Revealed: What Inter Fans Think About Mario's Departure

So at long last the Hammers have managed to get some extra help into their squad with the arrival of Joao Mario from Inter Milan on loan until the end of the season. The signing is being hailed as a major boost in David Moyes' efforts to stabilise the club as a Premiership outfit and, all going well, Mario may stay thereafter as we hopefully look towards becoming a major force in the League.

Mario is an experienced Portuguese international and has a winners medal from their 2016 triumph at the Euros. In the aftermath of that, he moved from our old mates Sporting Lisbon to Inter for E40 million. He had a decent first season at Inter making 33 appearances with three goals and eight assists. However, this season he has struggled and has been in and out of the team, spending much time as a substitute. Indeed, his 14 appearances this season include 9 as a substitute. The arrival of Rafinha from Barcelona has persuaded him to move to where he can get first team action as it is a World Cup year.

So what does Moyes see in him? He sounds VERY like Pedro Obiang, which means he is probably going to push young Declan Rice further down the rankings for game time. In fact, although we typically think of swashbuckling surges forward when we picture Cheik Kouyate, this season the Senegalese has been much more conservative in his role and, in many respects, has provided a defensive midfield role.

Mario is technically gifted and can hold onto the ball - qualities that a team that frequently concedes 65% plus of the possession will benefit from. He has almost 90% pass accuracy but he is otherwise quite conservative - energetic but not especially pacey or creative (no goals and just 3 assists all season). The Hammers really need another creative and attack-minded midfielder. Hmmm.

We linked in with Italian contacts who follow to Inter to check out their feelings on his move - the responses were lukewarm and included "not sure that he is a top player. May be that in a less demanding team he would perform better" and "Speed is not his primary characteristic, but I think he will compensate with organization and geometry".

Hmmm. It seems they are a little underwhelmed. In reality, any player who is looking to move in January will have similar baggage with them. Let's hope he finds the Premiership to his liking and maybe will free up Cheik Kouyate to recover his old swashbuckling swagger!

Maybe we will get a viewing against Palace on Tuesday?

 

Strap yourselves in, this is going to get a bit bumpy!

So it's still all quiet on the West Ham front in terms of new signings. Hmmm. Let's hope it's the calm before a storm of activity that brings in a top quality midfielder and a forward who can score goals without limping off every time they collide with something or simply break into a gallop (Yes, Andy C running does look like a gallop!).
 
With a whopping nine first team squaddies out injured, we are in poor shape facing into a key part of our season. With Premiership games against Palace at home next Tuesday and away at Brighton on Saturday week, the trip to Wigan for Round 4 of the Cup will be a sweaty affair and undoubtedly  impacted upon by our slim resources right now.

Stuart Pearce has intimated that the kids will dominate the side as we really need to keep whatever we've got back for Palace, so we can expect Joe Hart to be minding for Reece Burke, Josh Cullen, Toni Martinez, Sam Byram and probably Declan Rice - although the latter may find himself key to Tuesday night's game and managed for Saturday's trip.

We really need to be careful pushing the likes of Collins and Noble too far as at their age they can only put in so many miles within short time periods and, in all honesty, Zabaleta has been remarkable all season with his consistency, but again we need to be careful about overstretching the 'mature' body.

Meanwhile Wigan are top of League One and full of it! Of course, they have good recent history having won the competition in 2013 - but at a terrible cost as their current League one status shows. Personally, I've never really warmed to them, partly due to their former Chairman's unhelpful interventions during Tevezgate, but they will fancy another premiership scalp for sure. having gone toe to toe with Bournemouth before thumping them 3-0 in the replay, they are riding high. At 7-4 they are a decent bet for the win!

A draw might be a good result in footballing terms, but we could do without the extra game. Imagine if we actually were in Europe with this squad!!! Just a marker of how far short we are right now of being the club we aspire towards.

Kick off is at 3PM. It's not on telly. It'll be a proper test for the kids - it's a long time since we produced a first team player through our youth system but the Reece's, Cullen and especially Rice are looking to buck that trend. Now is the time!  




 

Totally Tired...Farewell Mr Smith....true genius

Mark Edward Smith

1957 – 2018

We expected you to go on forever, but in the end you'd given it your all. Who else can honestly say that they have never compromised, ever!

Can you ever forget him reading the footie results: "West Ham United 1H"

Or when he accused Shearer, Owen and Mr Crisp ('the shirt brigade') of shopping together, like a bunch of policemen 😅😂🤣

A proper funny man, always perfectly out of tune.

RIP.

If Masuaku Leaves i Wont be Responsible for What I Might Do to Myself

Ok, before you send around the community mental health outreach team (or maybe the fire brigade), I don't actually plan to engage in self-immolation, but with many Hammers fans responding to news about Marko's dodgy hamstring with tweets saying 'we're doomed' and even 'please kill me', it does seem that hyperbole is the fashion of the hour at West Hamstrung United!

Having said that, rumours that Monaco, Roma and Man United are all trying to steal our Congolese Champion are a step too far and represent the final straw in what has been a vicious January transfer window, seething with scurrilous fake news - especially designed to destabilise West Ham! 

The Masuaku rumours are particularly disturbing because, although Arnautovic and Lanzini have taken most of the plaudits for our recent upturn in fortunes, all season Arthur has been top value entertainment - cheeky, crafty and totally unpredictable. My bets are that if you held a fastest feet competition, that he would win hands down!

While I know we all have a soft spot for Cresswell, who is undoubtedly a better defender and returning to his best form, Arthur's new role in a back five is really working well. For sure, as a standard left back your heart was in your mouth every time the opposition invited a clumsy tackle in the box (and God knows if we are honest he's actually given away 4-5 times more penalties than some lenient refs have awarded), but coming forward Arthur is the Dogs Bollix.

Masuaku is skillful and intelligent but most importantly, he is fun to watch! His recent skill against Spurs was the funniest moment delivered by a West Ham player since Payet's audacious free kick against Man U a few seasons back. For a week afterwards I chuckled every time I thought of it....Ok, OK here it is again: https://www.instagram.com/p/BdiyqPGBSnP/




Thankfully Arthur has moved quickly to quash these scandalous and distressing rumours, and most likely saved countless lives of impulsive Hammers fans who, like me, are at the end of their tatty tethers and simply cannot hack losing our best player to Roma or Monaco.......are they really bigger than us???.

His tweet, albeit from last November, puts an end to the nonsense and emphasises his absolute and total commitment to the cause. He's clearly enjoying his football right now and needs to be let get on with being brilliant!

Go away merchants of fake media, Masuaku is going nowhere!!!

COYI!!!

A Five Point Plan to Prevent the Annual Injury Crisis at West Ham

Here's a thing - every year around December and January we get to use the bubonic plague sketch to describe West Ham's injury situation. Every year. Right now we are second in the league in terms of injuries with a whopping first team squad players out through injury.

Having china dolls like Andy Sicknote and Diafra Sakho on the payroll is certainly part of the problem – with a total of 12 Premiership goals between them in the last two seasons (Carroll =9; Sakho =3) it’s simply not good enough! In all honesty, at this stage we really need to take the hit and free up space for players who will be available for selection at least 50% of the season.  

However, our most recent issues relate to Manny Lanzini and Marko Arnautovic. The optimist in me hopes that the Arnautovic injury scare is to end the tiresome media focus on the non-transfer of Marko to Chelsea. First it was Antonio, then Carroll and now Arnautovic - all fake news and it makes you wonder if there aren't some serious West Ham haters out there desperately trying to destabilise our club with these unhelpful rumours. 

However, in Lanzini's case you have to link his hamstring injury to the Shrewsbury saga. It's great to give the kids game time opportunities, and the replay certainly did that, but did our midfield talisman really need to be out there for 120 minutes in midweek with another (more important) game on Saturday? 

We have tried moving training facilities to reduce our injury count but with no benefit. Maybe it's time to make a coherent plan to reduce our injury count for the future. How about this: 

1. Offload long term chronic sicknoters - Carroll and Sakho. They are taking up space and wages that could be used better.

2. Include a detailed analysis of injury history in all new signings.

3. Restrict new signings to players who have not yet passed their prime - Jose Fonte is 34 years old - it's much harder to manage the speed of the game once you are over 30, and recovery time from injuries is greatly prolonged in the 'more mature' player.

4. Treat the FA cup and league cup the way the top clubs do - kids only. No Lanzini's out there against have a go types like Shrewsbury!

5. Invest in a big enough squad to allow for more player rotation - it's cost effective to have more players because it leads to less Lanzini-type overuse injuries.

 

 

Hammers simply can't afford NOT to strengthen!

With just a week left in the January transfer window it's all getting a bit heated at West Ham. Even worse, the injury list is (as usual) growing with news that both Andy Carroll and Manny Lanzini are set for prolonged absences - three months in Carroll's case (ED: that usually means nine!) and which essentially ends another season of disappointment for the big man.

With a series of very winnable games looming in the next month, Moyes can nail down his job as Hammers head-honcho for next season beyond, but with the squad depleting it looks like all the good work of late , which has propelled the club to mid table safety, could well come undone.

With rumours that just about every Hammers forward is potentially on the move (Chicharito to Besiktas; Ayew to Swansea; Sakho to Rennes; Carroll to sickbay instead of Chelsea) and revelations today that Chelsea are trying to destabilise Marko Arnautovic, it makes for hard viewing right now at the London Stadium.

Even worse, do we really think that the likes of Joe Allen or Jonjo Shelvey are top six standard players? With some reports suggesting that Moyes wants to stick to proven Premiership performers, it is clear that he has an eye for inter Milan's midfield Joao Mario. The Portuguese would bring a winning mentality but as a principally defensive-oriented player, he will hardly provide the solution to our reliability on Arnautovic up front.

Similarly, Anderlecht's Leander Dendoncker, another energetic midfielder that the Hammers have been linked with, is not exactly prolific with just 10 goals in 155 appearances for the Belgian club. 

It's pretty clear that its going to be difficult to bring in quality players as the January window is cagey and overpriced! Offloading the volatile Diafra Sakho for the reported fee of £10 million (who is out of contract in the Summer!) would be a start. Also, Chicharito might have finally checked in with his strike on Saturday against Bournemouth. It's also relevant that after high profile failures chasing 'big' players in the past, last Summer saw the Hammers board adopt a less flamboyant approach to transfer dealings which perhaps underpins the relative silence about possible signings.

With the 13th highest income from gate receipts worldwide, we can certainly afford to dip into our pockets and ensure our Premiership survival! We predict some good news on the transfer front, and soon!  

What is the Logic Behind Andy Carroll's Proposed Move to Chelsea?

As speculation grows regarding a shock move to Chelsea for Andy Carroll, fans are wondering what logic underpins the potential switch. Having mustered just 86 games in his four and a half seasons at West Ham, offloading Carroll for a decent fee (or just offloading his weekly wage) would possibly be the best piece of financial business the Hammers have done in recent years during the treacherous January transfer window.

With Carroll once again in sickbay - this time with rumours that he is feigning an ankle injury to keep himself available for any potential move - David Moyes has been coy about the move. From a Chelsea perspective, the move makes little sense. The Pensioners already have a big man up front in Alvaro Morata who has a decent record of maintaining injury-free status over recent years and hardly needs back up.

At the start of this season Hammers fans hoped that a combination of Carroll and Chicharito up front could propel them up the table and onto the verge of Champion's League glory. However, the two have rarely played together as both have had constant injury niggles, while in reality, the two up front combination represents an outdated model of attack since most clubs prefer these days to work with a lone attacker and a mobile midfield pushing up in support.

Carroll appears very settled in London, but it is worth noting that many of his closer friends have departed from West Ham, including Kevin Nolan, Joey O'Brien and Darren Randolph. After a career that has been blighted by injuries, it may well be that Andy has adjusted to the reality that he can only ever be an occasional presence for any club and that, at 29 years of age,  role as an impact substitute at Chelsea may be the height of what is possible for him now.

For the Hammers, losing Carroll would be a blow (sort of!) but if they could offload both Carroll and Sakho it would free up considerable resources to bring in strikers who will hopefully be reliable - both in terms of fitness AND goal scoring record. A possible swap for want-away Chelsea forward Michy Batshuayi represents good potential business as despite being used as a substitute for much of his time at Chelsea, he still has a considerably better scoring record (17 goals in 50 apps) than Carroll (32 in 124) that is similar to that of the terminally unhappy Diafra Sakho (24 in 71).

At this stage, if the rumours are correct, it might be better for Carroll to depart as it seems that his head has been turned. After so many false dawns over recent years, a fatigued Hammers fan base will mostly welcome moving on with new blood up front.

COYI!!!