West Ham: Where playing defense was retired in tribute to Bobby Moore

Cellar-Door

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Well finally got around to making a thread.

Out: Guys who were very bad at playing soccer
In: Chicharito who is awesome
Arnautovic, an overpriced but pretty decent winger
Zabaleta: was good back when he was alive
Hart: Shit even by English keeper standards, is gonna lose that job by Christmas

Defense is ungodly bad, as is holding midfield. Bilic is the odds on favorite to be sacked, and it is likely deserved since he somehow turns every defender he recruits, no matter how good he is Internationally or was under previous managers, into a comically bumbling incompetent.

Edit- should add, have been fighting with Sporting for a week plus over a fee for William Carvahlo, who is about a good a fit as possible (could use him to be a bit faster, but the number of fast good passing, excellent defending DM 25 and under can be counted on your fingers and cost 100M pounds) if he does come in and we still struggle in defense Bilic is getting shipped back to Croatia.
 
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Cellar-Door

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Nothing is more Bilic than going up against arguably the worst squad in the league and starting an 18 year old CB at CM, along with your plodding captain (Noble) while your 3 best CM sit on the bench.

Down 2-0 and no possession....
 

Cellar-Door

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Hey,
Played 3 at the back, left Noble and Fernandes on the bench for Obiang and Kouyate.....
2-0 win that was pretty dominant.
 

Cellar-Door

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Back to a back 4....
0-3 loss at home to BRIGHTON.
After a recent semi-correction of form Sullivan had said Bilic deserved to see out the season, have to wonder if that changes. Team looks completely disjointed, fitness concerns, the lot. I never thought they had a chance to go down since the squad talent is top 10 in the league..... but man, they look awful sometimes.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Back to a back 4....
0-3 loss at home to BRIGHTON.
After a recent semi-correction of form Sullivan had said Bilic deserved to see out the season, have to wonder if that changes. Team looks completely disjointed, fitness concerns, the lot. I never thought they had a chance to go down since the squad talent is top 10 in the league..... but man, they look awful sometimes.
Brighton are not bad. That's not as bad a loss as you think (the fact of the loss, not the scoreline and how WH played). Still no excuse but give Brighton credit.
 

Cellar-Door

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Brighton are not bad. That's not as bad a loss as you think (the fact of the loss, not the scoreline and how WH played). Still no excuse but give Brighton credit.
A loss to Brighton is moderately bad for a squad with the talent we have.
At home... bad
3-0..... just unexcusable
 

Cellar-Door

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Classic Bilic.
Step 1: Suck horribly for weeks against squads that should be relegation strugglers.
Step 2: have it leaked that you have 2 games to turn it around or you're gone
Step 3: impressive win(in this case Spurs at Wembley)
Step 4: muddle about a bit
Step 5: See Step 1
 

candylandriots

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Classic Bilic.
Step 1: Suck horribly for weeks against squads that should be relegation strugglers.
Step 2: have it leaked that you have 2 games to turn it around or you're gone
Step 3: impressive win(in this case Spurs at Wembley)
Step 4: muddle about a bit
Step 5: See Step 1
This Saturday ought to be interesting. The immovable object against the unstoppable force.

I'm predicting a 0-0 draw.
 

PedroSpecialK

Comes at you like a tornado of hair and the NHL sa
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Posted in the "Going to a match in Europe" thread, but I had a couple of questions for Hammers supporters:
  • Any Claret Members on the board? If anyone is or knows of one, would be much obliged if you sent a PM my way
  • Has anyone reliably used StubHub?
    • I'm reading some horror stories about Stubhub International in particular, though not really tied to EPL... I know Everton for instance have an official agreement with them, but that doesn't look to be the case for WHUFC
  • Any tips about going to London Stadium for a WHUFC match in general are also much appreciated
Thanks!
 

Cellar-Door

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Posted in the "Going to a match in Europe" thread, but I had a couple of questions for Hammers supporters:
  • Any Claret Members on the board? If anyone is or knows of one, would be much obliged if you sent a PM my way
  • Has anyone reliably used StubHub?
    • I'm reading some horror stories about Stubhub International in particular, though not really tied to EPL... I know Everton for instance have an official agreement with them, but that doesn't look to be the case for WHUFC
  • Any tips about going to London Stadium for a WHUFC match in general are also much appreciated
Thanks!
I think there are only 2 of us on the board, and I'm not a Claret member. It's really difficult to get re-sale ticket since I don't think you can actually re-sell outside the exchange since WHU does there own exchange instead of outsourcing like Everton. Also Liverpool has probably been sold out for weeks, it's a tough get.
sorry.
 

PedroSpecialK

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No worries, thanks for the reply - alas, figured as much, but a coworker’s offered ticket fell through last minute so I’ve been scrambling.
 

Cellar-Door

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Bilic finally let go. Seems like a great guy but just over his head at this level.

Of course now by waiting its a relegation scrap and no managers are available.

Everyone saying it will be Moyes which seems like an unmitigated disaster in the making.

If it has to be a 6 month deal for a washed Brit I'd prefer Sam or Pardew.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Bilic finally let go. Seems like a great guy but just over his head at this level.

Of course now by waiting its a relegation scrap and no managers are available.

Everyone saying it will be Moyes which seems like an unmitigated disaster in the making.

If it has to be a 6 month deal for a washed Brit I'd prefer Sam or Pardew.
Is he over his head at this level or was the scene at West Ham just too screwy the last couple of years?
I don't even know if I have an opinion on this, I'm curious what you think. I thought he did a great job his first year but this was overdue at this point.
 

Cellar-Door

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Is he over his head at this level or was the scene at West Ham just too screwy the last couple of years?
I don't even know if I have an opinion on this, I'm curious what you think. I thought he did a great job his first year but this was overdue at this point.
He's not very good at tactics, and his training is dubious, most players regressed. First year a lot of that was having Payet playing like a top 5 player in the world. Once he didn't have him he couldn't balance attack and defense.
 

Dummy Hoy

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He's not very good at tactics, and his training is dubious, most players regressed. First year a lot of that was having Payet playing like a top 5 player in the world. Once he didn't have him he couldn't balance attack and defense.
Thanks for the reply.

Who would you like to see take charge? I think we all agree Moyes is past his prime.
 

Cellar-Door

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Thanks for the reply.

Who would you like to see take charge? I think we all agree Moyes is past his prime.
Problem is that by waiting until November nobody is available.

I'd do 6 months of Allardyce or Pardew to keep us up.
Come Summer I'd be targeting whichever of Tuchel/Nagelmann doesn't get Bayern. Sousa, Wagner, Benitez, Bielsa, Silva and Gallardo would be my short list.
 

Dummy Hoy

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How many of those are realistic? I guess I'm kind of asking where you put West Ham on the pecking order...Is it a step up for Silva? Bielsa? Benitez? Is a Tuchel/Nagelmann going to come to Stratford?

Again- I don't really have a strong opinion, just curious what you see.
 

Cellar-Door

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How many of those are realistic? I guess I'm kind of asking where you put West Ham on the pecking order...Is it a step up for Silva? Bielsa? Benitez? Is a Tuchel/Nagelmann going to come to Stratford?

Again- I don't really have a strong opinion, just curious what you see.
Tough to say. Bielsa was interested when they chose Bilic over him, Benitez was about to sign up when he got offered Madrid out of the blue and bowed out. Tuchel and Nagelmann are reaches. If they open up the wallet everyone on the list probably considers it, BPL is the elite league right now, and you have a huge stadium/platform. Question as always is whether the board will put up money for the window and stay out of the way. New ownership is probably the best thing for WHU to really move forward, but unlikely.
 

Eric1984

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Moyes it is.

This is kind of like if, in 1999, the Patriots -- after firing Pete Carroll -- had settled on Rich Kotite (not that Bill Belichick is out there and not that they have the Krafts as owners). But all he has to do is get them to avoid relegation. They're not without talent, though the U14 BAYS team I coach defends better than they do. Hopefully that will change soon.
 

FlexFlexerson

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Hiring Moyes is just the latest turn in this waking nightmare of a season. I guess (?) it's maybe the best they could do given the horrible position they put themselves in, but it sure isn't making me feel much better.

Bummed about Bilic, someone I really wanted to see succeed with the club (and not just for the obvious tautological reason that I want to see the club succeed). Just didn't have it in him.
 

Cellar-Door

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This is a placeholder for a more complete post on this season and going forward.

Short version- Moyes kept us up, and looks 50/50 to be offered a long term contract. Other options are unclear but stealing Rafa has been mooted and apparently the Portuguese papers this morning say that Paulo Fonseca turned down Everton for West Ham and will sign soon

Owners-still bumbling incompetents but won't sell for 5 years minimum because they lose 20% as part of the stadium deal.

Players, weird mix of talent that all fit different systems. Could see a massive overhaul in the summer but with little net spend given ownership
 

Cellar-Door

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Manager search underway, Moyes out of the running.

Interviewed Fonseca from shakhtar. Conflicting reports as to whether he turned it down for a significant raise at his current club or is debating the two offers.
Unai Emery is supposed to be interviewing soon.

Two others on the list are Benitez (£6m in compensation) and Pellegrini.

Some rumors that they reached out to agents for Nagelmann Silva and Wagner but not planning anything yet.


My guess is that Benitez is the man, they wanted him when Big Sam was fired and had an agreement when Real came in last minute and Sullivan let him go. One of the few people that seems to have a good relationship with Sullivan.

Question about Benitez is if Sullivan will give him the transfer control and budget he'd demand. Biggest reason he refused to extend for Newcastle.

I'm shocked that all 4 targets are actually good, I'd probably go:
Fonseca
Benitez
Emery
Pellegrini
 

teddykgb

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You could tell me that’s Arsenal’s list and I’d believe you. That’s a higher standard of manager than I’d expect West Ham to attract. I think Emery would be a great get.
 

Cellar-Door

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You could tell me that’s Arsenal’s list and I’d believe you. That’s a higher standard of manager than I’d expect West Ham to attract. I think Emery would be a great get.
Honestly we'll probably end up with some garbage 10th option, maybe Ranieri. Our owners love a big name, but hate putting money into transfers and not jumping into their own transfer dealings using Football Manager 2012.

Apparently Sullivan said today that they want someone with experience in Europe and the premier League which eliminates the 2 best options.
 

Cellar-Door

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Welp time to re-set with the manager appointment and see where we're at going forward.

Manager- Manuel Pellegrini. Wasn't my first choice, but I still think he's an excellent manager.

Players leaving:
Hart loan ending
Mario loan ending (though might still be bought)
Collins contract expired won't be back
Evra contract expired won't be back

Squad as it stands:

RBs- Zabaleta and Byram is an area of great need, especially as Byram might be sold.

LBs- Cresswell and Masuaku, lots of potential, lots of variability probably won't add anyone

CBs- Ogbonna, Reid, Rice, Oxord(returning from loan) Ogbonna is quietly very good, Reid is in decline and injury prone, the others are under 20 years old, likely need at least 1 more vet

Midfield- Kouyate, Obiang, Noble, Lanzini, Fernandes, Haksobanovic, Cullen,Quina, Snodgrass. Snodgrass is all but gone, very light overall, likely need on boxx to box or DM and one attacking midfielder at minimum. And that assumes keeping Lazini

Forwards- Arnautovic, Chicharito, Antonio, Carroll, Hugill. Hugill likely is gone, could use depth, but excited to see what Pellegrini does with Chicharito.
 

Cellar-Door

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Man was looking like a good week, Anderson and Pastore allegedly getting close, Pavon rumored..... Then Lanzini blows out his knee in training.