I think it's fair to say that with the exception of Rico and (based on his last few games) Chambers, most of our new signings have underwhelmed so far.
History shows that we've had a fair few players that struggled for the first season, but then became key to the squad.
The difference for me is that between players like BZ, Dempsey, Baird etc is that they were all signed for miniscule amounts and with very low expectations.
Do you think there is too much pressure on the big name singings to justify their price tags/live up to the hype and this is part of the problem?
Fees are relative though to the time they were bought.
What was Zamora £5m? Toady he would cost £20M to start with.
Baird £2M, how much were we quoted for Targett?
The starting price for a player this year seemed to be £10M
Fair comment MJG but I would say that Zamora was still a relatively cheap signing - he was out of favour at West Ham and wasn't a star signing by any means.
Johnson on the other hand was around 11-12 million and arived with much gretaer fan fare. He was one of our better "big" signings and would have made a much bigger impact if it wasn't for his injuries.
Les Barrett started slow. He got lots of unfair abuse from the crowd, bloody useless etc.. He was only about 17... :54:
In recent years the biggest example without a doubt was Tim Ream. He was absolutely shocking in his first season with us then improved considerably.
Quote from: Neutral Zone Ultra on December 11, 2018, 04:21:46 PM
In recent years the biggest example without a doubt was Tim Ream. He was absolutely shocking in his first season with us then improved considerably.
And has now gone back to being awful again
If history is any guide, does this mean he'll come good again? Lets hope so.
Sure we have seen failures before but never so many starting the season together, surely a couple of them should have lived up to their reputations and hit the ground running.
I hope the book isn't written on Tim Ream yet. I believe in the guy. If he keeps getting his chances, I think we'll see very positive things. No chance of that happening if he's on the bench of course.
West Ham fan here we've seen in thelast two years that even big money players can take a time to settle
Arnautovic last season and Anderson this being prime examples
Quote from: CBWHU on December 12, 2018, 10:52:40 AM
West Ham fan here we've seen in thelast two years that even big money players can take a time to settle
Arnautovic last season and Anderson this being prime examples
Welcome to the board CBWHU and thanks for providing us with some hope!
It feels like we're on borrowed time at the moment, with the team taking time to gel and reach its potential.
The Hammers are no stranger to beating the drop, but you look like you are on the up now. Where do you think you will finish?
Quote from: Jimpav on December 12, 2018, 11:12:49 AM
Quote from: CBWHU on December 12, 2018, 10:52:40 AM
West Ham fan here we've seen in thelast two years that even big money players can take a time to settle
Arnautovic last season and Anderson this being prime examples
Welcome to the board CBWHU and thanks for providing us with some hope!
It feels like we're on borrowed time at the moment, with the team taking time to gel and reach its potential.
The Hammers are no stranger to beating the drop, but you look like you are on the up now. Where do you think you will finish?
Somewhere between 7th and 10th I reckon, which I'd be well happy with especially after losing the first 4 games
Where within that will depend how soon we get Arnautovic, Lanzini and Yarmolenko back
the League is still tight, we looked like we had no chance this time last year, then beat Chelsea and turned it around
Zamora remains the one that stands out.
I don't remember Dempsey setting the world alight in the early stages of his Fulham career.
Tim Ream a recent example, last season he was like a different player to that first season.
And there was that Zoltán Gera fellow - don't think he settled in for a while - but when he did....
Different level obviously, but this was the case with Super Micky Conroy. Universally derided in his first season for appearing not to know where the goal was, universally adored in his second for leading the promotion charge with a sackful of goals.
We are far too quick to deride players. I feel sure that Seri and Anguissa are good players just taking time to settle into a new league with new players and our style. Lets hope they have a second season in the Premier League with us and can show their ability as it doesn't look great at present
Barry Hayles
I thanks you, I rest my case
It's also about who you play with. We saw the best of Aaron Hughes when he was partnered with Brede Hangeland.
In the meantime the club gets relegated waiting for something that might or might not happen.
Quote from: Woolly Mammoth on December 14, 2018, 12:05:31 PM
In the meantime the club gets relegated waiting for something that might or might not happen.
That's a very real risk Woolly, it is also the reality of making the jump from Championship to Premiership.
In this instance you wonder if Khan will bnakroll the current wage bill to enable us to keep a settled squad and coach or whether we re-build again in the Championship.
Quote from: Jimpav on December 14, 2018, 12:18:15 PM
Quote from: Woolly Mammoth on December 14, 2018, 12:05:31 PM
In the meantime the club gets relegated waiting for something that might or might not happen.
That's a very real risk Woolly, it is also the reality of making the jump from Championship to Premiership.
In this instance you wonder if Khan will bnakroll the current wage bill to enable us to keep a settled squad and coach or whether we re-build again in the Championship.
I would be surprised if we could keep this squad in the Championship without getting into trouble with FFP. If that happens it won't matter how much Khan would be willing to spend.
Quote from: S.F.Sorrow on December 14, 2018, 12:34:58 PM
Quote from: Jimpav on December 14, 2018, 12:18:15 PM
Quote from: Woolly Mammoth on December 14, 2018, 12:05:31 PM
In the meantime the club gets relegated waiting for something that might or might not happen.
That's a very real risk Woolly, it is also the reality of making the jump from Championship to Premiership.
In this instance you wonder if Khan will bnakroll the current wage bill to enable us to keep a settled squad and coach or whether we re-build again in the Championship.
I would be surprised if we could keep this squad in the Championship without getting into trouble with FFP. If that happens it won't matter how much Khan would be willing to spend.
Remember that we will have paracute payments for a couple of years, plus a hefty dollop of prize money, wherever we finish up.
I think we woudl lose Sess though if we we went back down. Possibly Mitro and Seri too.
