Spending over twenty million pounds on an unknown Brazilian and forty million on Max Kilman seemed like an exciting start to the summer. But then, reality hit hard: Apparently, West Ham have run out of money for Jhon Duran and need to scrounge for some change behind the sofa.
How short-sighted does that look now? Like a ten-year-old who spends all his holiday money in the first week of July, only to panic as he realises he’ll have nothing left for August.
I wonder how our new recruits and ‘superstars’ like Mo Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, and Lucas Paquetá feel when we clearly try to negotiate using the Steptoe and Son playbook, flogging off anything of value to try and reach the price of the shiny new striker our Head Coach has been promised.
But this isn’t just ‘anything of value’: it’s one of our FA Youth Cup-winning Academy players being used as a makeweight in negotiations just days after the very player stated his aim to ‘continue his goal of playing for West Ham United.’ Welcome to ‘big business,’ Lewis Orford. Except, it isn’t big and it isn’t clever.
Either don’t go after the player in the first place if you cannot afford him, or pay the damn price and recoup the money through European qualification bonuses next year. There should be pride in both the club and the modus operandi of its owner. ‘West Ham Are Massive,’ we sang, genuinely believing we’d crossed the threshold from Premier League survivors to contenders with a 60,000-plus attendance and a global fan base. Is this how the 15th richest club in Europe should behave?
Is it any wonder Tim Steidten struggles to attract players who don’t want to come to West Ham when we wheel and deal more like Arthur Daley than Warren Buffett?
If I were a young graduate of the Academy of Football, I’d be on the phone to my agent (or my dad) right this minute, trying to get out of this amateur operation that sells off the very talent it has been nurturing the moment there’s a few quid to be saved, instead of developing that talent to playing (and financial) maturity over a few years. Short-sighted. But what else can we expect from the only club in world football that sold its ground and now just rents its stadium?
Now, I get it: the academy is there to make money by growing new talent into Premier League or Championship players. However, if they are never selected and remain seasonal benchwarmers, how do we ever hope to nurture, coach, and develop our own 20-year-old £40 million player like Jhon Duran from ‘The Academy of Football’?
Lucky for us (and the owners) that Declan Rice didn’t find himself pawned as part of a part-exchange deal for Marko Arnautović back in 2017.
And why do we think so many of our Academy players—Lewis Orford included—have refused or delayed signing new contracts? Perhaps Lewis was waiting to see what the ‘new regime’ would be like for an Academy graduate. Well, now he knows.
Everyone is entitled to their opinion but gossip is just that, gossip! I would rather the club announce a player when it’s done and dusted, ink on the paper. Let’s just wait and see who is in the squad come the start of the season and then we can all start weighing in opinions again.
I really wish you would answer my questions occasionally.
While I completely agree that people should NOT foul-mouth each other , don’t you sense that there is a growing frustration about west ham ‘s recent lack of progress in the transfer market let’s be honest the three signings ,apart from using over two thirds of the available budget have produced 1 of the 6 – 8 players required. how can West ham hope to square the circle? also a scan of the league many teams have already faired considerably better with transfers in. Is it possible for you to throw some light on the bigger picture please?
Great points and I fully agree with them all, we look amateurish and desperate no wonder teams jack up the price.
This transfer window will see if Tim is all he is cracked out to be, so far all we have to show is: an unproven Brazilian a free transfer goalie, and an expensive (albeit decent) defender + 10k linked players!
Lets hope there is an actual plan vs reacting!
Your moaning about the youngsters going the reason a lot of them want to go there contracts are up and a lot of them are demanding big money when thay have proved nothing in there young careers hence Johnson 50 grand a week.thay have had there heads turned by the money the premier teams dish out hence chelsea city arsenal blame them for the youngsters wanting out.
Just greed
How does a club like ManC operate today, not the 115 charges, but today? Once you get your head around that you understand what you as a club need to do to create “pure profit”. Those players you’re calling crown jewels are saleable assets to improve your clubs financial position today thanks to PSR. You need to take the emotion out of it otherwise you’re gonna drive yourselves nuts. Villa realised this with the sale of Grealish and have continued since, proofs is where we are today, 4th and qualified for the Champions League.
Lewis Orford should be kept at all costs! He is, or should be, an integral part of the exciting future of West Ham. His attitude is top drawer and reading of the game superb for his level of experience! What are we thinking of to even contemplate allowing him to go to a rival?!
Orford is refusing to sign a new contract . Apparently.
Does anyone know why ?
Maybe the problem isn’t he wants to leave , maybe the offer is poor.
I would be sad to see Orford leave as he does seem to be one of the best of the youth team…….but if he is reluctant to sign a new contract, despite being a West Ham fan, then let him go.
However, not necessarily in exchange for this Villa guy who seems to be relying on goals per minute as the sole reason he is worth anything.
I’m old enough to remember the original ‘super sub’ Fairclough at Liverpool. Brilliant as a sub, useless as first choice. We shouldn’t be selling the silverware for a part time option, but equally should use Orford as apart exchange for a first choice player (if he is refusing to sign a new contract).
Out of interest, had he got the same agent as Mubama?!!!
Is that your go to saying every time Saul…not saying I agree with him ..but with no opinions what’s the point of writing anything
Why do you know better than those in charge of our club?
You talk b*. Just like so many others.
Every time a player from the academy leaves, morons like you whine like children. Yet how many times have those decisions been wrong?
Go on….name one where the club have not been proved right. Orford might be refusing to sign a contract because he’s fishing.
Given his attitude the club decide to use him as a makeweight…..before he walks away for nothing.
Opinions are like are soles….everybody has one
There is an irony to you observing that everyone has an opinion whilst also displaying an intolerance to anyone with an alternative view to your own.
You’re going to have to cut the insults out though mate or you won’t be posting here anymore. You can surely make your point without being nasty right? I’m assuming you don’t scream at people in shops or generally walk down the street calling people morons and swearing at them?
Anyway, you asked for one name . . .
The big names the club should have retained are obvious . . . Tony Adams, John Terry, Ray Houghton.
As for players released too early who proved themselves at Premier League level . . . Stanislas, Ridgewell, Zamora, Richardson & Leon Britton off the top of my head but there are a few.
As for Orford . . . he is the Under 18 England Captain and plays significant above his age group, at 17 he was better than most 21 year olds in Premier League 2.
Just because you have clearly given up on the academy doesn’t mean everyone else has to follow suit.
Leon Britton was originally at Arsenal as I remember watching him in a youth cup game against us at Highbury many many years ago before he come to us.
Give Orford a new contract and let Durán sit on the bench at Villa. Let him kick off with Emery! Getting bored of Villa fans saying pay up or shut up! Not heard many say they want to keep him, says it all really!
Won 1 cup in Europe…3 seasons in Europe spent no money last widow lbecause our sales of rice and scamacca made more than our buys ….AND WE HAVE.NO MONEY AFTER 2 SIGNINGS AND A TRAINING KEEPER…..plus 60000 us each week at stadium….ffs cmon thsts utterly ridiculous….run out of money 🤣🤣🤣
I agree with most of what you said, the major issue is even if we fill the stadium every week, outside of ticket sales we make zero. And because of the new rules you are limited what you can spend, and as with Rice, Orford is 100% profit, so homegrown players will always go first.
What are the club supposed to do? the lad has turned down offers of a new
contract, are we supposed to be prepared to pay more than what the club thinks
he is worth, or let him go and get some sort of fee for him?
It has also to be considered that the manager doesn’t think that Orford is as good as the lad thinks he is
Steidten should tread very carefully in case the fan base withdraw the goodwill he has developed
Do not touch our untouchables , like our best youngsters .
I think you’re forgetting that Man City lease the Etihad stadium from Manchester City Council.
But then they’re crap and don’t count, do they?
I hope Orford doesn’t go. I think he’s in the last year of his contract. If so, maybe that’s a factor.
I don’t think it’s a question of not having any money, but the fact that we’ve got to balance it across several signings. Whether this has been properly planned out will likely only be known when the window closes.
Before we start sharpening the knifes let’s take a breath and look what’s going on here,for starters I think this cash plus player deal is total BS made up by mischief makers. My reason for thinking this and it is just an opinion is that the transfer market has shifted due to ffp..Villa have spent big and are now panicking because they are not finding as easy as they thought to off load their dross hence a money only deal is the only one on the cards and before you start thinking other clubs are not having trouble take a look at Fulham and Liverpool ….so far zero signings and the mighty Man City just the one, yes their are others that have made three or more but take a look at a lot of those deals and they are “low cost “ or free transfers. We are not the only club to have a Zuma they would like to shift and nobody is wanting them. I guess my point is I am aware we still need to strengthen in a number of positions but the market has changed and I’m sure the scarf is well aware of that so let’s give him and his team a week or two to show us what he can do.That bing said if we are still in this position in three weeks time I will grab my knife and sharpen COYI
Whatever the truth Orford is now unsettled and thinking the club isn’t serious about him. If we don’t get the Villa player either it’s a double negative whammy.
His goals per minute played is better than Watkins. That is why he wants out. He believes he should be starting.
This is a hard one to work through but it could be that J Lo has decided that Earthy and Potts (plus maybe Irving) are better prospects than Orford, and is happy to move him along.
Harsh but an option to consider.
Exactly that and…. His contract runs out next summer and my guess (grapevine) says he’s stalling on a new deal either waiting for better terms or to see if he gets game time under JL. A legacy of the Moyes era that we will have to live with for a while.
So you would rather keep player that doesn’t sign a contract and let him move abroad for free. The agents drive the move away for more funds and more money. How many wines are in there over kilman and a Brazilian wondered. Mate you are clutching at straws here and the transfer windows open till 31 August not 31 July
Couldn’t agree more with you Martin, some of the best youth team players in PL history, an under 18 England Captain and we are ready to use him as.a makeweight for a petulant player without any track record of regularly scoring, he averages a goal every 7 games, Soucek has a better record than that as does Kudus and Bowen.
Not true, he only made a few starts at Villa and his goals to minutes ratio was quite impressive.
His attitude is suspect but he has great potential
I’m a villa fan, and I can vouch for the attitude being poor. But there is a quality player in there. Just pay the money West Ham or move on.
I think his goals to minutes played works out 1 in every 90 mins so you’re talking toffee mate.
Grow up, you are whining like a child. All the youth players we have sold lately haven’t made it at their new clubs, which tells me we did the right thing.
Anyway, how do you know it is the truth?
Martin Treasure…not a lot wrong with your piece.
Martin is spot on and I come from a place where he often deletes my comments.
….but not this one !