Written by @farehamhammer

ake no ifs or buts, we simply have to stay up, I fear for the Club if we get relegated .I hear so much deluded rubbish like :”At least we will win games in The Championship “or “At least we will get shot of G&S “Both myths. With no ground and our best players sold, our stay in The Championship may well indeed be short lived .We could well plunge down the leagues like Sunderland or Coventry .As much as I would love The Club to be bought by a mega rich owner. The thought that some knight in shinning armour, is going to ride into town ,pay G&S a huge sum of money and boot them out of town, build a new stadium ,and spend MILLIONS to get star players to West Ham .Fantasy land stuff. The days of people lining up to buy Football Club’s and splashing the cash are long gone .You could see it in the January transfer window for starters. Loans after loan ,6 month loans,12 months,18 month loans .ALL CLUBS ARE AT IT !No money no more .Eaten up by astronomical and unsustainable wages. However the good thing is, I think we will stay up and be better off for it next year.

My opinion regards G&S are very well known ,I know this mob like the back of my hand .But It is pointless rehashing what I have said about them for ten years tonight ,yes I would get shot of them tomorrow if I could .But that is not going to happen for all the tea in China. I have read the Club statement regards a invitation to various supporter groups, to meet with Brady and both Sullivan and Gold .I then hear that this group won’t go because that group is there, another won’t go because they don’t like another group that is going. Others say they are not going ,because The Board will set the agenda .Christ on a bike ! If us fans are that badly split ,what chance have we got in forcing change ?Time for change ,time for a unified team representing us fans, people who can help set the agenda and plot the way forward. .We need people who can ask the difficult questions in a calm way ,get answers and make suggestions ,that will see our great Club, realise our undoubted potential .

Yes ,a lot of questions need to be asked , but the question everybody must be asking is ,why are we in the situation we are today. Obviously years of underinvestment, has taken it’s toll. People scream that our net spend is only 25m.But the truth is that is a basic transfer float ,a lot of Clubs have a similar amount as a transfer float. The big difference is buying and selling players well .That is what top clubs do .Let’s have a quick look at a few examples .Liverpool bought Torres for20m and sold him for 50m ,bought Suarez for15.8 million and sold him for 80m, bought Countinho for 11.23m and sold him for 105m .That is a 188m profit on three players. The Liverpool Owners, put say half of that away in a transfer war chest ,the rest is used for various other busines at Liverpool FC. Over time they have no doubt built a tidy sum up in the transfer war chest,so if Klopp does want to buy a couple of top players the dough is there .

They certainly don’t knock on Klopp’s door at the start of every season and say :”Jurgen ,old boy how much can we give you to spend this window ?150m ?Of course not !Southampton and Spurs, are others ,who sell well and buy well. Indeed, often Club’s buy two top stars and have a negative net spend ,because they know what they are doing .In ten years we have made a 14m profit on Payet. Then People wonder why it is such a battle every transfer window .We have paid the price for all the cheapies ,freebies and loans during G&S tenure .Penny wise pound foolish, is the term that springs to mind ,when it come’s to our transfer dealings.

During the last two years, The Board have spent money ,appointed Manuel Pellegrinni as a big name manager. Backed him heavily in the first window.Despite Sullivan not rating Mario Husillos ,Pellegrinni insisted that Husillos , be appointed as Director Of Football. As a result Husillos was appointed on a million a year .Pellegrinni , demanded we signed Felipe Anderson, as someone whom he wanted to build his team around .Felipe Anderson was duly delivered .Us Hammers were a happy camp ,no sign of any Board out posters at that stage. We all thought that we were in for a reasonable season ,and on the whole that is what we got.But even then the alarm bells were ringing .Malaga fans had warned us about Husillos ,blaming him for Malaga’s relegation .In signing Wilshere ,Sanchez and Roberto ,Husillos added 800 000 GBP per month to the Club’s wage bill. It is understandable that G&S were far from impressed regards Husillos . On the pitch alarm bells were ringing regards Manuel Pellegrinni .After the first four games ,when he insisted in playing a high line .We got ripped to threads ,the brilliance of , Lukaz Fabianski , papered over the cracks .Often making four or five brilliant saves per match , that enabled us to win games in which we were outclassed .The sheer brilliance of Felipe Anderson, and vital goals were also a big part in securing 9th place.

At the end of the season everybody went on holiday .and we all thought that we would build on last season .It was clear that we needed four top players. That would of cost £100 m plus ,Manuel Pellegrinni presents his shopping list and gets told :”You have to raise some money through player sales “As a result Issa Diop, was hawked around during the summer for 60m.The Club MUST of been told by some other Club ,that they would be in for Diop .So the spending starts . in comes Fornals and Haller ,with no doubt plans underway to sign a second good DM and a striker with the Diop dough.Except that we never managed to sell Diop .As a result our squad lacks that extra bit of quality , depth and is unbalanced .BUT if we stay up we must and can fix it ,we have NOT got a poor squad ,just an unbalanced squad lacking in depth and belief in themselves .So what went wrong as far as, Pellegrinni, was concerned this season ?I am led to believe amongst his targets were Andre Gomes and Rondon amongst others .When they never happened, he virtually downed tools. The negative vibe certainly rubbed off on the squad ,and the team produced shambolic performances as a result we are fighting for our lives. He had to go and he did go .Enter the second coming of David Moyes .

Every day I read that Moyes win ratio is only 29%, a cheap Board appointee .On the face of it those are facts , but some times you have to look a bit deeper .I see David Moyes , very much in the same position as Sam Allardyce, when he came to the Club. Sam, had been sacked as manager of Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United when he came to us ..,,hether people like it or not, we were out for the count when Sam arrived. He and Kevin Nolan dragged the Club out by the proverbial jock straps. The choice of Nolan as a coach is exactly what we need in the dressing room right now !Someone who knows the Club, and has been in the same position before !Anyone who thinks that David Moyes, is Sullivan’s little poodle need to think again. Sullivan had no intention in spending a penny in the January window. He had privately made excuses saying :”There was no one out there ,we are as good as down, I an worried about asset strippers ,I will have to find 40million when we go down “Classic Sullivan tear jerkers. But Moyes forced his hand .Every press conference was the same .”We lack quality all over the park ,we had nothing on the bench to bring on ,we need fresh legs “The best being :”We need young players that can make a difference “I bet that when down well with Sullivan ,he probably stormed in to Jack’s room and smashed his play station to bits. Sullivan ,was forced to spend due to a combination of the fans ,media and Moyes.The signing of, Souceck and Bowen, will make a big difference to the team.

Yes ,we have got a tough run in Manchester City and Liverpool up next .But the likes of Arsenal ,Chelsea, Manchester United and even Spurs are beatable .Why not ?With our squad fully fit we are certainly a match for most teams .Football like life is a game of inches .You win by an inch you lose by an inch ,inch by inch we are going to drive ourselves to safety .The much talked about next level ?Why not? It was never going to happen overnight !How could it ?It is similar to a young couple, who have moved from a two bedroom flat into a four bedroom house with a garden. The house will take time to reach the standard the couple want it to be .Once in they have to save money, so they can do all the restoring and landscape gardening to get the house into shape .Like wise same with West Ham. He is not everybody’s cup of tea, but there is no harm in Moyes laying the foundations for fantastic future .We obviously need a top Director of Football ,a decent scouting network .Moyes is RIGHT !You don’t have to spend top money for players .The key is identifying top talent early. At the moment the we are paying over top dollar for players, then running out of money for more essential signings .A bit like taking a partner out for a lavish meal, once paying the bill you have two quid left .Then you run out of petrol then you think !OH F*** !Ridiculous !That has been West Ham’s transfer policy. But it is not all doom and gloom, we have some good talent emerging from The Academy ,if they are good enough they will be promoted to the first team. It is going to be a tense end of the season, but we are staying up.I am not going to call for unity ,there is no need for that. West Ham have a passionate and loyal fan base .we are a ‘broard church ‘ with many different opinions .We know that now more than ever our great Club needs us, like a tree standing by the waterside we shall not be moved .Up for the fight ?Of course we are ! We are more than a football Club ,we’re a way of life !COYI!!!

Farehamhammer !!