West Ham Banter 2

18 Aug 2026 12:24:35
Joyfull, how much longer does Disasi need to make a decision? 🤷

18 Aug 2026 13:18:51
Times up. He's not coming. West Ham have to move on whether they like it or not. There always has to be a line. That's it.

18 Aug 2026 13:31:29
Yup, just heard. So now what? 3 defenders down very soon, with only Mav and Kilman as cbs of any note. God help us.

18 Aug 2026 13:57:13
He has to play Golembekis instead of Killman. He may be young, but there is no better place to let him find his feet. Sadly, Killman has proved time and time again that he is incapable of jumping to head a ball or getting stuck in without giving away a penalty.

18 Aug 2026 14:00:17
We are so far short, this is getting desperate. They've got to make moves soon, surely. No good waiting until January. We could be in the bottom half of the table by then, and no one will want to come to us. At least at the moment, we're still classed as favourites (don't know how), so we should still be able to attract players.

If I was Bowen, I'd go to the manager and ask if they're signing anyone. If not, then I'm off. If not this window, then in January. I just hope they spark into life soon.

18 Aug 2026 14:02:07
Hammer-D, he scored with his head though. 😂

18 Aug 2026 16:03:15
Yeah, I honestly don't know what is going on. At this rate, we will be up the creek without a paddle and so short on players.

2 or 3 injuries and it's season over.

18 Aug 2026 16:58:59
Stevie, I know he did, but watch the goal; the ball was at chest height, he didn't have to jump. Admittedly, he was having his shirt pulled by a defender. Believe me, im not one of the Killman hate brigade, nor Nuno for that matter.

I would love for them to succeed. But both have done such a bad job that their current situations are indefensible (especially in Killman case 😁).

18 Aug 2026 17:28:45
Hammer-D, I know what you are saying, mate. Had high hopes for Kilman when he signed, even though I thought we paid well over the top for him. Desperately need cover all over the pitch.

17 Aug 2026 23:11:09
An open response to IronGeez.

IronGeez,
We all realise you consider yourself as the self-appointed adjudicator of this forum, but us reasonable people also acknowledge that different people have varying opinions, and those opinions deserve respect instead of childish ridicule. Your constant belittling of my posts and lately also those of Mac3 is now boring. So is your assumption that people who are unable to physically attend live games today cannot have an opinion and are just 'armchair supporters'. Some would describe that attitude as ill-informed or at best, stupid. I am sure I am not alone as an old-time experienced supporter who first watched the Hammers from the original chicken run and subsequently attended all home and away games for many years. You, my friend, are a relevant newcomer. Age and ill health now prevents me from attending matches and has now relegated me to "armchair support", as you now sarcastically term it. After more than 60 years of supporting my team, with more than 40 years of travelling the length and breadth of the country, your attitude is nothing short of ill- informed stupidity and simply insulting.
You highlight my criticism of West Ham managers. This is because, in my opinion, we have had extremely poor managers, one after the other, for a number of recent years. Once a good manager is in post, he will receive my total support. In my opinion, Nuno is not a good manager. For some reason, you consider it essential to provide names of suitable replacements in order to validate our opinions. As if failure to say who is a good manager negates our opinion of who is a bad manager. Yet nobody requires you to validate your own opinions. You clearly ignore the posts where alternative managers have been suggested because it does not suit your campaign of constant criticism of certain contributors to this forum. I have named several managers who I considered might do a decent job at West Ham. In old posts at the time I suggested several young managers in Germany, also Marco Silva, Michael Carrick and Eddie Howe, but you ignore those posts. You mentioned my wish to have Haarland as a striker at West Ham. This was in response to a request for a dream striker at WHU. Who wouldn't like to see him at WHU? It was never offered as a real possibility, but you made it sound as if I was actually suggesting him as a possible acquisition. Crazy. So your contention that I never make suggestions is basically a blatant lie.
Your request for me to "have a day off" is water off a duck's back. This forum is a good discussion tool, and people often disagree without reverting to name calling and obvious targeting. Sadly, your posts do not fall into that category. Your immature jibes will not stop me from voicing my opinion and I am sure that people who disagree with me on many subjects respect the fact that not all contributors will agree. My apparent negativity is as a result of poor management and administration of the club over a number of years. Despite disagreeing with a number of comments on here, I still respect and accept that people have varying opinions. Dabber and I often disagree, but our exchanges have never dropped to a level of insults and belittling. So give it a rest and accept that the forum is more valuable with differing opinions than one where everyone lies down and simply accepts what you say is read. People are entitled to their opinion even if they don't suggest a solution.
Tin Legs.

18 Aug 2026 09:42:19
Wow, that must've taken ages, Tin Legs, to write. 😀 But I must say, I wholeheartedly agree with you. This site is all about differing opinions and updates (some accurate, some that don't pan out), and sniping at someone who you don't agree with is not needed or welcome.
Glad to read that you are going to continue voicing your opinions. 👍

18 Aug 2026 10:13:52
Well said, Tinlegs. I would love a season ticket, but games are no longer 3pm on a Saturday, and kick-off times constantly changed throughout the season, and when later at night kick-off times occur, I sometimes cannot get a train home. I am a member, but even then, it is difficult to get tickets unless the seats are up in the God's rows.

As for an away game, no chance. This, though, does not deter my passion for supporting the Hammers since the early 60's. All opinions should be welcome on this site no matter who you are, we all want the same thing COYI.

18 Aug 2026 11:00:17
Bravo. We may not all agree all the time, some got frustrated during the transfer window and voiced their opinions, but that's what this is about.

If we all thought the same, what would be the point of the site?

We all support the same club, and yet we squabble and bitch because one person thinks something someone else doesn't agree with.



Get over it. I'm 66 and followed, supported, backed our boys since I was 7. I was posted to Germany for 16 years and still travelled over to see the boys at weekends.
I've been up and down this country to some grounds that are true s*** holes, so I've served my time, and if I wanna watch from my armchair, I will, even though I don't!!!!!

18 Aug 2026 12:20:32
Well said, fellas. I've always stated that I am a ST Holder, but can be a bit fair-weather, especially when going to midweek games. But none of that matters a jot. imo, people who want to support our club, even if they have never seen us play live, their opinion is as valid as anyone who goes to every match.

18 Aug 2026 12:26:17
The length of the post obviously shows that this is something that really resonates with you, Tinlegs, and that has to be respected. You know me well enough by now, I will call you out when I think the mark's been overstepped, such as the Douglas Barder joke last week, and you do seem to pick on Brooking a fair bit. I do agree that we tend to disagree more often than not, but I don't take it personally, and I'm glad that you don't either.

I'm also a proud armchair fan for differing reasons, but we all chose this tribe and love it, warts and all. I've posted in the past that, despite our spats, this site is all the better for having you on it... even though you are one whinging git. 😉😁

18 Aug 2026 12:55:47
😄 You have to forgive my humour. Sensitivity is not one of my strong attributes!
I have nothing personal against the member you highlight, Dabber, but I do find myself exasperated by a lot of his comments, just the same as I'm sure he does with mine.
Once we get a decent manager, and play entertaining football like we used to, I can guarantee my complaining will disappear.

Why wouldn't it?
I usually ignore the childish jibes from IronGeez, but this time I felt his latest needed addressing, as he seems to now also be having a go personally at another regular contributor.
Best regards,
The Whinging Git.

18 Aug 2026 13:03:35
Haha, maybe time to change our names to Whingy and Rosie! I enjoy our spats. Long may they continue, matey!

18 Aug 2026 14:21:17
And suddenly all was peaceful down on the farm...

18 Aug 2026 15:24:33
Common courtesy, lads. Agree to disagree from time to time.

18 Aug 2026 15:54:35
Agreed.

18 Aug 2026 16:03:56
That's what makes it all the more enjoyable. 😉 😀 😄

18 Aug 2026 18:00:43
I posted a few weeks ago about differing opinions. I enjoy a little bit of back and forth discussing different things, and, at the end of the day, West Ham is our club, and we all want the best for it, even if we don't always agree.

I hope everyone keeps posting and bringing up various discussion points, as it's always fun and entertaining, seeing and hearing different points of view.

17 Aug 2026 20:45:42
Wilfred Saha is a free agent, maybe worth a punt.

18 Aug 2026 12:02:59
Leave well alone. Better than good in his day, but that's long past. There's nowhere to go with these people, all looking for a last payday. Vardy wants 40 k a week plus. A bus pass. Zaha wants the same. Save it for younger people, that's my view.

17 Aug 2026 19:51:59
Assuming Piroe signs tomorrow that’s 3 in. Not including Lamadrid, just a 900 k punt.

How many more do we need? For me RW Cb Lb (Diouf going) another striker — 4 in.

2 weeks to go, that’s all.

17 Aug 2026 21:59:30
2 weeks to go and plenty of time. Joyful.

17 Aug 2026 22:19:44
Yep, a couple of years ago TS got about 7 in a week...

That turned out great. 😌

18 Aug 2026 06:14:09
Yeah, depending on how many more go we need about 5.

Centre back for definite, because we can't get through the season with this CB combination.

Possibly left or right back, if AWB and/or Diouf leave.

2 midfielders, maybe more if Alvarez, Kante, Mougassa leave (JWP to glue factory).



And, of course, striker. I'm not convinced with Pablo and Taty; they have lost all interest. Fulkrug gone, Cummings not good enough. That leaves us with Piroe.

18 Aug 2026 12:31:11
Morning Hammer-D, I’ve made my feelings clear on TS over the years; massively, partly to blame for our situation/decline over the last few years. Fernandes was bought on the last day/week of the transfer window last year ….. I’m so sure deals will be done, and the free agents, of course, can be signed once it's closed. Keep the faith, mate.

17 Aug 2026 19:00:26
Piroe loan with an obligation to buy if we are promoted doesn't bother me at all. If he scores the goals that make the difference and that costs us £15m (to buy him), that's peanuts. Secondly he may look more like prem quality after another Champs season.

If not, based on his goal scoring surely we can immediately ship him out to another Championship side seeking a proven goal scorer at that level, or to Europe. Even if we immediately sell him for less than we just paid (say £10m) then we've paid a paltry £5m for promotion.

17 Aug 2026 19:37:37
Not quite a £15 m player, costs just over £20 m with uplifts, so maths not right, mate. Let's get promoted first, worry about other stuff later.

17 Aug 2026 21:44:27
Haha. I'm no financial football expert, but with the relatively small number of millions we are talking about, what is promotion back to the PL worth?

17 Aug 2026 22:56:06
Exactly.

17 Aug 2026 17:22:19
Coventry have just signed the Forest striker we were linked with last year, so would they now be interested in recouping some of that fee buy selling Wright?

17 Aug 2026 17:50:35
The ideal striker. Problem is, the player has his own ideas, he wants to make a splash in the Premier, and then leave on a free at season's end, so the transfer is very unlikely.

17 Aug 2026 18:05:49
Awonyi. Personally don't rate him.

17 Aug 2026 16:15:13
Was there talks with Pogba today?

17 Aug 2026 17:47:25
Apparently he is being represented at this stage by Patrice Evra. Some talks happened, that's all I know.

17 Aug 2026 16:09:56
As we won’t be buying Piroe until the end of the season, that surely frees up money to get another player in. Could we still sign Parrot as Taty looks like he wants out? 🤷

17 Aug 2026 18:07:41
Another striker, a couple of midfielders, Sydie Peck and Austbo, would be nice, and a CB, and maybe full backs if Diouf and AWB leave.

17 Aug 2026 18:36:22
Austbo, yes, in front of Reiss Nelson. He will be alright for a short period, then trouble. Leave alone, too risky at any price.

17 Aug 2026 19:03:14
Taty is volatile. I can see him being sent off at least once this season.

17 Aug 2026 19:39:27
He needs a lot of service, which wasn't forthcoming, so frustration sets in. He's a bit hot-headed.

17 Aug 2026 09:52:00
Trust me I’m no Nuno fan but have a look at that bench it was shocking.
Where do you want to start? Said all along we cannot get promoted. Without the players needed, Soloman and Veltman fine, Piroe not quiet fit, will do a job if agreed, but he’s not the best choice.

Midfield should be ok with Engels and Kante, but
WH have never gone for the people needed to do the job, it’s that simple.

These players are still at their clubs, Vipotnik and Haji Wright up front
Tosin Adaraboyo st Chelsea Tomori at Milan both £14 m good cbs, Disasi who knows?

Jordan James at Rennes mdf.

Instead Reiss Nelson for 3 m, who will have half dozen games then be injured for next two months.

Awb and Diouf will be off before the window shuts, so will Fulkrug and Todibo.

There’s No excuses. Get people in or stay in the championship.

WH are financially set up to be in the premiership. If we don’t get back, it will be a monetary disaster, far worse than now.

17 Aug 2026 10:19:52
We've been saying the same thing all summer, joyful.

How we had possibly the oldest and one of the smallest squads last season, and we've already let 6 or 7 go, and possibly Fulkrug, Tobido, AWB, Alvarez, Diouf and maybe Taty (who doesn't look interested).



If they thought youth was gonna be the answer, they are badly mistaken. And, although Nuno is crying out for players, why buy forwards if he is parking the bus.

17 Aug 2026 11:47:49
And reading across various forums, the fans are already slaughtering Nuno for yesterday. That didn't take long !!!!!

17 Aug 2026 12:15:05
And they're not wrong, but whilst Burnley made, I think, five changes, who did we have to bring on that could either change a game or bolster the defence? Answer: nobody.

Engels and Piroe will help, but not enough to get promoted. There are a dozen teams with the same idea.

If Kretinsky thought that keeping half a dozen prem players would get promotion, he is having different thoughts now; that team got relegated.

That is the point.

WH are very indebted, no question, but the team I watched yesterday are not getting promoted, full stop. So, whilst the sales have been executed brilliantly, it is time to get players in.

17 Aug 2026 13:10:55
I believe we have a 2-pronged problem. Yes, we need to bring in some quality to back up Engels. It's pointless if we need to keep possession with only one player that can do it. As you have said before, the Swansea or the Coventry strikers are the best options. From what I've heard, Joel Piroe isn't gonna cut it.
But, we could get Messi and Haaland, but we would still play in this pathetic style of football, where we try to keep a lead by defending deep.

Nuno is hopeless, and I don't believe bringing in a few decent players will change anything. It's exactly the same as when we had Potter. We gave him too many chances to change, and he didn't.

17 Aug 2026 17:49:56
They've had all summer to sort this out. When people were getting frustrated because we did nothing, they were constantly told "the window is open till 01st Sep".

The counter argument was that we get our house in order before season starts.

We can now see who had the right idea.

17 Aug 2026 22:06:47
Mac, you can't make that statement until the window shuts. We could make 5 or 6 new signings in the next 2 weeks. For long periods yesterday we looked very good, at others not so great, but in control. The stupid penalty turned the game. With additional players we will only get better. You are normally more positive than this, mate.

17 Aug 2026 07:21:40
Morning all, we all know we need players but we need those players before our next game.

17 Aug 2026 07:39:02
{Ed's Note - Goram_no1 has posted a new article entitled, Why Rangers Should Stay Patient With McInnes

16 Aug 2026 21:39:03
I know he scored, but Kilman is a terrible defender, I honestly don’t think he’s worth £3m, never mind £30m. Ward Prowse for me isn’t even a Championship player. That last 20 minutes we couldn’t pass a ball in.

It was like the last few games of last season, sat deep and full of defenders. We need to be so much better. Should have put it to bed when we went 2-0, carried on and put a few past them.

16 Aug 2026 22:34:58
Is it me, or has Bowen lost a yard?

17 Aug 2026 06:16:36
Both right. Kilman cannot defend even at this level, and even though it's early days, Bowen is a shadow of the player he was... so far.

Must admit I like Nuno, but he has got to learn quickly that a lot of teams will see us as the team to beat, and throw the kitchen sink at us.

Don't park the bus, but continue to attack, and if he is gonna park the bus, make sure his defence are up to it.

Did Coventry go 2-0 up and defend? No. 👎

And it's clear we need players, our bench is dreadful.

17 Aug 2026 07:25:47
This defence conceded 14 goals in the first 3 games last season! What on earth makes Nuno think this defence can work at any level?

Premier League defenders terrorised by Fleming. Jeeeeez.

We clearly need 5 or 6 players, and get rid of 5 or 6, and we need a cb, because if he persists with this team, we will struggle this season.

17 Aug 2026 08:17:42
I've let the dust settle before commenting, as like everybody else I was fuming that what looked like a great 3 points turned into a disappointing 1 point. I thought we looked great first half, and a totally different side second. Kilman getting the criticism, when it was Scarles' naivety which turned the game against us, is just a little silly. We know Kilman is at his level, but I have concerns that Scarles is playing above his level. JWP was awful; he turned his back on the shot that led to their equaliser.

That all being said, they were in the PL with us last season, and at home, and had a CF who looked sharp and hungry. Arguably one of the hardest games already out of the way, and I'm not going to judge too harshly too soon on the overall team performance when we have so many changes that will undoubtedly still be made. My crystal ball tells me that JWP will be gone in January though. 😉

17 Aug 2026 08:45:34
Unlikely he's not wanted; he will sit on the bench, leave on a free at season's end.

17 Aug 2026 09:14:46
Good, well-thought-out, non-reactionary points of view, as ever, Dabber. I just think we are in exactly the same position as last season. Last season we had Potter, who didn't have "his players", hoping he would play a more offensive-based form of football, and he didn't. Nuno has continually thought he is so clever, trying to sit on a lead the minute we go in front, but how many times did it fail? And now, the first game in a weak league, we have Groundhog Day. It doesn't take a football genius to see we are incapable of defending or keeping possession, ala Spain or Arsenal. Ironically, when I have seen the youth team play, they are very good at keeping possession, so maybe we have some players that can do it.


How did Kante and Orford play? All I saw was 2 minutes of highlights, and it wasn't flattering. Most people say we played well first half, the highlights only showed our goal.
Nuno has showed he is adaptable when it comes to player selection, unlike Potter, but when is he going to stop burying his head in the sand and tell the players to go on the offensive rather than sit back?
My main worry is we have a chairman who nailed his colours to the mast by giving Nuno the gig, and not getting rid of him as he should have last season, and he may be pigheaded if this doesn't completely change. He has had more than enough chances; this is not only one game, it is most of last season plus 1. That should be his last chance.

17 Aug 2026 09:27:54
2 points lost or 1 gained? Fleming was the best player on the pitch by a distance! We and Burnley will be in the top 3 at the end of the season. We lost 3 points because of the penalty.

It lifted Burnley another 25 percent. Wolves on Tuesday, another tricky game, although it's best to play these two opponents at the start of the season. 1 point gained.

17 Aug 2026 10:31:09
When you are 2 nil up at 83 mins, it's clearly 2 points lost. To try and defend a 1 nil lead from 45 mins was ridiculous, and to score a 2nd against the run of play then capitulate shows Nuno has learned nothing. Admittedly, the bench isn't strong, but he gave the instructions to sit back, as that's what happened. We sat much deeper after half time. We played ok in the first half, but didn't create lots, to be honest.

Orford was ok, Kante gives the ball away a lot, central defence is poor, and JWP adds nothing. If he wants to sit on the bench for a year, as Joyful says, just leave him out altogether. We may aswell have played with 10 men when he came on, and we were only playing with 10.25 with Pablo on the pitch, but at least he runs about a lot; JWP doesn't even do that.

Plus side was Soloman.

17 Aug 2026 13:53:42
Robbo, I agree with a lot of that, and it was 2 points lost, but we capitulated because Scarles gave away a ridiculous penalty with only 7 minutes left on the clock. Pablo was injured, and the bench was incredibly weak, but JWP should at least have been relied upon to fill that gap and couldnt.

He is just very, very poor! What gives me solace is that we can only get better and stronger from this point, with additional signings. Burnley away after a long summer break, with our shenanigans, was never going to be easy. I still saw enough to say with confidence we'll be promoted.

16 Aug 2026 20:42:24
I honestly thought that was an average performance. We are not going to get promoted playing that. Nuno didn’t even use all his subs, so basically that is saying our squad isn’t good enough.

17 Aug 2026 08:19:53
Thought we looked great at times, Stevie, and there will be a lot easier games than Burnley away with a completed squad... I wouldn't panic yet, mate.

16 Aug 2026 18:55:37
On way back from Burnley. Two points dropped. Didn’t understand why we were full of defenders in the end, Burnley only kept 2 men back, surely that would have been a time to attack.
We all agreed with JWP for Pablo and we assumed he’d play just behind Taty, but Nuno popped him on the right, that was odd.
Nuno made some strange decisions today.

16 Aug 2026 19:23:07
Strange decisions?
He has just left off where he did last season. You go to all the games, surely you can remember.

16 Aug 2026 19:53:57
Apart from all the criticism, which is justified, look at the bench. Who do you bring on? Said before, ill-prepared, so many leaving, coming in, we are well short for a promotion side.

Today was a good lesson, no mystery now, West Ham know what to expect.

16 Aug 2026 19:59:08
Bringing JWP on at all is a strange decision. He is, and has been, nothing but awful. He adds nothing, which is about the same as Pablo.

16 Aug 2026 20:52:13
Joyful, regardless of how well or poorly they played, they had got themselves into a 2.0 lead, with 8 minutes plus injury time to go. They have obviously been instructed to sit on the lead, and I would argue, by bringing on JWP for Pablo, that was to be done throughout the 2nd half, but we managed to get ourselves a second goal.

Obviously, the other team will then throw caution to the wind, but we need to counter that by attacking. It is achievable with Tatty, Bowen and Solomon on the pitch. I know Pablo isn't very good, and isn't as good as JWP. I would prefer him on the pitch when we are leading.

17 Aug 2026 08:21:36
Robbo, I totally agree. Picking Pablo to start and then replacing him with JWP is a clear indication of what a poor manager Nuno is. Retaining the man who got us relegated was a bad decision.

17 Aug 2026 11:19:19
Have a day off, Moanlegs. I hope we aren't going to have this all season, again.

Obviously, I am not surprised there isn't a name of a manager you'd like to see instead of Nuno; it's almost as if this is all you ever do - Moanlegs.

17 Aug 2026 20:26:08
So, from your usual immature reply, we can gather you think starting with Pablo and replacing him with JWP was a positive move? 🙄

17 Aug 2026 22:13:25
What lineup would you have started with yesterday, Tinlegs?

16 Aug 2026 18:36:48
We can not go into our next game with that squad, we couldn’t hold onto 2-goal lead, that was a poor performance.

16 Aug 2026 18:57:00
The squad isn't great, but it doesn't really matter with negative Nuno, you can't try and shut up shop with 45 mins left, that's a joke.

16 Aug 2026 19:09:23
Stevie, people can talk about how poor the squad is, and they may have a point. But, having stood up for Nuno a lot last season, he did the exact same thing in many games. How can it just be the players when they have managed to get themselves into a winning position, but then are obviously told to see the game out? We haven’t got players capable of doing that.

I’m glad Killman scored, but put any pressure on him and he crumbles, and he doesn’t make a good partnership with Mavro, as he seems to bring out the worse in him.
Retaining Bowen may have been a masterstroke, retaining Nuno is a disaster-stroke.

16 Aug 2026 20:00:51
I've seen milk turn quicker than Kilman. As soon as we get countered with pace, we are in trouble with him at the back.

16 Aug 2026 21:09:33
'I've seen milk turn quicker than him.' 🤣 If I'm not mistaken, that's an old Ron Atkinson one-liner. Love it!

16 Aug 2026 21:52:10
I think it was Big Ron, Hammer!