So around this time last week Alessandro Diamanti, cruelly dubbed a ‘West Ham reject’ by the beeb’s Guy Mowbray scored the penalty that sent England crashing out of Euro 2012.
I’ve got to ask…just why did we ever sell him? Diamanti’s one and only season at West Ham saw him win over the fans with his all action performances; he had the style and grace of a Paolo Di Canio and the hustle, bustle and tenacity of Carlos Tevez.
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Signed at the start of the 09/10 season Diamanti went on to bang in 8 goals for us; though 5 of them did indeed come for the penalty spot, but anyone who watched Diamanti knew we had a talent on our hands, he was skillful, technically sound, had great vision and not to mention the sweetest left foot in the Premier League at the time.
Despite an extremely promising first season in England Diamanti was sold at the start of the next one for next to nothing and no-one really knows why. If he was a flop we could understand it but after such a promising debut season for us, one in which he came only 2nd to Scott Parker in the end of season gongs it was a tad more difficult to digest. And those of you that come out with the line ‘he was desperate to go back to Italy’ I’d ask you, if Ricardo Vaz Te came out and said he deeply desired a return to his native Portugal we should just let him go?
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We never should’ve sold Diamanti I don’t think anyone can disagree with that, the question I would ask is just why the club were willing to make a loss in the region of 4 million and why no real attempts were made to keep a player who is now part of an Italian squad that could be crowned champions of Europe.
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What part of “he wanted to leave” do people not get? He requested to leave as he was unhappy in England, no point keeping an unhappy player no matter how good he may have been.
He desperatly wanted to leave. He hated living in England. He did not want to play for West Ham anymore, and if he couldnt appreciate what a great club he was at then Im glad he left. Yes he had bundles of talent but as far as Im concerned he is just a Itallian Jermain Defoe. #Judus
Sweetest left foot in the premiership? Utter tosh. He shot on sight and a lot of the time it went tragically over the bar or wide! He was good at set pieces, true, thus the majority of his goals came from penalties (only 3 from open play). He disappeared in games and rarely had the energy to compete over 90 mins. He wanted to leave and we accepted an offer for him. Simple as. You seem unable to look past the romanticism of the player – he had flair but was distinctly average whereas you are poor writer.
I hope your editor is reading this, as sometimes this blog has some interesting articles – the Tomkins piece last week and the Rituals article this week. Obviously some writers are better than others and research their articles whereas some others write uninformed drivel that sounds like its written by unintelligent 8 year old. Quality not quantity.
Errr he was nothing more than a dead ball specialist for us. In open play he was lazy, selfish, and would more often than not make the wrong choice. Pas when he should shoot and via versa.
Wouldnt have him back on a free.
Dear AA a monkier I can only assume to mean Alchoholic anynomous. I can’t be bothered to read through all your vitriolic drivel but know you this; we all have differing opinions on football that’s what makes it such a beautiful game. Mine are no more valid than your’s and vice versa.
I’ll let you know when your opinion means anything to me.
Much love.
i did like diamanti but while very talented on the ball at set pieces. he was laboured and slow. but why did we let him go and sell him cheap? i believe that all players signed by the previous owners were classed as assets. so by selling him and savio and others alot cheaper than what we bought them for. also letting ex icelandic owners purchases go on a free. it is devaluing the clubs assets and making it more viable to get the remaining shares alot cheaper.
Forget Diamanti. We wouldn’t be having this thread if (A) we got paid for him and (B) Italy weren’t in the final. He wanted to leave. Like we labeled him at the time, he is a luxury player and we could afford one on the pitch at that point in time. The only player we let go cheap in that window, that has upset me, is Fabio Daprela.
I believe letting Diamanti & Da Costa go was the biggest flop west Ham had made that directly led to their demise to the Championship. Its decisions like these together with the bad acquisition of recent managers that come to haunt a club like West Ham. Hope we have learnt something from such bad judgements and wish the board, management team, staff and players everything of the best for the new season. God bless.
Da Costa was a solid player, but he wanted out of England due to a sexual assault case, he was later charged with. He didn’t really feature for us while it was looming over his head and he’s hardly tearing up trees in Russia.
Da Costa got charged?? What happened to him
He doesn’t even come close to Demba Ba….
“We never should’ve sold Diamanti I don’t think anyone can disagree with that” I can. He wanted out so we sold him. That’s how it works if you want to keep players who want to play for you and are happy. I have to agree that this is a bit on a non-article as it would have been foolish to have retained him, regardless of his qualities.
A shame Diamanti left after only one season, but I feel it had more to do with the sacking of Zola & Clarke (+Nani) the ‘project’ managers who signed him.
Once he realised Avram Grant was ‘in charge’ he saw the writing on the wall and bu66ared off???
He was an exciting player to have around – but had a shocking first touch for a professional footballer. He couldn’t kill it first time and was invariably chasing it to regain control.
Our Hammers fan club nicknamed him ‘Sideshow Bob’ due to his flambuoyant hairstyle when he first arrived. He had a touch of class alright but lacked the physicality that’s needed in the premiership. If he had been partnered by the likes of Diop or even King Kev Nolan then maybe they could have cut him a little room to strut his stuff a bit more. As for that he wanted out – let’s face it, we were a pretty soul-less team under Uninspiring Avram Grant and can you blame him for feeling out of the groove?
he left because he wasn’t good enough and couldn’t get a game. west ham is a far better team than the current italian squad and the championship is far more difficult than playing in the euro finals. it was another great decision by the WH board…..
lazy article, only written due to Italy making the final. Diamanti’s contribution being, just like at West Ham, from the penalty spot and bench.
The player was talented, but had no pace. Good left foot, but all too often was unable to beat his marker, and either shot wide or lost possesion, and was then too lazy to help win the ball back. Mark Noble has chipped in as many goals as Diamanti and works a heck of a lot harder.
Definitely had the Di Canioesque style of play which the fans loved. Always seemed to give his all and excite – the 2 qualities our fans love most in a player
Remember him dazzling in a 3-0 thrashing of Hull at home. Almost capped his fantastic display with a goal from the halfway line. Not many players would attempt that sort of thing. He has that unpredictability fans love. Parallels can perhaps be drawn between him and Ricardo Vaz Mr.T(e)