year the pre-season went quite well. It’s not always a good indicator of what is to follow, especially this year with the late returners from international football and also the late transfer incomings. Aston Villa have also lost a number of games pre-season too by the way.

So here we go again. My prediction for the starting line-up: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Kilman, Todibo, Emerson; Rodriguez, Paqueta: Bowen, Kudus, Summerville: Fullkrug. That would mean just five of last year’s regulars added to six newcomers.

That leaves a bench to be chosen from the following: Fabianski, Coufal, Aguerd, Mavropanos, Cresswell, Irving, Soucek, JWP, Guilherme, Ings, Antonio, Cornet plus any of our promising youngsters who haven’t been loaned out. Hopefully I haven’t forgotten anyone. I’m not used to a full squad!

The new head coach may have other ideas, but whatever team is selected I’m excited and looking forward to season 67 as much as my first back in 1958. Who knows what we have in store? I’ll start this year’s score forecasts with a 2-1 win.

West Ham Season 2024/25: Hopes, Dreams and Expectations

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. But in the wake of the big kick-off will it be the hap-happiest season of all for the Hammers?

The numbers are in, the deals are done, and the collection of new home, away and 3rd kits have been revealed. Now it’s time to get down to the nitty gritty business of the 2024/25 curtain raiser.

It will be a team of virtual strangers who take the field for West Ham at the London Stadium late on Saturday afternoon and then into the opening games of the new campaign. At best the coach’s preferred starting eleven will comprise only five or six survivors from last year’s ever presents. It is an unprecedented level of change usually only seen when a newly promoted club is desperately seeking to consolidate its place in the top flight. The extent of renewal that was necessary in the squad is a sad indictment of the mess left by the previous managerial incumbent. I still have to scratch my head when I read comments as to how he left the club in a good position, was underappreciated, or will be sorely missed. I trust I never have to witness a West Ham low block ever again.

On paper, the work done by Julen Lopetegui and Tim Steidten to refresh the squad on a tightish budget – without little in the way of saleable assets – looks impressive. How that translates onto the pitch will only become apparent over time. Once the players have become familiar with each other and the new style of play. A possession based game not only requires players to be comfortable on the ball but also needs far more movement off the ball than we have been used to. Attempting to play out from the back without at least a couple of passing options would be courting disaster.

The modern football supporter needs to understand finance and the intricacies of PSR and FFP as much as getting to grips with formations and tactics. While the media focuses mainly on transfer spend, the impact of player salaries cannot be overlooked. As an example, the recent transfer of Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been reported as £15 million (amortised at £3 million per annum over 5 years) while his earnings might well be in the range of £3.5 to £4 million (my estimate) for each of the seven years of his contract. Quite a commitment.

Views on the West Ham board are rarely positive but it is difficult not to be impressed by the sumer investment. And this time the spending looks to have been undertaken in a reasoned manner. In the past money has been spent, but unwisely. The current estimate of the club’s net transfer spend this window is £85.1 million. So what do we now have for the money?

The assumption is that Alphonse Areola will retain the keeper’s gloves with Lukasz Fabianski as deputy. Poor old Wes Foderingham will become the forgotten man of the transfer window like leftover Toffee Pennys in the Quality Street box at the end of the Christmas holidays. If there is a concern with the keepers, it is how well they can adapt to the passing out game having become so used to hoofing it long during their West Ham careers. Neither look the most comfortable with the ball at their feet.

With the exception of Emerson it will an all new back line. New recruits Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo making up the defensive quartet. The two full backs offer very different styles of play and it will be interesting to see how they are integrated into the Lopetegui’s system. We may well witness a great deal more fluidity in formation than in the past with Wan-Bissaka dropping into the centre a lot more often than he is bombing down the flanks. Todibo is an exciting prospect who will hopefully adjust quickly to the physical demands of the Premier League. There has already been a little negativity over Kilman (and the price paid for him) on the strength of a few kick-about friendlies but it is obviously far too early to draw any conclusions.

Backup defenders are in short supply. Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Cresswell can provide emergency cover as full backs but the situation in the centre is more confused. Both Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd are being ushered towards the exits while Dinos Mavropanos has proven accident prone inmost of the games he has played. If one or more are shifted, then there is still time to bring in another centre-back. Of those still being linked I like the sound of Nathan Zeze. Who wouldn’t want to nip down to the club shop to buy a Zeze top?

From what we have seen in pre-season, West Ham will be adopting a high defensive line. This will requires pace and alertness to deal with the ball over the top. In this respect, the Kilman – Todibo partnership will be key to plugging the leaks in the Hammer’s defence.

Defensive midfield duties will fall primarily to Edson Alvarez and Guido Rodriguez although we don’t yet know whether Lopetegui sees them playing as a pair of as cover for each other’s suspensions. At least one must remain deep to provide numerical support to the centre backs. I expect plenty of variation in the midfield while, in practice, most progressive sides now attack and defend as a team rather than being setup in rigid formations. Maybe Lucas Paqueta will also be deployed deeper in certain games where circumstances dictate.

Remaining candidates for defensive midfield duties are Tomas Soucek, James Ward-Prowse and potentially Andy Irving – provided they survive the transfer window cull. None have the look of regular starters to me but can make valuable contributions from the bench.

Attacking midfield provides the greatest selection conundrum with Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and “Jimmy” Summerville competing for three starting berths – with Luis Guilherme waiting in the wings to get Premier League minutes under his belt. Finding the right balance will be a challenge, especially in getting the best out of Kudus who (until now) has looked at his least effective when deployed on the left. But it would be a huge call to play him in place of Bowen or Paqueta on the right or in the centre resepctively.

This leaves finding a way to accommodate Summerville who is the one player capable of thriving out left while also contributing a decent goal return. It’s great to have option as long as the coach is able to keep everybody happy.

The signing of Niclas Füllkrug is the one that has most divided opinion among supporters, largely based on an apparent lack of pace. If the most pessimistic reports are to be believed he ranks somewhere between a snail and a glacier in speed of movement. He may not be a glamourous squad addition, but Lopetegui and Steidten clearly favoured experience over the potential of unproven alternatives. Hopefully attributes of strength, anticipation and instinct will see him make a valuable contribution in an exciting attacking line-up. It’s not only about pace!

There are outstanding decisions to be made on the futures of Michail Antonio and Danny Ings. One is likely to leave before the window closes. For me, Antonio still has something different to offer if he is happy to stick around in the role of impact sub. Ideally, I would still like to see an additional (younger) striker brought in as backup using any additional funds freed up by shipping out fringe players.

Hopes for the season are for West Ham to be in with a shout for the European places come the end of the season. A cup run would also be nice.  So much will depend on how long the new look team and tactics take to hit the ground. Offensively we should be capable of causing any opponent problems but cutting out the mistakes and the giveaways further back may take more time to eradicate. I can foresee plenty of gnashing of teeth in the opening weeks where a keeper mis-controls or a defender earns the assist for an opposition goal.

Overall, I am excited for the new season. Then again, the opening day is always the time of peak optimism. Typically, the optimism doesn’t survive past August Bank Holiday but who knows? This could be the start of something big.  COYI!

West Ham Monday Briefing: “Florida Threes”, “Disconnecting Flights” and the “Shape of Things To Come”

As the countdown to the season opener continues, West Ham transfer frenzy steps up to new levels while friendly displays fail to impress

As the unofficial curator of the West Ham transfer links list, it is my duty to wade through the daily slurry of stories on the news feeds to keep up to date with the latest rumours. For the record, the list of targets has now risen to an impressive 140, of which just four have turned into confirmed deals.

The latest trend for any aspiring rumour site wishing to stand out from the crowd of recycled news is to include an apparent quote at the beginning of your headline. Not an honest “We haven’t got a clue what’s going on, mate” or ‘Your guess is as good as mine” but a more teasing “Have been told” or “Deal on the cards” tag – the written equivalent of tapping ones nose to suggests a level of reliable insider knowledge.

One of the more intriguing snippets of in-he-know-ness this week was hidden among Friday’s news where it was claimed Inter Milan were ‘plotting a Saturday phone call’ with a view to hijack West Ham’s bid for Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Surely that’s the sort of information that only comes to light through undercover surveillance.

There is a tipping point in transfer pursuits when you start to get the feeling that this deal is just not going to happen. The Wan-Bissaka story is getting very close to that. Chances of a signing are following the same trajectory previoulsy seen with Jhon Duran. Time to look elsewhere, I think, for an upgrade to the rapidly diminishing powers of Vladimir Coufal.

There has of course been a signficant further signing in the last seven days with the recruitment of Crysencio Summerville from Leeds United. It represents an exciting addition to the squad and has led to plenty of speculation as to how and where the coach will deploy him alongside Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, Lucas Paqueta and the promised new striker. It’s a lineup that suggests rapid and direct attacks rather than the composed possession and patient build up that Julen Lopetegui is known for.

Expectations are also high for the imminent signings of striker Niclas Füllkrug from Borussia Dortmund and free agent defensive midfielder Guido Rodríguez, formerly of Real Betis. Should those come to fruition the remaining top priorities will be at right back and centre back where the squad is highly exposed. Strengthening the defensive midfield areas may help stem the tide but last season’s leaky defence continues to have significant gaps to plug throigh an injection of speed, strength, mobility and awareness. Although the desire to find ball-playing defenders is understandable, their core competency must still be the art of defending.

When the Füllkrug story broke last week, it was reported that Tim Steidten was immediately flying from Florida to Germany to agree terms with club and player. While at the same time, Füllkrug was said to be boarding a charted jet taking him from Germany to London. No wonder these deals take such a long time to complete!

The prospect of a sizeable fee being paid for a 31-year-old striker has been met with a degree of negativity online. While someone younger may have been ideal, Füllkrug looks s less risky bet to me than the unproven Duran. The downside, of course, it the absence of a resale value at the end of his contract. But if Füllkrug can reproduce his Dortmund form both with his goals and by acting as a foil for the exciting talent behind him, he could turn out to be an inspired choice.

Should Füllkrug join Summerville at the London Stadium it would be a rare venture by West Ham into signing northern European players. Previous experiences with Dutch (Jeroen Boere, Marco Boogers, Raymond Atteveld) and German (Thilo Kehrer, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Savio Nsereko) players have never managed to reach the heights. Better luck this time, perhaps!

The Hammers ended their Florida pre-season schedule with a second successive 3-1 defeat, this time to Crystal Palace, who are fast becoming something of a bogey side. The value of participating in pre-season tournaments such as these has to be questionable. What is the point and what can be learned from them? The West Ham starting eleven contained just three players certain to be lining up against Aston Villa in just under two weeks’ time.

From what we saw it is hard to disagree with Lopetegui’s assessment that there is a lot of work still to do. That would apply equally if all the first-choice players had been available. Those returning from international duty have yet to feature in any pre-season fixtures, while others likely to start on August 17 have yet to sign for the club. Modern football has become increasingly structured with team shape and individual positions – both in and out of possession – repeatedly drilled into players over time. This is going to take more than a couple of extra weeks to get right. And there are sure to be a collection of howlers and calamities as the players get to grips with the idea of playing out from the back.

We don’t yet know exactly how Lopetegui plans to set up his side. Conventional wisdom has been that he prefers rampaging full-backs to provide width and pump in crosses. But the full-backs he has are not really equipped for that role. Such a tactic would also impact the way that Bowen and Summerville prefer to play. I’m sure the coach has a plan though and it will be intriguing to witness how it plays out.

The season approaches with a mix of excitement and nervousness. I genuinely feel the club is slowly going in the right direction but it may take a dozen games or so of the new campaign to get up to speed.

West Ham Monday Briefing: Gathering Storm Clouds, Rummage Sales and Working Around The Clock

The early enthusiasm generated by the promise of a new coach and recruitment philosophy has lost a little of its shine after encountering reality. Time to get reinforcements through the door quickly.

Find a safe space, relax, breathe deeply and repeat the following mantra until convinced: “they are only friendlies, results don’t matter; the window is still open for another month yet; most of the transfer links to Premier League deadbeats exist only in the figment of a rumour sites imagination.”

Today’s average pre-season friendly is a very different beast to what I remember from my youth. Any top tier club worth its salt feels now feel obliged to play exhibition games against Premier League opposition in the farthest flung locations imaginable – even if it means playing games during hurricane season. In the past it was a case of warming up with a kickabout in the less exotic surroundings of Southend or Gillingham.

And there is no more ‘entrance by matchday programme only’ which you can buy for a couple of bob. Now you you need to buy a package to stream online while staying up all night waiting for a storm to pass in a far-off time zone.

I think we can all agree with Julen Lopetegui’s assessment following the defeat by Wolves that there is ‘work to be done.’ Something that applies to activities both on and off the pitch. I doubt much has been learned that we didn’t already know. Even the casual observer would have been aware that players such as Tomas Soucek and Kurt Zouma have no place in a system based upon maintaining possession. Soucek seems like a smashing fellow but clearly suffers from an unreliable data connection between brain and feet. By the time information is received, someone else has the ball. And Zouma’s injury woes have left him with the mobility of a Thunderbird’s puppet and a turning circle that the average family car would be within a whisker of beating. Sad, but he is no longer up to Premier League standard.

It’s always good to see a few youth team players get a run-out in these games but it is only any use if they are gradually introduced to, and used in, competitive matchday squads. Too often, academy players have looked promising pre-season cameos and then are never seen again. Freddie Potts has impressed and would hope to see him along with George Erathy and Lewis Orford getting Premier League minutes.

Nothing seen so far suggests that Luis Guilherme is anything other than one for the future. A player who needs plenty of time to adapt to life in England before demonstrating his wonderkid status. The ‘wonder’ prefix is wildly overused in modern football reporting whether it is wonderkids or wonder goals. The latter is routinely applied to the most mundane of strikes if they are outside of the box. If Diana Prince had the ability to parallel park or explain the offside rule it would be impressive, but far more would have been needed to merit the title of Wonder Woman.

The off-field priority is for the transfer department to pull its collective finger out without any further delay. Less than three weeks to the season opener and there is little to show from all the talks, advanced talks, and locked in talks that we have been told about. As a fan we don’t have to worry ourselves with the details of transfers budgets, payment schedules, fair play rules, and agent fees but it is difficult not to be disillusioned with the overall lack of progress. And although we have no way of knowing which (if any) of the rumours are true, many of them are truly underwhelming in nature.  

What had promised to be a summer of surgically smart spending – unearthing the world’s best emerging talent – has turned into the equivalent of a man desparately hoping to buy his wife a birthday present after arriving late at a rummage sale. Underneath a box of china poodles, a 1976 Black Beauty annual, and a box set of ‘Confessions Of’ DVDs, all he will find is Tammy Abraham, Armando Broja and assorted debris thrown out by Arsenal and Chelsea. It’s not what I was expecting.

The squad is still short in a host of critical positions – striker, centre back, right back and defensive midfield being the greatest areas of need in my opinion. But how far can the budget stretch with the types of fees and wages being mentioned to plug those gaps? Much media attention has also focused on a left sided attacking midfield but I’m not personally convinced it’s a top priority in a side wanting to incorporate Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paqueta into its line-up, and with Guilherme as backup. The striker search, as ever, is the transfer hot potato at West Ham. The Jhon Duran situation feels like one of those pursuits that will enter folklore as a long running saga of wasted time and effort. And anyway, with no viable striker alternative at the club it would be a huge risk to put all your trust in an unproven 20-year-old.

The list of targets I have recorded overthe window now extends to 129 names (click to see the entire list). The latest additions have been mostly new defenders after the club failed to agree deals with previous targets. The assumption is that the financial side of transfers is still overseen by David Sullivan and other Board members rather than Tim Steidten. It isthe rock that many deals flounder on.

It would be premature to predict the storm clouds might be gathering at the London Stadium but one can sense a few distant rumbles. The objective of having a new squad assembled in time for pre-season has failed. The ‘work to be done’ is likely to extend well into the opening weeks of the season and a slow start will make hopes of aiming for European qualification all the more difficult. The danger is that the apparent setbacks experienced with bringing players in (and shifting out those who are surplus to requirements) will compromise the strategy for smart recruitment and the mistakes of previous windows will be repeated.

I’m sure those involved are working around the clock to resolve matters – although sometimes it feels like the transfer team don’t work weekends – but positive recruitment news is needed fast if the slowly descending gloom is to be shifted. My hope is that moves are taking place behind the scenes to make just the sort of exciting signings we all crave.  

West Ham Monday Briefing: Window Pains, Ins and Outs, and Arsenal’s Overpriced Rejects

Time marches on and West Ham’s recruitment feels like it has fallen victim to the global tech outage. Time for the system to be rebooted if Lopetegui’s team are to hit the ground running.

The clock continues to tick. Minutes become hours, hours become days and the new Premier League season is less than four weeks away. Julen Lopetegui’s hope of having his new look squad in place and primed for action before the big kick-off is looking increasingly unrealistic. Two weeks have passed since the signing of Max Kilman and he remains the sole new recruit likely to be a regular starter when the season opens.

Last season’s threadbare squad has already seen the departure of a host of players: Thilo Kehrer, Said Benrahma, Pablo Fornals, Angelo Ogbonna, Flynn Downes and Ben Johnson. If the grapevine is to be believed, the club are also hoping to shift Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd before the transfer window closes. There’s much work to be done – signing five or six players – and very little time left to do it in. Past performance of getting deals over the line is not encouraging.

No doubt everyone would have wanted to have made more progress by now. The transfer objectives are not simply a case of finding a few remaining pieces to complete a jigsaw, but rather starting work on a whole new puzzle. The longer it takes to make the right signings, the less time there is available to finesse the new tactical approach. A task made more difficult by international absences and the degree of change the new coach is hoping to introduce.

I’m sure the lack of progress is not down to a lack of effort by Tim Steidten and Lopetegui. It is not in their interests to stretch matters out. A slow start to the season – which we might realistically have to accept now – will immediately put the new regime under pressure.    

To date, I have recorded 122 players that West Ham have been linked to. To maintain one’s sanity it is best to accept that most are the pure fabrications of a self-sustaining, clickbait, gossip and rumour network co-ordinated by evil transfer mastermind Fabrizio Romano. However, the names of the eventual signings are probably hidden somewhere within that lengthy list.

Hoping to get your recruitment done early but only paying bargain prices were always going to be incompatible ambitions. This is the most obvious stumbling block for most deals until the final days of the window are reached. It is understandable in the days of FFP and PSR that buying clubs are ever more mindful of managing their budgets, while it makes sense for selling clubs to hold out for a better deal. It is a system that encourages last minute deals.

The Hammers desperate need to recruit ‘match ready’ starters will also limit the ability of Steidten to demonstrate his pearl diving expertise. The German’s true value to the club will only be obvious when he can regularly unearth the talents of future, whether that is from South America or the Dutch or Belgian leagues. Unfortunately this window Steidten has, by necessity, been forced to fish in the waters of already established players for his catch. It is the opposite of what many expected.

West Ham now head off to the USA to play friendlies against Wolves and Crystal Palace before returning to play Celta Vigo, a week before the season starts, in the Betway Cup. Friendlies are far more high profile these days than in the past where they largely passed unnoticed. Often, they are glorified kick-abouts but still get TV coverage and websites offering player ratings. I’ve never noticed any correlation between pre-season results and what happens when the season gets going. Once again we have seen a number of youth players given a run out in the games against Ferencvaros and Dagenham & Redbridge. Usually they disappear for good after pre-seson but hopefully some of the current crop can make a valuable contribution once the season starts for real. George Earthy and Lewis Orford in particular look to be exceptional prospects.

Of all the gaps in the squad in the squad, it is the long running absurdity of West Ham’s efforts to sign a striker that garners most attention. Can they get it right this time around? Not if the answer is believed to be Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Callum Wilson or Eddie Nketiah they won’t. One of the most comical transfer stories of the window so far has been the suggestion that Nketiah is available for £50 million.  There is a fashion of linking failed bit-part Arsenal players to the London Stadium. Another trending in recent weeks has been Reiss Nelson, a player whose only claim to fame is scoring an added time winner against Bournemouth. Even on an Arsenal blog, the author doubted the move would be sensible or prove good value for the Hammers. Avoid!

My personal preference continues to be Ivan Toney who appears not to have the long line of suitors anticipated. He is the type of all-round striker who can both score goals as well as getting involved in build-up play. I could see him working well with Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus. Ideally, the club should have been signing a player like Toney while he was at Peterborough. Just as Brentford have signed Toney’s replacement, Igor Thiago, from the Belgian League side Club Brugge.  Maybe Jhon Duran from Aston Villa can develop into a superstar striker but  with no other realistic striker option in the squad – I am discounting any further involvement from Michail Antonio – it would represent a single point of failure and a huge risk.

If there is one decision to get right, it is finding the right striker.

West Ham Monday Briefing: Friendly Fire, Striker Search and South Americans

The summer internationals come to and end just as West Ham prepare for their very first friendly under the leadership of Julen Lopetegui. Meanwhile the Hammer’s search for a striker continues.

Ferencvaros Friendly Fire

The culmination of a marathon day of football saw the conclusion of both the Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024 finals. Spanish flair saw them run out deserved winners against a plucky but passive England, while Argentina’s greater depth earned extra time victory over an unlucky but exhausted Colombia. Now we are able to fully focus once again on the deluge of transfer chatter for the upcoming domestic football season.

It’s now less than five weeks to the big kick-off as clubs await the return of their international stars and jostle for position to bring new players in through the doors, and farm the old ones out. In what had been promoted as a busy transfer window at West Ham has yet to get out of second gear despite the huge overhaul needed to rebuild the squad. Now they prepare for tonight’s opening friendly against Ferencvaros in Austria.

The Hungarian champions are one of teams I recall from my youth competing in the European Cup. A time when it was a proper knock-out competition rather than the money-making circus it has become today. Along with the likes of Dukla Prague and Red Star Belgrade they featured regularly in repeated Subbuteo simulations.

Early season friendlies such as this are little more than a chance to stretch the legs, and will feature only a handful of next season’s first team squad. Potentially there will be a first glimpse of Max Kilman and Luis Guilherme in a Hammer’s shirt, plus an opportunity for several youth players to showcase their abilities. It may also provide clues on the future of Flynn Downes and whether he has a future at the club following his shameful shunning by the Scottish manager. In the scheme of things, Julen Lopetegui will be learning more about the character of the players on the training ground than in matches like these. Kick-off is at 3 pm BST.    

Transfer Chatter Update

It’s been another quiet week on the transfer rumour front with only six new names added to the West Ham target list. The list now totals 117 players and with rumour resources becoming stretched, speculation has resorted to stories that West Ham are rekindling interest in those named earlier in the window. There are many of them to go around. The major rekindling of the week has been Steven Bergwijn who is a big “No” from me, simply because of his past life in N17.

The noisiest rumours in the past seven days have surrounded Juventus centre back Federico Gatti – reported to be the target of a host of clubs – and the ongoing two-horse right back race between Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. If that is the extent of our choice, then I would take Wan-Bissaka every time for his far superior defensive attributes.

There was also a first sighting in this window of a player issuing a “come and get me” plea to the Hammers. In this case it is Jean-Clair Todibo of Nice who has a hankering for London’s east-end. The defining factor for who ends up as Kilman’s central defensive partner(s) will, no doubt, be determined by the ultimate size of the budget. After all, we have yet to see any movement for that most expensive and elusive of characters, the striker.

Ullo Jhon! Gotta A New Striker

The persistent striker link of the last few weeks has been Jhon Duran from Aston Villa. The Colombian is supposedly something of a hothead who is unhappy with living in the shadow of Harry Kane’s England deputy, Ollie Watkins.

Still only 20 years old, Duran is an exciting prospect but with limited top level experience. He was in the Colombian squad at Copa America but spent the entire tournament on the bench. It feels like a big risk to put all your trust in an untested striker although, thankfully, the people responsible for making decisions know far more than me. The same applies to David Datro Fofana from Chelsea who looked very sharp when playing on-loan for Burnley against the Hammers last March. Presumably he would be happier to play as second fiddle to a more experienced striker than Duran would. It seems everyone should have a Fofana in their squad these days – like it was trendy to have a Dembele a few years back, and a Cisse before that.

The Ivan Toney situation is one to keep an eye on as the number of potential suitors steadily fades away. In the last year of his contract, Brentford will be keen to cash in – especially as they signed Igor Thiago from Club Brugge as a replacement in January – but will be aware that only a small number of clubs will be able to come close to their valuation. With West Ham preferring initial low-ball offers, any deal has to be many weeks away. He would still be my first choice though.

The search for a striker promises to have and extended run up until the close of the window. Some of the names mentioned are exciting, others fill me with dread – nailed on inductees into the West Ham striker hall of shame. Please let it not be Kelechi Iheanacho.

Paqueta And Other South Americans

The future of Lucas Paqueta remains up in the air. And will stay there until uncertainty is lifted on the charges made against him by the English Football Association. This may yet take many months. I struggle to see any benefit for West Ham in sending him out on loan or selling him at a knock-down price to one of the clubs in his native homeland. The only logical conclusion is that he will be a part of Lopetegui’s squad for as long as it takes for the investigation to conclude.

The boys from Brazil were hugely disappointing in the Copa America. Surprising when there is so much focus on their young talent that their performances were so workmanlike. Paqueta was one of many in the Brazil side who struggled to impress as they increasingly resorted to long balls during their quarter final elimination by Uruguay. He looked a far cry from the player that Manchesetr City were allegedly prepared to pay £85 million for.

Elsewhere, in the tournament several of the Colombian players caught the eye. The other Jhon linked with a move to West Ham, Jhon Arias, was a regular starter throughout the competition. Not as reported a winger, but part of a midfield three. His game was more about working hard than flair and did not impress as a potential Premier League player.

The Colombian who did stand out for me was Richard Rios who currently plays in Brazil for Palmeiras. He is a central midfielder who looks good in transition, loves a dribble and possesses a goal threat.

Our old friend Enner Valencia (now 34 years old) was captaining Ecuador who were elimintaed on penalties to Argentina in the semi-final. Sent of in the first group game, he missed a penalty in normal time against Argentina in a game that Ecuador were very unfortunate to lose.

West Ham Monday Briefing: Value Added Max, Forward Thinking and Right Back Where We Started

Kilman signs as Lopetegui and Steidten present exciting ambitions for making a big noise at the London Stadium. Reasons to celebrate or proceed with caution?

Julen, Julen, Julen, Julen, please don’t sign him just because you can

With six weeks to go to the big kick-off, West Ham have finally signed a player likely to feature as a starter in the curtain raiser against Aston Villa on August 17. The announcement of Max Kilman’s arrival confirming that Jolen Lopetegui had secured his primary defensive target.

A change of leadership is often the catalyst for optimism and last week’s press conference by Lopetegui and Tim Steidten swept a breath of fresh air through the corridors and stairwells of the London Stadium. Listening to the pair speak produced a positive and energetic vibe that must surely permeate throughout the club over the coming months. If only West Ham had the technology which allowed us to hear the questions from the journalists as well as the answers.

Lopetegui’s statement that he intended to approach every game in the belief that his team can winn was especially encouraging. Supporters are well aware that it will not always come off but the approach is music to our ears after many seasons of insecurity and respecting the point. There is a real feeling that the playing side of the club id finally in good hands and with a sound structure. I am confident that having taken on board the wisdom of the pundits, that my wishes are now fully compliant with appropriate health and safety guidelines.

Lopetegui has also spoken about the club’s recruitment philosophy of finding players and improving them with coaching. It makes eminent sense and along with developing players from the youth system is the most sensible strategy for a club like ours in the contemporary world of FFP and PSR. The approach is not necessarily reflected in the names being thrown around in the transfer gossip columns (the latest count has grown to 111 names) which continue to major on big name, high price tag targets. The difficulty is that reinforcements are badly needed and time is slipping away. The pace of signings has to increase as well as remaing shrewd. Let’s not get sidetracked by free agents just because they are available.

Congratulations, You Have Just Met the DCF

With all the new financial rules and regulations associated with football the saloon bar supporter needs to be as expert about amortisation as they do about tactics: “I do like the way Guardiola deploys inverted full backs but not so keen on his prefernce for real option pricing in valuing intangible assets.”  It’s a whole new ball game of smoke and mirrors.

There were a range of opinions on whether the Kilman fee was good value or not. He is clearly a fine player and was a known target for the coach – which must be a bonus. As a supporter, the size of the fee is only really relevant in terms of how much remains to spend to fill the many remaining gaps in the squad. The estimated net spend for this window to date now stands at £36 million. So, what is left in the war chest for signing another five or six players, assuming additional funds will also be available from the sale of Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma? Anywhere between £10 m and £100 m perhaps.

A few eyebrows were also raised about the seven year contract awarded to Kilman. This was not an attempt at the scam used by Chelsea to write off transfer fees players over a lengthy time period – that practice was banned a while back. Player value can only be written down over the length of a contract up to a maximum of five years. More probable is that it is a way around any wage structure in place at West Ham. If we assume Kilman will be paid close to £60k per week – he was allegedly on £50k at Wolves – the deal will cost the club (from an accounting perspective) £11 m for 5 years plus £3 m for an additional two years after that – £61 million in total. There is a faint whiff of string up problems in the future.

Right Back to Basics

If the likelihood of a transfer taking place is proportional to the number of times it is repeated, then the next signing will be Kyle Walker-Peters from Southampton. Much of the rationale is that Flynn Downes may be going in the other direction in what is commonly touted as a swap deal.

Last week the full back pursuit was being presented as a choice between Walker-Peters and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. It seemed odd that if a set of defined performance criteria were being analysed by a data expert that it would come up with those two options – unless the criteria were: must have a double-barrelled name and be able to also play on the left in an emergency. Wan-Bissaka is one of the stronger defensive full backs in the league but does not offer much going forward. While Walker-Peters is mediocre as defender but very competent when in possession. I suppose it depends what system is being played and what the main attributes of the full back need to be. Personally, I worry about how effective small full backs like Walker-Peters can be in the modern game where the trend (i.e. what Pep is doing) is towards a backline of six footers. Hoping for better options!  

What do we want? A striker! When do we want one? Now!

The most eagerly awaited news of the summer will be the signing of a new striker. In all probability, two are badly needed. One with a reliable and proven track record, the ther with potential as one for the future. The striker conundrum has particular significance at West Ham due to the many past failures who have been unable to make their mark. It has been our lot for most of the Premier League era.

At least 20 strikers have now been linked with a move to the Hammers since the transfer gossip window sprang open at the start of June. Some rumours are lazy journalism (Romelu Lukaku), some hang around for a while before disappearing (Jonathan David) and others you just pray are someone’s idea of a joke (Tammy Abraham, Kelechi Iheanacho). The rumour of the week is Alexander Sorloth whose purple patch at Villareal last season has put gloss on an otherwise undistinguished career – including a spell at Crystal Palace.

As I see it, acceptable front-runners would be Ivan Toney, Youssef En-Nesyri, and possibly Jhon Duran. En-Nesyri obviously has previous with Lopetegui but is in danger of becoming one of those names that is perennially linked but never comes to pass. Toney may be the best. His betting indiscretions – and the risk of it being repeated – may be preventing bigger clubs taking a gamble, so perhaps there is an opportunity to take advantage as Redknapp did with Di Canio all those years ago.

Careful What You Wish For 2: The Takeover

West Ham takeover fever is back in the news this week with self-styled football consultant, Keith Wyness claiming that exploratory talks are underway to put the club up for sale. Many will say “not before time” but experience elsewhere suggests this has far greater potential to go horribly wrong than a change of manager. The current owners are clearly not universally loved but accusations of their greed and penny-pinching can be greatly exaggerated. They have been prepared to spend money, unfortunately they have not done so wisely.

For all their shortcomings the owners may be preferable to the US investment funds who have taken an interest in European football in recent years but whose mode of operation is to load their acquisitions with debt. Tread very carefully!   

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All views expressed in this article are not necessarily the opinions of any real person, living or dead – unless they turn out to be correct.

West Ham Monday Briefing: Max Kilmania, Scattergunnery, and Reasons To Be Fearful Part Three

July, she will fly, and give no warning to her flight. Time moves on, the season edges ever closer, but West Ham’s rebuilding is more about sales than purchases. Is it time yet to panic?

[ominous music playing]

I feel there has been a subtle change of pre-season mood in the last few days. Gone are the carefree claims of West Ham being busy in the opening days of transfer window, replaced by niggling suspicions that the club needs to pull its collective finger out and get a move on with recruitment.

With no sense irony, one of the more prolific transfer sites – which happily repeats each and every unsubstantiated rumour and half-truth on a daily basis – has accused the club of taking a scattergun approach to recruitment. There is no evidence to support that. Although, we should recognise it makes perefct sense to identify several targets for each position. Success rates are likley not high once it comes down to the nitty gritty of negotiating terms and contracts.

Past performance does not cast the Hammer’s hierarchy as stealthy and agile operators when it comes to signing players. For them, no potential deal can’t be improved by an extended period of petty haggling. Can they really sign six or seven players in a few weeks?

The first pre-season friendly takes place in less than 21 days and the big kick-off is now under seven weeks away. Not long to rebuild the squad and schooling them to play a whole new ball game. Perversely, the most significant rebuild activities to date have been even more outgoings as we bid a fond farewell to Said Benrahma, Ben Johnson and Divin Mubama. Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma are expected to follow. Of the two signings, Luis Guilherme is one for the future while Wes Foderingham will be mainly employed carrying the kit and slicing the half-time oranges.

It leaves a lot of work to do and not much time to do it in. Every team in the modern Premier League is based around roles and organisation. If the expectation of Julen Lopetegui is to transform West Ham into a possession-based side playing out from the back, then that has to be drilled into the players over and over again on the training ground. If half of those players have yet to be signed, then the challenge increases exponentially.

Unless the pace of recruitment picks up significantly, we may well be in for a very slow start to the season. It would be sure to put added pressure on a coach, who may not enjoy the longest of honeymoon periods, and with the careful-what-you-wish-for brigade sniping from the sidelines.

[money being counted]

The dilemma facing West Ham is hoping to get recruitment done early while signing players at bargain prices. Unless they are desperate to raise money, selling clubs hold most of the cards in the early days of the window. If there is perceived competition for a player then why would they accept a low-ball bid now rather than hold out for a better deal?

This is perfectly illustrated in what has been reported on the pursuit of Max Kilman, a player who is allegedly one of the Hammer’s top targets. If Wolves don’t need to sell and there is also interest from Manchester United and Newcastle, they would be daft to agree now to a bid that didn’t meet their valuation? The time for compromise comes towards the end of the window. But only if they are resigned to losing him and need to fund a replacement. Personally, I believe it is time to move on. It is wrong to get fixated over a single player (Jesse Lingard?) and at an asking price of up to £45 million there must be better value out there.

None of us know how much West Ham are prepared to commit to on player transfers and wages in the summer . There are external limits imposed by PSR/ FFP but these are different to any restrictions that may arise from funding or cash flow. I read one self-appointed club insider who, having studied O Level Accounting, came up with a figure of £55 million. Several rumour sites have picked this up and have been running with as a fact. While I doubt the figure has any credibility, I suspect the club’s summer plans were predicated on cashing in on the sale of Lucas Paqueta. With that option not currently available, it does raise awkward question about what assurances were given to a coach who has previous with broken promises. Selling any of the club’s few remaining player assets would only make the rebuilding job even more problematical.

[indistinct transfer chatter]

It has been a disappointing week for the transfer target table with only 12 new names coming to my attention. The full list (click here) now stands at 98 targets having failed to breakthrough the century barrier. No doubt the ongoing Euros and Copa America has diverted attention.

With the window now fully open in the major European leagues, activity may start to accelerate until it ‘slams shut’ on 31 August. According to the Transfermkt website, the Saudi Pro League window runs from 17 July to 6 October. Their unlimited millions may well have ramifications for Premier League clubs.  

Several of this week’s additions – Lukaku, Walker-Peters, Wan-Bissaka – would have been right up the Scottish manager’s street. Hopefully, there are now loftier ambitions.

[checking for minor hidden infringements]

It was refreshing to see England finally make a telling contribution to Euro 2024 when the PGMOL contingent imposed its finicky interpretation of VAR onto the Germany – Denmark game. About time people spent more time discussing the refereeing talking points than the action on the pitch. Don’t mention the VAR.

West Ham Monday Briefing: Rampant Rumours, Lopetegui’s Magnificent Seven Signings, and Striker Light

While we are distracted by the Euros the new Premier League season creeps ever closer with less than eight weeks to go. Will the new look West Ham be ready to go for the ball?

I Heard A Rumour

Keeping tabs on West Ham transfer rumours seemed like a fun idea at the outset. It would be an amusing distraction during the long summer days and nights as the Hammers sought to rebuild their squad out of the shambles left behind by the Scottish manager.

But the early enthusiasm is rapidly becoming as tiresome as a general election campaign. I had bargained on the flow of rumours settling down after an initial flurry, but the speculation shows no sign of slowing. It’s not, though, the number of rumours themselves that cause the distress. It’s having to wade through three-paragraphs of discharge on the background to Julen Lopetegui’s appointment before getting to the point of the story. Is there an Artificial Irrelevance engine that churns out this stuff?

Following another record week of gossip, we have now reached 86 potential targets – and there are sure to be some I have missed altogether. Still, I’ve started so I’ll finish – in the hope that in the real-world Tim Steidten is quietly masterminding recruitment behind the scenes.

There are two deviations in this week’s rumours. The first is that wonderkids have been replaced in the headlines by starlets, although it is not obvious what the differences are. Perhaps a starlet is a little older or a little bit less exciting than a wonderkid. The second is the slightly more worrying trend of the Hammers being linked to assorted detritus deemed surplus to requirements at other Premier League clubs. Dominic Calvert-Lewis, Callum Wilson and a clutch of Arsenal academy rejects, for example. The type of players who would have been on the previous manager’s shopping list. Forget your new-fangled data driven analysis, these guys might be too old, injury prone, or not much good, but hey, they do have Premier League experience.

The pursuit of Wes Foderingham is turning into a classic long running West Ham transfer saga. Quite what data needs to be crunched to sign a veteran, 3rd choice, emergency use only goalkeeper is anyone’s guess. Perhaps a check of his stats can confirm whether he is competent enough at putting the cones out during training.

Magnificent Seven Signings Needed In The Next Four Weeks

With the fixtures now issued, the tick of the clock is gradually sounding louder. It is only 54 days to the start of the new season, and 26 days to the first friendly against Dagenham & Redbridge. As things stand, Luis Guilherme is the only new arrival – nad he has been signed for potential rather than immediate impact. Time looks short for bringing in the required number of bodies and getting them organised to play the way the coach wants them to. Otherwsie a slow start to the season is guaranteed.

I was not a scholar of the way that Lopetegui played during his time at Wolves. A general summary of his preferred approach is: playing out from the back, adopting a high back-line, providing width from the full-backs, keeping hold of possession and energetic pressing. If that is the aim at West Ham, then very few of the current squad are equipped to deliver it. The only obvious contenders are Alphonse Areola, Edson Alvarez, Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus, and Lucas Paqueta. While Vladimir Coufal, Dinos Mavropanos, Emerson, James Ward-Prowse, and Tomas Soucek can provide useful backup, they don’t feel like starters in such a system to me. The assumption is that both Ben Johnson and Nayef Aguerd will be leaving anyway.

It represents quite a gap between desire and reality – even worse if some of the chosen few are tempted away or sacrificed in order to raise funds. This would leaves major priorities as a completely new backline, a mobile defensive minded midfielder, and a striker or two. As a minimum, a further seven signings are needed on board – and quickly.

My Kingdom For A Striker

I counted at least four number one transfer targets in the media during the week. My impression of the most persistent of the very many links seemingly being Max Kilman, Ryan Sessegnon, Youssef En-Nesyri, and Jayden Oosterwolde.

Although estimates of transfer kitty size should always be taken with a pinch of salt, I am not convinced that splurging a significant part of whatever funds are available on Kilman would be a wise move. If the fee is as reported in the £35 – £40 million range, there must be better value out there for a central defender. If big money is going to be spent in any position it has to be for a striker. West Ham’s woes in that department over the past dozen years or so is the stuff of legend. A revolving door of non-scoring duds. It is the most important position to get right and unfortunately, the most difficult one to fill on a budget.  

None of the striker names tat have been mentioned so far really get the juices flowing. And there are several that I hope have zero foundation to them, including Calvert-Lewin, Abrahams, and Wilson. Of the other players linked none have been especially prolific throughout their careers. I can understand why the familiarity of En-Nesyri would appeal to Lopetegui as a known quantity for his system, but he has never caught the eye when I have seen him play. Perhaps taking a gamble (no pun intended) on Ivan Toney would be the smart move despite his poor form after serving his ban – as well as the worry that he might well re-offend. At his best Toney is an excellent all-round striker with an ability to link up play and a healthy goalscoring record.

There does seem to be an incompatibility about the rather deseparate situation West Ham find themselves in on transfers. If you need to bring in many new players as early as possible in the window, then the opportunity to hold out for the best deals is limited – especially where there is competition for signature. But if you end up paying top dollar to get your man, there is less money remaining to satisfy the other gaps needed to be filled. A few minor miracles are required from Tim.

Naturally, the situation is not helped by the ongoing uncertainty over the future of Paqueta. Surely, even the Saudis wouldn’t be dumb enough to cough up a barrel load of oil money while the risk of world-wide ban is still a possibility. Incidentally, the latest from Paqueta Island is that no suspicious activity on the timing of polling day was found, but a lot has been staked on the Prime Minister being awarded a green card after the election.

This week’s list of unlikley transfer targets is shown below. You can see the entire 86 names here.

West Ham Monday Briefing: Wonder-Kidology, AI Addio, and a Norwegian Claret & Blue

This week’s West Ham waffle welcomes Luis Guilherme to the London Stadium and wonders on the wisdom of wonderkids

You Can’t Win Anything with Wonderkids

West Ham got their first transfer of the summer over the line last week with the signing of 18-year-old Brazilian Luis Guilherme. By all accounts his capture is something of a coup for the Hammers with the player having attracted plenty of interest from across Europe.

It was interesting to get the insight of South American football ‘expert’ Tim Vickery on Guilherme. Vickery clearly saw him as a very special talent, although one for the future rather than the here and now. In the context of West Ham needing to rebuild in all areas of the pitch, it is both an exciting and controversial first signing for the new regime. There has to be a delicate balance between building for the future and remaining competitive in the present.

We can only wait to see how he is deployed in the current season. Under the Scottish manager he could be expected to accumulate around 27 added-time substitution minutes before Christmas. Hopefully, Lopetegui has other plans to bed him in.

Vickery’s comments that the Paqueta betting scandal had worked in West Ham’s favour were rather bizarre. Admittedly it might have prevented him leaving the club in the short term, but a lifetime ban would represent a massive financial hit. The way that football finances now work, a large incoming transfer fee is a necessary boost to keep the squad refreshed. Like it or not the West Ham operating model in the current envirobment has to be built on buying bargains and selling on at a profit after a season or two of service.

If the reports are to be believed, the Hammers interest in wonderkids has not been exhausted by the signing of Guilherme. Suggestions persist that they continue to track Wesley Gassova of Corinthians and Ibrahim Maza of Hertha Berlin. Not only that but they are also in the market for one-time wonderkid, Ryan Sessegnon. Still only 24, Sessegnon was sold to Tottenham as a 19-year-old before being struck down by Spursy Syndrome. Could a move to the London Stadium work as an experimental cure for this debilitating north London disorder?  Or do nine out of ten wonder kids end up the same way as Sessegnon?

The Summer Transfer Smorgasbord

No sooner had the virtual ink virtually dried on last week’s article lamenting why so few Scandinavians had represented West Ham, when the club were linked with a move for giant Celta Vigo striker Jorgen Strand Larsen. According to an imaginary tweet by Fabrizio Romana, the would-be Norwegian claret and blue was pining for the old Fjord United sports ground, now the home of the Hammer’s Rush Green training centre.

In a further show of my visionary powers I will now throw out the suggestion that it’s about time West Ham finally recruited an Asian player. It is a feat that has so far eluded the club despite the countless shirt sales that such deals are alleged to bring in.

Otherwise, it has been a strangely quiet week for adding new names to the target speculation list. Most of the stories appearing online having been recycled from previous reports – the transfer rumour equivalent of endless repeats on Dave.

The obsession on rumour sites has been the signing of wingers even though Lopetegui is believed to operate without them – at least in their traditional getting to the byline and pumping in crosses role. He prefers to use his full backs for that.

We have to believe that links to Raheem Sterling are simply someone’s idea of a joke and I will sleep far more soundly once Tammy Abraham finally signs for another club. Neither of those options would shout smart recruitment to me with their current clubs desperate to offload. The same goes for signing Arsenal fringe players such as Reiss Nelson or Eddie Nketiah – both would represent very poor value.

One name that did standout was Jhon Arias, partly because of the weird spelling of John but also for triggering memories of ex-West Ham winger Johnny Ayris. Anyone familiar with how Ayris’s career was effectively ended will hope Chelsea are not currently scouting a full-back called Rhon Hairyass.

Below are this weeks latest targets. The full list of 64 players can be found here.

AI Addio: We’re Gonna Win The Cup

I used to have a dystopian nightmare that bothersome spectators would eventually be banned from attending live football games. The atmosphere for the ‘more lucrative’ TV audience being simulated by a combination of AI and CGI technologies. I;m convinced this is now possible but , of course, there is a very good reason why this cannot happen – the increasingly important role of annual revenues in the way that football clubs must operate. The size of revenues determines how much a club are allowed to spend of player transfers and wages.

Club revenues are typically categorised into Broadcast, Matchday and Commercial earnings. Broadcast revenues map directly to performance on the pitch and particularly to final Premier League placing, plus any European income. If West Ham and Tottenham finished close in the standings, then their Broadcast revenues would be roughly the same. But look at the most recent data in the Deloitte Rich List, and you will notice that Tottenham are streets ahead of the Hammers in Matchday (€135m vs €47m) and Commercial (€261m vs €58m) income. Although West Ham will show a large increase in Commercial income for the following year this is only because of the sale of Declan Rice.

Quite why there are such huge discrepancies between the two clubs is difficult to work out. After all, the Hammers are run by self-proclaimed business experts. The dilemma is that if West Ham are to progressively invest in the squad, they need to either squeeze matchday spectators for more money or regularly sell players at a profit. Neither course of action will be popular with fans as has been seen with the protests over season ticket price rises and removal of concessions.

It leaves West Ham and others hoping to break into the elite levels of league with a Gordian knot of a problem.

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Don’t forget the Premier League fixtures for the 2024/25 season are released tomorrow morning.