Football 2015/16

[pink_triangle]

46 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

It's a gamble, I agree - but only the same gamble Liverpool would be making by keeping him.

It's a gamble with a decent chance of high rewards. Whether it's worth it or not depends how much of a gambler you are. Liverpool shouldn't really have to make gambles, but for a team such as WHU it's probably their best route to possible high success.

I concede to TGT's point that the dildo twins aren't generally gamblers, tho it's probably also the case that they'd have never expected to be flying high as they currently are either.

The trouble is if west ham do get to the top 4, how do they take that forward. Will one season (when they probably go out relatively early) transform them as a club. I think the risk is they get the taste and then overstretch and then find they dont get top 4 back and have a hugely inflated wage bill to look after. 

[eFestivals]

8 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

The trouble is if west ham do get to the top 4, how do they take that forward. Will one season (when they probably go out relatively early) transform them as a club. I think the risk is they get the taste and then overstretch and then find they dont get top 4 back and have a hugely inflated wage bill to look after. 

perhaps, tho if you don't aim high you're unlikely to ever get high, and if you get high by luck* you're unlikely to stay there.

Ultimately the answer to that depends on where you're aiming for.

(* the 'luck' might not just be luck and might be due to great player identification, but nothing of that means much towards being able to keep those excellent players, so it's still likely to be a temporary thing).

[TheGayTent]

Let's not get carried away

[pink_triangle]

12 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

perhaps, tho if you don't aim high you're unlikely to ever get high, and if you get high by luck* you're unlikely to stay there.

Ultimately the answer to that depends on where you're aiming for.

(* the 'luck' might not just be luck and might be due to great player identification, but nothing of that means much towards being able to keep those excellent players, so it's still likely to be a temporary thing).

You have some level of control over your own club, but you have to be aware of the resources of others.  Arsenal are the 4th biggest spenders in the premiership and they are one of the biggest spenders in world football.  A team like West ham could overtake someone as a one off, but without huge investment its hard to see how that could be consolidated.

[eFestivals]

Just now, pink_triangle said:

You have some level of control over your own club, but you have to be aware of the resources of others.  Arsenal are the 4th biggest spenders in the premiership and they are one of the biggest spenders in world football.  A team like West ham could overtake someone as a one off, but without huge investment its hard to see how that could be consolidated.

Yup.

the only way without spending big is to get 'lucky' (same caveat as above) with player identification year after year after year, which seems pretty damned unlikely to happen endlessly - because if a 'small' club is managing that, the 'big' clubs will try to imitate it and will scoop up the players the 'small' club would have had.

 

[TheGayTent]

I mentioned Byram before and he's now been confirmed - now this is a G&S Jan special. Cheap (only 6 months left on contract), almost risk free, and potential to have a big sell on value. 

[pink_triangle]

Just now, TheGayTent said:

I mentioned Byram before and he's now been confirmed - now this is a G&S Jan special. Cheap (only 6 months left on contract), almost risk free, and potential to have a big sell on value. 

How much is West Hams best paid player on out of interest?

[TheGayTent]

Carroll's on 90k a week. 

[ThomThomDrum]

3 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

Carroll's on 90k a week. 

Holy shitballs!

[TheGayTent]

Looks like Zarate could be off to Fiorentina - but don't get excited Neil, I don't think the offer is anywhere near enough to free up the money to make an offer for Sturridge

Edited January 20, 2016 by TheGayTent

[LondonTom]

Even if they had the money I couldn't see Sullivan being willing to take a punt on another Liverpool crook.

 

Anyway the Brentwood Gazette  reckons ex hammer Carlos Tevez is on his way to the Boleyn so no need for a gamble on Sturridge  

[TheGayTent]

If the reports are true that both Chelsea and Liverpool want Teixeira Shaktar will be happy 

[TheGayTent]

11 hours ago, LondonTom said:

Even if they had the money I couldn't see Sullivan being willing to take a punt on another Liverpool crook.

Slip of the pen?! 

[eFestivals]

so TGT, do you think your unusual current run of Anfield wins is going to continue in the cup?

Tho of course I guess a part of how that turns out will be decided by the team Klopp chooses. If he plays a similar selection to last night then it's yours.

[TheGayTent]

I wouldn't call one game a run. 

[eFestivals]

3 minutes ago, TheGayTent said:

I wouldn't call one game a run. 

havent you beaten them the last two times, or am i confuzed?

[TheGayTent]

After this Saturday's league game for Liverpool against Norwich, they then play the league cup semi final 2nd leg on the Tuesday and then us in the 4th round of the FA Cup the following Saturday. 

If you add in the fact they then play again on Tuesday night (Leicester) and again on Saturday (Sunderland), the match against us is slap bang in the middle of 5 games in 15 days. 

The likelihood has to be that Liverpool will have tired players and/or reserve team players appearing in some of these games so it will really test their squad. Then again, they could also have a number of new players by the time of these games? 

West Ham already have their fair share of injuries and can't field their first XI either. 

I'm going to the game - I travel in hope rather than expectation - though I'm more confident than I usually am when visiting Anfield (which isn't saying much...) 

 

[TheGayTent]

8 minutes ago, eFestivals said:

havent you beaten them the last two times, or am i confuzed?

You're confused. Unless you're choosing to ignore all games between 1963 and 2015. 

[ThomThomDrum]

The Hammers beat LFC the last two times they met but only one of those games was at Anfield. I think that's why Neil is confused

[eFestivals]

2 minutes ago, ThomThomDrum said:

The Hammers beat LFC the last two times they met but only one of those games was at Anfield. I think that's why Neil is confused

Doh .... I think the brain is running on just three cylinders this week.

 

[ThomThomDrum]

I see Mascherano has been given a 1 year prison sentence for tax evasion..............

Apparently he wont serve it in all likelihood but could you imagine he had to? One would think Messi would be pretty screwed

[eFestivals]

6 minutes ago, ThomThomDrum said:

I see Mascherano has been given a 1 year prison sentence for tax evasion..............

Apparently he wont serve it in all likelihood but could you imagine he had to? One would think Messi would be pretty screwed

The way it's going with Barca at the moment, it might be the whole team.   ....Neymar has recently been convicted too, and for ten times the amount of tax avoided compared to Masch.

I see Masch is saying he doesn't understand tax and he relied on his advisors. That's not an excuse that sits particularly well with me, but it might be true all the same. In which case any advisors should be in court with Masch as the star prosecution witness, surely?

I think any decision on whether he gets jail or pays a fine should be conditional on whether his advisor(s) are also convicted. Instead, money will talk and the guilty will walk.

[lost]

This is also blowing up in Spain:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/players/gareth-bale/12111960/Revealed-How-Real-Madrid-claimed-Gareth-Bale-transfer-was-not-a-world-record-to-keep-Cristiano-Ronaldo-happy.html

Bale's contract leaked and revealed Real lied about the fee to keep Rolando happy as he wouldn't like it that someone else cost more than he did. Also in the football leaks article regarding the sell on clause:

Quote

Spurs not only get an option to sign him for any fee that Madrid accept from another PL club, but if they don't take it up, then Madrid have to pay them £10m if Bale completes a move back here.  

 

Edited January 21, 2016 by lost

[pink_triangle]

The Wrexham reserve keeper has gone to Stranraer on loan. Any of the Scots on here have any opinions of them as a club?

[kingcrawler]

45 minutes ago, pink_triangle said:

The Wrexham reserve keeper has gone to Stranraer on loan. Any of the Scots on here have any opinions of them as a club?

They're not a big club, generally they've been in the third tier with relegation to the fourth tier every so often and the occasional promotion to the second tier. They've had a fantastic last few seasons where they've been challening for promotion despite having the lowest budget in the league but they've fallen short each time. They're not doing so well this season, a new manager came in during the summer and some key players left which has led to them being in the bottom two or three for a while but they'll still stay up. I'd guess Stranraer's manager knows him from his short spell as manager of Nuneaton Town.