Are their tastes in clothes as bad as their PR?
The latest from SuGo is that we will listen to offers for every single one of our players apart from Parker.
So, in a nutshell that includes the following:
- Rob Green (England’s number one)
- Valon Behrami
- Carlton Cole
- Mark Noble (West Ham through and through)
- Jack Collison (he’s off to Arsenal)
- Junior Stanislas (great prospect)
- James Tomkins (even better prospect)
- Fabio Daprela (he invented the word prospect)
- Diamanti
- Zavon Hines
- Upson
- Julien Faubert
- Manuel Da Costa
- Frank Nouble
Getting shot of any one of those players in bold is not at all encouraging to hear. It’s scary.
Let’s not forget that we’ve already released 9 of our Academy, including Josh Payne, Bondz N’Gala, Olly Lee and Terry Dixon (I cannot find a reference to this anywhere – if anyone has the official statement from the club, then I’d gratefully receive it).
On one hand, we can feel hugely relieved that we’ve stayed up and equally grateful for the money SuGo have invested in the club. On the other, the continually nagging thought is that not only to Birmingham fans feel disdain towards them, but they’re businessmen and will want a return on their investment. Where does that come from? Selling the heart of our squad and academy but more worryingly, selling Upton Park.
Each time Sullivan opens his mouth, the alarms bells ring. Most of that list of players will be sold for a decent amount of money to good clubs. They’ll be replaced with what? (If you’re not thinking bit-part mercenaries and Mido’s then my grave concern is that you’re wrong). These are not the type of people to bring in homegrown talent, rising stars or in fact footballers. They’re the type of people to bring in 33, 34, 35 year olds who’ve had their day, on the cheap. And dancing girls.
Can you recall him jumping more than 3 inches? Can you recall him scoring?
Allow me to use Mido as and example. When we signed him, I immediately reacted angrily (not at him, at the decision – my post here, Mido: A knee jerk reaction). In fact, 81% of voters in a my poll, thought he was a good signing (939 people voted). Now it’s not Mido’s fault he’s crap, (it is his fault he’s overweight and over-ego’d) but SuGo picked him up on the cheap because that’s how they like to operate. For what it’s worth, operational costs of Mido have now topped £13-grand for I’m pretty sure, aboslutely nothing. Can you recall a good game? Can you recall him jumping more than 3 inches? Can you recall him scoring? Ok, the same can obviously be applied to Benni McCarthy, who we also actually paid for. That 13-grand would have gone a long long way to helping nurture and bring through another quality academy prospect…something in my opinion far more valuable to our club.
The Olympic Stadium
This I’ve written about before, so no need to talk too much further about it. But it does require a mention.
The reason SuGo are so intent, in my opinion, on moving to the Olympic Stadium (whilst in the meantime, selling everything that’s valuable to our club to fund it) is because Upton Park is worth so much, in terms of real estate. Obviously to us, it means more than that.
Are you looking forward to our future under the wise guidance of these two? Two people truly incapable of even dressing themselves properly
Put yourself in 2014 – we’ve moved into the Olympic Stadium. It will likely have the following important and exciting features:
- A running track
- Actually essentially what is a temporary and recyclable structure
- Potentially sharing with a cricket club, atheltics or maybe if we’re lucky, Rugby.
- It will definitely have a high quality playing surface – especially if it’s used all year round for events such as concerts or motor-racing
- Tickets will definitely be snapped up by many tourists. Of all varieties. Likely in bulk.
- The furthest seat back is in fact a whole 30m further away from the pitch than the equivalent seat at the Emirates. (via twobob)
- Finally, and most notable, it will have the feeling of truly being ‘home’
Just imagine the noise and atmosphere this place will have. I cannot wait.
I hate the fact that I’m turning into some kind of doom merchant. Hate it. But what options have SuGo left us with? Staying up this year felt bitter-sweet but the year we did it with Eggert at the helm had me excited for the next season.
Are you looking forward to next year? Are you looking forward to our future under the wise guidance of these two? Two people truly incapable of even dressing themselves properly.
On the plus side, I should imagine pie sales have gone through the roof with Mido and Karen Brady around.
In an attempt to balance what is otherwise a negative post, I leave you with the following:
West Ham United 3-2 Wigan Athletic
Uploaded by nongcream7. – Check out more sports and extreme sports videos.
with the “whole squad” being up for sale i have a few things to say,
can anyone find any evidence of a complete squad overhaul being followed by success (in our case staying up)????????
secondly, whilst i agree everyone has a price, i also believe that unless a equal or better replacement is available then what is the point????
players to keep/ sell:
GK – green – depends on the offer and potential replacement
RB – faubert – i’d probably keep him
LB – Illunga – is he worth another season? depends on the offer
CB – Upson – maybe the last chance for a big money move, better younger cheaper players available, sell
CB – Da Costa – keep
CB – Tomkins – Keep
LB/RB/CB – Spector – good utility but not good enough, sell
Behrami – KEEP, he is a quality player
Diamanti – Keep, new Di Canio in waiting
Kovac – SELL SELL SELL, i’d drive him where ever we had an offer for him
Noble – MUST BE KEPT
Collison – See Noble
Stanislas – very exciting prospect
Parker – HANDS OFF
Cole – Keep
Ilan – Seems to work well with cole, keep
McCarthy – SELL SELL SELL
Mido – job in the Cafe? Sell
Franco – Keep
i know there are people i missed but these are the core players.
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Lets wait and see what happens!!!
Just food for thought, as you appear to think we will be going for old age pensioners.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/westham/7638640/West-Ham-have-4-million-bid-for-Graham-Dorrans-rejected-by-West-Bromwich-Albion.html
Quality player!!!
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Granted – I certainly hope my entire post is wrong.
And if it is, I will hold my hands up and say I was wrong.
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Re: Dixon to be released
http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100423/dixon-released_2236884_2031878
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Sam,
it’s all very well getting upset, but on this seasons showing, not many of the squad deserve to be kept.
People say keep Noble and Behrami (yourself included), but both have been on the whole absolutely woeful this term. Noble hasn’t made a step up in terms of ability for 3 years or so now, and Behrami, for all his running, is a shadow of the player he was last season.
As for the kids, why keep players that are obviously not good enough? yes, it’s nice to see youngsters make the step up, but realistically none of the ones mentioned are likely to be first teamers at a Premier League club. It’s rare to find one youth team player per year making the step up (which you can check with those that have been successful even from our excellent youth history), let alone more than one.
I think a lot of this comes from Sullivan shooting his mouth off again, and it will all be dependant on who is in charge next season.
Either way, not every player being sold is going because of a lack of talent, but more because they were given silly wages by Eggy and Co and they don’t justify the wage.
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On one level I share your negativity…
Any joy I feel at being safe has been more than overcome by the hapless capitulation seen in much of recent weeks – at home to Wolves, Stoke and Bolton to name only three, away at Arsenal where the game was there for the taking with just a bit of flair and tactical nous. Etc etc etc.
But I simply can’t climb on the anti-Gold and anti-Sullivan bandwagon, and I think you are plain wrong.
First, without them we’d Portsmouth or Palace, that’s how screwed we were financially. What was coming over the hill was not a white knight on a charger, but a monster, as someone once wrote. So anything has to be better than that. They’ve stuck their cash in, and credit to them.
And these guys aren’t just fly by nights – they are West Ham fans with a bit of guts and spirit.
Sell the whole squad? Damn right. Remember how you felt during and after the Wolves game? I do. And so does Sullivan, he didn’t sleep all night and fired off the kind of email I’d have written. It was an abject performance, naive and spineless. I hated everyone involved with it more than words can say. And then it kept happening, week in and week out.
It was Einstein who said that to keep trying the same thing over and over with the expectation of a different result was the action of a fool. Inside out wingers all year, Stan and Diamanti on the wrong sides, Spector instead of Daprela, Kovac instead of anyone including my late Gran, Collison on the left, not a single right-back at the club – what of that wouldn’t make you clear the lot out if you had the power?
We have shanked clear of relegation. If ever a team has been propelled up the table by the power of teams falling past them, rather than by their own hand, then this one has. Just because we’ve got away with it doesn’t mean everything is OK.
It wouldn’t have been this bunch of players, or Zola, at Scunthorpe away next year – but it would have been me and my club. That’s what they damn nearly did to us, so now let’s see them pay.
Our manager may be Sardinian rather than Sicilian, but he’ll know revenge is a dish best tasted cold. I, for one, am hungry, and I think our owners are too. And all power to them.
Get me a manager with a clue and some players with heart and passion, and we’ll start again from there. I don’t fear the future, so long as it doesn’t re-run the past.
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