The injury news gets worse. The official site has confirmed that Jack Collison is out for six weeks, but there is clearly hope that he will return by the end of the season. So, the question now is what our strongest midfield four is. I would submit that it should be Parker, Noble, Kovcas, Savio.
What do the rest of you think?
West Ham Till I Die 
yep I agree
It picks itself really as we just don’t have anyone else to come in. I can only hope that when stanislas gets a chance he takes it and we can then push savio up front.
On the positive side in a couple of weeks we should have ginge back and maybe dyer. Boa morte(yes i know) will help out on the left side area too.
Im more concerned with up front for the next two games.Savio and di michele would be the smallest front line in history – nobody in the ranks now who can hold the ball up well for us. I have a feeling he may try for boa morte up front for the 2nd game. Sears is clearly not ready for the premiership.
That Dixon is getting fit looking forward to seeing him play
It’s a tough call who to play in midfield alongside Noble, Parker and Kovac, and then who to play up front alongside Di Michelle.
I think Savio has to and will start – but whether Zola opts to play him in midfield or up top, I’m not sure.
I don’t think fans are fairly judging either Savio’s or Sears’ credentials to start up front.
Savio has not even started a game yet – and starting games is a lot different to having to pick up the pace of the game coming on cold from the bench – so whilst I agree with the general consensus of that he probably is best deployed wide or in an attacking/creative position behind a front man or front two – why not give him a full 90 mins up front and see how he gets on.
As for Sears – I think a lot of fans have been disappointed that he has not really progressed as we might have hoped since scoring on his debut last year… but again, he’s not been given that many opportunities. He had two games with Bellamy earlier in the year (and to be fair, I thought those two looked ok together) – but since then, he’s had odd appearances from the bench – so it’s harsh to judge him or write him off as not being ready yet, when he’s not been given a proper run of games.
Against Boro in the cup he did look massively out of his depth – but the whole team wa pretty woeful that night, barring Parker, so it’s harsh to judge him solely on that game.
Di Michele has been given a dozen more starts and opportunities than Savio and Sears up front – and mostly alongside cole – and even with that amount of games alongside cole, he still looks utter t*ss. Againat Hull he acquitted himself well, and against Wigan he had some nice touches – but come on, the guy couldn’t hit fern britton’s backside with a banjo… his finishing is amatuer. I reckon if Sears or Savio got the run of games he had alongside cole, then both would’ve faired better and scored more goals.
I would punt with Stanislas in midfield and Savio up front for WBA…:
Green
Neill
Upson
Tomkins
Ilunga
Parker
Kovac
Noble
Stanislas
Savio
Di Michele
Hi Iain, I agree we dont have much choice. Kovacs took a bit of time to warm up and i thought early on created some problems for us but lately looked better.
The trouble with Noble, Kovac & Parker is that – while they are no doubt our best 3 midfielders, they are all quite similar and I’m not sure they’d make us a bit too one-dimensional. To give us the width, I agree on the left we could use Savio, although I also think perhaps Lopez could earn a run out, but on the right to give us a bit of balance (before Dyer returns) perhaps Spector or a youngster?
Sorry Iain, your wrong on this one, Chandos said he will be back in a week!
Of course, the lack of Cole for a couple of games also complicates matters. If Tristan is still out then what do we do?
I personally would have a 4-5-1
Green
Neill
Upson
Tomkins
Ilunga
Spector
Parker
Kovac
Noble
Savio
DDM
You can then take off a midfielder and bring on Sears, or push Savio up front and possibly bring on Lopez to change things about if need be.
They look strong individually but I can’t see the balance or width to that 4. I’m presuming there’ll be a diamond so will it be: –
Kovacs
Noble Savio
Parker
Enter Junior Stanislas. He did well for Southend and has got a bit of pace about him.
Up front I think it’s got to be Cole and Di Mic. I reckon they’d give the Baggies all sorts of problems.
The back 4 pretty much selects itself at the moment so I’d go for:-
Green
Neill Tomkins Upson Ilunga
Kovacs
Stanislas Savio
Parker
Cole Di Michele
Savio and Ilunga were fantastic in the last 2 games which is why I’d start like that down the left. Parker at the top of the diamond because I think he’d make a better job of it than Kovacs.
cole is out. someone told me parker was too, and parker as attacking midfielder? gets worse as lawro predicts us to win 2-0, and whatever he predicts, the opposite happens.
Green
neil, upson, tompkins, ilunga
kovac
stanislas noble lopez
savio
di michele
Wouldn’t mind seeing Parker, Kovac and Noble in midfield, with either Savio, Lopez or Stanislas on the left wing, and Di Michele/Sears/Savio(depending on who’s on the left wing, obviously) up front.
I’m interested in seeing Lopez play. He’s had a few appearances now, maybe it’s time for him to get a start. Have never seen him play, but I understand that he’s done OK in reserve games? Anyway, he’s a Nani-signing, and Nani’s contributions have proven good so far.
All in all I trust in Zola and Clarke’s ability to pick a team. COYI!
Yup – Cheers for that. Soooo – on reflection your lineup looks pretty close to the mark Jackster101. Without Parker the midfield really lacks experience (of playing in the Prem or Playing together)though. What to do, what to do: –
Green
Spector, Neill, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga
Stanislas, Kovacs, Noble
Di Michele, Savio (in a wide forward, Bellamy, type role)
Yup – that’s about the best I could make of a bad situation.
Im still very worried…39 points is not enough yet.
With such a frail squad,not that many goal scorers,
Will we survive?
Dont take it for granted we still have work to do.
NO cole for WBA.
Cant see where the goals are gunna come from,no cole no colly.sorry for being negative!
Noble cant play wide right so if hes in the team parker will have to play there? savio noble kovac parker.
not great unless you play a 5 in midfield.
savio kovac parker noble sears
di michele.
or put spector either way we are all defenders again.
LBM maybe? up front on this own(god!!!)
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Spector on the right. He looked pretty lively when he came on there the other day, and I think he may be given the chance of a start.
It’s a very important game against WBA. A win would almost make sure our survival. I think whatever team we manage to put out should be able to get the 3 points, as long as they are up for the battle.
If, as some are saying on here, Parker is out. It’s sure going to highlight how short our squad is. January all looked good for keeping our better players but we sure let the size of our squad slip to almost dangerous levels. we might just pay for that now.
Savio to grab himself a goal for me. I’ll be checking the odds on first scorer come Monday night (or maybe last scorer if he doesn’t start).
Agree with brooking best….We dont get 3 points against WBA we could start digging ourselves a hole.
Games after that without a full squad are hard.
So its simple beat WBA we stay up.
Lose means trouble!
Beat WBA we stay up? We have 39pts!!!
i would put money on that being the team but i would like to see stanislas at least get a fair buit of time on the pitch.
gutted for colly that is meant to be agony! thankfully its not as serious as behrami.
i agree that sears is being unfairly judged by almost everyone, even myself at times. he had a bad game against boro, which was his first start for however long and he hasnt consistently played for ages! he deserves a run in the side or if zola doesnt plan on doing this loaning him out is essential to give the lad competitive first team footie
and by the way chris that is far to negative!
we are in 7th place for christ sake.
we have been playing teams of the park as a team, not all thanks to cole or colly.
yes they will be a loss but a good club needs to deal with setbacks. for crying out loud have some faith in our entire squad and management team.
im fed up with talk of relegation when this is shaping up to be one of our best seasons, league wise, in several years
Spector on the right for me as he can and will help neil out in defence, he has a good engine and a fair bit of experience. IF lbm is back I would play him up front with ddm that is if we are staying 4-4-2.
4-4-2: ..Green
neil tomkins upson illunga
spector kovac parker savio
…..ddm lbm.
I think for this game we would do better with 4-5-1
4-5-1: …Green
neil tomkins upson illunga
spector kovac parker noble savio
…………..Lbm.
We need to win this one a) to make sure we stay up, b)to keep the pressure on the teams below us the spuds are only 6pts behind us so the game against them could be even more important to euro qualification than we thought c) to keep the presure on everton and a possible 6th place
COYI
Perhaps I got it wrong Roshi, it does happen once or twice in every decade! lol.
Our next 3 games are IMHO all winable or at least worth a point WBA 3pts(h) Blackburn 1pt(A) sunderland 3pts (H)
Then we play Spuds (A)who will if they have had a couple of good results see this one as their chance to get into europe or at least stop us.
Villa (A) will be wanting to cement 4th spot maybe even 3rd.
Chelski (H) chelsea seem to have found their form.
Stoke (A) No push over.
Liverpool (H) who knows depends on which liverpool turn up ?
Everton could be playing for 6th place winner takes all.
Boro (H) 3pts and a great end to a great season.
There was no indication that Collison’s injury was that serious. A dislocated knee cap can, indeed, be quite serious, so they just need to ensure that there are no long term ill effects. As a matter of interest, that is the same injury that Terry Dixon had, only he came back and did it again!
The squad will just have to dig in and grind out the results, if necessary. It looks likes like Boa Morte will get a run on he left now. Parker and Kovac will play in the centre and Noble on the right. It also means that Payne and Stanislaus will need to step up to the plate if needed. Zola probably wishes that he still had Bowyer right now, I wonder if there is a recall clause in his loan deal with Brum?
It’s a real test of the squad’s character now, I personally think that they will come through ok. Lets face it, it would not be West Ham if we did not have a crisis or two before the end of the season!
SJ : stop sitting on the fench lol
Give us your formation and team.
Green
Neill Tomkins Upson Ilunga
Noble Parker Kovac Lopez
Di Michele Savio
Hope this terry dixon bloke is good, he was meant to be the next big thing when he at the spuds so glad zola snapped him up. If he gets fit he could be handy
When have I ever sat on the fence Mr E1? lol! I think the team will be something like:
Green
Neill
Illunga
Kovac
Tomkins
Upson
Noble
Parker
Di Michele
Sears
Boa Morte
With the following on the bench: Latuvska, Spector, Lopez, Stanislaus, Payne, Nsreko, Banjer or Hines
Personally, I would prefer Nsreko to Boa Morte, but Zola seems to rate Luis, so it is unlikely. The right side is the problem, but Noble will have to fill in there. Someone also mentioned that Berhami’s absence will mean that Neill loses the defensive cover that he has enjoyed all season. If we were playing a better team than WBA, I might be tempted to play Spector on the right side in front of Neill. We need Dyer back as a matter of urgency now!
I personally think that this is a game tailor made to unleash Nsereko, if not from the start then early 2nd half. There seems to be a prevalent view that Parker will miss the game, is that correct?
The next 4 games are very winnerable and that includes Spurs away. We need to aim for a minimum of 8 points from those matches, taking us to 47 points going in to the Villa match.
With you there SJ (hope the fench can hold us both lol)I’m sticking with my original forecast of 53pts to finish in 7th maybe 6th subject to everton’s run in.
So that’s in then then me and sj have sorted it no need to worry just look forward to the rest of the season lol
COYI !!!!!!!
We are up against ateam with a shocking defenceive record di michele and Sears should have a field day savio should start.3.0 by halftime.
I am a season ticket holder in Dr Martins lower (in fact I sit next to Iain but am a first time blogger) Just to throw a hand grenade into the debate – and acknowledging that we have lost key mid field players through injury – I do not like Parker and Noble together. I am a huge fan of Parker… key player in many recent games… but, Noble has not (in my humble opinion) developed from the potential we all thought he had a couple of seasons ago. For me he is a pale imitation of the real thing…. Parker!!!
Sorry to read about Collison – hope he gets better soon.
Chris – we are not going to be relegated unless we have a complete change of character. They are a team and they work for each other. Zola/Clarke have had time to work around Colly and I am confident they have a good plan. I would love to see Junior play on Monday. I don’t think we can stick LBM up front on his own – unless he wasn’t really injured and has been in one on one shooting practice with Zola for seven days a week.
In my happy dreamworld we win all the games leading up to Easter and then Dixon plays in the Spurs game and scores a brace against his former team. I know – I am the optimist to Chris’s pessimist but….. I have given up going away for Easter so I can be at the Spurs game so I have to be hopeful.
I ain’t one of his biggest fans, but Zola seems to like his workrate, so if LBM is fit, then I think he’ll start on the left. If he does, someone should keep track of his passing statistics… last time I saw him, I asked my old man (another irons fan) to watch out and he counted 7 from 9 passes misplaced as soon as he came on… staggering stuff for a premiership player.
I think Savio and DDM up front, would prefer to see midfield of Nobel, Parker, Kovacs and Spector… but as I say, reckon LBM will get the nod over Spector.
As for the importance of the W Brom game guys, would anyone mentioning the “R” word, please head for hibernation and stay there until next season… we’re playing the best football we’ve played in years, lying comfortably in 7th and looking a good bet for top 8 finish… with 7th and a European spot a good shout if things go well. Some of you pessimists will be talking about a global recession shortly !!!
For all those pessimists out there check out the fixture list for some of the other clubs I would not want the spuds or everton’s last 10 games given the positions they are both in.can’t see either getting much more than 8 points 11 IF either beat us.
EVERTON: Chelsea (A) Pompey (A) Wigan (H) Villa (A)
Man u (A) Man city (H) Sunderland (A) Spuds (H) THE MIGHTY IRONS (H) Fulham (A)
SPUDS: VILLA (A) Chelsea (H)BLACBURN (A) THE SUPER HAMMERS (H) Newcastle (H) Man u (A) WBA (H) Everton (A) Man City (H) Liverpool (A).
OH BUM Lawrenson has put down as a 2-0 win against the Baggies lets hope just once he gets our score right.
I am amused by the typical Claret and Blue spirit among our fans. Being a fan for over 30 years, it is hard not to smile out of recognition. Struggling with heart brakes year in and year out, We must be the only club in the world, who’s fans are talking relegation when holding seventh place and facing the best season since the 80’s. Of course injuries are going to make this a little bit harder, but come on!!
Look up and onward!! Europe here we come!!….right
It would take a disaster of Asian tsunami proportions for even us to get relegated now on 39 points. Now you come to mention it though… 😀
what about kovac up front. he’s tall, is he fast? I’ve seen a video of him finishing a nice goal, wouldnt surprise me if he had it in him
NOT that I think we have much to worry about but we did get religated with 42 points and a very good team. The jobs not done yet but don’t see we have much if anything be bothered about. It’s more can we,will we make europe next season or will we finish 6th 7th or 8th whatever we will be Pl next year and finish higher than last year. HAPPY DAY’S
despite being a tad nervous having lived through 30 years of sporadic relegations there is zero chance of relegation this year.
There was a report in the tabloids todays that the FA have cleared Sheffield Utd of excerting third party influence in the Matthew Springer to Charlton case. You will remember that Martin Samuels drew attention to the fact that the Blunts had released the player from his loan with them so that he could join Charlton permanently from Luton Town. The trade off being that he did he appear for Charlton when they played the Blunts in the third round of the FA Cup.
There was substantial evidence that Sheffield Utd had excerted the third party influence over Charlton’s team selection, yet no they are innocent!!!! This follows on from their previous transgression in the Kabba case and a similar situation relating to Man Utd’s sale of Tim Howard to Everton. Are West Ham the only team guilty of this offence? Or at least, the only club that the FA/PL are prepared to take action against? Triesman can you explain please?
sorry, that should be ‘did not appear for Charlton’
If we make Europe with this number of injuries it will be nothing short of incredible in my view.
More likely the mid table finish I predicted at start of the season.
I’ll take it – gladly.
SJC – I wondered how long it would be before someone mentioned the unmentionable……
I would like to see Lopez given a chance in midfield. I think he might do ok. At the end of the day I’m happy to leave it to the management. I think we will stay up and two more wins will make it past the post me thinks. I have really enjoyed the football we have played this season.
Yeah Yeah Yeah! I’ve seen this all before!
We are the masters of the cock up!
If cole and colly were not missing I would be more optimistic,2 players missing dont make a difference? they flippin do!! I think you lot are overating our squad bigtime.Our back 4 are solid but infront of that parker and colly are the only players I rate.
We have been lucky in our last few games,alright our last goal was class but we only seem to have one goal in us,remember man city missed a bucket load and boro turned us over ,and they are crap!
I’m dealing with the facts here,we are good for one goal and thats with cole and colly in the team!
We avoided relegation last time around winning most of our games,so you telling me Newcastle portsmouth spurs blackburn cant?
Be very careful everyone how far you stick your neck out.
WBA Will go along with Boro they are both crap!
But 3rd spot is Anyones,everyone down there has quality players Cruz crouch martins keane etc….
I somewhat agree with the 1 goal statement. We seem to be missing something, which prevents us from capitalizing. But If you’re saying parker and collison are the only people (par defence) who you rate as good players, then you need to open your eyes.
Wouldnt mind seeing Noble play at the peak of the diamond. Watching the volley goal when he was standing just behind Tevez makes me want Westham to take some more out of box shots.
Parker, Noble, Kovac and Savio.
Maybe spector for kovac, or spector as cover.
LBM possiable cover on the left.
Chris — Are you Spurs in disguise ?
Yes Chris – in fact I’m telling you that Newcastle, Portsmouth, Spurs, Blackburn, Middlesborough and Stoke Can’t – at least not all of them. Fact is they play each other so how can they all win all of their games? There’s a snowball in hell’s chance we’re going down fella.
Morning…No I’m not a spud Calv!!!
Must admit I was drinking last Night and lost it a bit,but our team on paper looks so bad for the next few games,dont think i can take another topsy turvey season again,one minute we play well against man utd then lose to boro then beat man city god its like us to lose against WBA.
Dujon you’ve named 1 player,Noble he’s alright but If we lost him next season would you be that bothered.
Ok point taken everyone we’re not going down!!! we beat WBA Sunderland draw at blackburn job done.
Can I say thou If Zola does not play Savio he’s a mug.
Dont wanna see us go behind then they throw him on.
If you look at how West Ham play at the moment, there is no way we will go down if those beneath us keep under performing the way they have. In fact if Arsenal had not had a half decent start to the season where would they be now!
I have had a bet that we will finish above Everton, don’t laugh, it is possible and likely as Everton to me look like they are ready for a wobble on the run in, due mainly to the lack of depth to their squad. I know our squad is not brilliant but our overall quality of players is better and not so dependent on a few individuals, plus form wise we seem to be getting more and more consistent, a word not used much by West Ham supporters in the past.
My dream to go down Spurs, Blackburn and Newcastle.
Roshi – i have that bet too ! i feel Eveton have had an awful lot of luck this season with there results and its due to run out ! yes we have had a couple of bad losses to the team , however , we have cover with some exciting young players who will give it there all when they get there chance,
Chris — have a bit of faith and belief, we are playing some of the best football we have seen for years at upton park , so lets enjoy it while it lasts !
Quite a few of us were bold enough to predict an on-going non-relegation situation a month ago. No chance of it then, so deffo no chance of it now.
No chance of Europe, either… just the usual, boring end of season run-in. Give me the excitement of a relegation battle any day. 😉
Right, let’s get this straight. We are in no danger of going down.
Okay, we have injury and suspension problems that exposes the lack of depth in the squad but this, in a way, could prove a blessing in disguise as, over the last 10 games, it would seem that some of the youngsters will get a chance to show what they can do, whether it’s starting games or getting a run off the bench. Savio will probably get his first start against WBA and at least a couple of the kids will have to be on the bench as there are precious few alternatives. One of them might even get a start as well but that depends on Zola’s judgement as to whetehr they are ready or not.
If, over this period, we find one more developing as Jack Collison has done this season it will be a huge bonus. I really doubt whether Jack will play again this season as it’s only 9 weeks to the end and it may be best to let him recover fully for neat season.
If we can get Dyer back, even for a couple of games, and he doesn’t get injured again, that’s another bonus.
Everton? I think that they have defied the laws of gravity by being in 6th place, given their injuries and the overall quality of their squad. So I guess there must be some credit due to Moyes there and they do also seem to have a good spirit in the team. Can we catch them? We certainly have every opportunity.
Chris our squad is not bad on paper!
Green
Neill Tomkins Upson Ilunga
Kovac Parker Noble Stanislas
DiMichele Savio
I’d start something like that
Chris, chill out fella. Even without Parker, for one game we still have Dyer nearly ready to come back along with Ginge.
Cole is only missing 2 games so should be back for the run in.
Up front Di Mic will get the nod for sure, but lets not forget we still have LOTS of options.
Sears, Savio, Hines,Tristan(?)& Bajner. OK none deffinate starters but certainly striking options and against WBA we could go with some pace up top.
My team for Monday would be
Green
Neil, Tonka, Upson, Illunga
Spector, Kovac holding, Nobes point of diamond, Savio
Di Mic & Bajner
The only gamblee here is Bajner, but I bet he would try his guts out to impress!!
If Ginge was available, I might even look at Tonka as a target man, and he can score a gaol or 2.
So, in reality, not all doom and gloom, we have depth of squad just young untried players, but you can bet your last quid they would all play to thier best ability for GZ and SC.
I believe statistically we are safe, so can give a run out for at least 2-3 of our youngsters in the coming weeks. Remember, if they wern’t good enough they wouldn’t be given the chance by GZ, he knows, have faith.
3-1 monday, di mic, savio & Noble penalty
IRONS
I would swap european qualification to see Spurs go down. That would make a good season great!
Paul M – Spot on. I agree 100%. Really think we should tke the opportunity to ‘blood’ the kids.
Brooking still the best – Agree with you too. Wouldn’t that be a great way to end the campaign.
Tevez agreement? Not so bad if i’m to believe what i’m reading
10-15m… it’s still wrong but would be good to see an end of it!!!
Agree with Graybo – we shouldn’t pay Sheff Utd a penny. After all, they threw the Wigan game to try to get us relegated. But good to have it over and done with, especially if the club has to be sold in the next three months.
No more talk of relegation, please. We have 39 points. I could play up front for the rest of the seaon and we’d still stay up! The focus should be on getting prepared for next year – injuries may keep us out of the running for a Europa Cup place (although I won’t give up hopw as it looks like Zola and Clarke are building a system and a way of playing that makes it easy for players to slot in – ie. Man Utd rather than Liverpool), but we could be contenders for a top six finish next year.
did someone mention not having parker for 1 game.
I was not aware of that.
I would deffinately appreciate some pace up front.
And i’ve never heard of Banjer. anybody want to give me a rundown on him?
Are we able to call bowyer back from birmingham?
I am sure he will do well if we play him on the right.
I would also like to see lopez given a run.
Didn’t Sheffield go down cause one of their players handled the ball in the box in their last decisive game? i would like to know your opinoin obout this.
If tevez influenced us in staying up, the penalty sure influenced sheffield in going down.
its over. we’ve settled out of court with the blunts. £10 mill over 5 years. happy days. onwards and upwards. COYI
FAO,DUJON – No I thought parker was one booking away from a one match ban!
Rundown on Bajner is he is too young, maybe next season! I would’nt gamble on him at this stage of the season!
On sheff utd, nothing official yet, Media can twist it totally from the truth that goes for the BBC as well! But if true they are correct to avoid a hearing chaired by Lord Griffiths, he is a spud fan!
Sorry if this is a bit heavy but I feel it is worthy of comment. For my sins I am a lawyer but in relation to Sheff Utd I did not consider that I had an objective view even though I could not see how they had a case at law againt us.
I do however know an experienced litigation lawyer who is a gooner and when the claim was first made asked his opinion. He said right from the outset that he didn’t think they had any right to compensation.
I saw him recently and asked him again given that it now seemed we were possibly having to pay £45m. His response was the same in terms of our liability but he thought that we should never have taken the path of an arbitration and that the appeal we were making to the European Court was a waste of time.
In other words it was at least partly our fault we were going to have to pay.
If,and I really hope it’s true, the payment is to be £10m over five years I personally beleive it to be a great result from where the whole mess is now in. Now all that we have to do is fight the FA/Premier league problem.
well chris if colly and parker are the only players you have rate above the top 4 then why are you so worried about cole being out. chris you need to brighten up in life we have a good squad and you are expecting us to lose every game until the end of the season if we are to go down.
2 words………NO CHANCE!
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/4981170/West-Ham-agree-compensation-with-Sheffield-United-over-Carlos-Tevez.html
Balint Banjier is an 18 year old Hungarian prospect that we signed last season. He featured for the Hungarians last summer in the U-19 Euro championships, where I believe he got to the final before losing out to Nsereko’s Germany.
He is a well balanced centre forward who can lead the line and finish. He holds the ball up well, bringing others in to the play and can take a chance as well. He is mobile and has reasonable pace. In short, he is a very neat footballer and he has been featuring regularly for he reserves this season.
He would probably not make the bench if Cole and Tristian were available, but at the moment he is the only striker we have that can lead the line and play with his back to goal. As such I would include him in the bench to give us another option if Di Michele/Sears/Nsereko does not work out.
Also, if he is back from his loan deal, this is the ideal opportunity for Hines to show what he can do. He looked very good in pre and early season before getting injured.
I know that it is possible that young players will be overwhelmed by the PL if introduced too early, but the other side of the coin is that they are unknown quantities to the opposition and are highly motivated to impress. Besides which, WBA are not exactly Man U or Chelski, so why not give them an opportunity?
Good to see the end of Tevezgate ! although i still wouldnt have paid sheff utd a penny and taken it to the high court ! i feel that lord Treisman (pratt who has no place in football) and mr scudamore have handled this whole thing badly and in a non proffessional manner, should both resign !! as for macabe,another disgrace that has no place in football, walks away with 10 mil ! bet the tight tosser doesnt invest it in sheff utd football club !
I know a financial settlement will stick in a lot of people’s throats, because in truth we owed them nothing. But sometimes you have to compromise to protect and secure other, more important objectives. It was clear that the Tevez compensation issue was a massive fly in the club takeover ointment and it had to be resolved to clear the path to secure the club’s long term security and stability.
The Griffths ruling is a disgrace, the ruling being perverse and illogical, but it is now for the FA/PL to consider the long term consequences of any preccedent that it sets. What happens if Reading fail to get promoted this season one wonders, courtesy of Attwell’s phantom Watford goal?
Sheffield Utd have chanced their arm and been rewarded by effectively wiping out the club’s debts. Good for them, but Sheffield Utd still stand condemned as hypocritical, opportunistic, con artists who risked the whole governance of the English game in the pursuit of their narrow, naked self-interest.
The PL and FA also stand accused of using this issue as a battle ground upon which to conduct a perverse struggle for power and influence. They should now do the right thing now and declare that West Ham have no further case to answer. There is no evidence upon which to proceed anyway, to persist will perpetuate the view that the FA are not being fair or even handed in this matter.
Lord Triesman, Chair of the FA supports Spurs, Lord Griffths supports cricket and the MCC. In fact Griffths knows as much about football as most of us know about WC Grace’s career batting averages, nothing!
SJ- your right it does “stick in your throat”,however, Hopefully we now can be sold in the very near future, and how great it would be if we signed Tevez back in the summer !Leagally of course !lol
10 million over 5 years and that is a bit inflated on account of the timescale. Mugs we lose more than that down the back of the sofa loadsamoney!!! you northern mugs cor imagine all the pints of tripe and whippets mccheat can buy with that. In the words of Lord Percy “pay the man and damn his eyes”, seriously glad it’s over but they didn’t deserve a farthing
PS Tevez back at West Ham somebody at the club make it happen
SJ, I couldn’t agree more – it’s bllx, but it’s over.
Does anybody know if there was any truth with Anil Ambani sorting out the deal with Sheff who before a possible takeover?
The good thing about all this is we will NOT have to sell any players to pay these greedy bast**ds who do not deserve anything like what they are getting.
Tevez is gone and we need to move on.
UP THE HAMMERS.
SJ I agree that the Griffiths ruling is perverse and illogical but that is not unusual in our courts or anyone elses for that matter. That is why some lawyers make lots of money!
Chris chill the hell out mate, how can you even be mildy pessimistic in this amazing season of the football we craved under Curbishly.
Glad this Tevez crap is over, hopefully we can remember his time at West Ham with fondness now.
We will be fine, i honestly dont care if we finish mid-table in this season of change and transition, that would be fantastic. I have no hope of Europe simply because i am happy with mid-table but Europe would be absolutely fantastic and a great reward for everybody who has turned this club around. Mid-table and above will make West Ham a great club and attractive to persuade some great players to come over in the summer transfer market.
Hopefully alot of results go our way tomorrow and we can be all relaxed and happy and POSITIVE on Monday!
Come on Stoke and Villa! That’s all we should wish for this weekend!
Just hope that is the end of it and that Mr Ambani is happy to take over and sticks to project football with a boost to the transfere fund, then we can say goodbye to the deadwood, the wasters and ALL of the sick notes, give the younsters ago and bring in the players zola and clarke feel we need. Still say we can nick 6th place but the next couple of weeks will determin 7th or 8th,still better than last season and I am sure we will all(even chris) be happy with that
IoD: sorry to say that a chelski win would be good as well they play everton and if we win then it’s only 3pts between us and the toffees
COYI !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry last comment wrong the chelsea game not got a date yet. oooooops!
Who is this mr Ambani? Whats the rumor with that?
Just received my tickets for Tottenham game today.Not sure if good or a bad thing now that Collison and Behrami are out?
It will be good to be there though as my son has never been to Spurs and he is looking forward to it.
If we can keep a run going till then I think we can go there with confidance and hopefully get a result of some kind. Harry has a good record against us so it will not be easy.
We must get 3 points on Monday against the Baggies and then kick on from there. Zola seems to be in positive mood so that should be good for us.
Ambani is ,so they say the 3rd riches man in the world an indian business man who ,again so they say has ties to the east end want’s to buy the club and has put in a bid subjact to the teves rubbish being settled..
That’s great just so long as we continue with “Project Football” and go on developing a young, talented side whilst retaining our superb, more experienced, backbone of Green, Upson, Parker, as well as Behrami, Ilunga and Collins.
I don’t know abut Ambani but if he’s impatient and wants immediate success then perhaps it’s not our best option.
I reckon BG will do the right thing and find the right buyer. I’d personally be happy if BG managed to continue . His non interferance of Gianfranco and SC’s team affairs, and Nani’s scouting and squad development work, seems to be paying off.
COYI!!!!
Bang on Goatygav who ever takes over needs to keep project football rolling on.
back to the teves blks we are prem league rolling on to europe and the blades are still and will stay championship so 10 mill ain’t so bad it will take more than that to get that circus back up let em rot.
HAPPY DAY’S COOOOOOOOOOOOMMMME OOOOOOOOOOON YOOOOOOOOOOOOU IROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONS !
E1, I will coreect you, Anil Ambani is the 34th richest man in the world as per Forbes.com, His brother is 7th but apparently they do not get on at all!
Here is the Forbes link
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/10/billionaires-2009-richest-people_The-Worlds-Billionaires_Rank_2.html
back to colly for a sec
http://www.newcastle.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=147236
bassically says newcastle will make a summer swoop for colly……..chances of that going through – 0%
why do websites write such rubbish? do they really think colly would even consider leaving the club he has grown up playing for to go to a shambles destined for relegation.
it would be nice if everything you read was true!
hammeredcalv stop talkin b….x!extremely hammeredmuz
I agee with you Rob!
Totally no reason for any player to go to Newcastle! Newcastle are the Spuds of the future!
As for Tevez and thegeneralmuz calling it rubbish! If somebody of Ambani’s wealth takes over the club and Zola wanted Tevez then I would welcome Tevez back with open arms! We ALSO still have Jooribchian on our books so the link is not dead!
Infact he is exactly what we need, somebody who can hit the net!
James thanks for the corection but what ever way you look at it he’s got a few bob. What has his brother got to do with it ?
thegenralmuz same ol same ol everybody else talks rubbish except you NOT!Teves is possible if we have the money.
can’t see colli going to the barcodes and really can’t see him wanting to go unless we really go down the pan . We are over the next 2/3 seasons going to be a force to be reconed with and he I am sure will want to be part of it.
Joorabchian wants in the region of £30M to buy Tevez’s economic rights. Would be worth every penny I reckon.
E1, I agree, It is nice to have a few bob especially in this climate!
If you read the Forbes website about Anil then you will see that he still has connections to the same organisation as his richer brother. It also states that they will try to get on better in the future. All I am trying to say is that we could be even richer should this happen at all! Sorry to be a bit ahead of myself it’s just me being greedy ha ha!
Goatygav, Damn Right!! Bring back Carlitos!!
Zola has praised Jack Collison time after time again. And Jack is so committed to
Westham, so i dont believe there is any way he will leave.
Generalmuz — b****x i might talk ?? if Anil buys the club, i will have a wager with you that we get Tevez back in the summer ! Looking at our team , he would be the missing piece of the team , who do we have that can take a good 25 yard free kick shot on goal ?? no one ! who can deliver excellent crosses into the box ?? no one !! his hold up play is in a diff league to mr coles !!
Much as I would love to see it we won’t get Tevez back in the summer. He will either stay at Manure or go to one of the big Spanish or Italian clubs. We need to look forward, not back.
Hang on Roymondo, Tevez played better with us in a few games compared to the two seasons at Manure, I say he still holds a place for West Ham as he even bows to the fans each time he comes back!! We got the best out of him IMO!!
It is reported that he never wanted to leave West Ham, It was Jooribchian who cocked it up when he did’nt get his way with the purchase of the club!! Dodgy car dealer etc, words of wisdom, whatever you call it!!
Tevez back at West Ham is very much a forward move IMO!! In terms of realism, well let’s say if Anil Ambani or DIC purchased our club then a bid for Carlitos is very real!!
Tevez a backwards move ???? what planet are some of you on ???
hAMMEREDCALV: AND KEEPING ASHTON is what?, a forward move, don’t think so.
IF we have the money and IF the player want’s to come back then to buy Teves would be far from a backward move, Regarding planets don’t think you are on the same one as the rest of us.
E1 – i dont think you understood what i meant ? read some of the previous posts ! maybe you had to many lagers yesterday ?? lol ! Tevez is the missing part of the team !!!!!
I noticed someone said we’re missing somebody who can shoot outside the box, something which i too have said previously.
However watching videos of Savio playing in the U/19 comp and for Brescia, it looks like he could be this player we need. I dont think he is as willing to shoot outside the box in the premier league, but i think he should do so on a more regular basis (if he isn’t already). He is a very talented youngster and from what i’ve seen he has a very accurate and powerful shot. Come on savio !
Dujon, Yes Savio is certainly one for the future, But he needs to beef up for the Premier League and I guess over time that will come, Savio has showed his shooting ability against Man City but it was saved to my anger Lol! Freddie Sears at the Boro game is a perfect example, He was very light weight and pinged off defenders like a pinball. We don’t want to rush him in yet, although with the injuries mounting we may have to!
Also looks like Kovac has a nice shot on him as well!!
evening ladies,have i said something to upset E1 again?i dont know whatever next?james do one,who pulled your chain?anyway may i interject on mr tevez,wot a player he was for us but unfortuneatlty WAS!!!!!if he was to leave manure it would be to real,inter,ac,barca or someone of such like not back to us so enjoy the memories!!!!!!!!!!by the way i have pretty good info that the forerunners to buy our beloved club are english fronted buy some ex players??? watch this space,’thegeneralmuz’has spoken!
thegeneralmuz, Lol
Maybe Zola inspired Tevez when he was young, Hows about that? Who knows? The issue is that you don’t see past the safe option, Man City could have Tevez if they met the price set by Jooribchian so your guess is really just as good as mine!
Did you predict Robinho going to Man City? No I did’nt think so!
The real truth is that both you and I have no clue what so ever about what might happen!! We are all here with assumptions. So take it with a pinch of salt and chill!
If you read the Sun, apparently Sears is starting tonight. If you read the Times, Tristan is.
Perhaps they both will? Can’t see Zola dropping DDM to the bench given our injury list, but perhaps he might go 4-3-3:
Green
Neill, Tomkins, Upson, Ilunga
Parker, Kovac, Noble
Sears, Tristan, Di Michele.
Given those 3 strikers couldn’t hit a barn door, perhaps having all 3 on the pitch is the best thing – law of averages and all that!