It’s getting better all the time and unity rules!

By Rich Sprent

Already there are more than a few improvements at West Ham this year.

Lady Brady is actively building bridges and conversing with fan groups. There’s an  Independent Supporters Association starting up and an obvious recent togetherness on the pitch.

With one of the best players seen in claret and blue in modern times wanting out, there is a unity off it too.. No one is shedding any tears over the French playmaker and collectively there is a lot of bitterness and resentment towards him.

I, for one wish him no ill. Thanks for the memories old son, on to the next hero. I just hope that the negotiations get the best deal possible for the club.

 There’s definitely a change in the air. The recent media strategy has had a shake-up. The club are actively speaking with the fans. KUMB presented Lady Brady with a 10 point pledge put together from their membership and the right noises are coming out of the club already.

 Jack Sullivan, although still tweeting, has obviously been clamped down on from commenting on transfer news. And of course, his father is setting a much quieter example on that front also. No grand proclamations have been made much to a huge collective sigh of relief from most Hammers fans I am sure.

 The move was always going to be a difficult time for many fans. It’s been used as an excuse for the results, the atmosphere, fan behaviour and everything else under the claret and blue sky. One thing that rings true is that many said that things would look better with some wins on the board. With five wins out of seven, things certainly seem healthier around E20.

 Another change: an earlier proclamation from the board was the type and age of player West Ham would be getting. Now this is being used as a stick to beat the chairman on after the very strong links to the £10m transfer of Robert Snodgrass from Hull.

 There will always be preference on players. Snoddy for me ticks a lot of boxes. He keeps possession well and has good pass completion rates. He is a fantastic crosser of the ball. He has a wicked dead ball shot. He has played, in the EPL, over eighty times scoring every four and a half games. In fact, on whoscored.com under the ‘Weakness’ heading it reads: “Player has no significant weaknesses”.

From speaking to other fans, the main complaint seems to be that he isn’t exciting enough/too expensive/he’s a journeyman/he’s not good enough to be a first team player/he’s not a right back.

 The money? The prices have all gone up. He’s 29. We will get three to four good years out of him. He’s played over eighty times in the EPL. He’s had four full time clubs and is hardly a journeyman.

No, he is not a right back but he has played in SIX different positions this season. I can find no evidence that he has played at right back but he is versatile. He can do a job across the park in midfield and attack AND is proven at producing the goods. Whether he is good enough to take a starting shirt straight off remains to be seen.

 The decision looks to have been made that Byram will be invested in as starting right back. He will have sixteen games (less any bans and injury) to earn the jersey for next season. In fact the only real downer I can see in the potential transfer is maybe his age. This looks to be his last big move.

 The recruitment strategy appears to have changed. Scott Hogan is an analytic lover’s dream. It sounds incredible but he takes shots in dangerous places. On paper he is like a younger Defoe. Whether he can realise that tag  is a story I’m looking forward to watch.we may soon discover.

Fonte?  Yes he is expensive for a thirty three year old but for now, he should form a formidable partnership with Winston Reid.

 So is Snoddy a Dimi Payet replacement? I’m saying no. The expectation that because a superstar leaves he should be replaced like for like makes no sense to me. Dimi created how many chances for West Ham? And how many of those did we put away? How many games did he win for the Hammers this season?

 Slav put together a shape for Dimi to be the main man. It was awful and isolated the lone forward. Recently we have reverted back to a 4-3-3- / 4-4-2 shape with Antonio able to step up as a second striker. It is a shape that feels right for this current crop at West Ham.

I think there is definitely a place for 3-4-3 as was shown last season against some top sides. For the everyday dirty work in the EPL we need to be more compact and effective in possession. And this is where the likes of Snoddy comes in.

He keeps the ball. He has shown that he rarely gives it away even in struggling teams. He creates chances, not on the epic Dimi scale, but he still opens doors for others. He chips in with a goal every four and a half games.

 I don’t see a prospective signing that should be contending as a starter each week over the course of his contract as being a stop gap.

No he’s not a Dimi Payet. If signings like Snoddy and Fonte can help glue the side together then we should improve. I’d love nothing more than for West Ham to take on the Southampton or RB Leipzig way of recruiting and developing players. In the absence of that, sensible recruiting on players that can add to the team will do for me very nicely.

 As for the right back? If Sam Byram has his way then that’s a story that looks set to continue into the summer.

The views expressed here are those solely of the blogger and are not necessarily shared by ClaretandHugh