Having been away on my first break for nearly two years I was determined to cut myself off from everything to do with West Ham and anything else that can get in the way of things.
Things never work out that way though and only a couple of days before I was shocked into near disbelief when turning to Candh.
Sean and Dave had stayed right on top of things as I would have obviously expected but the news that Felipe Anderson was on his way back to Lazio for a mere £2.5 million was as near unbelievable as it gets in the world of football.
Remembering the weeks we were kept waiting by the Italian club to clinch a deal at £35 million for the Brazilian when Pellegrini made him the marquee signing makes that news as shocking as it gets.
That we have a 50 per cent sell on clause helps not one bit – this is quite simply the worst deal the club has ever been persuaded into doing by a manager.
I’ve been involved with West Ham one way or another now for 59 years and can’t remember a worse buy.
Thanks Pelle, this really does sum up your time in charge along with the director of football you wanted – Mario Husillos whom – hardly surprisingly – Real Betsc refused to accept when appointing you!
I remember Sullivan trying to negotiate the fee down and getting pelters from some on this site for being a cheapskate and if the manager wanted him GSB should just get him in.
Don’t forget he wasn’t in the Lazio first team when we signed him
Its interesting is that under pellegrini he made it back into the Brazil team, was touted as one if the signings of the season and even after a subpar half season leading up to when pellegrini left his value per transfermarket was still listed at 40m+ eur being higher than the 38m eur we supposedly paid for him…
Yet somehow, the fact we have recouped 2.5m 2 years later is commendable and the 37m eur difference is PURELY pellegrinis fault (despite him leaving us with an asset worth more than what we paid for it) rather than the circus our transfer dealings have become under the shiteshow mismanagement we have as an organisation (can’t think of one player we’ve sold high on lately)… so can only assume this is a poor attempt at parody?
Certainly up there with the worst deals the club has ever done. Going back in time I would put the Kieron Dyer signing up there with the all time turkeys. And there were also some spectaculars from Redknapp during his time at the helm. Gary Charles, Titi Camara and Scott Minto anyone ? Never mind Christaian Bassila. Did he ever pull on a first team jersey.
Not in the same league in pure monetary terms but relative to our income at the time just as crippling. And I haven’t even mentioned Andy Carroll, have I ?
Take more holidays and your content will improve! Moyes has done a lot of good (who I admit I wrongly didn’t want) and Pelle was a nightmare (who I also didn’t want). But Moyes not Pelle is responsible – he was largely outstanding for Pelle and was attracting interest from big 6 after first season. He was even excellent as a no 10 in Moyes first game v Bournemouth. The point of the article is right about the ridiculous loss, but as usual you point the finger in the wrong direction.
Make fewer judgements and your comments will do the same. The vast majority believe he became a waste of space and chicken – dipping out of every 50-50 and supplying little creation or flair. Most expect more for £35 million than a one manager player. In your opinion Porto presumably got him all wrong as well. That Moyes is responsible for the club only getting £2.2 million for him is about as absurd as it gets so give it a rest.
i agree with all of your comments, but i think the great first year was eclipsed by no end product from anderson, i thought he was going to produce more and in all honesty, even if we buy someone for 35 million now, we will enevitibly lose money on them, [ sell on fee ] what with covid etc.
Seems to be a shame that Pellegrini and Husillos weren’t backed with the other £500 million to ‘invest’ in the team they wanted to accompany their astute acquisitions of Wilshere, Anderson and company. This investment would have seen us rise to the top half of the PL table. A further £1 billion would have seen us attracting Messi, Ronaldo, Bale and Van Dyke. Then we may have challenged for top four in PL.
Maybe we should have stayed with Sam Allardyce. Would have been so much more successful and cheaper with Sam. The cost would have been that we all might have had to learn not to detest him so much. Still, water under the bridge now. Clean the slate and see how we go with Wee Davey and the boys.
COYI
The right decision to get rid of, great first season but fell off a cliff second season but so did the whole team. Remember we recouped £9m last year from Porto on loan fee and wages, the last payment is wiped off so effectively we have spent £17m on him, still a poor deal but every club has poor deals. Invest the money and wages into areas if the team we need, we now need to do the same with Yarmo.
I believe Anderson had a terrific first season, my player of the season that season. When Pelle left Moyes arrived in and as we all should know at this stage Moyes does not rate flair players, we are currently seeing the same with Lanzini and Benrahma and as someone said on social media the other day if he had his chance he would sell Behrahma, I would agree. Anderson was not given a proper run of games by Moyes in fact he did not start too many and to lay the blame fully on the player and Pelle for this is not completely right, Andersons performances for us in his first season throws that theory out the window. He has the ability to play in the team and in the PL but he was not given the opportunity that other players were given, when this happens to a player at any club then their performance levels always drop. A part of what has happened here also lays on Moyes doorstep. We will see not see any flair players signed this summer instead we will see big tall players like Abraham signed. It is sad for us West Ham fans who have grown up being entertained by these type of players. Di Canio signed for us because he knew what West Hams love, entertaining football. We won a lot of games last season under Moyes hanging on for the result, we will know by the end of this season was that luck or good management. I will be delighted to be proved that it is the latter. Flair players win the tight games. We lost games last season going out with no flair players e.g. Man Utd away. The game I remember most from last season was Burnley away. I sat down to watch the game on Sky and the team was announced – I sat back in the chair with utter shock and excitement with the flair players in the team Lanzini , Benrahma, magial I could not believe my eyes and then for that team to go out and deliver the best footballing performance of the season brought tears to my eyes. Thats my beloved West Ham
Lingard? Does he count as a flair player?
Anderson was all flair and no trousers. Too many players like him in a team Is normally how you lose football matches. Absolute waste of space for all but about five minutes per game in about ten games that season. Fantastic on FIFA 20 though. Player of the season on a computer game but in real life he just didn’t cut it.
Apologies for some reason my comments weren’t showing.
Just because it’s one player that cost £35m it’s not the fundamental problem.
This £35m is just another example of no transfer strategy,no scouting network and transfers led by Agents and the owners.
We’ve had literally dozens and dozens of players through the club in the past 10 years, someone mentioned over 100 forwards… let alone the amount of players bought for £1m at young ages never to be seen in a first team shirt.
This is just another example of a decade of wasted millions.
Our transfer dealings when letting players leave even when they have value are horrendous, Payet / Arnautovic are examples.
We buy high and sell low, that’s us.
Couldn’t agree more with this. Hopefully,.Moyes will put a stop to this sort of nonsense happening in the future. GSB have had little idea how to do recruitment. Moyes has been sent to save them from themselves (and us fans from their ineptitude).
AS i RECALL HE WASN’T SENT BUT APPOINTED BY GSB!
Where is my comment? Or should we start calling you hugh beria?
IT DIDN’T SHOW AND IS NEITHER SPAM OR BINNED. SEND AGAIN AND WATCH YOUR GOB!
He was very good in his first season. Second season the whole team dropped when we lost fabianski. Then not fancied by Moyes and seems to have downed tools perhaps to help get a move away.
Do have to wonder why maybe he was sold a dream we would be making top signings? maybe he’s struggled mentally or perhaps he just has a bad attitude.
Either way its awful business by the club however I did hear the low fee is in conjuction with Lazio writing off the last payment we owe them?
I’ve previously spoken on many occasions about Felipe and I will most probably have more to say about him well into the future.
This situation sticks in the throat like nothing before, and I have supported this club for nearly as long as you Hugh.
Anderson’s puppy eye’s and hangdog expressions, don’t wash with me at all, as I believe that we have been Conned… AGAIN!
How does a player of such ability, lose that ability overnight? Some still blame Moyes for his loss of form and (supposed) lack of confidence but are forgetting that these were missing LONG before Moyes arrived at the club. At least Arnautović was a little more straight up about his intentions and reasons for doing what he was doing when he engineered his way out of the club…as did the snake before him. Anderson on the other hand has a different method, playing possum. I have seen the squad training in Scotland and Felipe looked razor-sharp, displaying his array of skills but what stood out for me was that although he was taking part, it seemed that no one wanted to tackle him…… and I thought…Hmm?…. Maybe he’s on his way!
The price of letting him go is So painful… But for the good of squad harmony and what is being built at this club, he Has to go or his presence is bound to have a negative impact, similar to that of Seb, Jack… (yeah, remember them?)
We owe nothing more to Lazio, that’s included in the deal from what I understand
Hi Hugh, welcome back, hope you had a great break.
Are you saying that we will still be paying the £8.5m owed to Lazio this month or is this to be written off, therefore swelling the coffers and, therefore hopefully, the player purchase budget by said £8.5m + the selling fee involved?
Agree with you, Hugh. It was another poor recruitment decision from yet another poor manager appointed by GSB, when, let’s not forget, they were under zero pressure to appoint anyone new. The biggest blame lies at the door of Anderson himself, though. He clearly has talent. What he never had, bu the look of things, was work ethic, which is as important as talent in whatever field we humans choose to embark on. To a degree, talent is down to luck. Work ethic is something that was, and still is, completely within Anderson’s control. He couldn’t be bothered, it would appear. As a result, you won’t catch me wishing him luck at his new club.
My understanding was that the last payment was written off.
Hugh, thanks for you comments but the biggest surprise to me is that you are surprised.
I have posted a number of times that IMO no one will pay serious money for Anderson, Yarmelenko, Lanzini or Read. Why would they?
In the case of Anderson he is a proven non — trier and a bottler.
Yarmelenko is the most expensive totally one footed winger I have ever seen, and is well over 30 to boot.
Lanzini and Read are not and never will be the players they were, following serious and extremely unfortunate injuries.
Essentially, we have no option but to let them go for whatever pittance we can get for them, get them off the payroll and move forward.
Three young players a year for the next three years should enable us to build the sort of side we all want to see.
Surely this isnt a surprise though? This is a guy with 1 year on his contract, a sky high weekly wage and who hasn’t played at a decent level for almost 3 years. Shocking signing- yes. But the fact they persuaded anyone to part with hard cash for him in today’s market is a good deal if anything.