Declan Rice

[The hayfield]

Ashley sold for his own bank balance not to do the supporters a favour. What should we do, hold protest marches every week demanding uefa put us into the champions league? (A competition we've never qualified for before.)

Of course not and did I say otherwise. Ashley didn't charge interest on the money he gave Newcastle either and left them debt free GSB on the other hand have done the complete opposite.

[S-H]

Whoever asked the question, has certainly got the reaction they required.

[EastleighHammer16]

Which sort of proves my point ,if we got in the champions league like Spurs did perhaps we could have been able to keep Rice like they have kept Kane ,although I think now he must know it was a big mistake to stay and sign a long contract

The only reason Kane is still with spurs is because his agent was stupid and signed that long term contract with no release clause. If he had a release clause in, he would have left a couple of years ago imo.

Us getting into the CL wouldn’t be enough. Leicester won the league and got in the champions league. They still sold Mahrez and Kante.

[funky chicken]

When the time comes, best of luck to Declan. He’s been a fantastic servant to this club. He’s gone above and beyond for the fans. And he’s been a credit to the club. He’s played a huge part in 2 of the most enjoyable seasons I’ve ever been lucky enough to witness throughout the years supporting this great club.

On his day he is without question good enough to play at the highest level possible.

Life moves on. There was a West Ham United before Declan Rice. There’ll be one after he is gone. Just as there was after many of the other great players we have sold through the years.

[Crouchend_Hammer]

Which sort of proves my point ,if we got in the champions league like Spurs did perhaps we could have been able to keep Rice like they have kept Kane ,although I think now he must know it was a big mistake to stay and sign a long contract

Spurs have been in and around the champions league qualification for best part of two decades. They may not have qualified that often, but they have been top 6 at least 75% of those seasons. Therefore, that at least gives players some hope that they can qualify in any given season.

Anyway, if Rice played for Spurs he would likely be looking to leave anyway as they cannot meet his high ambitions

[Diogenes]

If GSB were really WHUFC fans . They would be doing their best to sell the club to someone mega wealthy. Like Ashley did for Newcastle despite getting untold grief from their supporters for mainly being a cockney . As I've said on here countless times too many of our supporters accept mediocrity.

Well don't say it any more then, as its not getting any less insulting to your fellow supporters. We all wan to win and win trophies, but if was 'just' about that (fir a West Ham supporter) we would only have about a dozen supporters left by now. A difference of opinion doesn't give you the right to belittle those who don't share it.

[Benaloon]

we all knew we were never going to keep him - he made it very clear early on what he wanted (play for a team competing for titles), and while we made progress while he's been here, we've since gone backwards and are miles off what he needs. Realistically nothing we could have done would have stopped it, not winning the europa, not qualifying for the CL, not bringing in flashier players - he wants as close to a certainty that the team he plays for is going to be in contention, which as we've proved this season we simply aren't.

I still think Mount winning the CL with chelsea was the worst thing that could have happened though - his best mate has got what he wants and it just proves it is achievable (as he alluded to in that interview).

The days of playing for the joy of being a club hero are gone - it's the ronaldo world now where trophies and stats trump everything.

[The hayfield]

Well don't say it any more then, as its not getting any less insulting to your fellow supporters. We all wan to win and win trophies, but if was 'just' about that (fir a West Ham supporter) we would only have about a dozen supporters left by now. A difference of opinion doesn't give you the right to belittle those who don't share it.

Diogenes who have I belittled . You have no ambition for this club and every post you do is either defending Moyes or GSB . That is you're opinion but I have mine I pay over a grand for my season ticket every season do you .

[anjado]

This was always coming after failing to strengthen until this current window. You strike whilst the iron is hot you don't wait around.

The fact that we were competing on four fronts last season and now only competing on one after spending so much money is a huge disappointment.

We should have won the Europa League last season we didn't because we didn't strengthen our squad and decided to wait which never works same as when we throw our eggs into one basket it never works yet we keep doing it. I'm really struggling to see the point we haven't won a trophy since 1980 and barely competed for any since despite having a slew of brilliant players in that time we have barely competed at all.

I genuinely struggle to see the point of us even bothering anymore to be perfectly honest. I'm sure this will be met with go support someone else by the people who dream of some league 2 utopia. But I want West Ham to reach their full potential as a club and if this is it then it's just soul crushingly disappointing and depressing.

Maybe we just are **** and should just be completely sub servant to our rivals and other clubs. I always hoped one day we would be more than this but it is increasingly likely that I've deluded myself into thinking we would even try to be better than what came before.

Rice shouldn't be blamed if he does leave we just don't have the ambition to be better and the box we are put in by those outside our club looks more realistic rather than the excuses we genuinely did have at one point for why we fail.

[claretandblue82]

He’s probably seen his mates winning stuff then noticed Kane in the dressing room picking up loose change, as that’s the only silver he’ll ever pick up, and realised that might be him in 5 years time if he doesn’t move on.

[Doc H Ball]

You have no ambition for this club…

Forgive me for butting in, but you seemed to say that Ashley has done well for Newcastle FC by selling them to a dodgy foreign country with a UN named state murderer as the ultimate owner. I don’t call that ‘ambitious’, I’d call it selling your soul completely and utterly and extremely risky in the longer term.

It’s just as ‘ambitious’ to want to preserve identity as it is to buy trophies. In fact I’d call the latter the complete opposite of ambition.

We all pays our money and takes our choice, but do you envy the likes of Chelsea or City? I don’t, I feel sorry for them just as I feel half sorry for us having sold half of ours.

[ironside58]

Not sure the point of the debate any longer, Dec will go when he is ready, whether we want to sell or not. For me we should have taken the money last year, it would have been more than we will end up with now.

I wish him well whenever it happens.

[HammerPDC]

Iv got to admit I’m really disappointed with Declan here, but not because he has ambition or wants to win things which will inevitably lead to him leaving, if you didn’t think that to be the case anyway then more fool you

My disappointment is with the timing of his comments, captain of a club who are quite possibly in a relegation battle and holding midfielder for a country who should be competing at the sharp end of a World Cup. Yes the journalist has posed the question but it’s naive from Declan to answer in that way, his focus should be solely on winning this tournament and then solely on improving West Ham’s results until 28th May 23, anything after that is fine he’s free to push through his move and I’ll wish him nothing but the best (providing he’s not at Chelsea)

[Oldun]

Spurs have been in and around the champions league qualification for best part of two decades. They may not have qualified that often, but they have been top 6 at least 75% of those seasons. Therefore, that at least gives players some hope that they can qualify in any given season.

Anyway, if Rice played for Spurs he would likely be looking to leave anyway as they cannot meet his high ambitions

I always feel that the start of Spurs rise was helped enormously by our relegation in 2003 ,once again a promising squad of youth and experienced internationals was relegated and Chelsea and Spurs benefited from it,once again caused by a manager out of his depth and the board not making the right decisions.

[Oldun]

Iv got to admit I’m really disappointed with Declan here, but not because he has ambition or wants to win things which will inevitably lead to him leaving, if you didn’t think that to be the case anyway then more fool you

My disappointment is with the timing of his comments, captain of a club who are quite possibly in a relegation battle and holding midfielder for a country who should be competing at the sharp end of a World Cup. Yes the journalist has posed the question but it’s naive from Declan to answer in that way, his focus should be solely on winning this tournament and then solely on improving West Ham’s results until 28th May 23, anything after that is fine he’s free to push through his move and I’ll wish him nothing but the best (providing he’s not at Chelsea)

I always feel that Dec is an honest person who answered the question truthfully,if you watched the interview with Gary Neville you would have seen the same answers.

[HammerPDC]

I always feel that Dec is an honest person who answered the question truthfully,if you watched the interview with Gary Neville you would have seen the same answers.

As I allude to in my post, it’s less about what was said, even though it’s probably stated more black and white than he ever has done before, it’s purely about timing those things really shouldn’t be on his mind right now, his focus should be England, then West Ham and then going off and winning trophies

Let’s not forget he’s got a chance to lead us to a trophy this season

[floydie_hammer]

As I allude to in my post, it’s less about what was said, even though it’s probably stated more black and white than he ever has done before, it’s purely about timing those things really shouldn’t be on his mind right now, his focus should be England, then West Ham and then going off and winning trophies

Let’s not forget he’s got a chance to lead us to a trophy this season

He got asked about playing at the top level because he's at a world cup. I don't think it's unfair for him to mention how he's seen other England players win things and say he wants to win trophies as well. It's not like he put in a transfer request live from the press conference

[Metal Hammer]

Which sort of proves my point ,if we got in the champions league like Spurs did perhaps we could have been able to keep Rice like they have kept Kane ,although I think now he must know it was a big mistake to stay and sign a long contract

If he wants to win things then us emulating Spurs wouldn't make him stay

[DusseldorfHammer]

He got asked about playing at the top level because he's at a world cup. I don't think it's unfair for him to mention how he's seen other England players win things and say he wants to win trophies as well. It's not like he put in a transfer request live from the press conference

Spot on.

And it's a player just being honest. We want players joining us with something to proof; who're pushing themselves to the next level. Declan is outgrowing our natural size and potential of a club as it's stands right now. Getting in the CL once wouldn't have changed much in terms of financial disadvantage vs. US capital and state owned clubs.

[Oldun]

I think he will give nothing less than 100% in every game he plays for us until the end of the season and if he picks up the Conference cup for us I am sure he will be elated,it’s just we can not offer him what he wants.
It’s a bit like if you have a kid who is very good at football but he plays for a average team and he has a chance to play for a better team in a better league what do you do?
As for where he will go to from us I would not be surprised if he didn’t favour Man U,I remember him talking after the game there last season and him saying how he loves playing at Old Trafford.