Latest Injury (and Recovery!) Mews

brookingsirons

i still think the summer window will bite us before the season is over we only have carroll and if he gets injured again who plays up front now Antonio is out ..

Hull game is fast becoming the biggest game of the season for both sides.

Win we stay up lose we have some very hard games to come .

IronHerb

Just by winning doesn't make the remaining games any easier.
Win or lose we stay up.

brookingsirons

losing making it 4 in a row begins to get into the players minds Herb imo

33 points will not keep us up , I agree we should stay up but lose this game Hull are only 6 points behind us then , we have Arsenal away Spurs at home Liverpool
at home Everton at home I think you are being very optimistic Herb .

Stoke away could become another massive game .

IronHerb

Billie says Antonio could be fit for Arsenal.

IronHerb

Billie ( ;doh ) also says Sakho is training with the 1st team squad today with 'no restrictions'.
Nobes is also back in the squad.

Bazshuayi

Currently toying between a 'Billie don't be a hero' response or a Billie 'because we want to' one ;hmm Either way you know I'll be urged to ;yercoat

Lukerz

IronHerb said:

Billie says Antonio could be fit for Arsenal.

Wow that was a short month ;lol

MrsGrey

Can I just draw attention to the word COULD.

Thank you.

IronHerb

He did say he was in with a shout of playing against Hull.

MrsGrey

Steady.They might be trying to trick people into renewing their STs. Or something. And so maybe Slav is just saying what he's been told to say.

Because, apparently, that's a possibility.Not one I believe, personally, But some do.

grey_til_I_dye

Happened before... ;whistle

Fortuneseeker

I wouldn't be foolish enough to renew a season ticket on the basis that a player may be coming back from injury but on an announcement that we were going to buy a top European/World striker now that is a completely different case. ;wink ;whistle

Hammerwombat

I would only ever renew a season ticket on the basis that I loved watching my team, and supported the club. ;scarf

MarkNobleLocalHero

I've renewed mine....now why the hell did I go and do that?
Fool you........ ;wink

Moore_than_a_nick

Good news story here: http://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/april/02-april/sakho-i-feel-im-ready
Really hope Diaf plays and scores a few to end our season on a positive. And what with AC completing 90mins four times in a row: striker crisis, what striker crisis?!?

MrsGrey

We have really missed him.

baracks_a_hammer

Big time

If AC and Sakho had had just half a dozen or so games together recently we'd have already been past the safety post no matter how hopeless our defence was

MarkNobleLocalHero

Moore, ;ok just read the Sakho article and it is a good news story to cheer us up after a miserable weekend. To get Diaf back and fully operating would be splendiferous indeed, I can't wait ;scarf

buffybegood

NobleWorldClass said:

Moore, ;ok just read the Sakho article and it is a good news story to cheer us up after a miserable weekend.

Tbh though, that's probably all it is, a story released to try to lift spirits. He's probably weeks away from any involvement still, but the club released this article to deflect from another bad Saturday and the inevitable stories about Bilic.

MrsGrey

Do you think they told him to lie about how close to a comeback he is, then? And he did? I don't, myself.

While I agree that they've released it as a good news story ... I actually think it is just that. Some good news. So why not release it?

Also the article was posted on Sunday, but clearly the video was made earlier, so I don't think they were cobbling together any old thing, and twisting Sakho's arm to put a good spin on it, to hoodwink the fans (thicko's that we are).

Also, if they were trying to deflect attention away from Bilic, it makes no sense to publish a statement (on the same day as this 'ooh look over there a blubbering humdinger' article) about their backing for him. Because the article just keeps the story running.

Hear hoofbeats, think horses (for me).

Which is another way of saying, I don't agree with you theory ;ok

horshamhammer

Well the head of the medical team said last week in his column that Sakho was effectively at a preseason level of fitness and needed four or five weeks of preparation before being ready other start. So I wouldn't expect to see him play any part of a squad for at least another fortnight.

OutcastLondoner

MrsGrey said:

Do you think they told him to lie about how close to a comeback he is, then? And he did? I don't, myself.

I don't know in this case but it's completely possible. It's PR. PR teams do that, they tell people what to say. They even write down comments and put the person's name on it. Their job is to build a certain image, usually positive, and they are not bound to be truthful while doing so. West Ham's media team is no different to any other.

grey_til_I_dye

Outcast

But in this case Sakho is saying he feels he is ready to play and the medics want to hold him back longer.

I'd be one of the first to agree our media/PR team aren't up to snuff, but if this a fake story it's not really a very good one, is it?

MrsGrey

I appreciate the idea of PR 'spin'. I've done it myself. A lot can be achieved by presenting the facts in a certain way.

But to tell someone to flat-out lie? Really?

And - sorry to disagree- but I think West Ham's media team is quite different... less ept, for a start ;whome

Anyway - we none of us know for sure. I'm happy to not believe buffy's version. Others can have their own view ;ok

PrestonHammer

I'm not holding out any hope. He will play two games and be injured until next season.

OutcastLondoner

MrsGrey said:

I appreciate the idea of PR 'spin'. I've done it myself. A lot can be achieved by presenting the facts in a certain way.

But to tell someone to flat-out lie? Really?

Yes. A lot of PR work is flat-out lies, not spinning facts. Just look at Sean Spicer...

The West Ham PR team's job is to encourage positivity and the only reason not to lie is because it looks a bit stupid when a player isn't ready but no one really cares in a few weeks.

Like I said, I don't know about this case but do it's definitely a possibility that the PR team could have briefed him on what to say.

buffybegood

MrsGrey said:

Do you think they told him to lie about how close to a comeback he is, then? And he did? I don't, myself.

That's not what I said though, is it?

I said that he's probably still weeks away from any involvement and they simply released the story today as a PR exercise after the defeat to Hull. Just because a player says he feels ready to be involved (bear in mind most players are desperate to get back playing after a period out) doesn't mean that he is in a position to be involved YET.

I was simply saying that I don't believe he'll be involved for a while and perhaps suggesting that others shouldn't get their hopes up about an imminent return on the basis of the release of the story today, all imo obviously.

MrsGrey

outcast, that must be the first time the West Ham media team has been likened to a White House one! ;lol

Vorselaarhammer

To be fair Mrs Grey I think our Media team are pulling slightly ahead of the WH team recently....

At least our Media Watch is based on publications that have a following of more than 10 guys in a Cabin with Machine guns...

Moore_than_a_nick

I think I'm not so concerned about how close Sakho is to returning to the first XI (i.e. whether he really needs a full pre-season starting from last week or not): it's his attitude that is the real good news for me. It was his head and perhaps his heart, not his back or his quads, that we were all desperately worried about. His head seems well and truly screwed on and his heart seems to be beating strong and yearning to be part of the team. Given that, I hope we don't rush him back - I'd just like to see him end the season well and be fit for pre-season.