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Slav’s defence of signings rings hollow

FeghoulilsI’m always prepared to admit that things can get lost in translation with foreign managers.

However, even allowing for that, I found Slaven’s discussion on the new signings and how they would eventually come good bamboozling to put it mildly.

Here’s what the boss had to say on the likes of Zaza, Tore, Feghouli, Nordtveidt and various others: “With some of the new players, we can say they didn’t hit the ground running straight away or they are not showing what we wanted or why we bought them in the first place.

nort“But they came to a new league, this is the Premier League, I’m not saying it’s better but it’s definitely different to the leagues they were in before.”

OK, allowances can be made on a short term basis but what we are seeing at West Ham this season is around 10 new recruits, none of whom can cut it with the possible exception of Fernandes.

Excuse me but I find it absolutely impossible to accept that they all suffered a collective loss of form at the same time – like from the start of the season – and that we will soon (or eventually) see vastly improved players.

I’m an admirer of Slaven’s honest approach to everything and I’m sure he believes that what he is saying is correct. It’s just that I completely disagree.

I would love to be proved wrong but my view is these are just poor to average players with nothing much more to offer than we’ve seen so far and it’s that which is at the root of our problems.

I still believe we will stagger through this season and escape relegation but if Slav was responsible for okaying these arrivals that really is very worrying.

For there’s no guarantee it can’t happen again is there?hr

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

12 comments on “Slav’s defence of signings rings hollow

  1. That is very true. To be wrong on half of those players would be excusable- buying in new players is an art not a science, and there is luck mixed in. To be wrong on nearly every one is an indication of incompetence. Even good managers have bad runs ( look at the ‘genius’ Pep) but not over a third of the season. And no decent manager would be looking at as many goals conceded as we have. The writing is on the wall…..Even a few good results in December will only put it off until it is too late.

  2. Most of those signings would not rate much better than some of the better players in the Championship. The advantage of looking at the Championship as a potential source of ‘new blood’, is that many of the decent players have had prior experience in the EPL. In addition these sort of players would be very keen to gain a regular place in a Premier team, and I suspect, would work much harder in order to prove themselves.

  3. It’s impossible to sign ten useless players . There has to be a reason apart from not hitting the ground running . They can’t all be bad signings . The problem has surely to be at Management level . A few poor signings due to not realizing Thier true potential is normal but , things usually sort themselves out . Why can’t they get sorted at West Ham ?., Will they get sorted at West Ham ?.
    Massive game today , one in which the players will have to go nuts for 90+ mins and hope some decisions go Thier way .

  4. The transfer strategy has been on a wing and a prayer there hasn’t been cover for Cresswell since he was signed ,Jenkinson on loan was a band aid solution that wasn’t addressed .Bilic wanting Antonio as wing back has resulted in wingers being signed that are now excess to requirements .Tomkins sale while keeping Collins was not in clubs best interest..A coherent transfer policy is crucial and although DS has had a couple of wins and so has Bilic & Tony Henry a balanced squad it is not even without injuries.

  5. Cannot believe we are now being linked with Sturridge. I don’t believe much of the ‘transfer speculation’, but this would be crazy. Lovely player, but not a worker. Main thing though is his injury record. I know the injury prone players are the ones all clubs want out the door, but come on! A big factor in trying to get another striker has to be a reasonable record on staying fit. Trouble is, the mess the club has got itself in over last 4 months means we won’t attract decent players. The chance was missed last summer. Nor will good managers be queuing up. They might have been if we had given Big Sam another season, then replaced him after England came calling. Sorry, wasn’t going to mention the B, F & S words but think it had to be said. Like Slav as a bloke, but he is a disaster.

    • I agree about Bilic. I know that he won a few games last season against teams that we usually do not beat but he reminds me of the one season wonder like the ex Swansea manager Gary Monk. He took Swansea to eighth in his first season then got sacked the following Christmas after 11 games without a win. In Bilic I definitely do not trust. I hope that he proves me completely wrong but I’ll be shocked after 18 months of not dominating a single game.

  6. Hammer 64 we replaced the slug and finished 7th with our biggest points tally and +goals tally something the illustrious overrated lump of lard never achieved. Slav is accountable for the results and my god they’ve been **** but why does that tub of lards name always get mentioned when there’s a problem?

  7. That was one season GW. We are not close to seventh now. Do you remember the players we had back then? Just had a quick glance at a programme from 2014. Team was something like Adrian, O’Brien, Johnson, Taylor, Collins, Noble, Diame, Diarra, Downing, Maiga, C.Cole. That side stayed up comfortably.

    • Just find it funny that 4 seasons of mediocrity under the slug is heralded to the hilt but 1 season and a 7th place finish is confined to the bin by some and Slav should be sacked asap! Slav is to blame and his insistence on playing our non descript captain who offers nothing could be the end for him like the reliance on a injury plagued forward who’s got paid a fortune for delivering nothing! If Slav goes he goes but if he does you won’t find me crying out for the return of the most odious overrated excuse of a manager in BFS like some!

      • And lets not forget that Big Sam signed some absolute garbage as well.Still it is laughable to believe Bilic actually ‘wanted’ a summer of signing loan & freebie players.He might have okayed some signings but they were his options given to him from on high in the main..
        We all know he told the board to go big game fishing..they didnt..end of story.

        Keep sharping your knives chaps…

  8. Slav talks of results but the fact is our performances have been awful! Slow, boring, clueless! No movement no passion I genuinely find it hard to concentrate on the game at the moment I find myself looking at my phone or day dreaming …things I only do when I’m BORED!!

    • Agree with you Wembley, slow with the ball and slower without it. Even last season when we were supposedly playing well the movement and passing werent great we just counter attacked with a lot of pace, at the start of that season we were just as wide open until Slav solidified the back 4 by putting Tompkins at right back but the wingers were helping the defenders also so that provided extra solidity to the shape of the team. Now we play without defending as a team and with a lot less pace, Valencia is super quick, Jenkinson was super quick, likewise Moses when he played and Sakho all that mean’t we could sit deep invite teams on and counter with pace, never mind that we used to try to nick the ball off them when they had posession something we haven’t been doing of late. My favourite performance this year was at Palace when it was pouring with rain and the ball was zipping off the surface, because of the surface the ball moved around a lot quicker and that helped us, we looked fluid for the only time this season other than 20 minutes at the start of the Watford match. Lets hope we get a performance and hopefully a result at the mickey mousers place COYI !!!

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