The Owners

carsonroadboy

I seem to be holding a minority view, but I am pleased that we have English owners. I am surprised that so many want the club sold to anyone who has enough billions to move us into the top six. Personally I would rather we didn’t have a foreigner funding our beloved club. Let the Liverpools, Manchesters, and Chelseas buy their way to the top, and let us have the joy of beating them occasionally on a limited budget.

I want us to stay as a Premiership club, and it would be great to be free from the constant threat of relegation, but enough of our soul has been lost already, and selling out to another oil baron or sheik would be the last straw,

Expat_Hammer

But these two clowns are useless

yoyo

carsonroadboy, I admire your sentiments and agree with most of it but unfortunately our owners are out of their depth and in todays sporting world it's like we racing a Lada against formula one cars.

welovethehammers

I'm not so bothered about having a large budget. It's more that I'd like to see a long term vision rather than always thinking short term. Sometimes it is easy to get through the lows when you know there could be highs at the end of it. However, I don't see it this way with our owners.

If we use Covid as an example, we all want the virus to go and to be able to do things we love, whether that's looking forward to being in football stadiums, travel abroad etc. But without a set in stone date for this vaccine, we don't know when we will be able to enjoy the fun things we want to look forward to. The same analogy could be applied with our owners.

alderz

I don’t really care about the nationality of the owners, personally. I think the reason we (the royal we) would want an English owner is because we imagine they will have some understanding of and affinity with the club, and would therefore treat it well. But we’ve learned from Terence Brown and the current owners that that doesn’t really mean anything anyway.

I’m not after a billionaire owner to make us Man City, but an owner who funds the club enough to make seasons like the Payet season not such a one off event.

claretandbluesky

I think the stadium move made a big difference to the relationship many fans have with them as it was a case that many trusted the project in the encouraged belief there would be a reward. Although here we are avoiding relegation with only one game to go, now saying we need to sell a player who by all accounts doesn't want to leave and the fans are excited by, and 'potentially' selling the first Champions league quality player we have produced since the Ferdinand and Carrick era.

I don't think many would disagree that Rice will emulate that crop of Ferdinand, Carrick, Lampard and Cole so if we have moved on at all we should be keeping this type for our own ambitions not selling them to allow those with genuine ambition to reach theirs.

OutcastLondoner

I'd be happy with less money and smarter running of the club, with money invested in scouting. I'd also accept these owners staying in place but stepping back and having someone competent do the actual running. Owning the club does not mean they have to run it. The one good thing about Moyes is I think he does have a good idea about how this club should run within its means. I just haven't seen much evidence that what he has suggested will happen.

alderz

c&bsky

I'd even understand Rice going because of finances tbh, I just cannot for the life of me work out the Diangana sale.

baracks_a_hammer

Leicester’s owners aren’t British, yet seem to be decent people who know how to put together a strategy and execute it. And it goes well beyond investing in the first team squad. Training facilities, investment in sports science etc etc. Our lot are just fixated on playing in a stadium which can hold more than Spurs’ ground can. And when it is met with derision, they try and cover the perimeter in purple to make it better.

ianbishoplegend

I like Gold, but think Sullivan has dug a bit of a grave for himself. Brady was good for the Olympic move, not sure what she does now. Sullivan’s vanity project with Pelligrini looks like it’s costing us short and long term. They are nowhere near as bad as some fans make them out to be though.

claretandbluesky

alderz said:

c&bsky

I'd even understand Rice going because of finances tbh, I just cannot for the life of me work out the Diangana sale.

I am not sure how we can need sell Rice because of the finances, had we been relegated then it would have gone without saying but we are still a Premiership club. We have sold Adjeti and Hugill and removed substantial wages also. In my view perhaps the only reason I could understand Diangana being sold would be if they came out and said this allows us to keep Rice, but even then i would have wondered why that should be so.

Should we also bring in this Brentford player on probably a good deal more wages than Diangana it will make even less sense.

It really is a puzzle to me and a worrying one regard the future under these owners.

baracks_a_hammer

The Rice sale, whilst emotive, would have made far more logical sense (Compared to the Grady sale). £60-£70M to clear off some payments and then recruit 3 hopefully decent players.

The Grady sale doesn’t even fund his replacement.

claretandbluesky

one things for sure if they sell both I think the owners will be finished regard any credible ambition for the club and will be hounded until leaving at the earliest possible opportunity, which seems to be this date of 2023.

Barney

Do we need to replace diang? we seem to have a lot competing for wide positions (not all god admittedly) but need funds for defence

whupathman

baracks_a_hammer said:

The Rice sale, whilst emotive, would have made far more logical sense (Compared to the Grady sale). £60-£70M to add to the holiday club fund and take a loanee

The Grady sale doesn’t even fund his replacement.

fixed it for you

alderz

Barney said:

Do we need to replace diang? we seem to have a lot competing for wide positions (not all god admittedly) but need funds for defence

Not a direct replacement, but presumably the money would be used to sign someone in any position. Also, whether we need to or not is besides the point when it’s being reported we are using the money to sign Benrahma.

PrestonHammer

I want to say something but it will involve alot of swear words, so I'll keep schtum.

ASLEFshrugged

Sullivan is Welsh, lived there until he was 10.

I don't care where anyone comes from, its what you do that matters.

OldCastleSwift

Barney said:

Do we need to replace diang? we seem to have a lot competing for wide positions (not all god admittedly) but need funds for defence

I'm theory we have Anderson, Fornals, Lanzini and Masuaku that can play LW. However, one is hopelessly out of form, two don't have the pace to be a winger and are better as a No10, and the other has never held down a regular place under three West Ham managers.

Diangana started over all of them, for me.

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years

Agree with OCS

For me, Diangana was our #1 choice for that starting LW spot. You can say he was unproven, hasnt played in the prem, but neither did Bowen but he showed just how good players from the lower leagues can be. And I'm sure Eze or Benrahma would've also been considered first choice

He was also a perfect fit tactically as an opposite to Bowen. Bowen is fantastic, but given his preference is to cut in he narrows the pitch. Grady offered us natural width on the left, you could see in the pitch he drew out the RB which created space for Haller and the attacking midfielders

He adds a lot of pace to our attack, and he brings what Bowen and Antonio have in abundance, confidence. Anderson so often has an opportunity to take on his man but elects to pass whereas Diangana would often attempt a dribble. Actually think Anderson would be better as a number #10 the way he plays

I dont think Diangana would play every game, think that in harder games Moyes would've started Fornals who's gives Cresswell the most protection but he would've played a lot

But in this squad, in terms of natural left midfielders it's only Diangana and Anderson (and Antonio who is right now indespensible as a striker). Fornals and Lanzini are only an option there because Anderson was just THAT bad. Masuaku could help out here, but his end product leaves a lot to be desired to be compared to Diangana. Bowen only had 1 appearance on the left to accommodate Yarmolenko, but he was considerably less effective on that side

So, imo, we improved the first team by bringing in Grady, only to immediately weaken it

Do we need a new winger? Probably not, LB is the huge gaping hole I this squad.
But is it a problem position for us now? Yes

And why have we sold him? Its not because he is one of 7 wingers at the club, it's because the owners have sacrificed the financial stability of the club by being reckless in the last few windows by spending fees that we couldn't afford and by giving huge wages to players who are passed it or have horrible injury records

I actually have a lot of sympathy for the board compared to most as they never anticipated COVID when they had to dip into their pockets for Soucek and Bowen to essentially save our season, money you could argue we didnt have after another summer window of, imo, decent investment

But that's their job as the guys running things. They have a better insight into our finances. And frankly while I dont agree with the fans that dont think they invest enough, they have invested plenty, it's the way they do it and who they brought in that angers and frustrates me.

Hernandez, Haller, Anderson, Yarmolenko all had good records before we signed them for a lot of money and big wages, but you could argue none of those 4 we ever knew how to utilise properly, almost as if we bought them for name value alone. This is why we have had to sell Diangana, because every season we have a negative cash flow due to poor investments from the previous year and now COVID has exposed it.

Thought this year it sounded like they had learnt their lesson. Stop filling gaps with awful freebies, look internally into the youth team and see if anyone can do that role. And instead of buying expensive players who dont fit into the playing style we have, look at the lower leagues and properly scout the guys who we think can really fit in and thrive here.

But selling 1 of the 3 academy players that should've made up our first XI, for a fee lower than those championship clubs can charge like Eze/Bowen, is a sucker blow to that

EDIT: I dont think that we will be relegated this season. I think this team showed what it can do under Moyes, and in truth a lot of money has gone into it so the players already here need to step up and start showing a bit of passion. Moyes said his first job is to work with what we've got and I trust he can do that. We are weak down the left, and dont have great depth at LB, CB or DM, but we still have a lot of good players at this club

Fortuneseeker

I have been trying to sum up how disappointed I feel about GSB without going on a rant. It's like being told you have won an all expenses trip to go to Melbourne only to find out you are going to a village in South Derbyshire! The move to the OS did excite me and I genuinely felt we were going to be competitive (top six & a cup win) but there has been no evidence we have been or are going to be at least not until 2023 at the earliest. I can understand why so many of us feel let down.

Cuz1

Melbourne in Derbyshire is nice

Fortuneseeker

Cuz, So is Bermuda but I wouldn't really want to stay long in the one near Nuneaton!

imagelost

WHU_Champo_league_in_7_years said:

Agree with OCS

For me, Diangana was our #1 choice for that starting LW spot. You can say he was unproven, hasnt played in the prem, but neither did Bowen but he showed just how good players from the lower leagues can be. And I'm sure Eze or Benrahma would've also been considered first choice

He was also a perfect fit tactically as an opposite to Bowen. Bowen is fantastic, but given his preference is to cut in he narrows the pitch. Grady offered us natural width on the left, you could see in the pitch he drew out the RB which created space for Haller and the attacking midfielders

He adds a lot of pace to our attack, and he brings what Bowen and Antonio have in abundance, confidence. Anderson so often has an opportunity to take on his man but elects to pass whereas Diangana would often attempt a dribble. Actually think Anderson would be better as a number #10 the way he plays

I dont think Diangana would play every game, think that in harder games Moyes would've started Fornals who's gives Cresswell the most protection but he would've played a lot

But in this squad, in terms of natural left midfielders it's only Diangana and Anderson (and Antonio who is right now indespensible as a striker). Fornals and Lanzini are only an option there because Anderson was just THAT bad. Masuaku could help out here, but his end product leaves a lot to be desired to be compared to Diangana. Bowen only had 1 appearance on the left to accommodate Yarmolenko, but he was considerably less effective on that side

So, imo, we improved the first team by bringing in Grady, only to immediately weaken it

Do we need a new winger? Probably not, LB is the huge gaping hole I this squad.
But is it a problem position for us now? Yes

And why have we sold him? Its not because he is one of 7 wingers at the club, it's because the owners have sacrificed the financial stability of the club by being reckless in the last few windows by spending fees that we couldn't afford and by giving huge wages to players who are passed it or have horrible injury records

I actually have a lot of sympathy for the board compared to most as they never anticipated COVID when they had to dip into their pockets for Soucek and Bowen to essentially save our season, money you could argue we didnt have after another summer window of, imo, decent investment

But that's their job as the guys running things. They have a better insight into our finances. And frankly while I dont agree with the fans that dont think they invest enough, they have invested plenty, it's the way they do it and who they brought in that angers and frustrates me.

Hernandez, Haller, Anderson, Yarmolenko all had good records before we signed them for a lot of money and big wages, but you could argue none of those 4 we ever knew how to utilise properly, almost as if we bought them for name value alone. This is why we have had to sell Diangana, because every season we have a negative cash flow due to poor investments from the previous year and now COVID has exposed it.

Thought this year it sounded like they had learnt their lesson. Stop filling gaps with awful freebies, look internally into the youth team and see if anyone can do that role. And instead of buying expensive players who dont fit into the playing style we have, look at the lower leagues and properly scout the guys who we think can really fit in and thrive here.

But selling 1 of the 3 academy players that should've made up our first XI, for a fee lower than those championship clubs can charge like Eze/Bowen, is a sucker blow to that

EDIT: I dont think that we will be relegated this season. I think this team showed what it can do under Moyes, and in truth a lot of money has gone into it so the players already here need to step up and start showing a bit of passion. Moyes said his first job is to work with what we've got and I trust he can do that. We are weak down the left, and dont have great depth at LB, CB or DM, but we still have a lot of good players at this club

What do you mean
How do you know who we buying?

Yeoldhammer

I want them out. Not enough expletives in the dictionary I could use to describe them.

EXETERHAMMER

Yeoldhammer said:

I want them out. Not enough expletives in the dictionary I could use to describe them.

Yeold, I am sure I could make up some more expletives for you.

Huttonhammer

Such a shame Diangana has gone. He seems a really exciting prospect. It would seem that another season of struggle is ahead.
I thought Mr Moyes wanted to build a young exciting side but it seems our owners don’t really have any plan or real vision for this club.

Cuz1

I really would like to know if moyes agreed to this sale, as it’s been stated he wanted younger players on board? If he didn’t I’d seriously look at my position as club manager if I’d been undermined like that

Barney

If Moyes agreed it was probably the only way he was going to get any money. I will still reserve judgement until the end of the window but not optimistic at all. let's hope there is a potential purchaser out there.

Lukerz

This was a Moyes decision.

Diang got a new 5 year deal under Pelle. Pelle liked him & saw him as the future, loaned him to WBA. The owners backed that with the new contract.

Moyes has come in & in the first transfer window that Diang returns, he is sold. Make no mistake Moyes has sanctioned this.

jay_in_cpt

Lukerz said:

This was a Moyes decision.

Diang got a new 5 year deal under Pelle. Pelle liked him & saw him as the future, loaned him to WBA. The owners backed that with the new contract.

Moyes has come in & in the first transfer window that Diang returns, he is sold. Make no mistake Moyes has sanctioned this.

Are u sure Luke!