West Ham Banter

01 Aug 2026 23:20:57
This may not be popular, but with yet more vultures circling, I'd like to state an opinion.
I have mostly enjoyed our Premiership status over the years, if not much of the tactics. However, I would much rather watch a Championship team made up of academy graduates playing with freedom and hope than a bunch of mercenaries parking the bus or playing sideways and backwards with fear. Potts out, Engels in is a symptom of the malaise of modern football, Stavelys interest in making yet more money from a third short term investment in a historic club is yet another.


Brady famously called us customers. If we continue to support success by any means, rather than supporting the development of those players who come to us from an early age and who the club has identified as having talent, then that really is all we are.

01 Aug 2026 17:10:42
If WH where serious about returning to the Premier League immediately, action would have started 6 weeks ago

It was clear straight away we lacked firepower, creativity and solidity at the back, we have NONE of these things And still have none

As much as I like the positivity of some of our posters I do not understand what they are watching

From the off we needed say 5 players, whilst the expected sales went ahead
,
We are going nowhere at present, and with the best will in the world, with the time that's passing, plus the upheaval at the top, can't see us getting in the people that's required


I'm personally very disappointed, I genuinely believed WH could get back quickly, but nothing has been done to aid that scenario


With the passing time rushing now to the kick off, some people may wish to have a look through realistic eyes and take stock of where we are


We may still get in a couple of players but it won't be enough


A lot of posters hate. Nuno that's fair enough, BUT no matter who's in charge, they can't play who they havnt got, and we don't have enough full stop

01 Aug 2026 17:42:51
If we get 4 players in, we may get promoted if we are lucky with injuries, but we would be taking a chance, imo.
What I don't get is we sign players after pre-season. Consistently, in a lot of cases, their current clubs know they are leaving and therefore leave them out, so they arrive to us unfit.

This happened last season, the season before and so on, yet nobody has thought to do anything different?

Also, when Nuno and Bowen agreed to stay, were they not given assurances there would be incoming players?

01 Aug 2026 17:58:57
Of course they were. Taty apart, Bowen has no one to play with or off of, Taty needs feeding. There is nothing to do that either.

WH have had, in, £190 m in cash. Potts will go now, whatever, because he knows he's not wanted. That will make £200. M.

What are they waiting for? Bowen must be thinking, I've made a mistake staying on; looks like he has.



Getting too late now to get people in. Once kick-off happens, things change.

If WH were serious, signings would have been made by now. Two weeks to Burnley, and nothing.

Robbo, there's a price to be paid for neglect. We paid that price with relegation, and now we may pay another price of stagnation.

01 Aug 2026 18:29:35
Yup, hate to say it, but got to agree.
I wanna stay positive, but this mirrors what we did last summer.

01 Aug 2026 18:33:44
I don't disagree Joyful, I myself have argued that after last season Nuno would know what we needed (or should do). It's a very bizarre situation; if we aren't signing anyone, why are we still selling?

01 Aug 2026 19:16:26
And, by all accounts, Robbo, we are not finished yet.

Tobido, Alvarez, Fulkrug, Awb, Diouf and Mavro could all be leaving? Then what are we left with?

01 Aug 2026 19:54:08
To be honest, Phil, only Mavro has played a part in pre-season. I've never been too bothered about players leaving, it's the game, but not replacing any of them is madness. Something is driving this, no idea what.

Has Nuno told the board he can get us promoted with what we have? Are they waiting for a takeover? Clearly Kreyensky doesn't want to invest anything, maybe Stately wants full control? Whatever it is, it needs sorting, and quickly.

01 Aug 2026 15:32:01
Just seen the game in Germany, I know it’s only a friendly but sloppy defending at the end, thought Kilman and Lamadrid had pretty good games.

01 Aug 2026 10:38:42
Potts surprise to be fair he’s decent, but no great shakes. Decent offer worth taking.

So another out. Shrinking squad. Ok who’s coming in?

01 Aug 2026 15:40:36
And 4 midfielders down, when are we gonna replace them?

01 Aug 2026 16:34:06
That's a good question.

31 Jul 2026 17:50:24
I'm now officially worried about our prospects in the Championship. We've brought nobody in to strengthen a weak squad which cost us the Premiership, and is now even weaker, having lost several of our better senior squad. And to cap it all, we're stuck with a negative defensive manager who clearly has no idea. I'd love to see us show some ambition by appointing Eddie Howe and getting shot of Nuno.

Why not? If not, and things don't change, I think Nuno will be found out very quickly. He'll be gone sooner than later, but probably not before Christmas based on West Ham's previous reluctance to shed bad managers. I hope I'm wrong, but I'm not holding my breath.

31 Jul 2026 18:15:24
Hi Tin, as much as I'd love Eddie Howe, I can't see that happening, as he wants and probably needs a break, something he did after leaving Bournemouth as well.

I was hoping that relegation would mean a change of direction, and we could rebuild with a younger, more progressive manager, and get back to playing more entertaining football.

We have had boring, low-block, defensive managers for way too long now, it's about time we did something different.

I still think we will make signings, and hopefully they will be the right ones and we get promoted, but as you say our squad is not fit for purpose in its current state, we can't create anything, let alone finish it off.

31 Jul 2026 18:19:13
With every non-purchasing day that passes, I tend to be heading towards that way of thinking. I do think there are things to be positive about, mainly that Sullivan has little or no say now, and only seems to be waiting to sell his shares at a price. The Stavley move might hopefully be a good thing. And Eddie Howe could definitely be a possibility. The performance against Rangers, whilst difficult to make a proper judgement, was worrying, because it seemed like we had reverted back to Nuno at his worst, the pre-Paco days, and I can't stand the thought of having to watch that week in, week out.

We do have until September to get players in, so I will try not to get too morbid until then. But my original positivity was based on the fact we would get some fresh faces in, and some of the rubbish out. That hasn't happened as yet. 🙁

31 Jul 2026 18:19:33
Been pointing this out last six weeks. Lots on here having a go at me, two weeks to kick off, not one signing.

Favourites to win the league, get real. If we don’t get players in double quick we will soon be found out.



Get the players in, we get promoted. We don’t, we won’t, that’s the short and long of it.

I will stand by my opinions.

31 Jul 2026 18:53:08
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's my pleasure to introduce to in their glory.

The Gloom Platoon!

Big round of applause. 👏👏👏

31 Jul 2026 19:08:28
Oi Dabber, I'm currently straddling both sides and hedging my bets. 😀
I will try and come down on one side or the other in September.

31 Jul 2026 19:17:31
Dabber,
It's just opinions. It takes far too long to hand around your rose tinted glasses, mate, so some of us have to go on what we have... reality.

31 Jul 2026 19:46:47
No, Moanlegs, Dabber is right. You didn't respond to me the other day. Name me a manager, since you have used this site, you have been supportive of?

Those of us who go to the stadium, I can't speak on behalf of everyone, but I actually care very little if we go up. I told you, it's the rituals, people, memories, banter.

Football is more than a result to serious fans. My dad died just before Christmas 2026. He wasn't old, and neither am I. Some of the memories I have from West Ham will live forever: last game at Upton Park, Sevilla, Tevez at Old Trafford, Di Canio v Wimbledon and Chelsea.

We were there for all of them.

I'm with you, Dabber. We go to every home game, including cup fixtures, and the away days I can fit in, we do also. Yes, a bad result stings, but f*** me, we don't carry on like some of the armchairs on here.

The banter element of West Ham Banter has always been lost on Moanlegs.

31 Jul 2026 19:56:06
As pointed out, last season we had one of the smallest and oldest squads in the Premier League.

It was slow, ponderous, and devoid of any attacking flair.

I hoped we would stay up, but thought if we do go down, it gives us a chance to start fresh.

All started well, Sullivan went, Nuno stayed on, and his backroom staff were bolstered. We sold Fernandes and Summerville, Traore left, Soucek got a long term injury, and I've been watching hopefully every day, in the hope that I'd see signs of a rebuild of not only the starting 11, but the entire squad, and all I ever hear is "West Ham are interested in, considering etc etc".

The first game of the season is 2 weeks away, and we are nowhere near ready. 01st July came, and everybody was saying "still plenty of time, window doesn't close till 01st Sep"!! Hate to break it to you, but we need players now, not 3 weeks after season starts.



With what we have now, we are gonna be mid table. Make no mistake, some very useful teams around us are recruiting properly.

What's more worrying is that only last week we bring in Chorley????

Let's just see how the fans react when we are sitting deep, defending deep as always against Burnley, and 1-0 down at half time!!!

I want to remain positive, I really do, but there are so many signs that raise serious concerns, and it's this frustration that's starting to boil over.

Coventry took this league by the scruff of the neck last season, whilst we sleep this season.

31 Jul 2026 20:19:19
Hammer-D, I don't include you in the Gloom Platoon, mate, I know you're getting frustrated. Mac, I've known you on this site a long time as a person who generally takes the rough with the smooth. Tinlegs, we spar on here regularly and I much rather wear rose tinted glasses than whatever it is that makes you whinge every single time you post! I reckon you've been on here for at least 4/5 years, and, hand on heart, I can't remember you saying anything remotely positive about West Ham.

I genuinely can't.

31 Jul 2026 20:36:16
That's because he genuinely hasn't, Dabber! Possibly the very occasional result, but never a manager backed.

My worst nightmare is being sat next to Moanlegs for a season. Can you imagine?

I can stomach negativity if it is with solutions, recommendations on transfers or managers.

31 Jul 2026 21:58:31
Like I say, Dabber, I really hold out hope that we have a good season and take this league by the scruff of the neck and show every team how to play football. I just don't think we have the players to do it.



I'd genuinely love to know what the gameplan is behind the scenes, cause I don't understand the thinking. Even if we have a decent starting 11, we have no depth in case we get injuries.

01 Aug 2026 22:33:57
Our first 11 is good enough to get out of the Championship first time. Not buying loads of players may give us breathing to rejig and fix our problems within the squad, allowing us to return in a better state next season to the Premiership.

30 Jul 2026 19:34:57
Sky Sports News reporting Amanda Shelvly is about to buy most or all of the Gold families 25% of the shares.

Who knows she might bring Eddie Howe along too. 😄

31 Jul 2026 09:17:23
Eddie Howe would be a good shout for us.

29 Jul 2026 19:17:35
If you look at the money we spent on players when we were in the Prem, and now they’re humming and harring over £10 or £15m for players. Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea etc are at the sharp end of the Prem because they pay the money.

If we want to get out of the Championship then we have to be the big spenders of that division. If we don’t go up this season or next then we could be looking at League One.

29 Jul 2026 21:14:41
Yep I agree Stevie, no doubt it will be a lot harder if we don't go up this year as Bowen etc will definitely go next summer.

29 Jul 2026 22:17:05
The lot will go in those circumstances. Massive changes would be needed at West Ham.

30 Jul 2026 06:11:08
The way it's going, not only do we not have quality replacements for those that have, but we don't have the numbers. Squad was already small. We've so far lost 3, and then you look at
Edson Alvarez, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Soungoutou Magassa and Jean-Clair Todibo have not featured in a single pre-season fixture, while Niclas Fullkrug has only managed a behind-closed-doors run-out against Colchester United.

Todibo, Fullkrug and possibly Wan-Bissaka are all expected to depart, but only on the club's terms.

Their situations appear relatively straightforward if clubs can afford them. The rest? Not so much. Mixed messages and unclear intentions mean Nuno Espirito Santo is left waiting for clarity, and I reckon this is why we've brought nobody else in, because of little or no money and the uncertainty around player futures with the club.

Need to get this sorted pronto because If we get off to a bad start we will be chasing the pack and there are some decent teams out there who will happily put us to the sword.

29 Jul 2026 14:32:00
We are looking for a striker when there is one under our noses, Dom Ballard from Orient scored, on average, one goal every other game, and we are dithering. We could pick him up for 5mil and chuck in a couple of our youngsters on loan.

I know what you are saying that is in league 1, but can you honestly say any of our players would score in a season 20 plus goals in league 1. No, I didn’t think so, and if he isn’t better than Pablo then I will eat my hat.

29 Jul 2026 14:46:42
I agree, and how many lower-league players have gone on to prove their worth, and then we chase them. Quite a few.

29 Jul 2026 15:35:06
West Ham will look upon Ballard as a gamble. He could prove good, maybe not. Anyone is better than Pablo; he should never start in a West Ham first team.

West Ham, I don't know if they have suddenly awakened from their slumber; they are making some correct noises, but nothing yet.