*Official Irons Thread (Back Where We Belong)*

Discussion in 'Soccer Board' started by Bigzig06, Dec 11, 2010.

  1. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Stewart Downing to Middlesbrough for 7 million GBP. Honestly, that is pretty good for a high-earning 31 year old, who's been all but replaced by Payet. Also frees up some money for Chicharito, Mattia Destro or Charlie Austin.
     
  2. Heavy Mental

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    Game today was awful, nearly a 0-0 draw against a small time team at home.
     
  3. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Yeah, I'm pretty glad I didn't watch it. I have faith in Bilic, but yikes.
     
  4. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    So with Valencia looking like he's gonna possibly be out for the entire season, getting another Striker in is a must. I've been hearing rumors of a bid of 11 million pounds and Matt Jarvis to QPR for Charlie Austin. If that's the asking price I say we absolutely jump all over that especially if we're also able to get Jarvis off the books.
     
  5. Heavy Mental

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    11 MM for Jarvis is insane. Hit that bid of we can get it. Would definitely take C Austin but not my first choice at all.
     
  6. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Nah Jarvis is being used in a swap, so this would be us giving 11 mil and Jarvis to QPR for Charlie Austin.
     
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  7. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    I don't understand this team at all.
     
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  8. Heavy Mental

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    Hahaha what a result, Payet is the creative force we've been missing.
     
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  9. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Very impressed by Payet can't remember the last time I've seen one of our players being that creative and controlled with the ball at his feet. Possibly the best we've had in that regard since Tevez.
     
    #209 Rich Homie Tron, Aug 9, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 9, 2015
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  10. Heavy Mental

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    Ogbanna had the play of the game when he aggressively denied Giroud in the first half, already carrying a yellow no less.

    If Giroud scores there, game is completely different.
     
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  11. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Ogbonna had a solid match, pretty much all of the back 5 did. I think he can be real solid if he can keep playing every week, which he wasn't able to do at Juventus.
     
  12. Heavy Mental

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    That's the thing I don't get about a lot of these guys that we're trying to reel in on transfer. At West Ham you'd be the consistent starter if you came here, what better way to showcase your skills?
     
  13. Heavy Mental

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  14. Smittys

    Smittys Well-Known Member
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    god chicharito would be awesome. would've liked to see the barton move happen, as he would be a good backup. i also hope amalfitano isn't in the dog house for too long, really like the way he plays most of the time.
     
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  15. Heavy Mental

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    Welcome Smittys, now it won't just be me and Rich Homie Tron talking to each other lol

    I'm reading that Amalfitano might be signed away now :(
     
  16. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Yes, welcome Smittys. As much as I love Heavy Mental and I's ongoing conversation, it's nice to get someone else in haha. While I do like Amalfitano, I've always felt he was better as an impact sub, rather than a starting winger. What this tells me is that Obiang returning to training will take away from his playing time, and that Bilic likes Manuel Lanzini, who also plays in the winger position and was about the only positive about that second leg in Romania, more than Amalfitano. I'm inclined to agree with that as Lanzini is young and has a world of talent, plus rumor has it his loan deal has an option to buy. Also Oscar Borg is another name to look out for in the academy. He is winger we were able to keep despite very heavy interest from Man U. Some have likened him to Gareth Bale (both in look and playing style), some say he has potential almost on par with Reece Oxford and has a good chance at featuring in the first-team, either this season or next.
     
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  17. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    As for other transfers, I would love to see Chicharito hear and think the Daves shouldn't bat an eye to pay 12 million GBP for him, especially since Middlesborough gave us about 7 million GBP for Downing. Austin I think is a matter of a waiting game, as he is a clear EPL talent and would be really pissed off at the idea of wallowing with QPR in the Championship for another year, so I think they'll lower their price a bit to move a player who more than likely isn't going to fight hard for them. As for Barton, initially I was against the deal, but the video he made showed a rare display of maturity and a true desire to play for West Ham, so I think he would have been a decent rotation player, although our midfield is pretty stacked right now.

    Finally, our boy Alex Song. Reports seem to change about him by the day as the Daves said they don't want to meet his wage demands while he is injured. However he is back in London pretty much every weekend, training off and on at Chadwell Health (West Ham's training facility) and his kids are players in West Ham's academy right now.

    [​IMG]

    If I had to bet money, I say a deal is completed within the week prior to the deadline as the Daves will avoid paying about a month of his wages before his expected return in Mid-September.
     
  18. Heavy Mental

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    Rich Homie, you seem pretty plugged in to the day-to-day. Do you have a solid site where you get your info? Do you live in the UK?

    I sit at a desk all day and troll the BBC and other news sites, but what I read always seems a bit stale.
     
  19. Smittys

    Smittys Well-Known Member
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    I don't really post a whole lot, but I'll try to stay as active as I can. I had no idea there was even a WHU thread, so that was nice to see.

    Heavy Mental I follow a lot of West Ham twitter accounts which help to keep me in the loop more than any websites I've found. It's pretty much my only use for twitter. The guy with the most consistent info of any West Ham "insider" that I've found is https://twitter.com/ExWHUemployee. If you don't have a twitter I'd say it's worth just bookmarking his page and checking it every once in a while. He also occasionally writes a column for whufctv.com that contains everything he's heard from inside the club.

    But again, twitter is definitely the best source of club information although a lot of it is unsubstantiated rumor most of the time.

    Edit: Also, very excited about Lanzini too. I only watched a little of the stream from the second leg in Romania but he looked very impressive. I'm just still a little worried about depth, but now that we don't have to worry about Europe it's much less of an issue.

    This is awesome too: http://www.brentwoodgazette.co.uk/W...rt-opens-old/story-27601433-detail/story.html
     
    #219 Smittys, Aug 13, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 13, 2015
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  20. Heavy Mental

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    Good idea re: twitter. I follow Dave, but not really any other accounts. I'll check out that insider.

    Where do you guys think we finish this year? I think 7-11 is doable.
     
  21. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Haha no, I live in the United States. For the most part I get a lot of information from the Knees Up Mother Brown Forum (http://kumb.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=2). I post occasionally on there, but there is a guy on there named Cockney Hammer who compiles and posts links to most major articles regarding West Ham each morning (so normally like 3 am EST) and that makes staying up to date really easy. The website also makes a weekly podcast, which is pretty decent. I occasionally scour twitter for information on the club. As Smittys said, ExWHUEmployee is one of the best ones, some others I follow are West Ham Central (pretty cheesy, but still a decently entertaining and informative account), also Jack Sullivan, Dave Sullivan's son, posts some stuff that transfer related although it is pretty hit or miss. Usually I just do a quick search for "West Ham" on twitter and just kind of go through tweets and links for about 10 minutes to stay pretty up to date.
     
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  22. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Haha yeah I saw the Tevez billboard next to Sheffield United's park this morning, absolutely hilarious.

    This is why I could have been much more upset about dropping out of the Europa League. I didn't feel that we had the depth to be competitive in Europe and the league. Although, missing out on away nights against decent European sides is a downer.

    I think top half is definitely the primary goal. I think 8-9 is realistically where we'll finish this season barring a couple of catastrophic injuries and if we hopefully get a signing or two in to build depth.

    Also, came across this video, which is great.
     
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  23. Smittys

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    I'm hoping we make a solid run at a cup this year. I expect a 9-12 finish. I at least hope we get a Adrian vs Everton moment thrown in somewhere this year
     
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  24. Smittys

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    But I'm trying to study abroad in 2016-17 at some point and I'm definitely making my way up to the Olympic stadium while I'm there
     
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  25. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Yeah a run, in the FA Cup especially, would be nice. I think top half of the table should be the minimum goal, though. I think it can be done especially is Carroll isn't BSing us and will actually be able to come on tomorrow or sometime over the next month and our the rest of our strikers stay healthy.

    I lived in Vienna, Austria for half a year last year and my one regret was not making a trip to Upton Park.
     
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  26. Smittys

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    I definitely forget that we should have a non-rushed-back 100% match fit Andy Carroll soon. I'm excited to see how that'll work in slav's system and I love Stewart downing and I appreciate what Kevin Nolan has done for us but damn payet or lanzini to Carroll sounds so good.
     
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  27. Smittys

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    Yeah I've never experienced Europe but I'm pumped to have the opportunity to go there and I've already got a little England trip planned just to see west ham play. Definitely sucks to say I'll never see them at upton park though

    Excited to see some top of the table action today with Leicester. COYI
     
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  28. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Yikes, Adrian's banned for next 3 EPL matches. Apparently we've been linked with bringing Robert Green back as a backup, who I'd 100% want more in goal during this 3-game stretch over Randolph. Also, as much as I like Oxford and think he will be a world beater in a couple of years, you've got to think that we'll start Obiang at CDM this week. Momentum of the match entirely shifted when he came on at half on Saturday.
     
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  29. Heavy Mental

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    Agree with all of the above. Randolph conceded 8 goals to this same Bournemouth team while playing for Birmingham City last season.
     
  30. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Alex Song is moving back to West Ham pending a medical. A diamond of Obiang/Oxford/Song at CDM, Song/Noble and Kouyate/Noble as the CMs and Payet at CAM could be scary good and deep. This is excluding Poyet who is at loan at MK Don's too.

    http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/33996711
     
  31. Heavy Mental

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    We need to have someone who can play Payet's spot in a pinch too.

    I hear we're trying to sign Eduardo Vargas on loan. He was awesome in the Copa America, I think he'd be a great addition. We need a winger and a striker and to have Song pass his medical. All three of those things happen, we'll have had the best window I can think of.
     
  32. Heavy Mental

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    Well, I guess we aren't signing Charlie Austin. This is pretty scathing:

     
  33. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Yeah, I saw this, but I hope he doesn't use this as an excuse to not get a striker in. If this does have something to do with Fair Play, just another reason to be bothered by since it. This is why the Olympic Stadium is so needed, because the increased capacity will raise our revenue. Honestly, a cheeky, but risky move, which I would not mind, would be to look about getting a discounted loan move for Balotelli with a buy option. He's obviously fallen out of favor at Liverpool, but is still young and has produced pretty much everywhere he's been besides Liverpool. Mentality is about the same as Di Canio and could become a sort of cult hero if Bilic can get him in line and give him consistent playing time. However, he's currently linked with a loan move to Lazio, if I'm not mistaken.

    Wouldn't mind Vargas on a loan. As you mentioned, was good at Copa America and showed flashes with QPR last season. Can play both on the wing and at CAM, so he could split time with Zarate at those positions.
     
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  34. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Apparently Robert Green is back at West Ham for a medical today that would see him coming back to the Hammers as the backup and Randolph going to QPR. Will more than likely play again Bournemouth on Saturday too.

    EDIT: Nevermind, it's gonna be delayed considering he's wanting 50,000 GBP a week to be a backup.
     
  35. Heavy Mental

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    I have faith in Randolph. I hope he redeems himself.
     
  36. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Only away matches against top sides from now on, please.
     
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  37. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    This picture is phenomenal.

    [​IMG]
     
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  38. Heavy Mental

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    lol that's perfect.

    I'm still in awe of that performance. I love Bilic's style, absorb pressure, create the turnover, and then break like hell in the counter.

    Win couldn't have come at a better time. Right before the window closes, shows all the guys considering moves here that we can get it done against the very best.
     
  39. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Yeah the style was very much how Leicester worked us in our match against them. This match also displays how important solid play from our fullbacks are. Jenkinson and Cresswell had shockers of performances last week, which led to 4 goals for Bournemouth. This week Cresswell was much better and was able to get an early assist and Tomkins, while not wowing anyone, was solid. Obviously would like to see us employ similar tactics away at Man City in a couple of weeks.

    Also, Lanzini was my MOTM today. Got the early goal and looked very confident with the ball at his feet the entire time. He's definitely been a gem of a signing thus far.

    As for the window, I hope that this performance showed that and I will remain cautiously optimistic that we can get a decent striker and/or winger. However the pessimist in me is thinking that we panic sign Carlton Cole again with hours left in the window.
     
    #240 Rich Homie Tron, Aug 29, 2015
    Last edited: Aug 29, 2015
  40. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    Essentially the recap of today is that if all information is true, West Ham actually did something at the deadline. We signed Alex Song on loan with an option to buy after the season, which is much more beneficial for us if his injuries continue to act up. Michail Antonio from Nottingham Forest for 7 million GBP, winger who can score as he scored 14 league goals for Forest last season and already 2 in 4 league appearances this season. If he can replicate this at all at the Premier level (like Cresswell did after coming from Ipswich), he can be a real coup for us at that price since he is still only 25. Nikica Jelevic for 3 million GBP from Hull, he is a serviceable striker having scored 8 EPL goals for Hull last season, nothing more than to take Valencia and Carroll's places until they return, however a decent player to fill in during that period. Only thing I'm really disappointed about I would have liked to see a Victor Moses loan with an option to buy. However, since we didn't panic and sign Carlton Cole, although I love the man, I count this as a win in our our books.

    Also, apparently we rejected a 15 million GBP offer from Tottenham for Kouyate today, which I'm happy about since he's proven himself to be beyond essential for us this season.
     
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  41. Heavy Mental

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    Fucking amazing end to the transfer window. Moses, Jelavic, Song, Antonio?! Couldn't be happier. We actually have a good/great team.
     
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  42. Heavy Mental

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  43. Voodoo

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    Boobs are too fake.
     
  44. Heavy Mental

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    3/10 would not bang
     
  45. Heavy Mental

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  46. Rich Homie Tron

    Rich Homie Tron Livin' life like a Buchanan

    I actually feel a lot more confident about our early form this year than early last year. We actually have wingers (three of them at that!) who are legitimate playmakers, something this club was sorely missing. Also Payet is the most talented player that I've seen here as a fan. If Song can stay healthy, the midfield could be scary good.
     
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  47. Heavy Mental

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    We're in a much better place than this time last year, and that's really saying something. We finally have the depth to compete at a high level in the Prem.

    Previously, if we lost a key offensive threat, we would be hard pressed to fill the void in production. Now we have a few different formations and players that we can work with to adapt to injuries.

    If Slav can keep all the guys happy and keep the team dynamic, we can be great this year.
     
  48. Smittys

    Smittys Well-Known Member
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    So I know you're never supposed to bet on your favorite team, but I put $20 on us at +1085 because I was feeling confident for some reason. I am in hysterics right now. I think we're for real.
     
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