James Ward Prowse - West Ham United Captain (Maybe) Signed (finally)

[Sydney_Iron]

"Deal agreed, 30M According to Talksport. Welcome to West Ham."

[twoleftfeet]

"The same things we were saying about Paqueta last year. Give the guy a break FFS, you don't play for England if you are shit."

[Nagel]

"Reading a Soton forum post from shortly after they were relegated, JWP seems a very divisive figure. The more positive comments tend to focus on his stats rather than the way he plays. Below are a few comments which seem to sum up the overriding view. Hope they're wrong, especially as many comments suggest he's not great at transitions for counter attacks, which was a massive problem last season already. ""He's such a powder-puff, chicken, lily-livered, sideways crab of a player, but one who can hit a dead ball very well. I think choosing him as captain has filtered all those attributes throughout the side, so we have no back-bone, and very little progressive, attacking threat."" ""No control, no composure on the ball, always panics under pressure, never takes a risk, doesn’t like showing for the ball in tight spaces, always vacates the midfield in possession to drop into the back line. He’s a mentally weak player and despite his technical ability he’ll never be a great midfielder because unlike the best, he has no idea how to control a game and dictate our tempo."" ""I will be sad to see him go. His dead ball ability is world class and he has one hell of an engine on him. He puts in 100% every week and that's more than can be said for a number of our other players. Having said that I don't think he will be a massive loss to the team. As has already been mentioned, in possession he slows us down way too much and really lacks that spark/dynamism to get the team going."" ""The truth is that he is a great free kick taker (not a great dead ball man - many of his corners are dreadful). He is also hard working, committed and super fit. However, he doesn't make breaks between the lines, his tackling ain't great, he's slow, he doesn't make many incisive passes, and he's slower to use the ball than a top level midfielder should be."""

[legrandefromage]

No need to react so badly when you are shown to be wrong Eeyore

[Eerie Descent]

"Winks got his caps as a young player of promise, who'd been through the England youth system. He's been fucked off out of the Prem for a while. Even so, that's one less cap, so go fuck yourself. Ward Prowse has been a constant Premier League performer, has scored 30 goals in the last 3 seasons, playing near every minute of football for his club, and has been in loads of England squads. He's a good player, you cheese breathing cuntstick."

[Moncurs Putting Iron]

"All very well thought out and correct. A very good addition to how we will go forward this year and to be honest him, Alverez and Paq I was looking forward to.. ...Him, Alverez and Soucek though? Ok what about Him, Alverez and Fornals? Hmm!"

[legrandefromage]

Telling that there didn't seem to be any competition for his signature - made up or real. England caps? Harry Winks got 10.

[fraser]

Manuel - Yeah I agree a good solid signing but as you say could do with some pace around him.

[BRANDED]

At least he knows where the goal is.

[Manuel]

"ED - Yep, a good footballer and a solid signing, like you say, with 4-5 good years left in him, plus he brings leadership. It's true, it's not an exciting signing, but maybe if we had already brought in one or two more pacey, attacking players already this one would be more appreciated."

[Eerie Descent]

"I think people are being a bit ridiculous about his general ability from open play. You don't get 11 England caps under anyone who isn't Graham Taylor unless you can play. He hasn't been picked for England for his corners FFS He's no world beater, but he's a very good footballer. Lacks real pace, but he runs all day, he's a very good passer, excellent at interceptions and being in position. Given the state we've been 8n this summer, this is a proper solid signing. He's very much a midfielder that is lot have appreciated over the years, until people found Twitter."

[goose]

"On the positive front, we’ve gone from not having a captain to having two very strong candidates. And both homegrown as well."

[southbankbornnbred]

"I hate using this term for lots of reasons, but Ward-Prowse, more than almost any other transfer this summer, is a ""moneyball"" signing. It is ALL about the difference that his set-pieces make to a team in terms of goals and points. An average Prem side would get X goals per season from dead balls, and there is of course variation around that (below average to very good). Ward-Prowse has ensured that Southampton always had good dead ball stats. I think I read that last season we sat in the middle of the league last season for goals from dead balls. Ward-Prowse has led the league for free-kick goals alone for the past three seasons - doubling the tally of his closest rival (Trippier). The difference between finishing, say, 16th in the Premier league last season and finishing 11th is £11m. There are often only a few points between those positions. So you can see where the transfer negotiations went when it came to trying to put a price on JWP. We were saved having to pay more only by the fact that Southampton were relegated. Moyes and West Ham are gambling on Ward-Prowse's continued excellence with dead balls situations. Which is a fair gamble given his history and experience. His broader stats are either average or just above average - he's a decent midfielder, rather than a great one. Bit of a Noble figure, if I'm honest. But he's been head and shoulders above everybody with dead balls for the past three seasons - even Man City don't have somebody as good. Like Noble, he's also a captain and, even if he doesn't lead West Ham (presumably that will go to Maguire?), he brings extra leadership to the side. Hence the price tag. When Moyesball went Moneyball..."

[scott_d]

"JWP and Maguire would have improved our team had we not already lost Rice, Vlasic, Scamacca, Lanzini. The question is are we a better team now then at the end of last season? For me that will depend on whether we keep Paqueta as he massively softened the blow of losing Rice and I was looking forward to seeing him next season. If Paqueta goes too, I have no faith that the club will be able to bring in anyone equally as exciting."

[Rossal]

Yeah my worry is a midfield 2 of Soucek and JWP Lacking pace and technical ability. Contender for worst duo in the league

[Rossal]

Yeah my worry is a midfield 2 of Soucek and JWP Lacking pace and technical ability. Contender for worst duo in the league

[Russ of the BML]

"Rossal 9:46 Thu Aug 10 Your dead right. IMO the order i would have wanted would be: Fofana McTominay JWP Personally, whilst JWP is a dead ball specialist and has excellent passing ability, I don't think he is fast or mobile enough for the PL. Now, Moyes may be able to prove me wrong and see JWP working brilliantly with Alvarez, who is dynamic and mobile, but that would be giving Moyes too much credit, as i will guess he has never seen Alzarez play in his life. But whether intentional or unintentional, we may just have created or stumbled upon a very good midfield two. And with Paqueta in front it could be very interesting. Although we may need a few months to find out before Moyes gets enough stick and drops Soucek."

[Rossal]

"'Surprised its only us in for him' Lavia is the one everyone wants, way better than JWP last season and younger.....room to improve and increase in value. JWP probs hit his ceiling in both, so of course we're all over it. Take away set pieces I am not sure he offers much to be honest. But probably an upgrade on Soucek...... think i'd of rather taken a punt on Fofana or Mctominay"

[Russ of the BML]

"Happy with JWP. Total professional. Decent bloke. Proper committed player and an absolute wand of a left foot. May be a bit expensive but let's have it right, he's Soton's captain and stalwart so we ain;t gonna get him for chip money. He's 28 so we have 4 decent seasons left with him."

[Nagel]

"I don't think there's any question that Moyes only wants him for his set piece ability, and that a lot of our play will now revolve around that. I had a look at the heat map for JWP's direct free kick goals. Every single one of them has come from between the centre and the left of the penalty area. The 30+ shots he's taken from the right have all missed or been saved. So Bowen, who's our most often fouled player by some distance, won't be providing any ammo. I can imagine Moyes looking at other potential signings in light of this, so going for a LW who cuts inside before reaching the penalty area or a striker who veers left when making runs, and both of them looking to draw fouls as much as possible."

[DukeofDevo]

"These signings are all well and good! But we’re back to square one regards a striker! And if Paqueta goes, well I’ll be very annoyed!"

[Vexed]

JWP is a good geezer by all accounts and has a fucking wand for a foot but fucking hell what a shit fucking signing for 30m.

[Matthew Holmes]

I'm happy about JWP . Price is about right. Surprised its only us in for him. Fingers crossed.

[Kearley]

"Maguire and Ward-Prowse both improve our first 11, both proven PL players. Ideally they would both be 5 years younger, but we are not dining at the same table as the top 6."

[fraser]

Danish - The German striker Fullkrug has signed a new contract apparently

[Nutsin]

"Underwhelming signing, hope he proves me wrong."