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ASLEFshrugged

From Sky Sports

West Ham are looking into a report alleging the use of discriminatory language by the club's director of player recruitment.

We have a director of player recruitment?!?!?!?!?

Cuz1

Maybe also charge him with not being very good

MarkNobleLocalHero

As I see nothing to the contrary it seems that Ginge is still with us ;clap ;wahoo

I can therefore conclude that it has been a great transfer window.

He is one of our greats and as good as one of our own. A low point yesterday was hearing the rumour of his potential departure. That would have been a disaster

A no thrills fully committed defender and getting better with age. Get this man a new contract...NOW. ;bowdown

buffybegood

Very underwhelmed, what was a small squad at the start of the season and is now, as usual, decimated by injuries, has seen two in and two out, but still no action taken to address the need (even more pressing following Obiang's injury) of a DM. We supposedly were close to spending a lot of money on Carvalho in the summer but ran out of time. So there was obviously an identified need for such a player (to spend big money on a defensive player it must have been a desperate need), nothing this season has suggested that need has disappeared, and yet we manage to get through the whole window being linked to Dendoncker and don't get it across the line.

On paper the 2 in are probably more suited to Moyes than the 2 out (Mario > Ayew and Hugill > Wantaway Sakho), but to have finished the window with a negative net spend says a lot about how much the board want us to progress as a club imo. We're short of players, we've a load of injuries, and yet we manage to make a profit on the window for the second January running after only paying a fee for 2 senior players in the summer.

baracks_a_hammer

Looking at what has gone on, it seems the owners have pretty much written off this season. This window I think was about clearing the decks and getting rid of those not contributing.

I think part two of this exercise will be done in the summer - AC really needs to go, and perhaps Hernandez too if he doesn’t deliver in Moyes’ system. If some or all of this happens, then the base will have been reset.

OldCastleSwift

So, by my reckoning, we had the following ‘first team’ players at the beginning of the January transfer window:

Hart
Adrian

Byram (injured)
Zabaleta
Cresswell
Fonte (injured)
Collins
Reid
Ogbonna
Rice
Oxford
Burke

Noble
Kouyate
Obiang
Fernandes (injured)
Cullen

Lanzini
Arnautovic
Antonio (injured)
Masuaku

Hernandez
Martinez
Carroll
Ayew
Sakho

26 players, 22 available (20 outfield)


By the end of the window, our first team squad looks like this:


Hart
Adrian

Byram
Zabaleta
Cresswell
Fonte
Collins
Reid (injured)
Ogbonna
Rice
Oxford
Burke

Noble
Kouyate
Obiang (injured – out for the season)
Fernandes (injured)
Cullen

Lanzini (injured)
Arnautovic (injured)
Antonio
Masuaku (banned for 6 matches)
Mario

Hernandez
Hugill
Martinez
Carroll (injured – out for the season)
Ayew
Sakho

23 players, 16 players available (14 outfield)


We have actively weakened our squad. How anyone can say this has been a good window for anyone other than the Sullivans is beyond me.

£24m in from the sale of Ayew and Sakho.

£13m spend on Mario and Hugill.

I suspect Hugill is on no more than the £30k p/w we were paying Sakho, and the £105k p/w we're reportedly paying Mario will be covered in the main by the £90k p/w we're now not paying Ayew.

So, even if we allow for the extra £15k a week we're paying Mario for the 16 weeks that he'll be here, that's only £240k more, set against the £11m profit on sales.

Now I know injuries have played their part, but they happened early enough for us to get something done. Even with Obiang, there were four days to get someone in to cover him, but instead we're left with two senior CMs. An injury to either Noble or Kouyate and Cullen is a PL starter (or we play Zaba or Rice out of position).

I admire people's positivity, I really do, and I wish I could share it, but the business we've done is poor, IMO. Mario, who is effectively Ayew's replacement, will have to be replaced himself in the summer because there's no way we're meeting the £39m option on him. We'll need a new GK because we won't be retaining Hart. That's not to mention the DM that we will still need for the third window running. The board have already put themselves under pressure to get the business done in the summer because of their failures this month (and, arguably, in August).

I was honestly hoping I'd be feeling better this morning abot the whole sorry affair, but I actually feel worse.

Apologies for the grumbling.

If we win on Saturday I'll feel better.

But we won't.

I'm going now.

Bye.

Huttonhammer

Jorderz

He is now a West Ham player and I would want any player to do well for the club and if he does become the next Dean Ashton then great.

My view though is that we signed a player who has played for not one decent team and has an average record in the championship. He is not going to compete with any of the players already at West Ham for a place in my view and I dont see how he could have been scouted for very long or we would have gone for him early in the transfer window. We must have had money spare as we had money for Carvalho in the last window but messed up the signing.

If you think about it with the money we did not spend on Carvalho and the money from the sale of Ayew our board could have gone for a much better player but the board must be rubbing their hands together and congratulating each other on the money they are making for themselves.

The fact we have a paper thin squad doesn't matter to them it seems. The 17 richest club buying mediocre players from Preston how absolutely fantastic.

OldCastleSwift

Buffy ;ok I was busy typing my rant so didn’t see your comment, but obviously we’re on the same page. The Carvalho/Dendoncker debacle is bothering me so much. If we really wanted Carvalho we’d have got the deal done in the four months between the windows and signed him on the 1st January. Likewise, if we really want Dendoncker, we can strike a deal with Anderlecht now to sign him in the summer, but I can almost guarantee that won’t happen.

It feels, and I stress feels, that we are being strung along and I really don’t like it.

MrsGrey

IronHerb said:

Ex says it's a done deal and he's seen the photos.

Is this the ex that said we weren't signing anyone?

MrsGrey

As bbb pointed out, it is unlikely we actually trousered any money for Ayew. Just that what we were supposed to pay (installment) over the next few seasons has now been taken off the IOU column.

Can't agree with the 'weakening' comments. 2 out, 2 in plus (compared to the beginning of the season) 2 kids who look like the manager thinks are good enough to help us on more than just a 'warm body on the bench' level.

I was never of the opinion we should buy players to cover for injuries unless it is an injury that rules a player out for a really long time. Plus I have felt for a while that we have been a bit over-supplied in the forwards department.

I think some of the changes in plans from the summer to now might have been occasioned by (a) it's January - a whole different kettle of fish and (b) a new manager wants to put his own stamp on the squad.

I am outraged if those Tony Henry comments turn out to have foundation. Sack him, right now.

But most importantly, Hamstew owes me a Curly Wurly because I won our bet. ;wahoo

grey_til_I_dye

Fortuneseeker said:

It may appear out of order, but I know some on here will understand this, but I can't wait to see/hear what the the pro board faction have to say about the way they continually wind us up with the way they are running, or not based on recent evidence, our club. ;weep

It is out of order, for the simple reason that there is NO pro-board faction.

There should, ideally, be no factions at all.

Quite why people can't take responses at face value when they disagree with their own, rather than corralling users into non-existent groups baffles me.

If those users who find that their negative views of the board are not echoed by all and sundry on here need to shove us all into a group, I find that both strange and sad, but I suppose it does make it easier to dismiss those who disagree with them, rather than having to think about what they have to say.

grey_til_I_dye

Just to say, I've moved a bunch of Jordan Hugill posts to his own thread:

http://www.whu606.com/discussion/10464

Yeoldhammer

Same window different year.

OldCastleSwift

MrsGrey said:

IronHerb said:

Ex says it's a done deal and he's seen the photos.

Is this the ex that said we weren't signing anyone?

Ex said we weren't signing anyone other than Hugill ;ok

MrsGrey

Oh, Ok. I kind of lose track. ;ok

Hamstew

MrsGrey said:

...

But most importantly, Hamstew owes me a Curly Wurly because I won our bet. ;wahoo

I don't remember betting a curly wurly ;weep

brookingsirons

Love to see our bench on Saturday

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

So disappointing

The incomings they did make were ok, Mario is a very good buy and while personally i feel underwhelmed by the Preston guy he could be a smart piece of business

But to end the window over £10mil in profit with a squad as stretched as ours is unforgiveable

The squad is still short and we dont even have the kids to pack the bench (although i honestly feel loans long term will be good for them)

ASLEFshrugged

I'm happy with the transfer window

Mario looks the business, Hugill is a punt but not an overly expensive one so if he turns out to be a Sam Baldock/Nicky Maynard rather than a Dean Ashton it won't be too bad.

We offloaded Sakho who wanted away and Ayew who never really worked out

We kept Ginger

Now we get through to the end of the season, get Moyes to commit to a long term contract and give him complete freedom to build his own team

ASLEFshrugged

He's still in Brussels and he'll still be there at the end of the season

Patience, Grasshopper......

IronHerb

brookingsirons said:

Love to see our bench on Saturday

Hart, Reid(?), Fonte, Cullen, Haksabanovic, Antonio, Hugill.

Seen a lot worse.

IronHerb

I don't think he'll be interested in West Brom.

MrsGrey

Hamstew said:

MrsGrey said:

...

But most importantly, Hamstew owes me a Curly Wurly because I won our bet. ;wahoo

I don't remember betting a curly wurly ;weep

Short memory?

Hamstew said:

MrsGrey said:

Anyone else, you mean?

I'm betting on 1 more.

Yep anymore.

I'm betting 0. A Curly Wurly to the winner

;biggrin

Hammerex

We must be the only team in the Premiership relegation battle, to have spent less
on players coming in, than players going out.

MrsGrey

We aren't.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5226085/Premier-League-January-transfer-window-2018-deals.html

ASLEFshrugged

Do they still make Curly Wurlies?

MrsGrey

;nonono

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

So out of the bottom 10 we had the 2nd highest profit behind Southampton...who got £75mil for 1 player

Swansea, Stoke, Huddersfield, Brighton, Palace, Everton and Leicester all spent (net) more than us

And while I know Mario was a loan then you have to look at the other clubs loan moves e.g. Slimani, Sturridge, Kennedy, Deulofeu, Mangala, Lennon, King etc

Hamstew

Martinez has gone out on loan

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

Good move for him I think

Not going to give up on him yet, he got thrust into a team lacking creativity and seemed a bit over eager he scored goals for fun at U23 level

Needs first team football and hopefully playing with Spanish coaches will help him improve his technique a little