West Ham Online

I was thoroughly looking forward to the start of this season

Was also prepared that things might take some time and wasn't expecting miracles over night What I didn't expect was a manager who after spending 6 weeks with the total dross he'd been left by Moyes would deem them fit to start in a premier league game And low and behold all of them played absolute shit

We're now 1 game in and none of our new players are any closer to bedding in or learning anything from their new team mates cos they barely spent a second on the pitch, half of them not at all I think it's gonna take somewhere between 6-10 games before we see the team anyone with an ounce of sense would play cos this bloke can't identify shit when he see's it I thought we was handed a miracle at half time when we went in level and low and behold he changed nothing I'm sure people are gonna make excuses for him and say it's too early to judge

But from what I've just seen today, this cսnt is David Moyes in a mission impossible mask

Lee Trundle" wrote: ↑24 Feb 2025, 16:58 I do, but thankfully I'm too "young" to remember him joining, but I know the circumstances.

We're also being linked to Walker-Peters.  I know some will say Potter could get a tune out of them both, but I'm really not understanding targeting 50% of Southampton's defence to join us, when they leak goals more than us.

I do, but thankfully I'm too "young" to remember him joining, but I know the circumstances.

We're also being linked to Walker-Peters.  I know some will say Potter could get a tune out of them both, but I'm really not understanding targeting 50% of Southampton's defence to join us, when they leak goals more than us.

Yeah remember Paul Hilton, anyone?

I'm not sure getting a defender from one of the very few teams with a worse defensive record than ours is a step forward.

On the subject of Salthouse, I see Harwood Bellis has just signed onto his agency ahead of a pre season contract deal allegedly?  Now he’s played for England, might be good as indeed AWB was and he came thru the Sulli / Salthouse link but it simply has to be because Potter wants him or sees the sense since he is a freebie and we are skint apparently this summer? If Potter and Macaulay give the thumbs up and alteady had him on their radar then great but Sullivan has form for “gifting” players to West Ham managers even if they didnt ask or want them.

 

It didn't work out for him, I don't hate the bloke. Loom at the absolutely mess he inherited from Moyes and then he strengthened the squad and got a better win rate in his first half than Moyes did in his last. 

We could all see that it wasn't going to work out and it was right to move on from him (he wasn't the righ appointment in the first place) but only some of the problems were directly his doing. 

Him and us was never a match, he's been paid off and he'll move on, so will we. No hard feelings. 

The issue imo was as mentioned, he tried to fit players to a system, tactics they were not suited to. The summer recruitment shoukd have helped but didn’t. All 3 players he personally wanted were not suited to a high line, slow build and possession to get thru or around teams. Not in the Premiership where athleticism, pace, physical strength are.  

Potter has become aware early on and adjusted to a low block with some pressing high up when it makes sense and allied to fast  counters or transitions.  He has evolved the Moyes approach so that we sit deep but not « Alamo » style and keep possession better and not simply hit long and turn it over.  But this is all in away games where the home team typically take the game to us. Potter has yet to solve the home tactics but has shown pragmatism so hooefully will come up with something that does not see a repeat of Palace and Brentford who essentially did to us what we did to Arsenal albeit Arsenal had players in their team to avoid being so wide open when we countered. 

Loppy was just another plan A no plan B coach, it didnt work, we hot mullered 7 times and were always looking likely to get another bayttering when we met a half competent team.

So quite rightly he lost his job. The real problem thpugh was a non football owner Sullivan ignoring all advice and overruling everyone to apoint a coach that was on the books of an agent mate of his called Shithouse ( sorry I mean Salthouse )

That's it- it's just quite incomprehensible. Just like most of his tactics and team selections.
The interview basically says or explains or makes clear very little at all. All I got was that he reckoned we'd finish the season strongly and it was going in the right direction. Baffling.

Fair's fair there were a few isolated good performances, but it was just painful to watch on the whole. You had that Newcastle game, but it was surrounded by 0-3 Forest, 0-0 Everton (at home), 2-5 Arsenal (at home), 1-3 Leicester. We barely scraped past Southampton and deserved to lose to them.

There just seemed to be no structure or pattern of play, no consistency in anything, and zero indication he was willing to change or compromise anything to make it better. No semblance of an attacking style or plan, and a defence like a leaky colander. He lost by three clear goals or more on SEVEN occasions, a third of the total amount of games he managed. That's absolutely dreadful. 26 goals scored 44 conceded in 22 games.

Great recruitment Sully. Really picked a goodun there didn't you. 

That article is just weird. I mean, I get that everyone has their own view of things but, Jesus, there is a lot of bollocks in that. 

What happened to Massive? back over on KUMB?

I think a manager at West Ham under the current ownership needs to be, first and foremost, pragmatic. A purist ideological position will fail. Moyes proved this. We dont have the resources to follow one specific philosophy. We need to be strong, resilient and adaptable. We have been with Lop and Potter. Lets hope the next two home matches are infinitely better than the last two. 
 

There's quite a lot I could pick apart with that interview.  He still thinks he was able to turn us around in the second half of the season.

I waisted enough effort on him during his brief time as our manager, so I'm not sure if I can be arsed now he's not.

The Guardian interview just means his agent has started agitating to get him a new job in May/June.

He was absolutely useless in east London. A fish out of water. Might do OK back in Spain. Or he’ll head to Saudi to join the gravy train.

Still in denial, I see.

wils wrote: ↑23 Feb 2025, 19:20 Guardian Interview with Lop. He's still boring. I went and had a nap before I got to the end. Seriously...

The process isn’t completed overnight. When you’re drilling for oil, you go down, down, down, down … and you’re getting ever closer, even if oil doesn’t appear yet. The key is: are you drilling because you’re convinced there’s oil there? Or just drilling? If halfway through you change well, that’s no guarantee. There are exemplary clubs that see it through. Keep going until you hit oil. It’s hard to stick, beyond the circumstantial, the noise. The owners understood, which is why we were a bit surprised. No one was happy with what was happening. But seasons finish in May

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -our-fault

Guardian Interview with Lop. He's still boring. I went and had a nap before I got to the end. Seriously...

The process isn’t completed overnight. When you’re drilling for oil, you go down, down, down, down … and you’re getting ever closer, even if oil doesn’t appear yet. The key is: are you drilling because you’re convinced there’s oil there? Or just drilling? If halfway through you change well, that’s no guarantee. There are exemplary clubs that see it through. Keep going until you hit oil. It’s hard to stick, beyond the circumstantial, the noise. The owners understood, which is why we were a bit surprised. No one was happy with what was happening. But seasons finish in May

https://www.theguardian.com/football/20 ... -our-fault

I thought he was a decent bloke but not a very good manager.

But considering the amount of people he's fallen out with, is he even a decent bloke?

my final reflection on dear julen is that he is a deeply odd fellow and a bit of a tragic figure. a stern, proud visage of a man with no way to countenance his own shortcomings. a rotten oak, proudly standing as its bark is shed and the roots grow weaker, unaware that's it's waiting for a great blast of wind to fell it forever.

blinks aggressively

I've always suspected certain players let Lyall down to the extent they were taking the piss for a long time. 

Notice the run of good league form towards the end of the 88/89 season,  that almost kept us up but not quite, coupled with our cup form was a sign of what could've been imho.

Macari wanted to get the players fit and introduced 2 training sessions a day. The perception of the rest of football was that West Ham players were never fit enough. Fat lazy cunts like Gale and Ward effectively downed tools.

West Ham made Macari keep Lyall's staff including his gimp McGiven who did his best to undermine him before joining his master at Ipswich.

Getting Ward out the door for Bishop and Morley was one of  the best deals in West Ham's history.

Macari had to follow Lyall, who had a great relationship with the players, from what Ward has said in interviews - Lou was more regimented and no doubt demanding in training and it was a bit of a culture shock for most. No idea about the betting thing, but he got us some of my favourite ever players and he's done wonders for many homeless people down in swindon

I wasn't too enamoured when I heard Lopetegui got the gig but I was willing to wait until the Christmas period before passing judgement...but I had my reservations.

He is considered a bit of a strange fish in Spain...there is something offkey about his character. A bit of a sourpuss which doesn't say much for his man management capabilities.

Sevilla fans like him for obvious reasons but everybody else have always been a bit meh

Mex Martillo" wrote: ↑12 Jan 2025, 10:06

Snodders' Beard" wrote: ↑10 Jan 2025, 13:50 Macari did cross my mind this week, a bit before my time though so if anyone who was around for that can compare the two I'd interested to read it!

Macari, didn't last because of some non manger related controversy. I think it was betting related and turned out not to be true. The football was looking ok and it was a shame it ended early.

Snodders' Beard" wrote: ↑10 Jan 2025, 13:50 Macari did cross my mind this week, a bit before my time though so if anyone who was around for that can compare the two I'd interested to read it!

Being said was totally clueless and changed tactics after drilling for two days so the players were left with no clue. To be fair that’s what I’ve been seeing on the pitch. We can’t keep the ball from a throw in, we don’t know how to score and we don’t know how to defend. A bit of a problem. At least the Villa game showed some green shoots but then we get the right manager and the players start falling like ninepins