Earlier this evening, I had a phone call with Eric Southon, the brother of Claret & Hugh founder and my old mate Hughie.
During our conversation, he asked me what I thought of the new Hammers’ head coach, Julen Lopetegui. I replied that it might be a little too early to judge how well the Spaniard is doing, but I made a passing comment, saying, “We seem to have bought well.”
It may not have been the most profound or detailed observation of West Ham’s current situation, but it got me thinking about how, for too long, the Hammers have made a complete mess of buying players.
Yet, when I consider the business done over the past 13 months, it’s incredible how different our recruitment strategy has become. Except for the failed loan signing of Kalvin Phillips, the Hammers have gotten far more right than wrong.
West Ham have spent a lot of money on transfers since moving to London Stadium, and I don’t need to list the names that have cost the club huge amounts of money. For every Jarrod Bowen, there seemed to be a Nikola Vlasic, and it wouldnāt be unfair to suggest that half of the Hammers’ transfers didnāt work out.
It was certainly not unusual to look at the Irons squad and see a group of fotballers who had all depreciated in value. To put it bluntly, there was something seriously wrong with the club’s buying policy, which frequently saw us sign players who were unsuited to the management and style of football.
Yesterday, Max Kilman and Aaron Wan-Bissaka gave outstanding performances, but they are far from alone. Guido Rodriguez looks like a shrewd free transfer, while Konstantinos Mavropanos appears to have been a solid purchase. Factoring in last seasonās summer signings of Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez, one starts to conclude that the Hammers are doing things differently now.
It remains to be seen how the likes of Todibo, Fullkrug, and Summerville will fare at the club, but recent evidence suggests weāll be okay.
Unlike many West Ham fans I have some sympathy for Moyes – but I feel that he had to go for two reasons – the first being the turgid football that was being served (harking back to the worst days of BFS) and the second being his failed transfers – Vlasic was an obvious error but the season before last was worse in a way – Aguerd, Cornet, Scamacca and Kehrer come to mind – I am not sure why we couldn’t find a place for Kehrer who seemed to have been punished for one poor performance in the Europa league when played at left back but surely could have helped shore up our poor defence
So hopefully most of the 8 players bought this season will all have positive roles to play in the team this season – Saturday was a good start
COYI
Spot on totally agree
unpopular opinion:
personally the most exciting recruitment of the steidten era has been lopetegui
watching the players adapt to his system is great to watch, players are being challenged like never before and as a fan it’s exciting watching the pieces fall into place
still a long way to go and much for fans and players to learn but i’m enjoying every minute of it
I dint know wether I am being over cautious or not I cannot stop myself from harking back to when pellagrini took over the board then gave him millions and look what happend ? I really hope and pray we got it right this time and they bring back the glory days
True weāve bought well since Lopetegui came in but some of our best signings were the likes of Bowen, Souchek, Kudus, Alvarez etc. itās true weāve been buying well last few years in fact and I think thatās thanks to the massive increase in our European profile. Playing in Europa and conference leagues and winning the Trophy certainly helped.
In summary then “Well done Tim”?
Great post, Gonzo.
I also love the way JLo talks about us, the fans, and seems to appreciate our importance and makes a point of it in every interview. This is such a German show of appreciation, not sure about his country Spain as I don’t follow La Liga.
It’s about time this happened, not just when we win, as it did last week after a home loss. Yes, many had left by the end, but it was also noticeable how many more of the team came over to each side of the ground and clapped those who stayed after the final whistle.
I know DM praised us when it suited him, but he’s been far from complimentary since he left, and towards the end of his tenure.
His bitterness is really tedious because we loved him, and showed it a great deal until he really started to lose his way and the fun went out of watching his West Ham.
Still sorry for the loss of your great friend Hughie. You must miss him a great deal.