The squad will not be worse in February!

The latest wave of posts and articles on the theme " Zola threatens to quit Hammers if players are sold" seems to have been started by the Mail this time around. It is a catchy theme and gives people, especially the not so informed, the feeling that something has happened (=readers/clicks).

Fortunately nothing has happened, there is no new signal from the board and it still doesn't make any sense to sell players that will be needed for staying up.

BG, more than anybody, needs this club to stay up or at least or at least look like it has a good chance of staying up.
We seem to agree that BG is not selling the club at the moment because he is hanging on for a better bid than the one (ones) that he has seen so far.
If that is the case, do you think that he will get more or less for the club if key players are sold?

A new owner wants to buy a PL club, not a championship club, so they realize that they need to invest in the club, just as BG and Eggs did 2 years ago. This makes it likely that the squad will be as good or even better after the transfer window than before it opens.

The only reason for a sale of players that we consider important to the team is that Zola makes another evaluation.
For example, he may be inclined to bring in a prolific striker and sell one of our midfielders.
I may not necessarily agree with his judgement, but that's another post.

Funny translations! - not!

Sometimes it's harder for a foreign footballer to deal with English journalists that are desperate for readers and sensations, than playin in the PL.

The latest example has hit our Yo-Yo. The Congolese only french speaking defender did an interview with a french web-magazine. In the interview he spoke very well of the club, Zola, the fans and the atmosphere in the club.  And the huge will to win, always, even against Liverpool. When he was asked why he didn't hesitate to join a "club moyen" (the french journo was the one the insulted Hammers by sayin it was a surprise that Faubert (!) did go to "such a club", and asked if it was a stepping stone for Illunga) Illunga answered "West Ham est un club de "seconde zone", sans être péjoratif" to continue to praise Hammers. So what he actually says is that we can't fool ourself, we are not a top four club. (and we should not!). Without being péjorative.  But in the English press (Setana, followed by a lot of other papers and websites) that "second zone" has been translated to "second rate". That is something else, that can bee seen as an insult. But that was not what he said. Of course it is obvious what Setana tries to do. The huge problem that it hits Illunga badly. If our fans are not aware of what have happened he can even be a new goal for boo-boys. And as a he don't have a contract, leave us for someone else. (Sign him now!) 

He does not see West Ham as a stepping stone either (which also has been quoted in English media). On the opposite he says: "I do really hope that I can stay at this club where I've become very happy". ("J'espère vraiment que je vas rester dans ce club car j'y suis très heureux")

• You can read the whole interview in french here

• You can read Illungas own blog -where he now comments the english (mis)translation of his interview as well. Read here!

Having relatives and friends in Congo, one of the most waraffected countries in the world right now, is of course a much larger problem for Illunga. Still. This is another example of a more and more obvious truth. As an English footballer you should avoid to speak to the press! As a new foreigner you shold beware even more! And as a fan and as a journalist myself, I do say it honestly but with a tear in my eye...

For once I'm not worried

The story that has been reappearing since more or less the day after the appointment of Zola has now reared its ugly head again.
I'm talking about "West Ham need to sell during the January transfer window" and clones thereof.

It didn’t take that many days on the job until Zola realized that there would be no transfer funds to his disposal. He acted as most new managers do and said what the owner wanted him to – “The squad is too big and it would be better if it could be trimmed”. Making a case for quality over quantity. That’s when it took off, “Zola will have to sell” was the headlines two months ago, and we can observe that it unfortunately still is.
We can also establish that there is nothing new in this latest version of the story, it’s still “West Ham needs money so they will off load players” + speculations on who will leave.

Zola has repeatedly stated that he is not obligated to sell any players that he want to keep. He has said this so many times that he has invested a fair amount of his credibility in this statement. So much in fact that I think he believes it to be true. And I choose to believe he is right, mainly because it makes no sense to sell players that are needed to keep us up.

The latest repackaging of this story uses Ashton as eye-catcher. The Mirror seems to be in the center of the rings on the water this time around. Their take is that Ashton will leave together with Quashie, Bowyer, LBM, Davenport, Gabbidon and Spector.

Apart from the fact that there is nothing new in this story, I dare them to come up with buyers for these players at the moment. If there are any buyers out there the headline would in my view be “West Ham happy to cash in on the surplus”. Take Gabbidon for an example, who would like to buy a player that has been out for that long and with no return date set ?Now, Dean Ashton may not be surplus to requirements, especially with the present striker situation, but to find a buyer for him today, that is willing to offer him anything close to his present pay and also gamble on his abilities and fitness, seems like an impossible task.
Should we worry that these players will leave in January? – with the possible exception of one or at best two of these, unfortunately not.