Sunderland 2 West Ham Utd 1 (29/03/08)

[JonG86]

Not many teams with an injury list like ours could compete with the rest of the prem.

Cooper out!

[Marky]

We need to spend big in the summer but I think the board have no ambition

[hornsey]

they have no ambition if they stick with Curbishley that's for sure.

[CentenaryUpperHammer]

We could all tell that Sunderland wanted the 3 points more than us! Even before we scored the goal they were playing more fluent football and putting together passes rather than scraping the ball around like us! It was just a matter of time before they got the second goal and it proved that our players gave up by the end! Shame really because if they had given that extra 5-10% we would have held on for the draw!!

Medical staff are awful..surely this is more than a coincidence!!

Despite the injuries we have made it to 10th and i would happily take it. Hopefully next year the board will show their ambition in the summer and make a few signings that will give us the extra edge against teams like Sunderland next season!

[devostash]

6) Where are the Welsh Mafia - the Taffia? Bellamy, Collins, Gabbidon all out injured. Bellamy and Gabbidon both hauled off after poor games / strops and not seen again in first team.

7) In nearly all businesses with excessive sickness (injuries), some of the sickness is in the mind - a simple unwillingness/ desire not to work for the business or a general lack of commitment. I am increasingly wondering if some of these mystery injuries aren't as genuine or as extreme as suggested and are being used to cover for disciplinary indiscretions etc etc

This seems like it could ring true...
I can see Bellamy and Gabs on the transfer list in the summer. But they have been missing from the Wales squad so the injuries must be genuine. Collins will probably move in the summer as well especially with the emergence of Tomkins from the yoofs..
I can see a few foreign imports coming in this summer and I believe with a fit squad we can fight for a european place next season.. Relegation fight to mid table mediocrity in a season isn't bad imho.
Curbs in for at least another season anyway

[HollzTheHammer]

couldn't get a stream for the game today (doesn't sound like i missed out..)
did noble play on the left again today? how did he look?
i hope to god mccartney is ok, as with ashton/cole... jesus how many others got injured? luckily we don't play next weekend and they'll have a couple of days extra to be fit for the pompey game.
did neill go to lb?

[bubbles1966]

We need to spend big in the summer but I think the board have no ambition

I'm not sure ambition comes into it. I think it's now about trust.

Would you trust Curbs to spend your money?

He's had £40+ million to spend and acquired:

1 Lucas Neill
2 Luis Boa Morte
3 Matthew Upson
4 Nigel Quashie
5 Calumn Davenport
6 Kepa Blanco

7 Scott Parker
8 Craig Bellamy
9 Julien Faubert
10 Kieron Dyer
11 Freddie Ljungberg
12 Henri Camara
13 Nobby Solano.

How many have appeared in 75% of available games and been an "on pitch" success?

How many have appeared in 50% of available games and been an "on pitch" success?

Is the answer good enough?

I ask, readily admitting that he has done a good job of moulding the fit available resources into a capable Premiership team, and fully expecting him to get a deserved opportunity to lead the club at the start of next season

[devostash]

We need to spend big in the summer but I think the board have no ambition

I'm not sure ambition comes into it. I think it's now about trust.

Would you trust Curbs to spend your money?

He's had £40+ million to spend and acquired:

1 Lucas Neill not a geat season this year but last year a rock..
2 Luis Boa Morte was a waste but we were desperate and the prem teams agents knew it.
3 Matthew Upson been superb this season
4 Nigel Quashie MIA? Very poor signing we know.
5 Calumn Davenport Not bad and only signed due to the injury to Upson in his first game.
6 Kepa Blanco Desperate loan signing no other options available.

7 Scott Parker Still think he can be a huge player for us next year
8 Craig Bellamy Looked good before his injury will link well with Ashton.
9 Julien Faubert Not sure jury out not had time to bed into the Prem.
10 Kieron Dyer Was looking very good until that mistimed challenge from the lower league hacker..
11 Freddie Ljungberg Starting to look better but hope the 80k a week wages are bull..
12 Henri Camara Desperation again waste of Money I would say.
13 Nobby Solano. Been a good signing a couple of important goals for a bit player..

Curbs signings have not been bad. We have to remember we lost some big players in the summer Tevez. Skeletor, Joker and harewood. Two of which were our most creative players. Curbs has indeed done well with what he has available to him.. We did buy players with shoddy injury records yes but I can't believe it was easy selling West Ham to players last summer Tevez saga 'n' all. this summer I feel it may be easier with a midtable finish and a club with some stability.. So Curbs out must be a big no no...

[Up the Junction]

... i think collison is head shoulders above most of the youth yet he hasnt had a start yet.

That's a bold statement. How many times have you seen him play, just out of interest?

[bubbles1966]

We did buy players with shoddy injury records yes but I can't believe it was easy selling West Ham to players last summer Tevez saga 'n' all. this summer I feel it may be easier with a midtable finish and a club with some stability.. So Curbs out must be a big no no...

Agree with your assessment - and I'm certainly not in the Curbs Out camp.

I just think that the money men will be looking at the summer signings and thinking we've punted £25-30 million and barely seen them play. That will, understandably IMO, make them more reluctant to spend this summer. They will want to see Curbs' judgement vindicated before trusting him with more money.

[devostash]

We did buy players with shoddy injury records yes but I can't believe it was easy selling West Ham to players last summer Tevez saga 'n' all. this summer I feel it may be easier with a midtable finish and a club with some stability.. So Curbs out must be a big no no...

Agree with your assessment - and I'm certainly not in the Curbs Out camp.

I just think that the money men will be looking at the summer signings and thinking we've punted £25-30 million and barely seen them play. That will, understandably IMO, make them more reluctant to spend this summer. They will want to see Curbs' judgement vindicated before trusting him with more money.

I think the new man Nani may be able to persuade them to open the wallet.. Still I can't see us spending that big and I don't believe we need to. Throwing money at it isn't always the way forward look at the barcodes.
We need a bit of luck on the injury front and a creative midielder please...
The Dyer injury I think was bad luck.. Zamora and Bellamy seem the strange ones to me. Would have expected them to feature by now.

[bubbles1966]

The Dyer injury I think was bad luck.. Zamora and Bellamy seem the strange ones to me. Would have expected them to feature by now.

And Gabbidon - where has Gabby gone?

[devostash]

The Dyer injury I think was bad luck.. Zamora and Bellamy seem the strange ones to me. Would have expected them to feature by now.

And Gabbidon - where has Gabby gone?

True it does stink of something going on behind the scenes..
We'll see in the summer and who is offloaded.

[FDiMcA]

.
Would you trust Curbs to spend your money
He's had £40+ million to spend and acquired:

3 Matthew Upson been superb this season
= Done well. Blinkin right an all given the price. Has done what he was bought to do. A good signing

7 Scott Parker = Has not done what he was bought to do, and didnt do it at Chelsea or Newcastle. Will find his level one day bellow European competition but above the Championship. A waste of the opportunity to create a brainy midfield
8 Craig Bellamy = A very good player, but again (scratched record that I am) someone who had already failed at the top level, someone on their way down. It has not been like buying Hartson, DiCanio or Defoe and helping them fulfill their potential, its been like buying Belamy and helping him fulfill his pension.
9 Julien Faubert = Jury is out, BUT if the verdict is forced now for whatever reason not a good buy
11 Freddie Ljungberg = A great player, shame Curbs doesnt use him properley. Lungjbergs running, positions, passes, and the options he offers team mates go unloved in the systems and methods we employ. Its like having a Van Gough hanging in the downstairs lav, wasted
13 Nobby Solano. = A strange buy when accompanying Dyer and Lungjberg. Solano is not Gary McCalister, and not Matty Holland. We lost Yossi, we never replaced him

1 Lucas Neill not a geat season = Has had it. Shot. No pace and no juice left.
2 Luis Boa Morte
4 Nigel Quashie
5 Calumn Davenport Not bad = Not good either6 Kepa Blanco Desperate = no other options? Lets hope Nani has scope beyond this
10 Kieron Dyer = like buying Douglas Barder, capable of heroism but theres a hitch.....
12 Henri Camara Desperation

Curbs has indeed done well with what he has available to him.
= What was available accoridng to Curbs was not the full market available i.e. to Sven or Harry. He has accepted he doesnt know the market, and that he had no one in his staff who did. The apointment of a Serie B reserve coach neither threatens Curbs nor implies suddenly we will be fishing in a bigger pond

I can't believe it was easy selling West Ham to players last summer
= Is some of that why managers like Keegan get hired?, Aussie mercenary Neil came because we outbid Liverpool, Bent turned down Curbishleys vision for Jols.

It is of concern Do the management team know who the players are that are available, can we convince them to sign?

Would you trust him with £40million?

Last time it was subsidied by selling the likes of Tevez, Yossi, Reo C, Harewood etc form profits
Who can we sell this time for a profit? Or rather who can we sell for a profit other than Green and Ashton who would not be very hard to replace

[devostash]

Svens buys have tailed off a bit after a very succesfull start.
Elano and Petrov were succesful but Sven has been helped by players already at the club Dunne, Richardson, Harte and Johnson have all been very succesfull this season. Bianchi not so....
Harry well perhaps Curbs doesn't have the same supply of brown paper envelopes Harry has..
We all know Harry's track record in the transfer market but we must remember he kept the majority of his squad from last season and they are not that far away from us in the table.

[FDiMcA]

Svens buys have tailed off a

Harry
brown paper envelopes
Harry

S'right and Im not here to crown Harry or Sven, OR MOYES! and Ramos transfers baffle me.
Keegan's celebrity power to atract players must also have dimmed.

But for whatever reason other managers have the edge over Curbishley when it comes to casting the net beyond the players big UK clubs are selling.
Curbs fair play admited that.

Ferguson has Queiroz, Wenger knows every French boy under 18, Harry for whatever reason knows who to buy.

Without wanting to rate Curbs vs other managers, looking at Curbs in isolation the board would have to be cautious about letting him spend big based on every deal (in and out of the club) he has done, the exception that proves the rule being Upson.

A defence of Curbishly oft lofted on this august forum is "just wait till his signings are fit". Shirley the board even at best scenario for Curbs will wait to see what happens when the players he has bought are fit.

Because if they dont work then it would have been dumb to give him more cash.
If they do work, then we will be 8th and they wont be upset that they didnt give him more cash. They will be helping him spend large on players capable of playing in Europe.

Bubbles 1966 asked would you let Curbisley invest a large slice of your money if you were the board?

Maybe you would if the board were you, but if you were the board would you, isnt it.

[w4hammer]

just got back to chiswick...5 hour drive there and back....fuk me why do we do it hey?

great turn out from us lot today..shame the team didnt want it as much as sunderland did

we've got some rubbish to get rid of this summer-havent we.

and finally before I have a beer and head offf into the night

CAN WE PLEASE HAVE SOME ****ing CREATIVITY IN THE TEAM PLEASE PLEASE~?!?!


good night

[TrickyDicky]

... i think collison is head shoulders above most of the youth yet he hasnt had a start yet.

That's a bold statement. How many times have you seen him play, just out of interest?

a number of times for the wales under-21 squad, also i travel to see the reserves play more than i do the first team(due to money reasons)

in fact Sears seems to be on a par with collison, but i do feel jack does seem to have the most confidence and would be the most effective for the team at this moment in time, hes a good creative goalscoring midfielder, he usually takes his chances very well which most of our midfielders dont in the first team.

We seem to be lacking that in the midfield area, take mullins out and see how it goes ,I just feel he would be worth trying out , maybe the Derby match since they are now relegated, i think he will impress alot of people

[devostash]

I agree FDi with alot of what you say...
Curbs sigings as of yet have not been succesfull and his scouting network doesn't seem to venture outside of our shores.
Hopefully Nani will help but that again with all the talk of the technical director I was left very much unconvinced with his appointment.
We'll have to see what unfolds next year but I agree with you I can see more going out than coming in this summer. I can't see a big 50 mill war chest thats for sure.
But hey Rome wasn't built in a day and hopefully the board are in long term and will have a bit of patience.
Getting rid of the manager will only cause instability and has proven in other clubs to be a bad policy.

[Up the Junction]

I just feel he would be worth trying out , maybe the Derby match since they are now relegated, i think he will impress alot of people

Here's hoping. It does seem strange that he is the only one of the much-vaunted trio not to get a sniff yet.