Exclusive By Hugh Southon
West Ham could appoint assistant first team coach Enzo Maresca as an interim caretaker at the club should the axe fall on Manuel Pellegrini.
First team coach Maresca is highly regarded by the Hammers squad and was responsible for taking training in the days before the win over Chelsea.
And ClaretandHugh understands that the 39 year old is being closely looked at as a live candidate for an interim role – and possibly long term position – should the manager find he is on his way in the near future.
The players – believed to have been led by captain Mark Noble – are understood to have fed reports back to the ‘faces’ that matter that training is entirely “different class” when the former Sevilla, Olympiacos, Malaga and Sampdoria midfielder takes the sessions.
Maresca started his career at West Brom before moving on the Juventus and later Fiorentina and is now being closely watched as Pellegrini’s situation becomes increasingly difficult.
Interesting
More money saved
And your suggestion is ….?
Just get it done.. i cant see tinkering is sny good
Chris hohghton has had spurs and brighton and
Would reish a job like the hammers
For different class read cheap
It’s the g and s way
And you suggestions is ….?
Ange Postecoglou simple he will turn Westham around seriously
yep. also from oz but that suggestion is far from a joke
Agree Benny I think Ange would be a great appointment and would fit within the Gold and Sullivan budget.
At least he would get them fit, organised and competitive against any opposition.
Pelle isn’t cheap is he? One of the highest paid managers in the league.
I get that people have a major bee in their bonnet when it comes to the board but surely they can’t be criticised for being cheap when it came to appointing Pelle.
Certainly, in this case, “cheap” is incorrect and an unnecessary accusation. Especially when “misguided” and “delusional” are the preferred and more accurate tags.
The owners have demonstrated over many years the fallacy of trying to mix with the real big owners. They are out of their depth and have rarely, if ever, made any choice that actually benefits our fans.
Their whole outlook has always been that of spivs who take whatever they can for nothing – an athletics stadium; players rejected by other clubs on a “free”; part-built training ground etc. etc.
Following the anti-owner protests, they knee-jerked, again, into an appointment they decided would “shut ’em up”.
As previously stated, no coach (or player) should ever be hired who the owners cannot afford to pay-off.
Unfortunately, coaches are the antithesis of normal society. Even if actually a fair coach, they get sacked for incompetence (usually thanks to players turning against them). Paid a fortune in the process and there is frequently an immediate queue, with other clubs clamouring to hire them.
As regards Pellegrini, definitely not “cheap”.
And what was the Terry Brown way?
Eggie splashed his owners cash and almost bankrupt a country as well as West Ham.
Whilst the Daves are not everybody’s cup of tea, I wouldn’t call them ‘cheap’ when they’re paying Pelle £8mil a season…
By the amount they try and run didn’t think we did any training
Maresca was a good player with a high work rate (in the picture he is wearing the Sevilla shirt of that time). He is likely to demand high intensity from his players. Tactically, I don’t know where he is at. He might be worth a shot for a few weeks to see what he can do. It can’t be much worse than the cold porridge we are being served.
The players look unfit and under prepared, have no idea if that is MP’s fault, imho listening to players about appt’s rarely ends well, look at Chelski and Stoke as recent examples. Look at what other coaches are doing on the training ground and the resulting performances, hence why I remain a Bielsa fan. To win matches now you have to be able to press when you lose the ball and beat teams that press when you have it. We are poor in both those areas, we looked better last season but have no link up play now, we just pass it sideways, Noble turns like Scott Parker on a milk float, Snodgrass never hits a first time cross, Anderson beats defenders allows them to catch up then cuts inside and loses the ball in traffic. We need imho complete change from board level downwards.
Pacific seems about right way while they look at a few other options. Always said we firstly need to get players actually looking like they are trying like Antonio shows then the technical ability of players like Anderson lanzini fornals will follow through. If it’s just a sully save cash as cheap way then it’s not what’s wanted but if true the players liked his trying sessions then giving him a chance doesn’t hurt. Still need the board to wake up and spend alot more than 85mill and 28mill over two seasons though
I have read a lot about the impending demise of WHUFC in recent times.Let’s be brutally honest.Do the current owners with their history at Birmingham have a clue?
Are you kidding? Who else could have pulled off the ‘Taxpayer Stadium’ deal??
Since the Daves took over an almost bankrupt club, the current value according to Forbes is £478mil. (17th globally)
If it is such a relatively cheap buy and in good shape financially why aren’t investors lining up?
Not sure anyone said it was cheap
Why not, clearly has the players on board & it would make a masdive difference to just have them putting more effort into games. Not sure why people think money is the answer, third highest paid manager where has that got us? Younger manager with new different ideas could be a success, but if not will still be WHU through & through!
Says enough about the players current thoughts and feelings towards Pelle if they are making reports like this to the powers that be. You don’t do that for a manager that you want to play for
Excellent cheap and cheerful
I’m sure that was the first thing on Noble’s mind SIGH
A change is needed, or even vital.
There is no need to rethink this option. Let’s just hope the board don’t delay the change.
I don’t know this guy, but we need energy and a new spirit, and he might just give us that.
Hopefully he will receive 50m to add a new LB, DM and Striker that can run more than 10mins
It does appear that MP has lost the respect of some if not all of the players judging by performances.I know very little about Maresca, however must be a better bet than going after the old school merry go round senior age managers that always seem to be available. If there are positive rumours about this guy whats to lose. In my opinion we have a decent squad of players that just need sorting out physically, mentally and tactically. Lets go for it.
Looks like Bilic weren’t so bad after all.
Anybody but Pellegrini.But whoever it is the Board have to back him and let him get some steel into this team.A young box to box midfielder and a striker who has experience in the English league.I keep saying Bowen or even Dack up top.They will baulk of course over the price and somebody else with foresight will snap them up.Makes you want to weep when you think 20 mill would have got us Maddison but 12 mill was our limit and considered too big a risk.For someone who loves his money Sully must come out in cold sweats thinking what he could have made on that deal.Some great players in the Championship but as usual they are deemed as too expensive and risky therefore the european bargain bins and loans will do.
I would prefer a British manager. It was reported (so it could be complete codswallop) that Watford players requested this. Also, this does seem a pretty thin CV for a PL appointment. I was about to say that if it all goes wrong we would be a laughing stock, but maybe that outcome is pretty close anyway. Yes at least it would be cheap. And the alternatives seem thin on the ground. It’s hard to believe we are really in this position. Remember when we used to moan about Curbs in the days of ‘mid table mediocrity’. Blimey I could do with some of that now…
Look folks we have two muppet directors who don’t have the deep pockets or vision to make our great club a success. They balked on paying a few more million for Madison now if he left Leicester he’d probably fetch 50 million! Our muppets and there lady friend Ms Piggy are out of their depth in today’s environment. Everything’s cheap cheap.
There just low class wanna B’s…. It’s pathetic and so sad to have these 3 as our backers!!! Just slime…
Interesting comments Jeff, maybe the muppet directors shouldn’t have boght the club & then WHU FC could have gone into administration under the Icelandics, I wonder where we would be now if still in existance? Also why are you blaming the directors for not buying Madison? The decision was down to the director of football & manager! So would you prefer they spend big maybe win the prem & then find it isn’t sustainable & we end up like Blackburn or Leeds years in the lower leagues? You clearly must be from the upper classes as you are obviously speaking with authority on these “low class wannabes” trying to break into an area you are familiar with, maybe you should buy & run the club? Am not a fan of the board but I don’t hate them either. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion & am not knocking yours just felt it needed some feedback.
I have been a supporter for over fifty years and currently a season ticket holder,and this hurts to say it BUT i would take a loss against the saints if it meant that pellegrini would be sacked.
The alternative could be the two davids keeping him on for longer.
We all knew when bilic’s time was up and now it’s the same with pellegrini.
I backed pellegrini,as i do with all our managers but i cannot seeing him turn this around..
From what i have seen of his team formations,substitutions and baffling press conferences leads me to believe that it is time for him to go.
Why dont we go back to the old style of promoting from within. We have Keen and Potts who could take over and maybe assisted with Nobel. Nothing can possibly be worse than 1 win in 11 games.
‘Masterminded’ the win against Chelsea you say – so what happened against Wolves and Arsenal? Was he off doing his Christmas shopping or what?
Don’t make sense to me!
NO Pellegrini took it
Does anyone stop to consider that there is something wrong with WHUFC as a whole at the moment and has been for some time? This is from the top down and includes the fan base.
There is so much hatred and twisted bitterness which is hardly a recipe for success at any level in any walk of life.
I think it all stems for having hugely unrealistic expectations and not separating the dreams from reality.
I’m not a board lover or a board hater but I like to base my opinions on actual facts.
The owners came out early with dreams of mixing; with the big boys and taking the club forward to European football. They’re fans and aired their dreams to the fan base and you ever agree with that or you don’t.
However realistically, we have been a yo-yo club in and out of the Premier League and a period of growth is to stay in this league now with no relegations. A 10yr PL stint would be growth based on our history but that shouldn’t stop us from dreaming of better. It should however stop the constant kicking off based on delusions rather than facts.
The hatred towards the board for most part based on opinion rather than fact.
Some hate the stadium and will never like it but the fact is the Boleyn had taken us as far as it could and without the move there was no possibility of progression. Some call it a soulless bowl. Is it the same soulless bowl that had one of the best sporting atmospheres I have personally ever witnessed during the Olympics? I would suggest it was the fans inside that stadium that created that atmosphere and has nothing to do with the stadium itself. There have been some great atmospheres at West Ham games there.
Problem is football fans are a different breed to other sports fans. It’s one of the few if not the only sports or entertainment business where fans go and shout abuse and boo when things aren’t going to well. You don’t go to the theatre and shout abuse and you don’t see it at the Rugby, Cricket etc. Don’t get me wrong, i get seriously wound up watching some of the dross that we’ve witnessed recently but I don’t think that justifies abuse towards anyone.
I do think as fans we have a responsibility to create a fortress at the LS for 90 minutes every fortnight. It’s our job to support the club even when the players are struggling but fans are fickle and quickly turn. Some would say if you can’t manage to stay positive and support for the time your in the ground then maybe you shouldn’t go.
The board have consistently broken the transfer record for the last few years and they have given Pelle the best squad we have seen for years and that was what we were all saying before the season began. As soon as it’s got tough people have turned and it’s become negative and toxic again.
The big problem is, if that continues the fan base will no longer be seen as a passionate bunch who players want to play for and will rather be seen as bitter and toxic and it will put players, managers and investors off. A good example of this is the stick that Fornals and Haller get. Two new players with a lot of potential will be soon have enough of the abuse and will go and play for a club where the feel welcomed and respected.
I don’t expect this post to change anyone’s mindset as that’s almost impossible in grown adults and that wouldn’t be realistic
In the season 17/18 about 6 of the 7 clubs with the highest wage bills ended up in the top 7 spots. That means that, if you have a well run club and you spend money, you normally see results. Following that rule, West Ham should never be below the 10th to 12th spot and should climb as they spend more money. If they don’t, either the coaching is bad, or the player purchases are bad, or both.
The last time we promoted a coach to manager was Roeder replacing Redknapp. That turned out well. The best team we ever had relegated and disbanded
This is certainly an intriguing article – and the performance against Chelsea was certainly different with greater energy levels and pressing and defending in depth
The one question I have on this is “What made / allowed Maresca to take the training before Chelsea and then why was this changed against Wolves and Arsenal? Also if Maresca took the training did he also pick the team?”
Hugh maybe your sources could help with this and perhaps the more important question as to who will be taking the training today and tomorrow for the Southampton 6-pointer?
Puzzling isn’t it Zahama. I’m still digging
Tagging Noble is not going to work .The reason why they want him is because he is a cheap option !Part and parcel of ‘team Pellegrinni.No thanks’ !However lets be straight here this is not all down to G&S.The buying and recruiting of players is down to the manager and director of football ..You can’t blame G&S for assembling a week and unbalanced squad.We have players on huge wages who we can’t shift.The more I see Anderson the more im reminded of Payet’s second season .
I respect your views but you can blame them for not giving the money he actually needed.