‘All over bar the shouting’ seems to be the supporters’ verdict on West Ham’s Premier League survival battle after three losses on the trot culminating in the St James’ Park surrender in which the Hammers capitulated within the first twenty five minutes.
So, whilst the die hards, those in denial and the über optimists will watch Tottenham’s visit to Chelsea tomorrow night hoping for a Spurs defeat to take the season to it’s finale, those more realistic in the fan base and surely in the boardroom will be trying to get their heads around the truly dreadful prospect of relegation and wholesale player sales.
Jacob Steinberg confirms the names of those most likely to depart
Writing in the Guardian.co.uk, well connected Hammers expert Journo Jacob Steinberg believes the Irons may have to raise £100 million plus this summer in player sales alone:
West Ham can expect to make a profit on Fernandes, the highly rated Portugal midfielder who joined from Southampton for £38m last summer. Fernandes has interest from Arsenal, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain. Summerville, who has a chance of making the Netherlands squad for the World Cup, will also have suitors. United are among the clubs monitoring the Senegal left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf.
And, as almost an aside, Steinberg reveals sources inside the club claim Nuno will be walking away next weekend when the relegation battle is lost:
Bowen’s commitment to West Ham will also be tested.
West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen: His loyalty will ‘be tested’ as offers will come in
The England winger has stayed loyal but will need to put his career first. A host of leading Premier League clubs are tracking the 29-year-old.
Everton tried to sign Tomas Soucek last summer. Axel Disasi will return to Chelsea after a successful loan spell and the centre-backs Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo are likely to leave. West Ham are expected to try to convince Nuno to stay on as manager but some sources expect relegation to cause the Portuguese to walk away.
Why, indeed would he stay? And who would want him anyway. The reception at full time after West Ham’s woeful effort yesterday suggests there’ll be few tears shed for the Portuguese manager who promised so much yet failed to grab the opportunity he’d created with an uptick in form early in the year.
Reverting to type and trying to play cautious football against Brentford and Newcastle rather than following Leeds and Forest’s example of truly going for it appears to have come back to bite us all on the backside.
Admire Moyes, his integrity his undiluted passion for football, but agree with comments made about our PL form with him. Glad to see him taking Everton places though.
It has been years, decades, since WHU had a good manager who proved how good he was with results on the pitch with a decent football team over say, 3 to 5 seasons, which is what you should be able to expect. We’ve had brief moments but that is it. This is ludicrous and turns this club into a yo-yo club that loses its best players accelerating the demise every time.
With respect to the article I hope we in fact keep key players such as Summerville & Fernandes, while perhaps the whole backline leaves (unfortunately) because sales are inevitable. My point being I’d hope we would keep those players who do make a difference in standard and quality of play of the whole team. Maybe 3, 4, 5 players only would qualify.
On a personal note I’d keep Taty, he scores regularly and I’m a big fan ever since the last game against Newcastle, when he strutted around like a peacock, gave Guimaraes a hard time and all this while, his teammates were hanging their heads lower & lower & lower – real bravado! 😊.
TBH if just Taty stays and the rest – Bowen, Summerville, Fernandes, Mavropanos, Pablo,Diouf, Wan Bissaka- get sold, you’d have to consider it a bonus.
Not sure what you mean, sorry.
I meant keeping Summerville, Fernandes, Taty, of course Dinos if possible but unlikely, … players who influence a team & make a difference. Taty that’s just me liking the idea of a character like that about the team… and he scores goals.
yeah sorry I didn’t perhaps phrase it well.. I suspect there’ll be 8,9,10 plus departures: If we get ANY first teamers remaining – Taty, for instance, we should consider ourselves ‘lucky’..
ok, got you. Yeah, maybe so. I hope against hope we get a good coaching setup to make the most of what will be left – this means Kretinsky input.
I guess you’ll have plenty to write about this Summer.
Plenty to write about but likely not a lot of ‘readers’…
Basically I hope you are wrong !!
… and preferential loans from the Kretinsky empire and a 3 year financial plan is drawn up to right the mess over time, so that many players leave, rather than all player of value leave.
Sorry, know this is not a messaging site but trying to be clear – which is hard😊
believe me I hope I am wrong too!!!
So AWB is very good at RB, but club need to sell, so he goes. He does not influence a game as much as those other players, except rarely.
Max Hahn, agents & academy better able to replace AWB than Summerville & Fernandes when cannot spend much. That is pretty much what I’m thinking, rather than sell the best for greater profit, even though that is logical you are left with a good to average team, with no key players to build around.
I lay the demise of West Ham solely at the feet of Sullivan and the board which includes Brady. Until the club is taken over and Steptoe and Son mentality is removed we will flounder even below the Championship.Let the blood letting begin.Lets be honest. The Gold and Sullivan show got us where we are today.
I throw Kevin Nolan’s name into the ring as manager. He knows the club,has got the backbone to rule the dressing room. It is most likely we will be in the championship next year and we need character to win promotion,I think Nolan with the right players has that.
I wouldn’t be upset if Nuno stayed, I wouldn’t be upset if he left. That said, I am disappointed at his tactics away to Brentford and Newcastle. I went to each game and our start both times was poor, slow, over cautious. Each time our tactics changed we created chances and problems for the opposition. Just like when he reverted to 442 in January. Nuno’s conservatism has been his (and our) own downfall. If we don’t go all out for a win against Leeds, even if it’s just to give us something to cheer about, then maybe I will be wanting him gone!
Parker incoming. Said it before and say it again he is built for the championship slog he’s just not good enough when it comes to the Premier league….so if/when Nuno goes it will be Parker as he is available for free but the jobs going to be the biggest monumental task in any managers career and until Sullivan goes either by natural causes or is forced out the West Ham job truly is a poison chalice
Totally agree with wippethehammer, moyes had some success but the demise started with him , I remember the terrible hammerings well.
With respect to the Moyes scenario, a point often missed by many is that our demise on the pitch started with him. Once Irvine left, our play plummeted and the ladt six months of undiluted Moyes was dreadful.
I think Moyes’s fixed mantra of ‘working with a small squad’ began the decline and ended with us having a slow, geriatric squad with no options.
I know Sullivan is the overriding factor and sole reason for our current status and that he should ‘own’ this entire situation personally (which he won’t) but although we’ll forever be grateful for those european years which proved the bowl can generate an atmosphere, I think too many view Moyes with rose-tinted spectacles personally.
Nuno has to go, He is not a manager for the the attack minded championship
Open the door and anyone who doesn’t want to be there, bye bye.
Just do it quick, though I suspect that they will drag it out in the public arena to ‘drive the price up’ but in reality ‘we have no idea what we are doing and it will save money as we will not have time to buy other players.
Of course a few overpriced journey men will come in.
Is Peter Crouch and Jermaine Defoe still free?
Also watch the dinosaur managers who may get us up but will take us straight back down while boring us to death.
Real rock and a hard place stuff. Even if a miracle happens and we stayed up as fans said last season we’d still have the same problems. It’s hard to understand how we had the success with Moyes before the problems hit. Barring the Bilic / Payet season which was down to the worldie Payet every other manager has been useless. Then finally Moyes caught the rot and the slide started started.
Sullivan can’t run a football club. He could be on the board and supply money but a professional business structure needs to exist to do what Brighton, Brentford and Bournemouth do. Get recruiting right more often than wrong and stick to budgets.
Yes Numo can go .
Another manager who’s won nothing playing (sets up to not lose , rather than to win ) .
Please give us a younger attack minded manager .
Got everything wrong this season including the line up against Leeds in the cup .
Leeds played a stronger team, went to Wembley and kept momentum….