Finding the positives after ‘survival Sunday’ went so flat is a tough ‘ask’ on a Monday morning – even if it is a Bank Holiday. The fact that West Ham were relegated with thirty nine points – the highest total for a relegated side in 15 years – is no comfort as Spurs escaped thanks to last day listlessness by Everton and about a dozen missed opportunities from our own footballers to take the required number of points earlier in the season.
First one to depart will surely be Nuno Espírito Santo: Credit for trying, Nuno – I’m sure there’ll be suitors galore at clubs better both run and more enjoyable places to work than here at London Stadium.
Many players who depart next month won’t be missed when they inevitably head off on the next stage of their lucrative careers, their West Ham chapters just a blip on their cv’s.
Fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that Bowen gets to choose his own future and stays next season.
The suggestion that Jarrod Bowen might stay offers real hope of unfashionable footballing loyalty: Every Hammers fan will quietly keep their fingers crossed as that story develops through the summer transfer window.
Taty Castellanos has showed in the last couple of games that he has it in him to be a true West Ham favourite if he sticks around. He alone offered a bit of true West Ham spirit last week against Newcastle when the rest of the team fell so flat.
Matt’s article last week offers some hope that the Argentine could become a real asset for the next two or three years: Once the football agents get to work this summer we’ll have to see what kind of side the Irons put out in August.
And whatever else it may be, this summer will not be dull. Players in, players out, the merest whiff of ‘possibility’ of change in the boardroom, a new manager and coaching team – I’m kind of looking forward to it already.
But I always did have something of the masochist in me – it is probably what attracted me to this club as a seven year old when all my friends were wearing Chelsea or Man U shirts.
COYI!
The problem with Bowen staying is that his value, at his age, will not increase. He has also been at the club that any sale would be pure profit, important for dealing with the debt issue. Bowen staying would be great – and presumably his England career is now dead – but it only makes sense if the financial issues can be resolved first
There’s an old saying “ you need to go back to go forward “
For too long we have appointed the wrong managers .
Time for a new start , new manager and new brand of football .
Alladyce , Moyes , Potter , Numo …. All passed back and all never took the game to the opposition.
Too many fans misread the conference win as the start of great things .The reality is that trophy and competition is championship level and any premier league club entering it should win it as palace will next week .
The problems began with many of Moyes signing from the Rice money that simply weren’t good enough .
Potter was an absolute disaster and anyone who watched the USA tour could see it was going to be a long season .
Potter couldn’t and took us into games with no centre forward .
Numo made some poor decisions too that cost us .
Too many crazy decisions early on ultimately cost us .
Fernandez was a great signing and our best midfielder since Rice left . Shame we can’t build a team around him .
We now need a new manager in the Pardew mould who can build a team to play decent football again ….
We have been starved of that for too long
Sorry Martin but too many are ignoring the situation we are in with that thinking that we might lose some players, keep some and bring some in fit for the Championship. We still owe £300 million in unpaid transfer fees, we have on top of that posted £105 million losses, we are set to lose £100 million in revenue as a result of relegation please tell me what money we are going to buy players with as any player of value will need to be sold to help service this financial nightmare that is as close to an existential threat we have ever seen? The board hasn’t invested personally for years, as things stand without fundamental change, ie those who own the club, I think we will do to survive but a team competitive to get us back to the PL that currently looks like a pipe dream.
Well I’m focusing on the positives as much as I can, gloom won’t help anyone. Yes some players will go, but we’ll rebuild like we’ve done before and be back in the Premier League at the end of next season. COYI!
True Allan, but the reality of our situation financially can’t be ignored and we are in the worst financial position ever, in an environment with more financial mgt regulation than ever before. I have been there with relegations since 1970 onwards but this is very different and we are not in a place where we will be able to spend, well virtually anything at all.
I’ve been here regularly saying how G&S stepped in and should be given credit for pulling the club back from the brink after the Icelandic debacle, if for nothing else.
Recent revelations on the financial front just exploded that in my face.
Plus, as you say, probably very little available for transfers.
Likely no manager.
Complications of a World Cup summer in the mix.
Only 12 weeks to the new season to have something in place to compete in arguably one of the most competitive and unforgiving leagues.
This is a real opportunity for the club to get itself sorted out. I can’t but help think about Nuno and the start and how many points he wasted with tinkering (inverted fullbacks etc). Not sure if I want him to stay. The supporters deserve more than Sullivan, he’s dead man walking hopefully. We could all see this coming and it’s been coming since Moyes last season. Onwards and upwards….Millwall away COYI
I liked what NES & Jemez managed to do, but it plateaued very quickly, with no more progress made followed by a dropping off in standards – perhaps tiredness, lack of like for like subs.
Just to say I am unconvinced by NES as well, given repeated errors he made and how the team regressed & did not play good football as a team. He would bring continuity which I would like, but I would prefer a better manager, if they find one (input from Kretinsky?).
We had a successful run with a 4-2-4, but besides this no fallback, which the players were comfortable with. Definition of a one-trick pony.
next seasons bonus is no VAR,.
bring on the Millwall.
bad news is we are stuck with Sullivan, for a least anther season.
I am still in hope of a new look WHU. The blame is firmly placed at the feet of senior management & football managers and if nothing else, it means business cannot carry on as usual. Not going to repeat, again, hopes around Kretinsky being more involved changing “decisional structure” due to joint chairmanship, etc. Time will tell.
Looking at Leeds, Sunderland and now Coventry you can see the Championship is a fast, combative league with players of character, not many journeymen. Middlesborough beaten by Hull played possession football and in other games I might have seen (Coventry mainly, because of Lampard) there was open, flowing & attacking football with plenty of goals. A blend of styles is what WHU need, intelligent footballers who can read a game and adjust, is needed for this. Our players seem naive so often. Only Bowen, Taty, Disasi & Fernandes seem to read a game, see what is happening across a pitch.
A manager should aim to include players of character with PL experience, with youth players who can compete in the Championship. A team which plays attractive football, good in possession, tough to beat, high press, quick passing, flowing football, scores goals,.. etc.. A style & level of play for all leagues and cup runs.
We’ve had many managers and yet, so few players of real quality, ambition & character who make a difference on a pitch. Against Leeds, we had players getting rid of the ball to no purpose, so many mislaid passes (yet again), unwilling to take responsibility and make a difference – that will not work in the C. either. I can tell you, there was NO COHESION in our play despite all the words and as for feeling positive that comes about of its own accord, when you get things right and you yourself know it. It is not a healing mantra.
I am all for giving time to develop, adapt a bit to a faster pace, some leeway, but for me, it is time to be cutthroat now and take some strong decisions. If players are good in their position but only turn up occasionally on the pitch, they will have to go for as good a fee as you can get.
I am also concerned at how younger players Potts, Magassa & Scarles have simply disappeared, while other academy players show promise but have no impact out on loan.
I really like Scarles (all 3 are of course very good), but saw him make the same positional mistake in about 3 games (in no-mans land with a simple long ball over his shoulder). Who is managing them??? You cannot have them leave the academy to join the 1st team and no longer do extra coaching with them. Only on paper are they 1st team ready, in truth, they are still developing their game, including perfecting basics. So who is in charge of this? Noble? My guess is nobody & it is a hand off from Academy to 1st team and wipe your hands of them: a big club failing for sure.
This gulf in footballing ability must be filled, or again these players will have to leave, even though we want them to succeed 100% and we need them to.
That’s a great long post Peter but i do have to differ with you if you think Potts,Magassa and Scarles are very good?
Potts and Scarles especially. have been tried and tested and found imo wanting.Maybe they will be good for us in the Championship because that’s probably their standard..
Cheers Richard. I know – you are right really. They have failed to prove themselves at a high level.
They are far from being all round players. They have potential, but unready for the 1st team and it stops there and I am puzzled there is no more improvement in their skills.
Magassa has looked exciting at times, but only Kante has forced himself back into the 1st team while we really needed some good subs.
At that age you can improve in leaps and bounds, even over a single Summer with the right advice and so on. We’ll see what happens in the Championship but they need to start reaching their potential.
Sullivan does need to go, allowing Nuno to spend 50m on unproven premiership players thru Mendes clearly at inflated prices giving room for kickbacks for the player, Mendes & Nuno ro the detriment of WH was just inexcusable! particularly after the issues came up at Forest! If Sullivan had just said we need to loan a couple of experienced premiership players offering them a bonus for staying up we would be 40m better up and chances we would have stayed up. I would ask you to do an article on this as Kretinski is a business guy and surely he needs to be made aware that Sullivan is just an old guy amateur without the sharpness of mind to run this huge business/football club nowadays.
I’m still not seeing any further than Sullivan, I will be speaking frankly about him in time. We are now relegated and cannot afford not up to it, we need to get back quickly.