Post Transfer Window reflections

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

I think Feghouli may have the X factor

He will take a while to get up to speed but he's a classy player, one of Valencias best players for the last 4/5 years and is still only 26/27

Really look forward to seeing him in action when he's back fit he hits the byline well and delivers good crosses into the box

Also think Zaza has the potential to deliver some X factor as well. He was a key player for a bang average Sassuolo and Juventus don't shell out £18mil for anyone, he's in his prime years and has a point to prove after r the Island fiasco and being frozen out at Juventus

Nordveit has been shaky but Xhaka who cost £34mil has barely lit the world up, think if he can recapture his BMG form he can be a real asset for us, just has to realise he won't have as much time on the ball as he used to

MIAHammer

I have modest expectations for our team. We have always been a yo-yo team. My measure of success is to be a consistent top 10 team. By that I mean top 10, at least 3 times consecutively. Last time we did that was 1997-2000. Before that was 81-84. I may be wrong, but it looks like we have only achieved that twice in our history. In that respect I think our window was good. I think we have the players (when they are fit) to achieve my goal.
My biggest concern is our ability to keep Payet, especially if he recreates his form from last season.

Ravel49

Who's best to player sweeper ;hmm

OldCastleSwift

Paul Brush

Swissiron

..and find or train another Payet. He is not unique, and we have had play makers like him (maybe not always as good) before. But Payet does play the West Ham way whatever BFS and Merson etc may say, and that way was created by some of our own legends, notably Boyce, Peters, Brooking, Dickens, Morley, Berkovic, Benayoun, Cole. The key element, as ever, is someone moving forward with the ball out of defence/midfield, creating opportunties as he goes and releasing the ball at the right time. We've had a lot of those guyes in our teams over the years

MrsGrey

http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2016/September/1-September/From-the-Boardroom-David-Sullivan

Interesting (to me anyway ;puzzled ) details in view of who will play where in upcoming games.

[Arbeloa] is ideally a few weeks away from playing in a game as he has not trained with a team since May and needs more game time.

The decision has now been made that Michail Antonio will play as a winger after originally starting the season as a right back. ;wahoo

[Zaza] is fit and ready to play. We expect him to lead the line against Watford.

MrsGrey

We aren't the only one with a media team that drops the ball.

Swansea put an article on their website this morning all about their new signing Enner Valencia.


It has now been removed. ;lol


http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/football/swansea-announce-signing-of-west-ham-forward-enner-valencia-the-day-after-he-completes-everton-move-a3334616.html

thornburyiron

I wonder if Sam's choosing Antonio as a winger for England and his statement of that fact finally convinced Slaven that he's not a full back.

PrestonHammer

How can Merson give Chelsea an A+ when they spent £57, yes £57 Million on David Luiz and Marcos Alonso???

secrethammersfan

Everyone's going on about keeping Payet (and rightly so). BUT, can we please also recognise how easily we held on to our Spanish international keeper and his toe?

For me, we have improved our first and second XI by two or three players each. If we avoid the traditional injury blight (ha ha ha), we should perform much better than last year. We just have to see if the other 19 teams in the league will also perform better.

Overall, I think we're on target of being consistently top ten, with a view to Champions' League football in the next three years.

eskimoking

secrethammersfan said:

Overall, I think we're on target of being consistently top ten, with a view to Champions' League football in the next three years.

Let's try and aim to beat Astra in the next three years first.

IronHerb

Not interested in our '2nd XI'. All purchases were made to improve the 1st XI, the only XI that matters.

Yeoldhammer

its an okay window nothing there that will get me off my seat but same as last season really. I think Feghouli will be massive for us and think Ayew will be a great addition to.

Squad depth looks more healthy and certainly competing in the cups this year should be interesting.

I do feel though that we could lose some "star quality" if we do not match last year. I think retaining Payet was impressive but I am not sure if a second year running of no European football we will be able to entice the quality we want to move forward or retain the bigger players.

I do still like the fact we have a number of players from the Champo who have come to the PL and are becoming regulars (hopefully Byram will add to that list as a decent perm right back option) alongside Antonio and Cresswell). I also like the fact we are promoting youth more, selling Tomkins was sad but correct if we want to integrate our youth more. That moment that Burke / Oxford / Samuelson and so on crack the first team will hopefully inspire others.

Its quite crafty the way they got Burke to sign a contract and after Europa have moved him onto Wigan in the Champo for loan games, it means Oxford is 4th choice and will hopefully show he can get first team game time and nail him down to a contract going forward. If not then he gets a few games this season and we can sell him for hopefully 25 - 30m the same Luke Shaw and other youngsters went for to big clubs.

OldCastleSwift

IronHerb said:

Not interested in our '2nd XI'. All purchases were made to improve the 1st XI, the only XI that matters.

Disagree Herbie. If our first XI get injured, we need a decent shadow XI to be able to fill those gaps.

IronHerb

So did we tell Tore, Arthur, Arbaloa etc. that they are in the 2nd XI? We need a strong interchangeable squad who are all pushing for the starting XI. No one should be 'nailed on' to be in the starting XI, although a few will be.

MrsGrey

Do you not think they've improved in the sense that there's now proper competition in all positions? ;hmm

OldCastleSwift

So did we tell Tore, Arthur, Arbaloa etc. that they are in the 2nd XI? We need a strong interchangeable squad who are all pushing for the starting XI. No one should be 'nailed on' to be in the starting XI, although a few will be.

No, we signed them to compete with last season's first XI. If they prove to be better players, they'll become part of the first XI. And repeat.

SuzanneClaret

A better squad than this time last year.


#BabySteps

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

At least we got £1.5mil for Enner

The £3mil loan fee for Tore doesn't seem as bad anymore

Finally Antonio is not going to be a RB, been waiting too long for this simple decision that everyone was been calling for

Let's get some of our players back and firing over the coming weeks

IronHerb

MrsGrey said:

Do you not think they've improved in the sense that there's now proper competition in all positions? ;hmm

As I have said, the squad is definitely stronger.

IronHerb

OldCastleSwift said:

So did we tell Tore, Arthur, Arbaloa etc. that they are in the 2nd XI? We need a strong interchangeable squad who are all pushing for the starting XI. No one should be 'nailed on' to be in the starting XI, although a few will be.

No, we signed them to compete with last season's first XI. If they prove to be better players, they'll become part of the first XI. And repeat.

That's fair enough but you can't then call them the 2nd XI. I'd be amazed if Slav had a set 1st XI. The team will vary a little on whether we're playing at home or away, the opposition, players form and of course injuries. That's why it's a squad game.

Swissiron

eskimoking said:

secrethammersfan said:

Overall, I think we're on target of being consistently top ten, with a view to Champions' League football in the next three years.

Let's try and aim to beat Astra in the next three years first.

that's not realistic, we tried this with Everton for too many years before we broke it only last year, as I recall. It's called the Witches Curse and nuffin can be dun abart it

secrethammersfan

IronHerb said:

That's fair enough but you can't then call them the 2nd XI. I'd be amazed if Slav had a set 1st XI. The team will vary a little on whether we're playing at home or away, the opposition, players form and of course injuries. That's why it's a squad game.

I think we are all looking at the same thing from different angles. I agree with Herb and with OCS -we need to have 25 good players, and then pick the 11 best for each upcoming game or series of games -termed (probably) incorrectly by me as 'first' and 'second' XI -i.e. first-choice goalie and second-choice goalie, first-choice LB and second-choice LB and so on and so forth.

grey_til_I_dye

My take on how we've done. I think it is hard to look at our signings and not feel that each one has improved the squad compared to last year, with a number of talented young players added to the mix as well. New signings in bold.

2016-17	2015-16
Sam Byram D	Carl Jenkinson (D)
James Collins D
Aaron Cresswell (D)
Angelo Ogbonna D
Reece Oxford D
Winston Reid D
Arthur Masuaku D	Stephen Hendrie (D)
Alvaro Arbeloa	Joey O’Brien (D)
Andre Ayew F	Enner Valencia F
Jonathan Calleri F	Mauro Zarate (F), Emmanuel Emenike (F)
Andy Carroll F
Ashley Fletcher F	Nikica Jelavic (F)
Diafra Sakho (F)
Simone Zaza F	Modibo Maiga (F)
Adrian
Darren Randolph (G)
Raphael Spiegel (G)
Michail Antonio M
Sofiane Feghouli M	Victor Moses (M)
Cheikhou Kouyate M
Manuel Lanzini M
Mark Noble M
Havard Nordtveit M	Alex Song (M)
Pedro Obiang M
Dimitri Payet M
Gokhan Tore M	Morgan Amalfitano (M)
Reece Burke D
Lewis Page D
Toni Martinez F
Marcus Browne M
Josh Cullen M
Quina M
M Samuelsen
Edimilson Fernandes

ninjaedit to add in Antonio, who somehow got missed off...

MrsGrey

I'd forgotten about Jelavic ;lol

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

MrsGrey said:

http://www.whufc.com/News/Articles/2016/September/1-September/From-the-Boardroom-David-Sullivan

Interesting (to me anyway ;puzzled ) details in view of who will play where in upcoming games.

[Arbeloa] is ideally a few weeks away from playing in a game as he has not trained with a team since May and needs more game time.

The decision has now been made that Michail Antonio will play as a winger after originally starting the season as a right back. ;wahoo

[Zaza] is fit and ready to play. We expect him to lead the line against Watford.

Lol great so now our illustrious owner "who is all but director of football in name" is basically telling the manager what to do?

I reckon, one way or another, availability, fitness, injuries or form we haven't seen the last of Antonio at RB yet

IMO

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

SuzanneClaret said:

A better squad than this time last year.


#BabySteps

Sorry but that doesn't wash with the immediate self gratification mob

I want it and I want it now!!

;wink

MrsGrey

Not a WHU reflection, but still ... Chelsea have 38 players out on loan! Thirty-eight. ;nonono

18 are 21 and over. 20 are kidz.

What is going on.

eskimoking

Grey, already forgotten about Tomkins?

Slaven_Cups_His_Beard

Uh oh!