Our transfer window was like waiting for a London bus, you wait ages for one attacking player then three come along at once, in the form of Nicky Maynard, Ricardo Vaz Te and Ravel Morrison to join George John and Joe Dixon who joined earlier in the window.
After the humiliating 5-1 defeat of Ipswich last night, they will be more than welcome to freshen things up. But who could prove to be the most vital signing of them all?
For me we have missed a speedy winger on the right hand side all year. So the signing of Ricardo Vaz Te was needed from Barnsley. He has pace and skills and he has shown he is decent in front of goal to this season bagging 10 goals so far. He can also play up front if needed as well as on the left wing, so versatility wise it looks like a shrewd move by Big Sam to reunite with him. Vaz Te said on the move that “he was excited to join Sam again” eight years after he originally joined Sam at Bolton. But this isn’t the most exciting signing by a long shot.
Some old footage of Vaz Te: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liWo79bscLw
And a recent goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owqmhjYLrs8
We all love a bit of a head case at West Ham don’t we? We’ve had Di Canio, Dicks, Bowyer now add to the list Ravel Morrison. The exciting young midfielder rated as they best player in years to come out of the Manchester United academy. Morrison put pen to paper on a 3 and half year deal yesterday after rejecting a move to Bolton in order to sign for the east end club. Morrison is a speedy tricky young midfield player with an eye for goal. Off the pitch though he seems to be a bit out of control he received a fine of £1,445 after admitting to witness intimidation, so let’s hope he can settle down in the big smoke of London and hope game time can help settle him. This morning he tweeted “also appreciate the people who have wished me luck with the move to west ham just need to get my head down and play now and show everyone what I can do”. So hopefully the tricky young midfielder can be controlled of the pitch by Big Sam and Kevin Nolan and add much needed flair to the midfield on the pitch and dazzle the fans.
Here he is in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLCIxMhBxz4
Finally the signing that has got me most excited the arrival of a new striker; we’ve been liked with Rhodes, Sordell and Jelavić. But yesterday we secured someone we should have been after from day one, Nicky Maynard. Perhaps it was a wise move by the Gold and Sullivan to leave it so late as it must of made the Robins panic as the Hammers got him for just 1.65 million pound a bargain for a proven Championship striker. Maynard was available on a free in the summer, meaning the Hammers moved quickly in order to secure the services of the forward on the cheap. Sullivan and Allardyce must be persuasive and passionate during talks as yet again like Morrison; Maynard rejected a Premier league club to sign for the Hammers. Maynard has described himself as “a quick player who likes to get in behind and thrives off chances. I’ll keep plugging away all game and as I’m not happy unless I’m scoring goals.” And with the goals drying up players like Nicky could prove vital if the Hammers are going to win the league. Maynard who has scored 8 this season for the Robin scored 21 in 45 appearances in 2009/2010. So he knows where the net is including a quite exquisite volley against QPR during the 2009, which was voted Football league goal of the year. Another thing we might want to know he has already scored against Millwall 3 times this season here’s hoping for a memorable debut from the 25 year old.
Here he is in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7l2bamtIYU
So all in all a very good transfer window which has seen a defensive reinforcement in George John, and three pacy players to add some much needed speed and flair to the squad, alongside arguably the most important deal of the window signing James Tomkins up for another 3 years.
Come on you Irons! Tweet me @Bowdenwhu
