West Ham 2015/16 Pre-Season Report

Hello friends, welcome to my West Ham story 2016/17 pre-season report. The disappointment of finishing second to Man City in the Premiership and FA cup last season makes me more determined to win some silverware this season. I don’t think we have a poor squad. I believe it’s down to me making some tactical mistake in some games last season and we will sign more quality players to help us on the title. Before the season expectation and the transfer news, Liverpool approached me during the close season to be their new manager.

Liverpool Approach

I was offered to take over at Anfield during the close season. Definitely a resounding no from me but the huge transfer budget certainly raise a few eyebrows from me.

Season Expectation

In my last post, i mentioned my initial budget is 33 million. Due to massive spending in June when the transfer window opened up, i am left with 8 million with a minimum target of Euro Cup qualification. I am confident my team is capable of finishing in the top four, i choose a target of CL qualification and the transfer budget increased to 11 million. For the first time, we see our wage budget cross the 1 million mark. The departure of several players this month will free up even more wages for new players.

Transfer Out

Quite a long list of players who have left the club. Mostly are players whose contract has expired and would not fit into my plans this season. I reluctantly sold two loyal Hammer Mark Noble and Jack Collison to Bristol City and Birmingham respectively. They won’t be seeing much first team action these days and it’s very selfish of me to let them rot on the bench. I think they deserve better than this.

Transfer In

I spent every budget i have on nine players. Four of them are young regens but all capable to walk into the first team. The rest of them are real life players and you should be quite familiar with them if you read Johnny’s FMS Scouting Network authored by the marvelous Darren Smith. Some are wonderkids in their earlier days and i am quite excited by the addition of the new signings. Lets go through the players one by one. Honestly i think they are very good and i can’t leave anyone out of the introduction.

I missed out on Carlos Fierro when he was 16. I had to pay his club Chivas 13.5 million to get him as he is much established now at the age of 20. Fierro did well for Darren’s Malaga and i hope he will do the same for me. His partnership with Yaya Sanogo should be a deadly one if both of them are on fire.

I am a big fan of strong center back Kyriakos Papadopoulos. He is unsettled inSchalke with him falling out of favor with the management. There are a number of clubs fighting for his signature and i am glad he decided to join us at a fee of 11.25 millions. Whatever attributes you need for a center back, he has it. Probably his only weakness is his jumping  and heading not as high as the rest of defensive attributes.

Gaston Ramirez was signed to give us some solid option on the left midfield area where Miralem Sulejmani is the only quality player we have. He joined Galatasaray from Bologna and has since flourished into a quality player. I paid 9.5 million for his signature and he will be the first choice ahead of Sulejmani. All round attributes which you have nothing to complain. I believe he will be a great signing.

Swedish International Albin Ekdal joined us from Juventus for 6 million and his addition gives us more bite and steel in the central of the park. Strong mental attributes and he surely doesn’t lack on the physical and technical side. Could form a steel partnership with Sami Khedira in the middle.

Jamie Ness joined us for nothing from Rangers when his contract expired. A useful squad player. Great eye for passing and very creative. I guess i can easily get a profit if i sell him in one or two season’s time.

Nicolas Gimenez is a wonderkid who refused a new contract from Malaga and i got him in the summer on a free. He just picked up his first cap for Argentina recently. That shows how highly he is regarded in his native land. Will be a squad player for now but he can grow to be a club legend in future.

Another young Argentinian regen joining us for 2 million from Racing Club is Rolando Noguera. He plays at right back and will push Jordan Spence down to third choice. He will play deputy to Thanos Petsos. Superb pace, strong defensive attributes and determined young lad. Will push for a starting place if he develops well.

The only Englsh player who is joining us is Simon Marsh. I signed him from Burnley for 1.4 million. A current youth international who will get his fair chances to develop. I have the home-grown rules in mind when i bid for him. He is 18 and has a PA of four stars to grow into a leading Premiership striker.

Last but not least, Czech youth international Jan Zboncak was signed for a mere fee of 55k. A backup player in case Miralem Sulejmani or Gaston Ramirez gets an injury.

Friendly Results

Pretty mixed results there as we were able to draw against Barcelona and Real Madrid but suffered defeat against SLB and Torino. I guess the new signings need time to blend into the squad.

Premiership Odds

We are the fifth favorite to lift the title. Not surprisingly as we are still few places behind in the reputation ranking but we can spring some surprise by defying the odds.

Approach From USA and Chile

In June, i had two offers from USA and Chile both wanted me to be their manager. Not satisfied with the West Ham job, i decided to accept the Chile job managing Alexis Sanchez and co for the world cup qualifying matches.

I always feel the South American qualifying is one of the hardest as Argentina and Brazil are virtually too good for the rest. The minimum of the Chile FA is to qualify for the World Cup which i think is achievable with the talent Chile possesses.

A new deal for me

With one year left in my contract, the Chairman moves swiftly to tie me to West Ham FC to an extension of another three years. My contract will run out in June 2019.

Upcoming Games

We will immediately face some tough opposition when the season starts. Two London rivals await us in August and the two Manchester teams and Liverpool next in September and October. I am not worry and i can’t wait to start now.

There are some off-field activity going on with new kit sponsorship and upgrading of the training and youth facilities. All efforts are channel to make West Ham the biggest club in the world. After coming so close last season, have we finally found the final puzzle and win our first Premiership title under my rule? We will wait and see. Well, friends, that conclude my pre-season report. Thanks for reading and the support. As usual, i will be waiting for your comments. Care to make any predictions? See you soon.