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Transfer Complacency | West Ham’s Massive Reality Check

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Dark, dank, dreary football. 17 days through the transfer window and of course, West Ham haven’t signed anyone. From memory, Michail Antonio’s accident was on 9th December so the club have had over a month to plan, prepare and scout a replacement.

The very fact that the Irons were relying on a creaking 34 year old centre forward in the first place is hardly comforting but then to lose the injury prone Fullkrug (we told you so) and Bowen (unfortunate) leaves West Ham utterly toothless in attack.

It also leaves them exposed in defence. With no target-man to hold up play, zero goal threat to keep opponents tied up in their own half, we saw against Crystal Palace that an opponent does not need to be preoccupied with the Hammers’ forwards- simply because there aren’t any.

Chronic lack of activity and complacency in this window means now that Graham Potter’s win against Fulham is seen for what it really is: A lucky triumph created by new manager bounce and some awful Fulham play. Crystal Palace were not so generous. You can hardly blame Graham Potter: Not his squad, not his picks.

Tim Steidten and David Sullivan have 17 days to do something about providing West Ham with a goal threat – be it loan signing, permanent signing, or even (for heavens sake) pulling back teenage Callum Marshall from THIRD tier loan football: Anything to put some teeth into the West Ham attack.

Forget leaking two goals, if you don’t have a shot on target in a whole half, how are games ever to be won?

The danger of writing this immediately after the game is that I get angry and make no apologies for the fact. That is a pathetic team sent out with no goal threat and no creativity in midfield.

The worst thing about it is that we’ve been heading in this talentless, toothless direction over many transfer windows during which the sum total of one past -it fragile Fullkrug was bought in to bolster the front line.

And that didn’t end well.

Chickens have come home to roost. You have to feel for Graham Potter. Mid table this season will feel like a ‘win’ without a striker.

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From the old Bobby Moore Upper to the Billy Bonds' stand these days I've been watching since '03 and a supporter since about 1970.. 'Football is Life' oh yes. Let it raise your spirit but never darken your mood. Life's too short not to enjoy the journey with our Claret and Blue heroes n' villains.

20 comments

  • Mick Bering says:

    PLEASE NOTE STEDTEN WANTED TO GET THE NOW BOURNEMOUTH MANAGER STIEDTEN WANTED TO BRING IN DURAN STIEDTEN BROUGHT IN KUDAS AND ALVERAS SULLIVAN PICKED LOOPY LOO NO ONE SIGNED THIS WINDOW UNDER SULLIVAN LOOK AT THE FACTS THEN LAY THE BLAME

  • Darkhorse says:

    I’m sure every West Ham Supporter , including the manager know we urgently need signings , but unfortunately the January window clubs have found it difficult to do so. Instead it causes a lot of unease to players and managers.

  • Pete says:

    If ever we need Tim to be left alone to crack on and Sully to keep out and shut up – this is it!!! If Sully does neither then we KNOW FOR A FACT he’s being salty because he didn’t want Potter or Tim because it proves Sully and Salthouse know nothing about the clubs needs.

  • Still Mr Grumpy says:

    Dan Ashworth will be reunited with GP. I was hopeful but I think Tim just can’t pick good players, but mind you Moyes and JLo were stubborn, and then Sullivan gets involved. We just need to weather it until the summer – there are 5 crapper clubs than us don’t worry (unless Moyesy sorts Everton out). And hopefully we will get to see more youngsters playing like last night in the meantime. But man that was disappointing last night.

    • Terry says:

      Agreed that we need to weather it through until the summer. Get a loan signing for a striker unless we can convince David to sign as he seems to be the real deal.

  • Bully68 says:

    No matter the manager, all we do is slow passing left to right and back again. What irks me more these days is that we get free kicks in the opposition half and within 3 passes, it’s back with our keeper!

  • Jonathan Porter says:

    It’s nothing to do with having a striker !!
    The following players are just liabilities and have to go end of season
    Malvanpros
    Alvarez
    Paqueta
    All 3 just give the ball away too easily in the wrong areas .
    Potter needs to clearly get an identity to this team asap .
    Are we a pressing team , a counter team etc ….?
    3 games in I’m not moaning but it’s key to any team to understand the way the coach wants to play ….
    Slightly worrying in the last 3 games we have stopped creating chances where under Lopetegui we were doing that !!
    The whole team really needs rebuilding
    New goalkeeper
    New centre back
    2 new midfields players
    2 new strikers
    Out end of season
    Fabriindki , Areola ,soufel mavslprosonos , cresswell , Rodrigues , Alvarez , Paqueta , Irving , Ings , fiulkreg …
    11 players plus probably Kudos ….
    It’s big rebuilding job but potter has to be brave and start again

    • Hammeroo says:

      Who the hell are Malvanpros, Fabriindki, soufel mavslprosonos and fiulkreg? Sounds like a lot of new players there. Unless you can’t spell. Shame.

  • Mick Bering says:

    We need a c forward urgently add to that I dont feel Kilman at the back is the player we all think he is and that is a problem

  • Ammers 66 says:

    I got more angry, then worried about the future the more I got away from ground and then realism hit on the train.

    We could be 7 points from safety tomorrow with a geriatric team with no attack and an expensive defence that runs away from forwards when they attack, allowing them to shoot and score…… over and over again.

  • Dave says:

    How can it be that every premier league club has 3 or 4 strikers and in 5 years of transfer windows we don’t have one.
    Remember Antonio was bought as a right wing back, Bowen is a wide player.
    It’s absolutely mind boggling that we can look so bad.

  • Essexiron42 says:

    Completely understand your frustration Martin you sum up how many of us are feeling after the Palace game and the chaos which just seems to have been ever present over the last 6 months and many transfer windows.

    Surely Graham would not have accepted the job unless he was given assurances about transfer funds and player targets which he would have already identified? As the decision to part company with Lopetegui is thought to have taken place sometime ago, I assume he would already have carried out detailed research particularly with his preference for data analysis on likely targets and weaknesses in our squad. The new loan for Cornet has been done quickly and away from the media, so it looks as if Tim has had some much needed and unexpected success. With so many reported links mostly generated by Agents, I would be amazed if there is not huge pressure on Sullivan and TS to get deals completed for the targets which Graham has identified. The introductions of Ollie Scarles and Lewis Orford and return of Summerville are very encouraging signs. After the dreadful performance today and the clock ticking down, we can only hope!

  • Neil Down Under says:

    Looking at Moyse’s record when he came to the rescue first time around and saved us from relegation was: W1, D1, L3.
    From memory he had a fuller squad to choose from too.
    So it’s a rebuild, anyone think we might still challenge for Europe?
    I hope that any transfer dealings have Potters stamp of approval.
    No more Chairman picks. No more Stiedten picks (without the managers approval).
    Listening to the post match press conference, GP spells it out, a rebuild. It’s telling that he says a rebuild of the whole club.
    It’s time to be patient (and hope we survive the season).

  • John Ayris says:

    Sullivan owns most of the bad decisions, and further bad stuff derives from them is the bottom line.

  • Thom Ridgeway says:

    Let me guess who is going to get the blame for all this feeble morass of dross, that this team actually is. Can’t be the Spanish Fiddler, he’s gone, or the actual perpetrator of everything that has ensued – a certain deminutive Russian hatted spiv and cheap porn seller. No, we all know the poor sod who gets the chop for this, will be a Teutonic scarf wearing jetsetter, who has more air miles than Judith Chalmers. Be interesting when it turns out he was Dan’s ‘Man’. How will Mr Kretinsky respond? How indeed!

  • Tom says:

    We’ve got our wheeling dealing Del Boy chairman in control of the transfers now. 14 yrs in charge over 50 strikers. What could possibly go wrong.

    • Hammeroo says:

      Nice one Tom! Dithering Del Boy Dave Silly Sully 🤣

      ⚽️ ⚒️ 💷 💩 🚽 👎 👋🏻 😭

  • Sean says:

    Absolutely nothing wrong with what you’ve said there – 140 million spent and we have the oldest most unbalanced squad in the league. Unacceptable and the sooner we have an owner not called David Sullivan the better. People can say what they want about Moyes but he got sullivan out of jail for his useless running of the club for a few years

  • vince thurnell says:

    The club is a joke . A striker should have been identified ans signed by now , afterall everyone knew we needed one.

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