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This should have been something special, a summer of content rather than the warm days of rancour and disenchantment instead.

West Ham usually crawl away from a relegation battle intent on licking their wounds while scratching through the undergrowth that is the rubbish end of the transfer market, searching for the ageing hero, the injured and incurable, the loan to buy. (Some things never change, do they?)




This one was going to be different. The old hands amongst us have seen a bit too much to be heavy on the optimism. When I was born Charlie Paynter was still manager, so I’ve seen a thing or three.

But I allowed myself to be positive this time, to dream, to bask in something we have not seen in so many years. I even contemplated wearing the new club shirt on a beach somewhere - my wife tends to disown me at this point - and feel equal to all that red and blue you see washing all around these days.

The Essex kids in Manchester United shirts, the Chelsea lot from the western suburbs, the Liverpool fans from downtown Yeovil. You’ve all seen it. They all infest Mediterranean hot spots this time of year.

Of course it hasn’t happened this summer. You can hardly blame anyone around E20 for the pandemic and the various ever-changing, baffling travel instructions to France and beyond. Let's face it, it hasn’t helped that our government seemed to think that Reunion was on the French mainland and not in the Indian Ocean.

But we knew, didn’t we. We all knew where Dimitri Payet was a born; a shame Number 10 doesn’t have a West Ham fan in their midst. Anyway. We have all been stuck at home.

The glories of last season, that sixth-place finish, that amazing run of quality and complete football under David Moyes. That run of just six defeats in 25 matches and all the Premier League records that came with it.

Our best performance in decades, in the lifetime of many of our younger brethren. It even impressed us old hands who will bore anyone in the Bow Bells with stories of European triumph and World Cup wins.

This was going to be different. It was the summer where qualifying for Europe was going to help us attract a better quality of player to Stratford, who could dream of Europe League nights and even the hope of propelling us into the Champions League. Two flamin’ points short, that injury to Declan Rice on England duty cost us dear.

But what have we done? We have moaned and complained just as before about yet another Sullivan summer circus... and no, I don’t blame Moyes having to deal with David Sullivan and his agent mate Will Salthouse, architect of so much of the transfer travel in and out of east London. It must be the managerial job from hell.




Our transfer window has engulfed our fans this summer, just as it always does. We have missed something, we have allowed it to overshadow what we have achieved and our long-awaited right to enjoy it.

Hey, we were told there would be money to bolster a squad ahead of European combat. We were told some of the deadwood would be moved on, then there was the £20million or so Moyes didn’t spend in January. Say, something around £60million to play with in the market.

And we all fell for it again. We have lost something, here, we have mislaid those days of bravado on the beach, reminding Spurs fans of Manuel Lanzini’s wonder goal and how Jessie Lingard terrorised them at our place, mentioning to the Arsenal lot that we finished above them and they were not in Europe. Reminding the champions of that Michail Antonio goal.

It should have been a summer of celebration, the likes of which we hadn’t seen in decades. The club should have responded, we have to sign new players and a new striker because Antonio, as the whole world knows, is injury plagued even when he’s standing still.

But no, that hasn’t happened. Moyes talked carefully on a contractual interview this week with TalkSport of hoping for three new players. That is the minimum. He was never going to blurt out a load of transfer information to Jim White, of all people. Why they hell should he?

That interview , which can be read elsewhere on KUMB, revealed quite a lot if you cared to listen (carefully) with mother. It showed his confidence in the squad, how impressed he has been with Said Benhrama’s clear improvement tactically, confidence wise and fitness levels. The lad himself has said he has been busting a gut this summer to get in shape - and it shows.

We are clearly not going to be able to afford Jesse Lingard at £35million and with £100,000 a week wages, while Benrahma looks a shoo in for that attacking role off the left and into dangerous central positions that Lingard did so well.

We are unbeaten in pre-season - but don’t forget we were under Avram Grant and looked what happened then! And for what we have seen on TV and dodgy feeds, this team has looked efficient, fit, well organised and confident.

There was some quick-fire, neat passing against Celtic and Atalanta that was a joy to watch. Newcastle will be tough but as Moyes said, few clubs have spent heavily and the teams are very similar to last term. And we do owe Newcastle one after that 3-2 defeat last season in the final weeks of the season.

But I feel we should be approaching the new season in much higher spirits, confident after last season and with a bolstered squad. That we are not quite in that frame of mind is the fault of the usual suspects. I cannot really be bothered any more to list the miscreants who may well have wasted this summer that should have been one of regeneration.




Deep down I sense it is the same old problems. I have no proof or ITK knowledge, but I see a replay of any summer window under David Sullivan.

The root of it all is that when Moyes signed his new contract I bet he asked for and was told he had full control of transfers and everything I have seen since suggests otherwise.

One little indication. A couple of weeks back the word around people who are close to the club (the best way of putting it) were suggesting all was not sweetness and light between Sullivan and Moyes. Voices had been raised. Now none of that got into the mainstream media and life continued on.

But one of those more robust fans sites finally reported that bit of tittle-tattle. The response was surprisingly quick from the usual channels. Of course it was utter nonsense, everybody is getting along swimmingly.

Then there are rumours that Moyes is underwhelmed by agent Salthouse’s involvement and there are claims he doesn’t want him talking to target players without him knowing. Now all that could be so much tosh, of course football executives have exchanges of views, where does that not happen?

But if Moyes is not getting sole control of transfers, could that not that be the source of our transfer window troubles? And probably the fact that we have so little to spend - not much more than £30million, so it is said - may be equally problematic and why so many targets are going elsewhere.

All that could be true or a load of rubbish, I leave you to decide.

So this is just one example of how this summer has deteriorated into so many before, too many fans are spending their time pouring over tablets and phones agonising over failed transfer targets as the chance to build on last season’s glory and progress diminishes. No wonder fans can be quickly deflated. How a long summer can be lost.

Those fans got the chance on Saturday to congratulate their team for last season. A few had seen that last game against Southampton but there was what looked like 20,000 plus at the LOS for the confident, impressive win over Atalanta.

Some of those players had never seen a West Ham crowd before, Vladimir Coufal in particular. They enjoyed the ovation. This wasn’t fans celebrating an insignificant cup win, but fans letting these players know how much their efforts had been appreciated.

Fans who may not have had the best of summers for a variety of reasons...West Ham’s traditional transfer complexities, for a start.

But what cannot be lost on them is the way this squad and manager have performed in pre-season. The lack of new faces has been compensated by some bright, new youngsters and some emerging talent from the Academy.

Moyes has been looking within to bolster his squad should new names do not emerge. If that works, then not all has been lost this summer.

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