The Next Transfer Window

ianbishoplegend

For the 10th season window in a row we need pace and energy!! Ok..maybe the 5th window, but it’s been a lot of windows

Lukerz

I think tonight proved we cannot rely on some of these players; Lanzini, Yarmo, Anderson...all look quality against League One sides. Cannot cut it against a decent PL team. We need defenders. We decide to rest our only LWB & our only decent CB & we have to drop our best CM into defence & play a 20 year old at RB. Same goes for midfield. We rest Soucek & in come a couple of players in their 30’s.

OutcastLondoner

Wonder if Snodgrass can play wing back, if we're really, really desperate.

Lukerz

The president of Slavia Prague has confirmed Coufal is joining us on his Twitter page. €6m.

OutcastLondoner

That’s an alright price. Hope he makes a difference.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

Seems like a smart piece of business (although its not official yet)

Affordable, comes in an area we are weak
Apparantly can use both feet, isnt lightning quick but has a good turn of pace and is pretty balanced offensive/defensive, not a specialist in either but good in both aspects

Hopefully we can make a few more moves, CB and LWB being key

OutcastLondoner

Wonder if we’ll go back for Benrahma. He has barely played for Brentford and I think both club and player expected more bids, so maybe they’ll drop their price? He definitely doesn’t address our key problems but if they were genuinely going for him earlier then I wonder if they’ll try again.

OutcastLondoner

https://twitter.com/slavia_eng/status/1311420250060193800

baracks_a_hammer

This would have been a very underwhelming signing had it been made at the start of the window. There is no way this guy would have been anywhere in Moyes’ list of targets at the start of the window.

There is a more positive outlook on him right now though because the window almost up and we are desperately spraying around scatter gun bids for random players hoping one or two land having managed to sign no-one thus far.

Not a signing who will help us get to #nextlevel

And not in the “young and hungry” bracket either

At best someone who might help us not get worse.

So on top of being sold a lie when it comes to the stadium we have now been sold another one on Moyes’ reappointment with all the talk of replicating the Red Bull model, etc

Pearces_Left_Foot

I think that's a bit harsh Baracks he is 28 an international in a position we have 1 injury prone senior player and a coupel of youngsters. I think he will improve the team I agree we nned other position aswell and hopefully we will get some more in.

baracks_a_hammer

Plf

I don’t disagree with any of that, however it is sticky plaster type signing. He will likely have no value (or a lower value) once his time with us is up.

We have seen no evidence of long term thought in our transfer dealings and building with a strategy in mind.

It is just panic buy after panic buy - when will it stop?

alderz

baracks_a_hammer said:

Plf

I don’t disagree with any of that, however it is sticky plaster type signing. He will likely have no value (or a lower value) once his time with us is up.

We have seen no evidence of long term thought in our transfer dealings and building with a strategy in mind.

It is just panic buy after panic buy - when will it stop?

When there are new owners, MAYBE

OldCastleSwift

baracks_a_hammer said:

And not in the “young and hungry” bracket either

At best someone who might help us not get worse.

So on top of being sold a lie when it comes to the stadium we have now been sold another one on Moyes’ reappointment with all the talk of replicating the Red Bull model, etc

To be fair to the board (and I don't fell at all comfortable saying that), they didn't talk up the Red Bull Model; that was Moyes' vision, but unfortunately he's at a club that doesn't have the infrastructure or finances to make that model a reality.

The strategy under this board has always been about the short-term; signing players based on agent recommendations rather than effective scouting with no real thought as to whether they're a good fit for the team.

Next level is a myth. I think most have accepted that we were sold a lie so any expectation that we'll achieve that under this ownership is misplaced. As Ham has said before, the next couple of years under GSB will be like a prison sentence, but hopefully they'll sell one day and we may see a change in the direction of the club.

alderz

But the “red bull” model is to sign young players for not that much money and then sell them at a profit so you can buy more young players for not that much money. There’s no reason we wouldn’t have the finances for that, we just are bad at business.

I’m going to look yo red bull’s transfer history’s today

OldCastleSwift

alderz, I meant more about investing in a recruitment and scouting structure that is key to that model. We'd need a Head of Recruitment (currently Sullivan), a team to support him (currently Will Salthouse) and then a global team of scouts (currently David Moyes in front of a laptop). If we're as broke as Sullivan is making out, there's no way we can afford to establish what's required for that type of model.

baracks_a_hammer

OCS

Moyes may well have been the one touting and promoting the red bull model but he would also have done so at his interview. So if the owners were not prepared to back that vision why hire him? Surely just go back to Sam who makes us better defensively, even with a random bunch of signings, and makes us safer from relegation?

baracks_a_hammer

Sorry, but for me the signing of Coufal shows that NOTHING has changed at this club with regards to transfers. You can perhaps argue differently if he was the fifth signing after the other four have fitted Moyes’ core requirements. But he is the only addition aside from the youngster who will be at Luton in 12 months. Which de facto means that all along Sully is blameless and the failings are down to everyone else.

OldCastleSwift

baracks_a_hammer said:

OCS

Moyes may well have been the one touting and promoting the red bull model but he would also have done so at his interview. So if the owners were not prepared to back that vision why hire him? Surely just go back to Sam who makes us better defensively, even with a random bunch of signings, and makes us safer from relegation?

I doubt there was an interview when Moyes was re-hired. He was cheap and available, which is all Sullivan was interested in.

IMO, Moyes' comments about the Red Bull Model were either to placate the fans by telling them what they want to hear, or a public challenge to Sullivan to invest in a different approach for the club.

OutcastLondoner

This was written after Pellegrini was sacked and it seems we still haven't done anything about it. After the Burnley protests, Moyes asked the board to get a review of our club structure and so they know exactly where things have gone wrong. https://theathletic.co.uk/1494456/2019/12/30/swapping-pellegrini-for-moyes-alone-wont-solve-west-hams-problems-the-structure-of-the-club-is-flawed/

Yeoldhammer

Pearces_Left_Foot said:

I think that's a bit harsh Baracks he is 28 an international in a position we have 1 injury prone senior player and a coupel of youngsters. I think he will improve the team I agree we nned other position aswell and hopefully we will get some more in.

Being an international doesn't mean very much, Sanchez was an international / Fonte was an international in fact most of our under performing team are internationals..... We sold Diangana to get a guy who i imagine will be labelled under Sullys acquisitions than Moyes. For a position that blocks Johnsons development when Left back is the crisis position.

Barney

He needs to be given a chance but I cannot see Johnson making the grade from his performances so far.

OutcastLondoner

Johnson played very well in our last three games last year. I think suddenly everyone's gone very sour on him after a freak pre-season game and last night. I think he played too high up last night but was also one of the few trying to push us forward. He'll be better as a wing-back.

Barney

Outcast, you may be right but i do think we need a more experienced right back rather than relying on Johnson / Fredericks

baracks_a_hammer

But Fredericks himself is 27 yo? Any more experienced and we will be close to venturing into the last big pay cheque territory

Hamstew

We can't rely on Fredericks as he constantly gets injured. You'll potentially get a good 7 years from a 28 year old depending on how they look after themselves.

IronHerb

baracks_a_hammer said:

Plf

I don’t disagree with any of that, however it is sticky plaster type signing. He will likely have no value (or a lower value) once his time with us is up.

We have seen no evidence of long term thought in our transfer dealings and building with a strategy in mind.

It is just panic buy after panic buy - when will it stop?

Why are you trying to sell him before he signs? I don't understand. If he comes in and plays well for 3-4 seasons then we have our moneys worth. All this buying players with a sell on value shows as little vision as you claim GSB show.

thornburyiron

There was a lot of moaning when we took Zab but he turned out to be one of our best players so the fact this guy is 28 shouldn’t be a problem.
If the object is to buy young and cheap and then sell in a couple of years to make a profit I don’t see where this gets us

baracks_a_hammer

Well Leicester buy players, sell them on and have a vision which has had proven success.

And making a £60m like Leicester made on Maguire in 2 years is better to have at a club than not

So I reject the notion that it gets you nowhere

What does clearly get you nowhere is randomly bringing in names in a scatter gun way.

And as for zabaleta - he did as well as could be expected for someone at his stage, but the team as a whole didn’t

Ravel49

WEST HAM'S VANAKEN BID REKECTED

West Ham have had a bid in the region of £13m for midfielder Hans Vanaken rejected by Club Brugge.

The 28-year-old has impressed in the Belgium Pro League for Brugge and has been a regular scorer from midfield.

Brugge are demanding a larger fee for Vanaken, as reported by Belgium newspaper HLN.

Vanaken, who has been capped five times by Belgium, scored 15 times 35 appearances for Brugge last season. He is contracted to Brugge until the summer of 2024 having signed a new five-year deal with the club last season.

IronHerb

In that case barracks we should sell Rice now as that would be a £60m gain in a couple years.