A Positive Transfer Window But……

When the clock strikes 11 on the 31st August clubs from all over the country can breathe a massive sigh of relief as the fairground attraction that is the transfer window finally ends.

West Ham have had a big change in personnel with 11 new players bought in and 7 first team players departing but do I agree with all of our transfer dealings?

SELLING MAYNARD

I think this is a bad bit of business by us, Nicky Maynard is a proven goal scorer at every club he has been at and would have certainly scored goals in the top flight, Big Sam didn’t help his cause by playing him in the flanks instead of the main striker where he is most effective. I would have recommended a loan till January so he can get a run of games.

JARVIS/CARROLL

This is what I’m most looking forward to, the prospect of Jarvis putting in some tasty crosses onto Carrolls head. This is the logic behind Allardyces thinking and it’s right, With our “kick and rush” style of play this will suit Carroll nicely and Jarvis has a nice big target to land his crosses on.

JAMES COLLINS

Starting the pre season with two centre halfs wasn’t ideal and definitely needed strengthening and Collins fits the bill. A proven, accomplished defender at this level will bring some competition, solidity and experience to what is a young pair of defenders in Reid and Tompkins. I would have loved to have seen one more good quality defender though…..

ROBERT GREEN

I know Green got a little greedy and wanted a significant pay rise but in hindsight I think Gold and Sullivan should have pulled out all of the stops to keep him on our books. With the shaky start of Jussi Jaaskelainen and the QPR’s arrival of Julio Cesar im guessing Green would have liked to have stayed.

YOSSI BENAYOUN

FINALLY SOME CREATIVITY, we have been screaming out for some quality in the final third and old hammers favourite Benayoun rejoins on a season long loan,

In
James Collins (Aston Villa) Undisclosed
Mohamed Diame (Wigan Athletic) Free
Alou Diarra (Marseille) Undisclosed
Stephen Henderson (Portsmouth) Undisclosed
Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers) Free
George McCartney (Sunderland) Free
Modibo Maiga (FC Sochaux-Montbeliard) Undisclosed
Raphael Spiegel (Grasshopper Club Zurich) Undisclosed
Matt Jarvis (Wolverhampton Wanderers)
Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea) Loan
Andy Carroll (Liverpool) Loan

Out
Pablo Barrera (Cruz Azul) Undisclosed
Robert Green (Queens Park Rangers) Free
Ravel Morrison (Birmingham City) Loan
Frank Nouble (released)
Freddie Sears (Colchester) Free
Sam Baldock (Bristol City) Undisclosed
Nicky Maynard (Cardiff City) Undisclosed

Sulejmani Hammer bound?

Powned.tv

Miralem Sulejmani seems to still desire a transfer. The English club West Ham United is expected today to bid for the Ajax striker.


The Amsterdam club would like to sell Sulejmani, since his contract expires next year. He can also re-sign at Ajax, but only at a lower salary. In 2008 he was bought from Heerenveen for a record amount of 17.9 million euros.

The usually well-established ajaxfanzone.nl reports that a bid from West Ham is imminent. The British are already enamored of the 23-year-old Serb.

Matt Jarvis…. Clever signing or waste of money?

Matt Jarvis…. Clever signing or waste of money?

 

After rejecting a reported 9 million pound transfer fee from West Ham for winger Matt Jarvis, Wolverhampton Wanderers are holding out for 10 million to lure away their star player. With West Ham preparing another bid to meet that evaluation, Do we think this is a clever signing or a lot of money for a relegated player?

 

Matt Jarvis made his football league debut as a 17 year old at Gillingham, He racked up over 100 games for The Gills before his £700,000 move to Wolves in 2007. He was an influential figure in the side that gained promotion from the championship. A fast, pacey winger that loves to take on full backs, He puts crosses in the box and his handy from a dead ball situation. Jarvis has one england cap to his name, A 70th minute substitute in the friendly against Ghana in march 2011. Jarvis also has a very high assist rate for a team that is battling relegation season after season.

 

In my opinion i think the prices of players these days are astronomical and very wide of the mark and Jarvis is no exception. 10 million pounds for a player that has been a big fish in a small pond at Wolves and is now applying his trade in the championship is absurd. Or is it Wolves policy to inflate their prices to ridiculous levels as Steven Fletcher will not be sold for anything under 12 Million pounds.

 

Don’t get me wrong, Would i like to see Jarvis at West Ham? YES! He’s quick and direct and there is an end product to him, His knack of gaining assists everywhere he’s played at is encouraging as well but 10 million pounds? I don’t think he is anywhere near that money. 6-7 million at least. I come back to the point i made in my Andy Carroll article the other day, We have a budget like everybody else and with only 3 central defender’s, That money could be spent somewhere else!

 

 

West Ham to Launch £6m Bid for Liverpool Midfielder Joe Cole

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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce is reportedly set to make an offer in the region of £6m for Liverpool midfielder Joe Cole. The Upton Park boss will look to tempt the former England international regular into making an emotional return to the East London club he represented from the age of 13 until he left for Chelsea nine years later.

Though Brendan Rodgers has stated that the attacking midfielder is a part of his first team plans Cole will have noted the departures of Dirk Kuyt, Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy as the new Liverpool boss looks to plan for the long term.

The 30 year old midfielder spent last term on loan at Lille where he secured regular first team football and helped Rudi Garcia’s side to a third place finish, netting nine goals and making 42 appearances in all competitions. A move to Ligue 1 helped to get Cole’s career back on track after a difficult first season at Liverpool.

Joe Cole was sent off in his first Premier League match for the Merseyside club and things seemed to go downhill from there. Roy Hodgson was sacked and Kenny Dalglish declined to use the Londoner as a starter and then left for Lille last season on a temporary basis.

Sam Allardyce has made a number of purchases during the summer transfer window as he looks to improve his Hammers side ahead of their return to the top tier. The West Ham manager followed up the captures of Jussi Jaaskelainen, James Collins, George McCartney, Mohamed Diame and Modibo Maiga with the surprise signing of Marseille midfielder Alou Diarra earlier in the week.

Liverpool boss Rodgers may well consider accepting such an offer for Joe Cole as he looks to pursue further signings. The club’s American owners may be reticent to fork out for further significant signings having already forked out £25m to bring in Fabio Borini and Joe Allen and therefore the injection of further funds from the sale of a player who may well only play a peripheral role could well be accepted.

10 Facts about hammers new boy Alou Diarra

10 facts about West Ham new boy Alou Diarra

West Ham have secured a French international, but what can we tell you about his interesting career so far?

Here are 10 facts about the holding midfield player.

1. After an early struggle to find a professional club Alou Diarra eventually was signed up with an amateur contract by lowly Louhans-Cuiseaux where he progressed into the first team at a young age.

2. His impressive rise saw increased interest in his signature and after an early struggle to find top class teams to play for he signed a contract with German giants Bayern Munich playing in their reserve side with future stars such as Owen Hargreaves, Philip Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Zvjezdan Misimovic.

3. Despite tapping on the first team door he never made a first team appearance for the club and was signed by Gerard Houllier for Liverpool in 2002. He was likened to Patrick Vieira by the coach but was immediately loaned to Le Havre to gain first team experience.

4. This was the first of three consecutive loan spells back to France, followed by deals with Bastia and finally RC Lens. After impressing in all 3 loan deals he requested a transfer from Anfield signing a deal with Lens after making no appearances for Liverpool.

5. After an impressive season at RC Lens, Houllier re-signed the Frenchman for the dominant Lyon but he failed to keep Jeremy Toulalan out of the first team and left after one season after a public bust-up with Houllier over playing time.

6. Diarra rejected a move to Portsmouth in 2007 instead agreeing a deal with Bordeaux under new manager Laurent Blanc, and his career finally began to take off.

7. After a solid first season, his second season saw Bordeaux win the Coupe de Ligue and Ligue 1 championships, finally breaking Lyons recent dominance in France.

8. In 2010 Diarra was suspended for 6 games after pushing a referee during a Ligue 1 game with Auxerre.

9. After a move broke down the previous summer, Diarra agreed a protracted transfer to Marseille last July; but failed to capture form and was widely anticipated to leave the club this summer and Upton Park is his destination.

10. Internationally, Diarra played for French Under-20 and Under-21 sides during his stints at Bayern Munich and Liverpool before moving on to the senior side in 2004. He has since gone on to play 44 games for his country even captaining Les Bleus on several occasions since 2010 under the stewardship of former Bordeaux boss Laurent Blanc. Despite not scoring a goal for the national side he came very close against England, with a powerful header, in the opening game of the Euro’s. .

The combative and powerful holding midfield player could be a brilliant signing by The Hammers; a recognised international with obvious star qualities he should blend in to the Premier League quickly and become an essential cog in West Ham’s survival fight this season.

Diarra West Ham Bound?

ImageDiarra West Ham Bound?

According to reports, West Ham United are close to completing the signing of French international midfielder Alou Diarra from Marseille.

The French international who featured for France at Euro 2012, is set to arrive in London on Thursday to finalise a deal with the Championship play-off winning side. 

The 31-year-old is expected to leave the Ligue 1 side this summer and Sam Allardyce is looking to bring the experienced midfielder to the Premier League.

French newspaper La Provence reports that Diarra will joins the Hammers on a two-year deal when he gets into London on Thursday.

Diarra only joined Marseille twelve months ago, but could not repeat the success he enjoyed with former club Bordeaux where he won the Ligue 1 title twice as Marseille finished a disappointing 10th last season.

However, he was included in the France squad for Euro 2012 and started their opening match against England.

Sam Allardyce is looking to bolster his West Ham squad for the start of the new season as they aim to cement their place in the Premier League after promotion from the Championship last season via the Playoffs.

Allardyce is hoping to add Diarra to other new recruits Mohamed Diame, George McCartney, Modibo Maiga and James Collins at Upton Park.

 

If this is completed, I feel this is a clever signing by Sam Allardyce. Alou Diarra is a Papa Bouba Diop mark II, He will sit in front of the back four and break up the oppositions play. Being a French international proves he has big game experience and for £2 milion… that’s a good deal. I’m adamant Big Sam would have played the formation incorporating Papa Bouba Diop more last season if Bouba Diop wasn’t injured half the time, So it gives us more tactical options which is always good. It also sends out a clear message that we can recruit top quality players and we are planning to stay in the Premier League for a long time!

Jaaskelainen or Henderson

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Jussi Jaaskelainen                                                     Stephen Henderson

Age: 37                                                                         Age: 24

Height: 1.9m                                                               Height: 1.9m

Nationality: Finnish                                                  Nationality: Irish

Previous Clubs: Bolton Wanderers                        Previous Clubs: Bristol City,Portsmouth

 

 

Jussi or Hendo? Which one is going to win the race for the starting spot in Big Sam’s eleven?

Ever since the departure of cult figure Robert Green to London rivals Queens Park Rangers over the summer. West Ham have bought in two goalkeepers to compete for the number one jersey, but which shot stopper will Allardyce go for?

Jussi Jaaskelainen, a free transfer from Sam Allardyce’s old club Bolton Wanderers has brought with him an abundance of Premier League experience by amassing nearly 400 PL games in 10 years. He was a bit part player in Bolton’s demise to the championship last season by playing only 18 games for the trotters. He has played 56 times for his nation Finland and he will bring his age and experience to what is a group of young goalkeepers at the club.

Stephen Henderson, was initially bought in on loan in January 2012 from cash-strapped Portsmouth until the end of the season with the option of making it permanent. Allardyce decided to take up the option of the permanent deal and hence signed a three year deal this summer, Despite not having played a competitive game for the hammers yet. He has been capped 8 times at under 21 level for the Republic of Ireland. He is somewhat an unknown quantity due to his lack of matches but Allardyce must have seen enough of him to offer him a deal and compete with Jussi for the starting position.

In my opinion its too close to call at this moment in time, Jussi obviously brings with him a wealth of PL experience which could prove crucial over the season but he is in his twilight stage of his career. Henderson like i said in the paragraph above is an unknown quantity and has no PL experience but being young and hungry he would be improving all the time and could become a really good goalkeeper. Between them both its a nice blend of youth and experience. Obviously we have to look to the future which is Henderson where as Jaaskelainen is still a very good goalkeeper at this level and would be an able deputy should Henderson get injured. Henderson needs to develop at this level and the only way he is going to do this is by playing games. I quite like Stoke City’s way of rotating their goalkeepers where they both play roughly half a season each give or take. Theres comparison’s with West Ham by having Thomas Sorensen, who is still a Danish international and competent at this level who is at the back end of his career and you have Asmir Begovic, who is still up and coming and has shown a lot of promise. Begovic would play the lions share of PL games and Sorensen would play a handful of PL games but all of the cup competitions. If West Ham could strike up something similar i would be very happy. The wise bet would be for Jaaskelainen to start the season in goal due to the importance of the first 10-15 games back in the PL and Henderson as the season goes on will gradually get a look in.

When will the Andy Carroll saga end?

ImageWhen will the Andy Carroll saga end?

 

All this summer West Ham have been linked with Liverpool’s underachieving striker Andy Carroll. Carroll 23, has seemed to be frozen out of the Liverpool team since the arrival of Brendan “Total Football” Rodgers to Anfield from Swansea over the summer. 

 

Since his british record 35 million pound move from Newcastle in the 2010/2011 January transfer window, Carroll has scored just just 11 goals in 18 unfruitful months on Merseyside. But why is Sam Allardyce so interested in the 6ft 6in striker?

Is it because he worked with him briefly when Big Sam was Newcastle manager and maybe saw something he we haven’t? or is it because he is a typical Allardyce mould of striker.

Allardyce likes to play long balls to a big, tall strong striker who can bully the opposition defenders and get on the end of crosses which would suit Carroll to the ground, but does the reported 2 million loan fee and 17 million transfer fee next season seem good value for money? In my opinion No!

 

With a squad that has come up from the Premier League, i feel the reported 17 million could be spent better elsewhere, considering we are severely lacking pace and creativity in our midfield, the squad looking thin on personnel and only 3 recognised central defenders at the club. Also, we already have a typical Allardyce striker in Carlton Cole so i don’t feel the need the need to spend a lot of money on the same type of player. Although i would recommend signing Andy Carroll on loan for the reported 2 million and nothing else because our type of football would suit him. To be fair to Carroll, Liverpool and Kenny Dalgleish never played to his strengths and at times he looked like a rabbit in headlights but Liverpool were daft to pay 35 million pounds for a player that clearly isn’t and i wouldn’t want West Ham to pay around 17 million for again a player that isn’t near that value.

Morrison joins Birmingham on loan.

ImageMorrison joins Birmingham on loan.

West Ham youngster Ravel Morrison has joined Birmingham on loan until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old joined West Ham from Manchester United in January and made his first-team debut against Leeds United in March, which turned out to be his only competitive appearance to date.

Despite being involved with West Ham and their pre-season preparations for the forthcoming season in the Premier League, Sam Allardyce has allowed Morrison to join Lee Clarke’s Birmingham side making a charge for the Premier League until the end of the season.

Morrison, once regarded to be one of the best talents to come out of Manchester United’s academy, has been no stranger to negative press with recently accepting to pay a fine after posting a homophobic threat on twitter.

I feel this would be a good move for Morrison, we keep hearing from numerous people how much of a talent he is and its about time that Morrison starts showing his talent on the pitch. With the probable formation of 4-3-3 being used by Big Sam and the recent summer signing of Mohammed Diame from Wigan, Morrison’s opportunities in the first team look limited. Hopefully Lee Clark will give him some guidance and an extended run in the side to show what he can do and hopefully live up to his undoubted potential.