Transfer Latest: They've got to be yanking our chain?

Slowly, slowly catchy monkey - as the saying goes and indeed that seems to be the philosophy at West ham as the club have completed their third signing in just over a week with the arrival of stylish Greek centre back Kostadinos Mavropanus.

You would think that this would quieten the playful speculation about transfer activity at the club but, if anything it has become more extreme!

Why on earth would West ham take on the burden of a spent Jesse Lingard while letting a club legend like Pablo Fornals leave? 

Similarly, the disruptive and expensive acquisition of Romelu Lukaku makes even less sense. But to top it off, we are apparently still in the hunt for Harry Maguire.

Perhaps Sullivan and Co. have finally learned the fine art of the dummy run. Yes, we have cash but its important that we try not to look too desperate for a particular signing, so this speculation may in fact help our cause.

Whatever the true nature of all these activities, Sunday's win emphasized that the squad is united and focused. Let's avoid spoiling that by adding any players who have egos that are substantially larger than their current abilities.

COYI!!!!

Five Learnings from the Chelsea Game

The season is truly up and running for West Ham after an impressive victory over the changeling monster that is Chelsea. The win was classic Moyesian fare, as the Hammers applied precise counterattacking with gritty determined blanket defence to overcome the visitors. The game left much to digest as Moyes rebuilds after the departure of Declan Rice.

1. James Ward-Prowse is a great acquisition - a lively presence in midfield with those superb set piece deliveries. Chelsea feared conceding corners and free kicks throughout. The one pity was that with just 25% possession, the Hammers spent too much time in defensive formation, often deep in their own half. 

2. Emerson has really slotted in at left back. Last season many fans wondered if he was a new Athur Masuaku - decent going forward but unreliable defensively. However, the good news is that Palmieri can defend and slots in nicely alongside Aguerd with effective triangulation out of defence with Paqueta et al.

3. Alphonsus Areola is ready to take up the mantle of first choice netminder. He had a great game nicely rounded off with a penalty save at a key point of the game when things had turned against the Hammers. Getting in level at half time was key to the final result.

4. Lucas Paqueta brings a special ingredient to the team. If the FA investigation works out badly then the Hammers are in real trouble. Fingers crossed.

5. We do better in holding a lead when we attack. Against Bournemouth we sat back and got punished by a jammy goal. Not so yesterday, we kept pushing forward and suckered punched Chelsea.

COYI!!!

West ham show faith with offensive starting XI

There has been no shortage of speculation ahead of David Moyes selection for our first home game of the season and as the team sheets emerge it's clear he wants to move forwards.

James Ward-Prowse makes his debut and will link with Lucas Paqueta in an attack-minded midfield. Pablo Fornals slips to the bench amid speculation about his future. 

The other new signing, Alvarez, is on the bench. Seen as a natural replacement for Rice, the Mexican will have some acclimatisation to do after his big money move from Ajax.

Antonio is up top with Benrahma and Bowen out wide. It's a team that can provide scoring opportunities but will need to be energetic to avoid getting over-run by a strong Chelsea midfield.

Ex-Chelsea pair, Emerson and Zouma start against their old club with Aguerd and Coufal making up the rest of a back four. Thilo Kehrer is still out with injury.

COYI!!!

West Ham: Areola; Coufal, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Paqueta; Bowen, Benrahma, Antonio.

West Ham United substitutes: Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Fornals, Cornet, Ings, Alvarez, Ogbonna, Mubama.

Why Paqueta Must Play today!

The circus continues at West Ham as Chelsea come visiting for today's London derby. Both sides picked up a draw in their opening fixtures, with Chelsea looking impressive at times against Liverpool.

Meanwhile, the Hammers threw away the win against a toothless Bournemouth side by conceding a late equaliser.

But today's game is overshadowed by the Lucas Paqueta situation, with the Brazilian due to unrgo an FA investigation into alleged betting pattern abnormalities.

It's hard to know how much meat there is to the allegations, with various outlets speculating that it relates to yellow card offences.

Footage of soft yellow cards being dished out to Paqueta against Villa (last season) and Bournemouth (last week). However, upon viewing both, its hard to see what all the fuss is about. 

Against Villa, Paqueta tries to dispossess John McGinn with a wrap around tackle which doesn't quite come off. In the context of the game, Paqueta had received his usual sizeable dose of heavy attention and unsurprisingly had a niggle back - in reality, he is a wiry operator and the challenge is not unusual for him or the Moyes 'dispossess and counter' philosophy.

Against Bournemouth, the yellow is for a coming together from a long kick out - like most on the ground players, he is a tad awkward but the yellow is very soft and by no means a solid card. Hardly the stuff of betting certainty!

The news from West ham is that Paqueta has been training as usual. It's important that the club show faith in him by selecting him to start today.

We will need him against Chelsea!

Another Disappointing Week at West Ham

There's been very little for Hammers fans to celebrate since the Europa triumph that rounded off last season. Just two signings, albeit both look rairly decent, but hardly a replacement for our former captain and heartbeat.

And Gianluca Scamacca has departed with no sign of an attacking replacement. A comical snub from Harry Maguire has been followed by a worrying probe into our star midfielder Lucas Paqueta.

Quite frankly, we needed a lift but instead we got the above as our new third kit. Traditionally, the third kit has provided an opportunity to add a bit of street-friendly style to the supporters wardrobe. Our previous all-black number remains a sought after shirt but last years white with orange dip Jersey was awful and now we have replaced that with an insipid wishy washy blue thing. It's not quite as dreadful as Aresenal's aquamarine disaster of a few seasons back but to be honest, it looks a bit 'Spursy'.

Yeuch!

Moyes Reveals Brand New Age

Here we go. Post-Rice Hammers take on Bournemouth at 3pm today and David Moyes has given some interesting food for thought in his starting XI.

1. Areola finally gets his moment ahead of Fabianski.

2. Coufal gets the nod ahead of Kehrer at RB.

3. Zouma is our new captain and Aguerd is back.

4. Antonio is up top ahead of Ings.

5. Fornals starts and will want to underline his contribution in a midfield that looks more porous without Rice to partner Soucek in front of the back four.

West Ham United: Areola, Coufal, Zouma ©, Aguerd, Emerson, Souček, Paquetá, Fornals, Bowen, Benrahma, Antonio

Subs: Fabiański (GK), Anang (GK), Johnson, Ogbonna, Kehrer, Coventry, Cornet, Ings, Mubama

Hammers Finally Kick into Gear

After all the celebrations have finally died down following our European adventures of last season, it's back to business as usual for David Moyes' men - business as usual but sadly without the rock that our success of recent seasons has been founded. 

Declan Rice is already singing his praises about working under Mikel Arteta, while back at the village it's a late and ponderous squad preparation for the new season. Just one arrival so far as Lanzini, Scamacca, Rice and a few others have departed.

At least the inward transfers have finally started to move with Edson Alvarez arriving to try to fill Rice's shoes. A decent defensive midfielder, but the seasoned observer will know that the Mexican will need time to settle in to the workmanlike tactics of headmaster Moyes, and the unforgiving physicality of the Premiership.

The same concerns do not apply for Messrs Maguire and Ward-Prowse who are apparently on their way and are both seasoned Premiership veterans. Many fans have reacted unkindly to the Maguire but although he can be error-prone, he is a decent centre back on the ground who is dominant at set pieces - both defensively and offensively. Have we just signed a new Craig Dawson? Hopefully!

Ward-Prowse is superb at set pieces but critics would say he doesn't do enough in open play.  We will have to wait and see, but he will undoubtedly improve the quality of our corner kick taking which was awful last year.

Up front, we look pedestrian - an ageing Antonio and Ings with the still developing Mubama will hardly terrify opposition defences. In simple terms, we need to find the player Scamacca did not deliver upon - a physically robust, lone wolf who is precise in front of goal - no small task in this world of specialist forwards. 

The Paqueta rumours are worrying as he is ready to really deliver this coming season and has looked livey in pre-season. We have nothing remotely similar in terms of creativity amongst our other midfielders. Young Potts looks like a real prospect but this will likely be a developing season or him - he needs to share space with the likes of Paqueta to realise his potential. Similarly, Flynn Downes has looked decent whenever he has been selected and surely must not be let depart?

Our recent pre-season thumping against Rennes and Leverkusen were awful as we looked asleep and disorganised defensively.  Let's hope today is different. Bournemouth have invested in adding pace to their flanks, while we have done nothing to address an obvious weakness in our squad. Today's game may swing on that difference.

It's hard to see a repeat of the 4-0 schooling we dished out to the Cherries towards the end of last season but lest we forget that in Bowen, Benrahma and Paqueta we have real attacking quality.

Rory Nostradamus says his crystal ball has gone all cloudy, so we have no great sense of what lies ahead today. 

COYI!!!