Black Cat Bone

Pellegrini. Not a terrible choice, but I wonder really what he's going to be able to do at West Ham. The board clearly wanted Benitez, but I don't blame him for not shifting from Newcastle, so they plumped for a manager who has been in China for 2 years and clearly was off the Premier League merry-go-round.

There's not a huge amount of money and there's talk of YaYa coming to the club. The guy was brilliant at his peak but at 34 it's the sort of transfer that West Ham have always made - a punt in the dark on a player past their best who probably will be injured for most of their fat contract.

Toby wrote:Pellegrini. Not a terrible choice, but I wonder really what he's going to be able to do at West Ham. The board clearly wanted Benitez, but I don't blame him for not shifting from Newcastle, so they plumped for a manager who has been in China for 2 years and clearly was off the Premier League merry-go-round.

There's not a huge amount of money and there's talk of YaYa coming to the club. The guy was brilliant at his peak but at 34 it's the sort of transfer that West Ham have always made - a punt in the dark on a player past their best who probably will be injured for most of their fat contract.

Toure really would be a fucking disaster for you. How much is he going to cost per week?!

Pellegrini is an odd/interesting choice - you'd think he has to have some kudos but, in reality, I always think of him as winning the title with Mancini's side (which is harsh, I know) and how much better they are with Guardiola (which is again unfair). I do wonder about his PR side too - which shouldn't matter (and doesn't so much when you're successful) but seems to at West Ham, where the owners seem to take great delight in publicly interfering in the manager's role.

His transfer record at City wasn't great. Mangala, Negredo etc. He did well at City, but there was money and as you say, a disrupted but essentially title winning squad there already.

He did brilliantly at Malaga and Villarreal though, so there is hope. However, deep down I would have preferred a hungrier, risk-taking and younger manager.

Diamond Dog wrote:An overdue but welcome tribute to the great Sir Bobby Moore.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-36885602

I watched this again last night... it's available on BBC iPlayer for a few weeks :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0brjn47/bobby

It's incredible in this day and age that a player like Booby Moore could have an operation for testicular cancer - and the word not get out for over 40 years (actually after his death). And that Bobby went on to lift the World Cup 18 months later... incredible.

Throughout this 90 minute documentary a few things shone through :
a) He was a dignified, understated, classy man
b) He was a truly great player - one of England's greatest (maybe the best we ever produced)
c) No one had a bad word to say about him, and
d) For whatever reason, the footballing world in this country (and particularly the FA & West Ham, I'm afraid) treated him poorly - some may say shamefully- after his retirement.

There are some absolutely heart breaking moments - the one that really got me was the interview with Jonathan Pearce regarding their last conversation. I defy you to watch that and not well up.....

Bobby Moore - the words still say everything that needs to be said.

BBC Football headline "Carroll May Not Play Again For West Ham".

How will anybody tell?

Any West Ham fans here? Disappointing result today wasn’t it?

Why can't we play your ramshackle gutless, guileless, clueless mob every week of the season?

The Pellegrini Vanity Project reaches its inevitable conclusion.

Moyes?

Surely Hughton would be a better bet?

It's West Ham!

I doubt they'll be relegated under him but no further than that. It's not the most endearing appointment but I believe the owners wanted a British manager - plus Benitez was too expensive.

2 years max and it'll be someone else.

4-0!

Bournemouth were properly shocking though. Probably the best team to play right now, but 3 points is welcome.

Next ten League matches :

to Liverpool
to Brighton
as Man City
at Liverpool
to Southampton
at Arsenal
to Wolves
at Spurs
to Chelsea
at Newcastle.

I've just availed myself of the 2/1 on them being relegated.

Yeah it's not looking good at all.

After yesterday I thought "it's going to get worse before it gets worse".

The shame is that they have a good squad but there's something obviously amiss at the club.

I think both Everton & West Ham are in similar positions - both half decent squads (in fact, yours may just be better) but serially under performing players and a carousel approach to managers.... which results in terribly incongruous squads, picked for/by three or four different coaches, all with wildly divergent styles and approaches. It makes for the mess both clubs are in - and a frustrated fanbase that really doesn't have a clue what the club represents or wants to be any more.

Here it is Ah,Dumb!

Great result for the Hammers today.

Heady, but well deserved, heights for West Ham after a great win over Liverpool.

I have to retract all my (harsh) words - Moyes has found his winning ways again! West Ham are most definitely the team no one wants to play.

Fucking hell! That goal!