He built up quite a strong reputation during his time with Villa. The fact that they're happy to cheat FFP rules probably made his job easier.
Wasn't strong enough to prevent them from hiring Monchi and then pushing Lange into working on the youth side of things. He had a few good hits, notably Watkins and Martinez, a fair few misses and then a bunch in the middle. I'm still gonna give him time but feels like we've gone from the equivalent of Kane to Richarlison in the DoF department. Paratici seemingly had fingers in so many pies thanks to his extensive knowledge and contacts, where as of right now, it feels like Lange wouldn't even know what a pie is.
Not too sure about that. Beyond his knowledge of Serie A and ability to hustle, he didn't seem to bring all that much to the table.
Proof that his knowledge stops at the borders of Italy. Meanwhile over in Germany lived a humble future Balon d'Or winner.
Fair play to them backing there manager, but none of the players they have signed particularly worry me and I am not sure any of them would improve our squad substantially. Fullkrug is an interesting one had a couple of decent seasons and was good as a sub in the Euros but he is 31 and is new to the league, could go either way for him.
His knowledge of Italy was truly superb though, all of our signings have been successes from there, some bigger than others but nonetheless they've all had positive impacts, add in van de Ven and Porro too and there aren't too many flops. Gil and Emerson the only two I'd say, plus the Nuno appointment, arguments for Bissouma but I think most appreciate there's a quality player in there that needs consistency, Richarlison and Spence were Levy signings and then jury remains out on a few from last season of course. All in all he's probably had an 80+% success rate, I reckon it was at about 10% in the previous 5 years. I definitely think Lange has big boots to fill.
Michael Bridge has poured cold water on the Veliz to Southampton loan rumours. That was fun whilst it lasted. Alex Crook has said Richarlison's interested in a lucrative move to Saudi and they can meet our £60m demands. Based on Crook's reliability, expect a new contract for pigeon boy now.
I agree with this. West Ham have backed their new manager with multiple signings but none of them are particularly exciting imo.
Only Spurs would somehow manage to recoup the ridiculous amount they wasted on Richarlison and then immediately spunk it all on Solanke
They're aren't that exciting, but they do reflect where West Ham are as a club. Mid table PL side with zero chance of challenging for major honours. Fullkrug and Kilman etc. are the level of players that status will attract. In a way, I think we are sometimes guilty of overestimating how attractive we are as a club. I'm just as guilty of it myself. I'll catch myself asking 'if Player X is so good, why hasn't any other big club made a move for him?', and then have the painful but necessary realisation that we aren't a big club compared to teams like Real, United, City, Bayern etc., so there is no point watching what they are all doing. I clearly remember thinking this when we dropped £40m on Brennan, and then shut myself up with the realisation that Spurs is a perfectly natural next step for a player like him. The teams I've listed above just aren't looking at him.
I know I'm literally talking to myself, but to add to the Rt. Hon. Gentleman's point: I've frequently wondered why, if we are apparently happy spending £60m on Solanke, we aren't adding a bit more to the pot and going for someone like David or Vlahovic. The answer is probably quite simple: They don't want to come to Spurs, and are waiting for a genuinely big club to give them a call. We haven't won a trophy in 16 years, don't have CL football and don't yet pay as much as our rivals. This shouldn't be rocket science, but sometimes as a fan the emotion and sentimentality makes us blind to difficult truths.
the clubs with greater on-pitch success : 1. probably have a number of better players currently on their books 2. may be in the financial position where they can see if a player succeeds or fails, and in the case of the former, take the financial hit therein when you are certain of the end product,
David wouldn't cost more, he's got a year left on his deal and is reportedly available for £25m - though it does have to be said he's rejected an approach from Roma in the last week or so, which is technically good news as they seem to a home for players we're linked with but never buy (i.e. Dybala, Zeki Celik, Bryan Cristante, and they added Matias Soule last week)
You've missed my point. David has probably rejected an approach from Roma for the same reason he'd reject one from us. We don't match his ambitions. Wouldn't make a difference if he's a free agent, if he's keeping the lines open for a top, top club, he's not coming to us.
Let's be honest, we're at least two steps above Roma at the moment - which does beg a lot of questions about the likes of Dybala and Paredes winding up there when you'd expect them to wind up at clubs at least a tier higher such as Milan, Monaco, or one of the nouveau riche clubs thinking they were a statement signing and not noticing why nobody else seemed interested So David not wanting to join the Italian version of Arsenal during the last 3-4 years of Wenger's tenure doesn't say anything about our status per se, but you do have to wonder if somebody's already had a word in his ear about the bumper payday he'll receive next summer if he waits it out (in much the same way Los Ladrones were openly tapping-up Mbappe for two years)
What I meant was: If given a straight choice between spending £30-40m on a Bryan Gil and spending £50-60m on a Richarlison or Solanke, even I would choose to gamble on Gil. Reason being he was an unknown who, despite scepticism, might have blossomed into a top player. The other two by contrast are known quantities. We know what they can bring to the table, and we know that it isn't going to be enough.
Yeh taking a risk on someone and it not working out isn’t great but it happens to every team. Signing someone bang average but then being surprised when they’re bang average is what annoys me. You would hope the club would have learnt after Richarlison but it seems they’re gonna repeat it with Solanke.
The thing with Gil is you never quite saw how he'd fit into the team outside of Nuno assuming Sonny would play up front that season
