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Last night saw the latest fans forum held at The Boleyn Ground, where supporters are invited to meet club officials for an informal chat.

Attending on behalf of the Club this time were directors Paul Aldridge and Nick Igoe, whilst some 40 or so supporters fired question at them.

The main points of the meeting were as follows:

Last season

Despite playing in the Championship, West Ham still had the 9th biggest income in the country, according to Nick Igoe. The club lost money when matches were televised live on Sky, so much so that the TV company were actively discouraged by the Club from broadcasting West Ham's home games.

The January transfer window

Sheffield United made a bid to sign Marlon Harewood in January after we had signed Dean Ashton from Norwich. This was naturally rejected. Several clubs also came in for Carl Fletcher but those offers were rejected too.

West Ham did try to sign Glen Johnson - but Chelsea were not prepared to allow him to leave, even on loan. It was understood that Johnson himself was keen to return to The Boleyn on loan.

Spanish full-back Gabri, whose move to West Ham collapsed due to contractual differences had previously indicated that he would be happy to join the Club on loan. However he demanded a three year contract upon entering negotiations, something the Hammers were not prepared to offer.

Alan Pardew was unconvinced that Marcin Basczcynski would be up to the task of playing in the Premiership, hence the collapse of that particular deal. He will however keep tabs on the progress of the 28-year-old.

Teddy Sheringham's proposed return to Tottenham was not considered by the player, who is happy to remain with the Hammers. The Club are considering extending his contract by a further year - meaning he will still be playing at the age of 41.

The Club received £350,000 from Sparta Prague for the sale of Tomas Repka, with a further £50,000 to follow should Sparta qualify for the Champions League next season.

Finally West Ham's interest in Benni McCarthy has waned; although Alan Pardew had kept tabs on his progress since the aborted £6m summer bid, it was felt that the Club were better served by bringing in a younger striker - hence the arrival of Dean Ashton for £7m.

New signings

Dean Ashton was always Alan Pardew's number one target - along with Crystal Palace's Andy Johnson. Both players had looked unlikely to join the Hammers until Ashton himself told Norwich he wanted to leave.

Lionel Scaloni forced Paul Aldridge to open the Club store for him at midnight on transfer deadline day having just signed for the Hammers for the rest of the season, so that he could see what shirt he would be wearing.

The Argentinian full-back currently speaks very little English, and is unlikely to join the Hammers on a permanent basis once his loan spell is complete.

Season tickets

Season ticket prices will rise again this summer regardless of the Club's final league position this season.

Contracts

All players bar two have clauses triggering salary drops should the Club be relegated again in the near future - equating to a £7m saving in wages. In that event, it is thought that one player sale would be sufficient to make up any shortfall.

The only over 30 player contracted to the club next season will be Christian Dailly. This was described as a deliberate policy of Alan Pardew's.

Big Fat Tit

Former striker Titi Camara still plans to sue the club for an alleged breach of contract. The player, signed by Harry Redknapp in 2000 insists he will go ahead with legal action despite barely playing for the club in the three years he was here, and having his contract cancelled by mutual consent.

Europe

West Ham will apply for an Intertoto Cup final round spot later this month, by when applications are required to be submitted.

Next season

A healthy budget for the 06/07 season is a possibility bearing in mind the Club's current league position and FA Cup status; the Board have budgeted for a 17th place Premiership finish, whereas each place in the final table is worth around £500,000.

Stories claiming that Maxi Lopez and Nikola Zigic were set to join the Hammers this summer were refuted by Paul Aldridge. Lopez is thought to want to remain at Barcelona, whilst Zigic - who Pardew remains keen on - is likely to be out of our price range after the World Cup, when his current contract expires.

Our search for a permanent right-back will continue with Pardew keeping an eye on some 15 different players, several of whom are being constantly monitored.

East Stand

Although the Club are keen to complete the stadium by replacing the current East Stand this is unlikely to happen before the 07/08 season. Priority is re-establishing the Club as a Premiership force - on the pitch.

The proposed new stand would hold around 8,000 fans - up from the current capacity of approximately 3,500 - taking the ground's capacity to just over 40,000.

The Club have no plans to move to the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, although fans' opinion will be sought should that become a possibility at some stage.

Long term objectives

The Board have a three year plan by the end of which they hope the team to be challenging regularly for a European spot.

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