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I Really Can’t Be Bothered With All This Again

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Andy CarrollAh, January 2013. A fresh start, a cold month, and – actually I only remember one thing from January; the Mo Diame transfer drama. Diame had a £3.5million release cause in his contract, and it was reported that everyone and their mother were trying to activate it. And it was everywhere.  All over the internet; all over the newspapers. It was all anyone talked about. Cryptic “–dg” tweets went into overdrive.

Now here we are, 6 months later, and we’re knees deep in the same old…stuff. Except that this time, that intense fight we seem to have been embroiled in so that we could keep Diame (when everyone breathed a sigh of relief the minute the transfer window shut) is but a distant memory, as we’ve got a new superstar to worry about trying to hold on to.

I admit it- when I first saw that we’d offered Carroll the contract. I jumped with joy. I like the guy; I think he has a lot of potential and played well for us- particularly with Nolan. But as the saga drags on, I can’t look at Twitter without being overwhelmed with Andy Carroll tweets and statistics on how likely he is to sign for us (whilst Carroll himself is busy tweeting a series of carefree and downright weird instagram photos of his American road trip which I’m almost certain will end with an arrest warrant.)

How is it that we yet again, 6 months after Diame, have found ourselves waiting with baited breath to see if a player thinks we’re good enough for him?

Is it naïve of me to want a player who gets offered a contract with us and responds with an Odemwingie-eqse grand gesture of desire (sorry West Brom, but you know that man was a hop, skip and a jump away from buying his own QPR kit in the club shop because he wanted to sign for them so badly.)

Instead, the fans and the club are in some ways held to ransom by the inconsistency and uncertainty of players (or their agents) who are holding out for bigger offers. I don’t necessarily look down on the players themselves for it; they are entitled to be able to take time to make sure they are making the best decisions for their careers, but I do object to the unrest and distraction caused by it, and the negative effect it can have on the club. West Ham are not going to aggressively pursue other strikers while the Carroll deal is still on the table, so it could potentially scupper the chance to get a striker who would drive straight to Upton Park to sign the paperwork.

I like the transfer window, but I’m just not into the whole sensationalist transfer drama. The Diame scenario was bad for the club (and occurred right around the time we started losing ground in the table), and the Carroll situation is rapidly being blown way out of proportion and dominating our summer squad-strengthening plans.

If Carroll decides not to play for us, I’ll actually appreciate that he wouldn’t half-heartedly slip on the shirt for the money if it wasn’t where his heart was.  But until he makes up his mind, I don’t need to hear the odds of what his decision might be on any given day. Just let me know when he’s made up his mind. Until then, I’ll keep my head happily in the sand.

On that note, if anyone needs me for the next few days I’ll be hiding under my duvet, ignoring the internet and practicing my ‘surprised face’ for when we announce on the 20th that we have a new kit and oh my god is that Andy Carroll wearing it?! I mean, who saw that one coming?!

Then hopefully we can get on with things- well, at least until the next big thing starts holding out on us.

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23 comments

  • Johnsey says:

    Excellent article!
    I’m with you all the way there.

  • RICH says:

    A CARROLL WILL SIGN FOR WEST HAM , TRUST ME, I KNOW ,ITS A DONE DEAL

  • RICH says:

    ITS JUST A CASE OF WHO WILL PARTNER HIM UP FRONT ?

    • ed says:

      whos going to partner Carroll.. ? ..noone mate ! we play 451 ! the question is, who is going to replace vaz te on the right hand side ? hopefully someone who can play wide left and right and occasionally play upfront on their own, because Andy wont be fit for a whole season, and carlton, chamakh have left. I dont think sam quite knows what to do with maiga. it seems as though he doesnt really fit into the system sam uses which is a little dissapointing coz he looks like a good player. Either way i fully agree with this article. but theres no point stressing about all the transfer speculation, the media have nothing to report at all so they cant help themselves make up all kinds of rubbish. imagine how the liverpool, united & city fans feel at the moment!! at the end of the day, Andy is a geordie and i dont blame him for wanting to play for his own club, and he clearly has a point to prove at liverpool after the embarrassing 35m saga. People forget there are another 15 clubs in the premier league who would do almost anything to sign a player like Andy, and the fact he is still very interested in signing permanently is great news ! He may prefer a move up north, but when he puts our shirt on, he’ll still bully the opposition, score goals, set up a few and work his socks off infront of our fans. unlike other players we’ve had in the past.

  • paraiso says:

    As I’ve commented before about CARROLL, if he´s heart is not really at West Ham once he gets the contract will he turn out to be another ILLUNGA !!

  • Johnsey says:

    We all know who will partner him.
    It’ll be Sams love-child – NOLAN

  • Brian says:

    He will sign and say it was always on the cards, I have always loved this club since I was a boy supporting them from the Bobby Moore Stand!! blah blah…get on with it please. By the way I wish we would only have the summer window and get shot of the Jan one asap. I would even go as far as saying no more loan deals too…

  • Hams says:

    Everyone is just too impatient. Transfer deals are not how they use to be anymore, this whole deal could come to about £45m including wages, that is not taken likely.
    Then you have agents, they know there is no rush and the power is placed in their hands to negotiate (rightly as players no sod all about business usually). Agents are annoying in that the higher the deal the bigger their cut so they will try to max things out.
    Basically I have never been in doubt he will come and I think by the end of next week, so just chill out, ignore the media rubbish (good & bad) and stop thinking negative of the big man before he’s even back from his holiday (the window has not even opened yet!)

  • Stuart says:

    First time on this boy’s.But.Im so frustrated.Ever window is the same rumour’s on rumour’s.Tweets from DG and DS’s son,but nothing concrete again.!.If Carrol is unsure then so be it, and take this money elsewhere.I believe with a few good signing and bring the young boys,( POTTS,HALL,SPENCE) on,then we could start challenging for a european spot,but mybe my heart is ruling my head..COYI’S

  • bryan cooper says:

    Gary Hooper would be a far better deal,consistant goal scorer.

  • oldiron says:

    Andy Carroll was ALWAYS coming. All of this nonesense was about getting Carroll a £5m pay off from Liverpool. Liverpool have been completely out negotiated. Great!!

  • Anton says:

    I agree with Stuart, Encourage the youngsters. Save your money Sam

    • The Cat says:

      If it was THAT simple EVERYONE would be doing it!
      Look at England U21’s the other day? Speaks for itself really.

    • ed says:

      focusing on young players is a complete and utter waste of time

  • The Cat says:

    As has been already said, the “will he won’t he” Carroll speculation is mostly media noise. I’m like most supporters who read articles everyday looking to and hanging on every bit of information regarding incoming transfers. Worthwhile news OBVIOUSLY doesn’t happen on a daily basis, so old news/SPECULATION is rehashed and given various spins depending on the bloggers point of view and we read and consume much of this meaningless nonsense.
    I believe Carroll is coming as, if it looks and tastes like chicken…………it probably is! Before Carroll came to this club (which also happened to be long and protracted), I was unsure whether we really needed him or if he would be a success. I was wrong as not only was he a success, he gave the club a focal point and a semi superstar personality, which raises the clubs profile nationally as well as internationally therefore attracting better players to our club who feel that we are going places and buy into our project.
    This is part of a step by step process that is slowly but surely turning this club around and by the time the OS is ready, West Ham will have the profile to move into a stadium of that size. It’s about building the club on and off the pitch. Whatever people will say about Andy Carroll, he is a better player than many give him credit for and a rarity in British football these days.
    As for ALL the media speculation, I no longer work myself up into a foaming at the mouth lather whenever I read any tit bit or snippet of news exclusives and certainly no ITK sources etc etc. Unless it’s on the OS or young Jack says so…………..I’m not buying it or reacting to it!

  • Ray_The_Hammer says:

    Great article and cleverly self defeating. All you’ve done is lit the blue touch paper & dived under the duvet!
    I keep saying this but why would G&S want to pay Carroll 80 or 100 grand a week to go on holiday? Surely the sensible thing is to let Liverpool pay for his trip to LA then we pick up the tab in time for pre-season.

  • Northern Sold says:

    I thought carroll was in the US on holiday. Don’t believe all the crap that is in the media and you’ll sleep better.

  • Ollie says:

    In response to this Carroll saga potentially scuppering our chances of getting other players in, I think this is where we greatly benefit from having the experience and astuteness of our chairman and Big Sam as manager. They’ve all been in the game long enough to know how to play the transfer market and I’m confident that they’ll have a contingency plan just in case the Carroll deal falls through.

  • blimey says:

    Transfer window doesn’t even open for a few more weeks, so what’s the hurry?
    bring back Demba Ba, and the goals will roll….
    what about bringing back Bentley, he was starting to get it together before the injury…..

  • carlos says:

    FUCK OFF CARROLL YOUR NOT WANTED HERE

  • Legends says:

    i really hoped our close season gossip would be more exciting than going through the Carroll saga again.

  • Terry Gill says:

    Don’t know what all the fuss is about,Carroll is on holiday,he can’t sign anything till he gets back,and anyway,he hasn’t exactly got a lot of choices has he? Liverpool are in the process of spending the 15 million agreed,so everyone should calm down and forget this saga until he signs,which he 100% will,we should be looking at strengthening other areas,we need 2 defenders,2 midfielders,and 2 frontmen,to get another top ten finish

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