The January Transfer Window 2020

[Hugh Jargon]

Excellent no 2.

However. It should be noted this is disaster management and no thanks to the idiotic recruitment policy we have in place.

[Crouchend_Hammer]

Fab is quality, but he’s 35 and been injured twice already. We clearly have concerns here. We should be going after a goalkeeper who is good enough to eventually overtake him.

We have signed Randolph, because it suits from the owner perspective and it means less shelling out. I wouldn’t mind if we had actually targeted him and had confidence he could become our number 1, but this isn’t the case here. Just your typical fill up the squad with inferior and cheap players approach...

The next number 1 is a different signing to Randolph. I have no idea who it will be or should be but hopefully we will buy someone this summer or summer after
The best approach is buy a young keeper and loan them out somewhere

I am struggling to think of a really decent back-up keeper in the premier league. Maybe Romero? Southampton seem to have quite a few on their books but none seem to have proved successful. They paid £15m for Gunn and he got relegated to their bench.
Gazzaniga is pretty good. Jakupovic at Leicester. Lossl at Everton maybe

[Kev59]

I am struggling to think of a really decent back-up keeper in the premier league. Maybe Romero? Southampton seem to have quite a few on their books but none seem to have proved successful. They paid £15m for Gunn and he got relegated to their bench.
Gazzaniga is pretty good. Jakupovic at Leicester. Lossl at Everton maybe

That Spanish fella at Liverpool? Forgotten his name. Adrien?

[snooperpooper]

Not really too disappointed by missing out of Fernandes (rather it wasn't to Spuds) but does anyone seriously think he would step in at 21yrs old, hardly played this season and step up to the intensity of the Prem and lock up our midfield.....look back at the dogs abuse Fornals got as he tried to cut it.
We haven't got time to bring someone up to speed this season, get a proven CM and let's get to the end of the season and then take a knife to the squad as Pinky suggested a few pages back and get some homegrown kids stepping up for next season.

[Cellar-door]

That Spanish fella at Liverpool? Forgotten his name. Adrien?

He's the same level of keeper as Randolph.

The correct answers are Romero and Bravo, who are both very good keepers who could be clear starters for half a dozen top flight sides

[Brown Sauce]

Burnley have got Pope & Heaton?

[PlaistowIron]

Burnley have got Pope & Heaton?

Heaton is No 1 at Villa, although out with a bad injury...

Burnley’s No 2 is Joe Hart :lol:

[sendô]

It was reported that one of the so-called super agents said west ham were never likely to get fernandes (although the deal was agreed with the club) and that they used us to 'encourage' others. This seems to be a familiar tactic. 'West Ham and Everton are interested' seems to be the standard PR.(see the Sala-Cardiff deal). I suppose it's actually a back handed compliment

That about sums us up every single window.

See Lacazette, Batshuayi, Bacca etc...

[Aceface]

He's the same level of keeper as Randolph.

I don't think this is even close.

Randolph has never been successful at the top level.

Adrian has been a successful in La Liga, been successful for us for several seasons under Allardyce, and has played fully 50% of the fixtures for the team that's currently 16 points ahead in the league.

[Macca1973]

Don’t anyone kid themselves, our next number one keeper will be whoever we can sign on a free transfer in 18 months time

[Crouchend_Hammer]

That Spanish fella at Liverpool? Forgotten his name. Adrien?

Adrian is a great character and I love him to bits but he is not much more than an above average keeper, which is why he has never quite nailed down the starter jersey at us
ANyway, it is far easier for the top clubs to attract a half decent backup, because they can offer them much more opportunity for first team football and a very good chance of playing in cup finals and winning medals, which likely makes sitting on the bench for league games more bearable

[McKnightmare]

I don't think this is even close.

Randolph has never been successful at the top level.

Adrian has been a successful in La Liga, been successful for us for several seasons under Allardyce, and has played fully 50% of the fixtures for the team that's currently 16 points ahead in the league.

Easy to disregard, but Randolph has at times been brilliant for the Republic of Ireland in the intervening years. The time away from us has done him good - it's not a big leap to say he's improved a great deal and gained confidence during his time at Middlesbrough.

While I would have liked to have seen us buy a younger prospect, this is far from a bad signing and I think makes a fair amount of sense in the circumstances. My bigger concern will be how they tackle the much needed gaps across the outfield - something I don't have much confidence in them addressing sufficiently

[asters89]

He's the same level of keeper as Randolph.

The correct answers are Romero and Bravo, who are both very good keepers who could be clear starters for half a dozen top flight sides

Incredible.

Randolph 2 years coincided with Adrian. Randolph barely got a look in during that time.

I also seem to remember Claudio Bravo doing a great impression of a hologram when he first turned up at city.

[Cellar-door]

I don't think this is even close.

Randolph has never been successful at the top level.

Adrian has been a successful in La Liga, been successful for us for several seasons under Allardyce, and has played fully 50% of the fixtures for the team that's currently 16 points ahead in the league.

He and Randolph were on the same team at the same time and performed almost exactly the same, there is no better way to compare two keepers.
Roberto could be Liverpool's backup and they'd be ahead of us, they allow so few good chances.

Incredible.

Randolph 2 years coincided with Adrian. Randolph barely got a look in during that time.

I also seem to remember Claudio Bravo doing a great impression of a hologram when he first turned up at city.

Barely got a look is a weird way to classify their time here. Randolph's 2nd year was 2016/17, he took the starting job from Adrian and actually started 22 matches to Adrian's 16.

Adrian is a better shot-stopper, Randolph is better at playing the ball, but overall they are very very similar levels of keeper and their time here showed that.

[Faithless]

Burnley’s No 2 is Joe Hart :lol:

Who they tried to offload into AC Milan who quickly said "stronzate" and signed Begovic instead...

[Crouchend_Hammer]

I don't think this is even close.

Randolph has never been successful at the top level.

Adrian has been a successful in La Liga, been successful for us for several seasons under Allardyce, and has played fully 50% of the fixtures for the team that's currently 16 points ahead in the league.

Adrian didn't become a first-team starter in Spain until he was 25, and only played one season in the top flight. His experience in the top two leagues in Spain is 32 games
He was extremely lucky to get the gig at Liverpool [but fair play to him] and i expect they will upgrade in the summer

An absolute dude and a favourite of mine, but a fairly run of the mill Keeper IMHO

He is better than Rudolph IMHO, but not by that much

[BostonHammer]

Don’t anyone kid themselves, our next number one keeper will be whoever we can sign on a free transfer in 18 months time

Rumors that they are selling up in 18 months hence all these loan offers for 18 months and Moyes having an 18 month contract...so the policy continuing in 18 months wouldn't make sense as we'd have new owners (currently praying).

[Gsbgsb]

Adrian has a cult status to West Ham fans (perhaps justifiably) way above his ability. I can recall loads of posters questioning why we brought Fab as he was no better and perhaps not as good as Adrian. If Adrian was as good as many believe he would, as he was on a free, got a number 1 position in the Premier or another top European league.

He is a competent number 2, Randolph is very similar in my mind, there is little to choose between them but both are more reliable than what we have as our current number 2/3.

Randolph however counts as homegrown I think which would mean by losing Roberto we free up an overseas space, currently we are at our limit so could only take a player who was under 21 therefore of questionable immeadiate impact.

[Aceface]

Roberto could be Liverpool's backup and they'd be ahead of us, they allow so few good chances.

He was extremely lucky to get the gig at Liverpool [but fair play to him] and i expect they will upgrade in the summer

This take is really not grounded in reality.

Bravo is a prime example of the drop off that happens instantly when a reserve keeper gets slotted into an otherwise dominant team.

Liverpool had Gomez and Matip injured for large parts of Adrian's stretch so it's not like they even had their first choice defence playing, and obviously Karius has played behind VVD and still managed to routinely look like a clown.

Fact is they've just played the best half season in the history of the big five European leagues in terms of points dropped, and Adrian played 10 of the 21 games. That record would not be possible with a crap keeper, however good your defence is.

[Cabinfever]

Meanwhile over on the dark side .... c&h
It seems we will be getting a new scouting network and some lovely new software to find new players.....in a few weeks. Before or after the transfer deadline?

Maybe that’s the problem their FM disc has got a scratch