WHO Poll
Q: 2023/24 Hopes & aspirations for this season
a. As Champions of Europe there's no reason we shouldn't be pushing for a top 7 spot & a run in the Cups
24%
  
b. Last season was a trophy winning one and there's only one way to go after that, I expect a dull mid table bore fest of a season
17%
  
c. Buy some f***ing players or we're in a battle to stay up & that's as good as it gets
18%
  
d. Moyes out
37%
  
e. New season you say, woohoo time to get the new kit and wear it it to the pub for all the big games, the wags down there call me Mr West Ham
3%
  



Alan 3:04 Thu Feb 15
Thursday news (includes West Ham)
BBC

Wolves could sell Portugal winger Pedro Neto this summer to ensure they do not breach Premier League profit and sustainability rules. Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United are admirers of the 23-year-old. (Sun)

Manchester United expect to reach an agreement with Newcastle to appoint Dan Ashworth as director of football early next week. (Mail)

Newcastle would be due more than £6m in compensation if Ashworth leaves. (i - subscription required)

Manchester United are considering a move for Crystal Palace's 22-year-old French winger Michael Olise. (90min)

United also want to sign Brazil defender Gleison Bremer, 26, from Juventus in the summer. (Calciomercato - in Italian)

Barcelona have made Everton's 22-year-old Belgium midfielder Amadou Onana their main summer transfer target. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

Everton's Onana turned down the chance to join Arsenal in January. (Mirror)

Former Brighton and Chelsea boss Graham Potter is a candidate to replace David Moyes if he leaves West Ham at the end of the season. (Telegraph - subscription required)

West Ham and Brazil midfielder Lucas Paqueta, 26, is being tracked by Manchester City. (Football Insider)

Manchester City and Liverpool are among the clubs interested in Shakhtar Donetsk's 21-year-old Ukraine midfielder Georgiy Sudakov. (Calciomercato - in Italian)

Barcelona are monitoring England forward Lauren Hemp, 23, whose Manchester City contract expires this summer. (Standard)

Barcelona want £85m for 26-year-old Netherlands midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who has been linked with Manchester United and Chelsea. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)

Crystal Palace have lined up former Eintracht Frankfurt manager Oliver Glasner to take over if they sack Roy Hodgson. (Guardian)

Everton and Crystal Palace are monitoring Marseille's 23-year-old Senegal striker Iliman Ndiaye. (La Provence via Sport Witness)

Chelsea have offered a contract to Lyon head coach Sonia Bompastor to replace Emma Hayes, who is leaving at the end of the season to manage the USA women's team. (Athletic - subscription required)

Newcastle may have another chance to sign Sunderland's 16-year-old English midfielder Chris Rigg after failing last summer. (Chronicle)




Sky Paper Talk

THE GUARDIAN

Crystal Palace have lined up Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner to take over if they decide to sack Roy Hodgson as pressure continues to grow on the 76-year-old.

Travis Kelce says his confrontation with Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid during Sunday's Super Bowl was "definitely unacceptable".

Paris authorities are debating whether to order an inspection of the balconies and balustrades of thousands of buildings lining the River Seine amid warnings they could collapse under the weight of spectators watching the Olympics opening ceremony this summer.

THE SUN

Reports in Italy claim Manchester United are "preparing an assault" to sign Juventus defender Gleison Bremer this summer, but have already been made aware he will cost them north of £60m.

Liverpool, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich were the three teams Xabi Alonso told Guillem Balague he wanted to manage in the future if his time at Bayer Leverkusen was judged a success.

Emmanuel Petit has urged Chelsea to look to the future if they decide to replace Mauricio Pochettino, rather than ask Jose Mourinho about a return to Stamford Bridge.

The area around Sheffield United's Bramall Lane home is set for some significant changes, with approval having been given for 100 homes to be built on two corner plots on Shoreham Street, which runs alongside the ground.

Some Premier League clubs feel too many "subjective" decisions are being changed by VAR - and want an even lighter touch to be introduced.

Kang-In Lee apologised for his ping pong bust-up that left Heung-Min Son with a dislocated finger.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

David Moyes' future at West Ham could be decided before the end of the season after delays to talks over a new deal, with former Chelsea head coach Graham Potter expected to feature prominently as a candidate if the role becomes available.

Newcastle United will not allow Manchester United to make a swift appointment of Dan Ashworth as the Old Trafford club's new sporting director - with confidence at Newcastle that they can demand a compensation fee of more than £10m.

Manchester City's prize-money for winning back-to-back Champions League titles will top £100m, with their perfect group stage results putting them on course for record earnings to retain Europe's biggest competition.

Chelsea face a fight to secure their first-choice candidate to replace Emma Hayes as manager at the end of the season as Lyon have not yet agreed to let Sonia Bompastor leave.

Chris Wilder has been charged by the Football Association with improper conduct in the fallout from his Sandwich-gate rant at refereeing.

Former Super League official Phil Bentham is set to leave his role as a VAR coach with PGMOL to return to the rugby league competition as head of match officials.

Tiger Woods believes that the PGA Tour does not need to strike a deal with the Saudis after the £2.4bn investment by private US equity, but acknowledges that it would be preferable for the Public Investment Fund to be involved.

The Waste Management Phoenix Open chaos triggered 54 arrests, 211 ejections and 653 emergency calls.

The return of Colin Graves to Yorkshire has seen them finally end a toxic £500,000 legal battle with their 'sacked' medical chief that saw lurid accusations made over the Azeem Rafiq racism scandal.

DAILY MIRROR

Wayne Rooney's next sporting venture could be in the boxing ring, as he has held talks with the Misfits series about taking part in one of their events.

Lionel Messi is set to put a troubled MLS pre-season behind him and feature from the start in Inter Miami's friendly against his boyhood club Newell's Old Boys on Thursday night.

DAILY MAIL

Manchester United have received a summer transfer boost after Benfica's Joao Neves refused to confirm whether he would be staying in Portugal after this season.

Reports in Spain have hinted Barcelona will be looking for a fee of £85m to allow midfielder Frenkie de Jong to leave this summer, with Manchester United and Chelsea both interested in the Netherlands midfielder.

Under-fire Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel is interested in becoming Barcelona's next manager according to reports in Spain.

Getafe and LaLiga will reportedly break an unwritten law among clubs by pursuing a potential punishment for Jude Bellingham's alleged insult to Mason Greenwood.

Crystal Palace are set to call time on Roy Hodgson's second reign as head coach.

Barcelona will listen to offers for defender Jules Kounde this summer as they continue to navigate their precarious financial situation.

Tammy Abraham is close to returning from an eight month knee injury lay-off in news that will alert Premier League clubs ahead of the summer transfer window.

THE ATHLETIC

Inter Miami face having to move out a number of players before the start of the season to become compliant with the MLS salary structure after continuing their spending spree during the off-season.

Diego Carlos has sustained a hamstring injury during a training session in the latest injury blow for Aston Villa.

A Chelsea supporter has been given a three-year football banning order for performing a Nazi salute towards Tottenham Hotspur fans during November's Premier League fixture.

The takeover of West Bromwich Albion by Florida-based businessman Shilen Patel is a step closer after the Championship club's current owner Guochuan Lai agreed a deal to repay a loan he secured on shares in West Brom's parent company.

DAILY STAR

Manchester United legend Norman Whiteside has resolved his season ticket issue with the club and is said to be "delighted" with the new Old Trafford seat he will watch games from.

THE TIMES

Christian Horner will be in attendance at the launch of Red Bull's 2024 Formula One challenger on Thursday despite the ongoing investigation into allegations inappropriate and controlling behaviour.

Ashley Giles has admitted Worcestershire may have to move away from their historic home at New Road because of the county's yearly battle with flooded grounds.

Australian Open organisers are considering finishing their Grand Slam with the women's singles final rather than the men's, in what would be a significant shift from tradition.

The four men at the centre of the controversy surrounding the death of Kelvin Kiptum were involved in a contract dispute with the London Marathon champion. They surrendered to police on Wednesday but claimed: "Our conscience is clear."

THE SCOTTISH SUN

Six Premiership clubs in dispute with the SPFL hierarchy over governance have called for a crisis summit with Neil Doncaster and Murdoch MacLennan.

Former Manchester United winger Luke Chadwick has revealed he missed out on a move to Rangers during his professional career after a nightmare display for the reserves when scouts were on hand.​​​

DAILY RECORD

In-demand Lewis Ferguson's agent will sit down with Bologna in the summer amid mounting interest from a quartet of Serie A giants over his services.

Liel Abada is back in training with Celtic after Brendan Rodgers gave him time off to get his head right.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has revealed the real reason he turned down the chance to return to management with Besiktas was because he had a bad feeling about the club.






The Athletic

West Ham fans’ survey: 75% do not think Moyes should get a new contract

By Roshane Thomas

David Moyes’ position as West Ham United manager is under scrutiny, with sections of the club’s fanbase growing increasingly restless.

Moyes’ contract expires in June and the board are expected to decide on whether to renew it at the end of the season.

Over the past few weeks, Moyes’ style of play, his track record as a coach and his relationship with West Ham’s supporters have all become major talking points.

The 60-year-old’s reputation had rocketed at the end of last season when West Ham won the Europa Conference League — the club’s first major trophy since 1980 — and as recently as late December fans were keen for him to stay on following victories over Manchester United and Arsenal.

However, trust in the manager and optimism about the side’s future under his leadership have both decreased since the turn of the year, with the London club winless in seven games in all competitions in 2024.

To better gauge Moyes’ standing among West Ham fans, The Athletic conducted a survey of the club’s supporters — with more than 3,000 responding. Here are the results.

How happy are you with West Ham’s style of play under David Moyes?

Moyes is not known for being an attack-minded manager, so it is not surprising that 48.3 per cent of the fans surveyed are very unhappy with West Ham’s style of play right now. Despite this, it is still notable just how few fans are either very happy or quite happy with how West Ham play — just 9.1 per cent.

Combine this with the fact the team are on a miserable run of results and it is easy to see why fan frustration is close to bubbling over.

Does Moyes get the best out of his team?

A sizeable 43 per cent of fans believe Moyes rarely gets the best out of this West Ham team, while 37.7 per cent believe he is only able to do so sometimes.

Moyes has struggled to get his team playing creatively of late, with both Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen being largely ineffective in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, the centre-back pairing of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd is no longer solid and West Ham have conceded nine goals in their last two games.

Many supporters believe Moyes playing Ben Johnson as a winger ahead of Maxwel Cornet is a big factor behind why the team struggle to play well.

It is worth remembering, however, that West Ham have beaten Brighton & Hove Albion, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Arsenal this season — as well as topping their Europa League group with five wins out of six.

Does Moyes receive the right amount of respect?

The majority (57 per cent) believe the manager does get the respect he deserves, while 43 per cent think he does not get enough.

Views on Moyes are often more fraught on social media than elsewhere, with pundits and current and ex-players regularly leaping to the former Everton and Manchester United manager’s defence on television.

And despite the poor run of form, Moyes is still held in high regard by his players — with full-back Emerson Palmieri recently saying how much of a father figure the Scot is. Also, the squad and the rest of the coaching staff admire his work ethic.

Should the West Ham board offer Moyes a contract extension?

This is the biggest talking point at the club. Moyes’ contract is set to expire in June and he expects the situation to be resolved a little while before then.

Informal talks between the board and Moyes were held in January, but it has always been the club’s preference to wait until the end of the season before making a decision.

Of the fans surveyed, 75.2 per cent believe Moyes should not be given a contract extension, 11.6 per cent believe he deserves a new deal, and 13.2 per cent are undecided.

It is not uncharacteristic for the club’s board to delay making a decision on a manager’s future until the end of the season.

Previous bosses such as Gianfranco Zola, Avram Grant, Sam Allardyce, Slaven Bilic and Manuel Pellegrini were not given contract extensions midway through a campaign and of those head coaches, only Bilic and Pellegrini were sacked during the season. Moyes himself, during his first spell as the club’s manager, did not depart until the summer (the end of the 2017-18 campaign).

He is almost certain to remain in charge until the end of the season and he will be hoping that the returns of Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio from injury will improve results.

Are you concerned about West Ham’s record of signing strikers during Moyes’ time in charge?

Of the fans surveyed, 71.6 per cent are very concerned with the club’s record of signing strikers during Moyes’ time in charge and 22.4 per cent are somewhat concerned. Just six per cent are not concerned.

It is undeniable that the repeated failure to recruit productive forwards has hurt Moyes over the past few years. Sebastien Haller (2019) and Gianluca Scamacca (2022) were signed for a combined total of £75million ($94m), but both failed to adapt to Moyes’ 4-2-3-1 system and were ineffective as lone strikers.

West Ham had a bid rejected for Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke last summer and Moyes has admitted the club missed out on both Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz before they joined Liverpool, Julian Alvarez before he moved to Manchester City, and ex-Leeds United forward Raphinha (who now plays for Barcelona).

Danny Ings, 31, has struggled since joining from Aston Villa for £15m in January 2023 — scoring just three goals in 37 appearances.

The lack of a quality option up front, not helped by Antonio’s injury, has led to Moyes converting Bowen into a centre-forward. While the Englishman has scored 14 goals in all competitions this season, his form has tailed off in recent weeks and he has failed to find the net in six successive league games.

This all serves to highlight the fact that, as well as resolving the managerial situation, West Ham desperately need to sign a proven centre-forward in the summer transfer window.

How well do you think Moyes is doing as West Ham manager?

Responses to this question were mixed, with 33.4 per cent of respondents saying they believe Moyes is doing either quite badly or very badly. However, 35.8 per cent said he was doing quite well or very well.

Moyes may never be truly appreciated by the entire fanbase, but he has more than delivered what was required of him following his reappointment in December 2019. West Ham have won a European trophy under his management and have played continental football for the past three seasons.

How has your relationship with the club changed over the 2023-24 season?

Given the exodus of fans during the 0-6 loss to Arsenal last weekend, it is no surprise that 48.8 per cent of fans believe their relationship with the club has weakened this season.

Heavy defeats to Fulham and Liverpool in December may well have also been prominent in respondent’s thoughts.

However, the 43.7 per cent of fans who say their relationship with the club has stayed the same is notable.

Where do you think West Ham will finish in the Premier League this season?

There are contrasting views about what West Ham’s true potential is. Although Moyes has delivered European football for three consecutive campaigns, some believe the club should be like Unai Emery’s Aston Villa and be challenging for a place in the top four.

Right now, Moyes’ side are in eighth position (just five points behind sixth-placed Manchester United) and also in the last 16 of the Europa League.

As for the respondents to our survey, 49.9 per cent believe West Ham will finish ninth or 10th, 31.8 per cent predict a bottom-half finish and 16.8 per cent think it will be seventh or eighth.

How optimistic are you about West Ham’s future?

It could be a tough summer for West Ham as there is a good chance a squad rebuild will be required and the respondents to our survey are mindful of this.

Almost 68 per cent of them are either somewhat concerned or very concerned about the team’s future. Just over six per cent of fans are very optimistic about the direction the club is heading in.

Overall, it is clear that Moyes is far from universally popular among West Ham fans right now and their concerns run deep.

There is respect for what he has achieved and an awareness that some of the issues plaguing the club are out of his control but, unless results and the style of play improve very quickly, it is hard to see how the manager’s popularity can be restored.



Telegraph


David Moyes’ West Ham fate could be decided before summer – Graham Potter among replacement options

West Ham travel to Nottingham Forest before key fixtures against Brentford, Everton and Burnley

Matt Law

David Moyes is facing a vital run of games that could determine his future as West Ham United manager before the end of the season.

And former Chelsea head coach Graham Potter is expected to feature high on any list of candidates to replace Moyes.

West Ham have already delayed talks over a new contract for Moyes following a dismal run of seven games without a victory this year.

The Scotsman’s fate could be decided before the end of the season, should West Ham suffer more demoralising results over the course of the next games.

West Ham travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday and defeat at the City Ground would pile pressure on Moyes ahead of fixtures against Brentford, Everton and Burnley.

Moyes will be expected to turnaround West Ham’s form and results over those games, three of which are against relegation battlers, and failure to do so will almost certainly lead to his departure.

It is unclear whether or not West Ham would consider sacking Moyes before the end of the season if the current situation does not improve, or just work towards making the change at the end of the campaign.

Deciding Moyes’ fate before the summer would mark a remarkable turnaround given West Ham were only considering handing him a new contract following the December victories over Manchester United and Arsenal.

But defeats in the reverse games against United and the Gunners, conceding nine goals in the process, has dramatically changed the mood in and around the club.

Thousands of supporters flooded out of the London Stadium during the 6-0 thrashing to Arsenal and Moyes will face more calls for his exit if West Ham lose to Forest.

West Ham are in the last-16 of the Europa League and it may be felt that Moyes deserves to see out that competition and the rest of the season, even if League results and performances remain underwhelming.

Given complaints over his pragmatic style, West Ham fans would most likely back a move to make Potter his successor, despite the 48-year-old’s dismissal by Chelsea last year.

Potter has been out of work for nearly a year, having developed a reputation as being coach whose teams play attractive football and over-perform at Brighton, Swansea City and Ostersunds.

His time at Chelsea, during which he led the team into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, has been given context by the club’s continual struggles since his departure last April.

Potter has also been linked to AC Milan by Italian media and been mentioned as a contender to take over at Ajax in Holland.

Chelsea thrashed Milan twice in the Champions League under Potter and have seen players such as Fikayo Tomori, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Olivier Giroud and Christian Pulisic make successful moves from Stamford Bridge to Italy.

Other out of work managers who may appeal to West Ham are Julen Lopetegui, who has also been linked to AC Milan, Steve Copper and Oliver Glasner.

Should West Ham decide to replace Moyes, then it will be technical director Tim Steidten who will lead the process to appoint his successor.



Fabrizio Romano
@FabrizioRomano
Crystal Palace are expected to part ways with Roy Hodgson after very positive talks with Oliver Glasner.

Glasner wants the job, more to follow on contract and details today.







Replies - Newest Posts First (Show In Chronological Order)

Texas Iron 5:49 Thu Feb 15
Re: Thursday news (includes West Ham)
Cheers…





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