[*]after thinking about this quite a bit over the past number of weeks all the signs are being shown that slav will not be our manager next season.
the owners have promised all this next level stuff that I for one don't even know if they know how to get there.
our transfer policy has been a shambles this season and the trio of Sullivan, slav and Henry all want different things when it comes to signing players.
I for one think that the transfers are the main reason for our poor season with not one of them actually improving our starting 11.
we only have 3-4 players who are actually good enough to be in the starting 11 of a top 6 side..
with all the emphasis of getting a 20 goal a season striker we have collapsed at the back and shipped in some really sloppy goals.
the lads on cup of tea have made a great point in signing players to fit our style of play(like the swansea/Liverpool model) instead of just signing players as we have done
regardless of who we have as manager the signings we make should be to suit a style of play and any manger we bring in should use the same style
in light of this I am still optimistic that we can realistically sign defoe, wilshire, zabeletta/sagna and another 1 or 2 players to improve the first 11.
get Mancini in whos main aim is to defend and then let the attacking players do the business up the other end which is what we need. a world class winner who is very good tactically.
we are good at attacking even with the lack of a goal scorer but we are so sloppy at the back and I think mancini is the man for us in the next 2-3 year cycle
taking the man city model into view and they were in the same boat as us with Hughes as manager before they got their next level manager in mancini. fair enough he did it with unlimited funds but we have a decent foundation to start with just need a better manager to keep progressing
don't get me wrong slav was what we needed after Sam and Sam is what we needed at that time but football runs in cycles and we are currently in between cycles. We only have 5 or so years before pinky and perky sell up (after the tax clawback deadline from the stadium) before we can truly challenge the big boys.
I will thank slav for all he did, gave me my best season as a hammer but time to move on. Thanks slav
So improving the team is buying a 34 year old striker who would be another year older 35 , Wilshere would be a good call but I would be worried that he would break down again , not sure getting in a 34 or 32 year old RB is the answer to our Rb problem , how long would either last in the premiership 2 seasons max , and what if Byram dont work out we would be in the shite again we need to get a experienced RB in their mid/late 20s , we already have Arbeloa anyway.
The way I see it is , get in a Manager who knows how to manage (Mancini is supposed to be the favourite ) , and let him decide who he wants , but then would we get him if the owners dont cough up the funds to take us to the next level.
I don't really care how old they are.. defoe is banging them in still, I reckon he would get close to 20 with us, zabeletta/ sagna won the pl twice and are playing almost every week with city.
wilshire is a very good player even though he is injury prone he has been fit all season and is worth a punt.
at the end of the day we are west ham at the moment we will only ever attract good players if they are very young,old or injury prone.
all these players would seriously improve our starting 11 and if they only do a job for 2 years that's grand with me.
Mancini will not happen with our current set up.
If you're Mancini are you going to sign a deal with SuGo based on their "promises" of how much they're going to give you to spend??
Fancy calling your only son "Barnestoneworth"
He's got another name....
Yeah....."United"
The huge majority of fans like Bilic , including myself but can he take us to the next level even if the Twins gave him 80 million to spend next year?
He has gambled defensively all season and what he did yesterday when Reid got injured was not only diabolical, i can't see any decent manager doing that. He put Kouyate in Defense ,which for me was Ok because at 2-0 down Kouyate was the only option to cope with the speed of vardy and the Chinese lad, but after taking a huge figure out of midfield i am expecting Fernandes to come in and free up lanzini but he puts on Snod and isolates him on the right wing after playing left wing last week against west brom. He never looked happy there from the 1st min he came on.That meant that Lanzini now has to help Obiang but Lanzini isn't a DM and that put huge pressure on Obby resulting in that injury.
So it seems as if Bilic is the guy who drives a 15 year old fiesta which always gives him problems but refuses to get rid of it and get a better one because he does things his way even if its not right !!!
Hate to say it but when you make a decision like i just mentioned it makes you wonder if he really knows what he is doing?
Now here is the examination .... Fernandes looked one of our best players in there when he came on, he looked lively and wanting to create things, same as the left back Arthur... Has Bilic got the balls to drop Cress and keep Arthur in there and also keep Fernandes in , in the next game??? If he doesn't start with these 2 then these players will think , " fuck whats the point, i am playing better than the players around me in this position yet the manager won't start me because he has his fav's " If i was one of them players i would want to leave!!!!
IronsForever wrote:The huge majority of fans like Bilic , including myself but can he take us to the next level even if the Twins gave him 80 million to spend next year?
There are 2 reasons why I don't think Bilic can take us to the next level. 1) His stubbornness with his tactics 2) The fact that every signing which we have identified as a player he wanted has been shite. He couldn't spot talent if Messi stood in front of him.
I don't think Zabaletta, Defoe and Wilshere would take us to the next level. Wilshere is a step above Noble in the middle, but hardly looking like a top four player on loan. Zabaletta and Defoe would have been great this season, but we are probably talking about challenging West Brom for seventh rather than a real push for Europe. Let's also remember how quickly the ball comes back with just Defoe upfront.
At the beginning of this season, we needed one top quality striker, a good backup, a right back and central defender. We picked a few bits and pieces and lost the opportunity. It is now time for (another) slow rebuild.
IronsForever wrote:The huge majority of fans like Bilic , including myself but can he take us to the next level even if the Twins gave him 80 million to spend next year?
There are 2 reasons why I don't think Bilic can take us to the next level. 1) His stubbornness with his tactics 2) The fact that every signing which we have identified as a player he wanted has been shite. He couldn't spot talent if Messi stood in front of him.
Would agree with all you have said , but and a big but maybe wishful thinking , Slav is trying to prove to the owners that this is the quality of player you get for what you are willing to spend your cash on , or get on loan , And that they will have to cough up more cash to get in better players to improve the 1st team.
Maybe playing Antonio,Nordtveit and Kouayte at RB was to show that he needed another RB who they were not willing to cough up for.
Penguin wrote:I don't think Zabaletta, Defoe and Wilshere would take us to the next level. Wilshere is a step above Noble in the middle, but hardly looking like a top four player on loan. Zabaletta and Defoe would have been great this season, but we are probably talking about challenging West Brom for seventh rather than a real push for Europe. Let's also remember how quickly the ball comes back with just Defoe upfront.
At the beginning of this season, we needed one top quality striker, a good backup, a right back and central defender. We picked a few bits and pieces and lost the opportunity. It is now time for (another) slow rebuild.
My thoughts as well , by the time we get in these players they would all be a year older , and these would be to improve our 1st eleven , it would be a joke .Of the 3 I would probably take wilshere but then hes injury prone.
