Manuel Pellegrini yesterday discovered precisely the size of the job he faces at the club over the next two years!
As written earlier, he has to take much of the responsibility for the defeat against Everton, but if we stop there then the full picture disappears from view.
It became crystal clear AGAIN yesterday that too many years of buying cut price players, and with a thin squad in place anyway, the manager has a big problem or three.
Those who have argued this case in the past are right. We’ve done it on the cheap for too long and there really is no place permanently for such Angelo Ogbonna, Pedro Obiang, Lucas Perez and sadly, it has to be said, Michail Antonio who has become a shadow of the player we once so admired.
That we have no adequate replacement for Mark Noble who was ruled out yesterday after his grandmother passed away is criminal and of course inevitably his age throws a question mark over the skipper .
The same can be said of Samir Nasri, fine player he is at his best, but rising 32 and seemingly with injury problems.
Zaba was a brilliant signing on a free but with end of career beckoning whilst remaining capable of keeping another free signing Ryan Fredericks out speaks volumes.
I reckon the manager has pretty well made his position clear on him, Obiang, Perez and Antonio who together cost the mighty sum of £13 million!
There are of course other issues with Arnautovic the biggest of them. Do we stick or twist? I say twist.
We have to keep everything crossed that Pellegrini and Mario Husillos have some gems hidden away such as Fabian Balbuena but beyond that it seems to me that the bad old days have to be put behind us and serious money spent again.
That sums it up very clearly Hugh. I have been saying for months that any improvement this season on the last two is going to be small. There have been very few outstanding games, & too many like yesteday. That is after a big spend last summer. As you say, the implication is that more of the same is needed this summer. The worry is, as was pointed out on here a few weeks ago, the financial position of the club (& the FFP rules) might mean that is not possible. Back at the start of the season we would all have been delighted to be told we would have 42pts come the end of March, with a nice final run into the end of season &,the chance to relax a bit- for a change. Now it does not seem quite so appealing, with the true lack of quality only too clear & an uncertain future ahead next season.
I was saying to the ST holders around me when I saw the squad announced, I think MP has done this too show the chairmen the real depth of our squad, it was a very odd selection. Saying that it was no excuse for the performance, the players were abjectly bad aside from Fabianski, Zaba, Diop and Rice. Lanzini has the quality but showed none of it yesterday, the rest of the team needs to be overhauled across several seasons, its a long term project, if we can get Nasri fit he will make a huge difference, likewise Wilshere and Yarmolenko but we need to look at the full back positions Cressie is solid enough but without Anderson helping him out he was left exposed time and again yesterday which showed the gulf in class between him and Zaba who was left equally exposed on the Right but mostly defended really well.
I have never even thought this before, but, after 55 years of watching my beloved West Ham, I feel the current setup, from the Coach-Down, is an absolute disgrace.
It started with Bilic, paused during Moyes-Pearce and has resumed with Pellegrini & Co.
The fact we hover around 8th-12th is more by luck than much else.
He is no more fit to be at West Ham than many of the journeymen he is responsible for.
West Ham United FC face a similar sized task to most other clubs and it should be without Pellegrini.
The owners must start by joining the real world and give up on their ideas of grandeur.
Also, to splash all this mooted big cash, the club needs to be able to afford the interest on the mega-loans the owners will make to it, let alone the associated wages.
Arnoutovic has to go.His antics have seriously upset the squad since January and it looks like they do not want to even pass to him on the pitch.The last few matches have been a thinly veiled progression of underlying problems and as mentioned Hugh i think the manager actually threw half that starting 11 in yesterday out of sheer desperation on the pretext they might put in a performance and stake a claim but in reality they showed him what he already knew and that is that they need to be cleared out in the Summer.We all know which players need to go and what the club needs moving forward in the Summer.
Agree I think MP wanted to sell him but couldn’t get cover & wasn’t in on his new deal or a fan. He is trying to keep squad happy that’s what he does & maybe start Arnue to help sell in summer. If China come back even with £25-30m we should bite rhier hand off. He is a player who needs to be loved & he lost that got head turned which is Shane bc 2018 was the best year of his career stats wise & consistency but we also showed when injured we had our best run.
And all the stick Chicharito isn’t a lone CF he is the best if the lot right now & has done it before I would stick with him till end if season. Especially w right #10 behind him & service he scores & puts in shift but never Gera more then 3-4 game run tho he has better goal ratio then Arnie.
He would be the only CF I keep & in hindsight we could of sold Arnie without cover.
Just hope he will get sold but wont be a top 6 club & we won’t get £50m that’s for sure.
At the end of the day we don’t have the money as far as I’m aware to compete at a higher level. So I don’t think you can be too critical really. We are no different to Leicester, Watford, wolves and Everton. Or any other mid table team. What will pellegrini achieve at West Ham in the next two years. I’d be surprised if he achieves much really. The only way is if the current owners sell up is it not? Give the club to someone with money is the only way. The whole move to Stratford has been a shame as well, because I think the club has lost its soul as well unfortunately.
I think you are right on it here Hammersone.We as supporters are deluding ourselves a bit thinking of chasing the top 6 realistically 7th when in reality we are a mid table premiership club and should be happy we are safe from relegation and can look forward to some changes in the team come Summer.Having said that the owners have tried to sell a dream to us as fans but they do not have that financial clout to move to the next level.My biggest gripe is the lack of effort and pride in the shirt from a lot of these players and they need shifting.We will applaud them off come what may if they at least try but yesterdays game was a disgrace and insult to the fans.
I agree that we don’t have the money to compete at a higher level but I’m not so sure we are the same as Everton, Wolves and Leicester. All 3 of them have serious money backing them up. The Daves are extremely wealthy men but not in the same league as the financial clout that, say, Everton have. Look at what they spent on their current squad – the gulf was pretty evident yesterday. I thought they looked a class team at last, but we were terrible in every respect, Fabianski apart – and not for the first time this season. Good job we have enough points already. I personally couldn’t see the current squad competing in the Championship, so it’s a good job we’re not down there.It’s pretty obvious that most clubs need to spend a fortune every year just to stand still. Watford and Bournemouth have over-achieved again, if you consider how much they spend year on year. We appear to be going backwards – hopefully Valbuena and Noble can come back in to get things organised for our easy April fixtures. I’m going to have a bad day in the office tomorrow, too, by the way ….
I’ve just watched a few min of it again and I cannot believe how little work rate and desire there was in our team it’s criminal it really is , you watch teams like wolves and even Cardiff just now the never give up attitude is unbelievable ..time and time again this season we have shown none o f this ,,it’s a disgrace..and if I’m honest m.p is overrated as well ….
There must be 10 on the exit list – Adrian (free), Masuaku (6m), Reid (2m), Oxford (free), Obiang (8m), Fernandes (8m), Sanchez (2m), Antonio (15m), Carroll (free), Cullen (1m), Perez (2m) total 44m plus the 25m the club are fronting up – We need in return A keeper backup (Free for a season), the central defender from Spain (10m), a left back, 2 midfielders (holding and right sided) and 2 up front – Gomez (22m) plus the Fulham bloke (20m) So we have 17m for the left back and 2 midfielders – assuming we sign Nasri. Madel (sp?) was cheap (free?) so there’s the money spent. Yarmalenko comes back as does Wilshire, Johnson and Silva step up. And then stick or twist with Arnie on top…….Looks good up front, light in central midfield, and still exposed at the back.
I think that is the key to the problem Hammersone- lack of dosh.The sad reality of the PL is you have to spend big & keep on spending big just to stay in the division, let alone break into the big boys club. A lot of you will remember Sullivan’s worst moment (there are quite a few to choose from). It was the Brighton home game two seasons back, when he could not resist the chance to get in the limelight & did a tv interview pre match. It’s remembered for his famous vote of confidence, when he went out of his way to say Bilic had a three year contract & it would be immoral not to honour it. Cue disastrous game & Bilic being immorally sacked soon after. But I remember him going on about how brilliant the LS move was because the ultimate aim was to make the club ‘self funding’. I can’t see any prospect of that being achieved. I still think we will end this season well down the chasing pack of PL ‘also rans’ & would not be surprised to see another relegation scare next season. So two own goals in one interview -not bad.
Breach the ffp everyone else seems to get away with it, a multi million sponsorship of our training kit by Ann Summers will put us on par with the rest of the ffp cheats
I’d keep Antonio solid versatile player & is back for again & getting £10m for him from Palace he has shown up for us & offers pace strength directness & versatility. But Obaing yes Reid if we can bc he winever be truley. A lot of good CBs in LA Liga & Serie A . Perez yes then Sanchez – Wilshere if we can. Plus we don’t know how Yarmo will fair over time on huge wages too keep Ant.
As for a Noble Replacement said before Joan Jordan CM (AM) plays CM most in mid 2 creative tall quick tidy passer £11m release clause not bad at all. Even John McGinn who we were linked with has impressed me more then Grealiah tbh scored some screamers but creates a lot 5 goals 9 assists not bad for CM & can thread a pass.