retired_swmchick2006

Still great stuff. Though West Ham's form is a bit worrying. (and Hick, you might want to poke your head in the CM Forum.. hint hint.)

retired_karamelkel

Cheers Attjen

May 2004

"Well, thanks to a hot streak in April, we survived the year."

"Really, how did you do that?"

"Easy sir, I found a player who could captain the side without sucumbing to pressure."

"Really."

"Yeah, it doesn't hurt that Baxter, our goalkeeper, had four MOM in the last two months."

"Wow"

"So we got the few critical wins we needed to stay afloat."

"I see, so much for my dream of West Ham being relegated."

"Well sir, we came close."

"Can't have everything."

"No sir, you can't. Now it's time to restructure the roster for the 04/05 season. See you in late August, before the opener."

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * West Ham United - Monday 24th May 2004********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2003/4 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allemany, Yohann - - - - - - - - ---- 50 Bald, William - - - - - - - - ---- - Baldé, Boubacar - - - - - - - - ---- 19 Bannerman, Scott 23 (3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.31 3 Barré, Mickaël 14 0 0 0 2 3 1 1 6.43 1 Baxter, Lee 23 0 36 0 0 1 0 4 6.83 - Bono, Grégory - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- - Carmignani, Simon 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 22 Coridon, Charles-Edouard 25 (3) 8 0 0 2 3 1 2 6.86 - Courts, Thomas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Creaney, Philip - - - - - - - - ---- 18 Curren, Lee 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 24 Devaux, Jean-Christophe 17 (2) 3 0 1 (1) 0 4 0 1 6.53 - Dureuil, Rémy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Faubert, Julien 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 17 Ferguson, Steven 13 (8) 5 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.67 - Fisher, John - - - - - - - - ---- 12 Friio, David 19 (5) 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 6.54 - Grégori, Sébastien 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Hind, David 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 14 Howie, Willie 10 (3) 2 0 0 3 0 0 1 6.38 16 Keogh, Liam 12 (4) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.69 - Le Bris, Ludovic - - - - - - - - ---- - MacDonald, Jordan 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 20 Mémin, Frédéric 17 (4) 1 0 0 5 4 0 0 6.52 - Middleton, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Migliore, Stephen - - - - - - - - ---- 25 Mondafu, Gabriel 26 (1) 4 0 0 3 2 0 1 6.85 - Monin, Sammy 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 4 Murray, Hugh 16 (3) 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 6.37 21 Murray, Neil 19 (2) 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 6.81 - Nicol, Kevin 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 26 Paoli, Basile 15 (6) 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 6.43 11 Paterson, Jim 29 (1) 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 7.00 - Planus, Marc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Plessis, Guillaume - - - - - - - - ---- 6 Pressley, Steven 24 2 0 0 0 8 1 0 6.58 23 Rott, Yannick 11 (2) 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 6.54 33 Sahnoun, Nicolas 22 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 6.36 13 Schille, Cédric 17 0 29 0 0 0 0 0 6.94 - Shields, Dean 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 27 Smith, Jamie 24 (4) 3 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.57 45 Smyth, Mark 18 2 0 2 (2) 1 0 1 1 6.67 - Tordo, Sébastien - - - - - - - - ---- 28 Vieira, Roland 19 (6) 4 0 2 (2) 0 0 1 0 6.76 - Walker, Stephen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 32 Webster, Andy 25 2 0 3 (2) 0 5 0 1 6.68 ************************************************** ********************************************** English Premier Division - Monday 24th May 2004********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2003/4 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Chelsea 38 12 7 0 28 6 11 3 5 33 15 79 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Arsenal 38 14 3 2 42 16 10 2 7 25 19 77 3rd Liverpool 38 14 2 3 32 10 9 6 4 24 21 77 4th Man Utd 38 15 3 1 33 5 7 4 8 22 25 73 5th Portsmouth 38 12 2 5 32 20 8 3 8 22 23 65 6th Birmingham 38 11 6 2 23 9 5 10 4 15 13 64 7th Leicester 38 10 3 6 24 12 9 2 8 24 21 62 8th Blackburn 38 10 5 4 36 18 7 2 10 24 27 58 9th Newcastle 38 9 6 4 31 14 6 6 7 24 29 57 10th Southampton 38 9 5 5 24 17 6 5 8 18 22 55 11th Bolton 38 12 3 4 33 19 4 2 13 12 36 53 12th Leeds 38 9 5 5 40 23 5 4 10 30 34 51 13th Fulham 38 10 4 5 26 17 4 4 11 18 33 50 14th Everton 38 8 3 8 35 35 3 3 13 10 33 39 15th West Ham 38 5 5 9 17 25 5 3 11 24 37 38 16th Sunderland 38 7 3 9 15 20 4 2 13 16 33 38 17th Middlesbrough 38 7 4 8 28 32 2 6 11 11 35 37 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Blackpool 38 7 3 9 28 28 1 4 14 12 36 31 19th R Man City 38 7 2 10 23 29 1 4 14 11 41 30 20th R Wolves 38 1 5 13 11 36 5 4 10 16 28 27 </pre>

retired_karamelkel

Preseason 04/05

internal memo

The 04/05 brings a fresh look to the West Ham first team. Most notable is the improvement of the forward position with the addition of Cisse and Ayr forward James Grady. The midfield of Rae, Niccholson, Mathis and Smith will provide for good play. A veteran backline of Paterson, Pressley, Barry Smith and Andy Webster with provide good tackling and heading skills. Goalkeeper lee Baxter will serve as the first-team goalkeeper and will look to build on his form at the end of last season. These players will be capably backed up by a mix of youth and veterans. In short, a 10th place finish would not be out of the question. The board, however, believe the season will be a struggle. It will not take much to impress them.

The key to this offseason was the aquistion of Cisse. The player has sent season tickets and merchandise sales up. This has resulted in West Ham becoming solvent for the first time in a season and a half. If the club does well in the Prem and Cup competitions, look for the 05/06 season to be a cash rich season. All in all, the season looks to be bright.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * West Ham United - Sunday 15th August 2004********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== Squad============================================= ================================================== =No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bald, William GK SCO 22.8.83 20 - - £50K 24.6.08 £875K - Baldé, Boubacar S C FRA 11.2.86 18 - - £35K 28.6.06 £925K 21 Barré, Mickaël D LC FRA 31.8.74 29 - - £400K 7.6.06 £775K 1 Baxter, Lee GK SCO 17.6.76 28 - - £350K 17.6.06 £1.8M - Campbell, Gordon D/DM RC SCO 26.11.85 18 - - £40K 23.6.07 £825K - Carmignani, Simon D R FRA 27.1.82 22 - - £275K 28.6.06 £900K 10 Cissé, Djibril S C FRA 12.8.81 23 5 - £925K 22.5.09 £9.25M - Collet, Cédric D RC FRA 7.3.84 20 - - £50K 8.5.09 £475K - Courts, Thomas D LC SCO 10.8.81 23 - - £65K 17.6.07 £1.3M 36 Curren, Lee M C SCO 22.10.82 21 - - £55K 28.6.08 £1.5M 23 Devaux, Jean-Christophe SW/D C FRA 16.5.75 29 - - £400K 1.6.08 £1.1M 32 Dureuil, Rémy AM C FRA 16.5.81 23 - - £90K 28.6.06 £1.2M - Faubert, Julien D R FRA 1.8.83 21 - - £90K 21.6.05 £475K - Ferguson, Steven AM C SCO 18.5.77 27 - - £400K 28.6.06 £0 - Fisher, John D C SCO 19.1.84 20 - - £30K 28.6.05 £475K - Forsyth, Ross D L SCO 15.11.83 20 - - £120K 6.5.09 £700K - Giacopelli, Romain M RLC FRA 1.3.83 21 - - £75K 28.6.08 £650K 9 Grady, James S C SCO 14.3.71 33 - - £450K 11.5.07 £900K - Grax, Sébastien S C FRA 23.6.84 20 - - £250K 6.6.08 £1.3M - Grégori, Sébastien AM RC FRA 6.4.81 23 - - £160K 24.6.08 £150K - Hind, David D RC SCO 15.2.82 22 - - £45K 14.6.08 £1.2M - Howie, Willie AM C SCO 9.7.82 22 - - £40K 19.6.07 £2.1M - Kamara, Abdelhaziz D L FRA 10.4.84 20 - - £100K 15.6.08 £300K - Keogh, Liam S C SCO 6.9.81 22 - - £500K 19.6.08 £3M - Le Bris, Ludovic S C FRA 21.11.84 19 - - £300K 5.6.07 £1.7M 34 Mathis, Lionel AM RC FRA 4.10.81 22 - - £675K 24.6.09 £2.7M 29 Mémin, Frédéric AM LC FRA 13.12.79 24 - - £16K 3.6.05 £1.1M - Middleton, Gary F C SCO 1.10.82 21 - - £275K 25.6.05 £130K - Migliore, Stephen M C FRA 26.8.83 20 - - £130K 28.6.06 £750K 25 Mondafu, Gabriel S C FRA 18.5.77 27 - - £375K 26.6.07 £3.7M - Monin, Sammy GK FRA 3.11.79 24 - - £50K 10.6.08 £0 4 Murray, Hugh M RC SCO 8.1.79 25 - - £130K 9.6.07 £1.8M 12 Nicholson, Barry DM RC SCO 24.8.78 25 1 - £500K 24.6.09 £2.7M - Nicol, Kevin D/DM C SCO 19.1.82 22 - - £60K 21.6.08 £1.6M 11 Paterson, Jim D/AM LC SCO 25.9.79 24 3 - £575K 17.6.08 £6.75M - Planus, Marc D RC FRA 7.3.82 22 - - £160K 23.6.08 £1.4M - Plessis, Guillaume DM C FRA 16.1.85 19 - - £35K 28.6.06 £1.2M 6 Pressley, Steven D RC SCO 11.10.73 30 15 1 £575K 18.6.06 £2.3M 3 Rae, Gavin D/M LC SCO 28.11.75 28 2 - £375K 3.6.09 £2.4M 22 Rott, Yannick D/DM L FRA 27.9.74 29 - - £475K 20.6.06 £800K 31 Sahnoun, Nicolas D/DM RC FRA 3.9.80 23 - - £85K 21.6.07 £250K 13 Schille, Cédric GK FRA 8.11.75 28 - - £350K 9.6.06 £1M - Shields, Dean S C SCO 16.9.82 21 - - £250K 5.6.08 £250K 5 Smith, Barry SW/D RC SCO 19.2.74 30 3 - £450K 28.6.06 £1.4M 26 Smith, Jamie AM/F RC SCO 20.11.78 25 2 - £400K 6.6.08 £3.1M - Smyth, Mark D R SCO 21.8.83 20 - - £95K 21.6.06 £800K - Tordo, Sébastien F RC FRA 10.1.84 20 - - £40K 5.6.07 £2.1M 50 Vieira, Roland S C FRA 16.8.79 25 - - £50K 12.6.07 £500K - Walker, Stephen AM/F RLC SCO 20.4.85 19 - - £40K 20.6.07 £1.6M 30 Webster, Andy D C SCO 16.3.80 24 - - £425K 1.6.07 £1.5M </pre>

retired_karamelkel

September 2004

"Not the start you expected eh?"

"No sir, not really."

"So what was the problem?"

"Injuries, no one seemed to be able to stay completely healthy through the first month or so."

"Not to mentioon Telford."

"Well sir, we were playing at New Bucks Head and we did win."

"But how do you give up 3 goals to a newly promoted side in Divsion 3?"

"It's very simple sir, we were playing the first team backups for the League Cup game and for many of them, it was thier first bit out action...including the backup keeper. Keep in mind, we did score four to win."

"I see. I should also comment on the record."

"2 wins, one draw and three losses is not bad Mr. Chairman. Consider that three of those games were against Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. 11th place in the Prem isn't so bad."

"Perhaps not, but West Ham is already in debt. Can't you do something about that?"

"Well sir, no I can't. I could sell a couple of players, but we will always lose money. West Ham doesn't have that big a fanbase and weed to do really well to make money."

"So, do well."

"Easier said than done sir. See you in November."

retired_karamelkel

November 2004

"Well sir, we've begun the houscleaning."

"How so?"

"We've put several reservists on the transfer list and hopefully someone will take them off our hands, particularly since we are making them available for free."

"For free?"

"Yeah, that way, we save money this year on payroll. Now, we've already sold a couple of first-temers for real money."

"Who?"

"Hugh Murry was sold to Burnley. The lad has tatlent, but has shown nothing at all in two years of being on the first team squad. We also sold Pressley, who is starting to show his age, to Aston Villa. These two sales are keeping the West Ham debt at around 1.5 million pounds."

"Are the reserve players replacing them adequate?"

"Yes, they'll do. We also have Jaime Smith availble, but so far, no one wants him."

"Ah, and have these giveaways and ales afftected the team?"

"No they haven't Mr. Chairman, in fact, now that players are realizing that they could be sold, the play has improved."

"What's your recorfd?"

"West Ham sits in 5th place with 7 wins, 2 draws and 5 losses."

"Not bad."

"No it's not. our problem right now is injuries. Over the last two years, we've had trouble keeping our players healthy."

"I can't help you there."

"No sir, you can't, but the Alliance figured you should know as injuries could cost us a fair amount."

"It hasn't done that yet?"

"No, and I hope it doesn't."

"Ah"

"It should be noted that a bunch of our French players will be leaving the club next summer."

"Really?"

"Yes, I hope hope we have the funds to sign more prospects."

"Well, if you don't, then your Alliance experiment would end in failure."

"Yes sir, it would."

"And means I would resume power."

"Yes sir, the Alliance would pull out then."

"I'll be waiting then."

"See you in January Mr. Chairman."

retired_karamelkel

January 2005

"Well, we had a complete turnaround."

"Really?"

"Yes sir, we have an 8 win, 4 draw and 8 loss season so far."

"That's a turnaround?"

"Considering where we've been, yes."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to believe me Mr. hairman, the record speaks for itself."

"Fair enough, have you kept the debt down?"

"We're managing to keep it down."

"How?"

"We jettisoned a couple more players for free. We also had an FA Cup home game against Chelsea. We lost 1-0, but made a mint with ticket sales."

"I see. What's the debt now?"

"2.4 million pounds."

"Can you improve on that?"

"I don't know sir. We can't really sell any more players."

"Why not?"

"Because the only have two saleable players and I'm not about to sell Cisse or Paterson."

"Ah."

"I'll see you at the end of the season in April."

"Yes

"

retired_karamelkel

May 2005

"So how did it turn out?"

"Well sir, we finished in the top 10."

"Where?"

"9th place with 16 win, 7 draws and 15 losses."

"Not bad."

"Exactly, West Ham achieved the goal I set for them n the beginning of the season."

"And how is the money situation?"

"With a player sale plus prize money, the debt is now just 1.7 million. Given that we will recieve around 3.5 million in season tickets and 12 million for TV rights, I'd say the finances are pretty good."

"That's good. What did you think of the season?"

"I have mixed feelings. On one hand, we had a good suprise. Our first-team French right back, who was projected as a filler turned into a reliable defender. But, once again, injuries decimated the first team. Nicholson for intance, missed 5 months with three different injuries."

"Ah"

"We also got inconsistant play from our youngsters on the first team. Hopefully, a year on the first team will help them step it up next year."

"I see, what are your plans for the off-season?"

"A number of players, mostly reserves, will be leaving. We only have one Bosman coming in, so the summer will be spent scouting young players, and refilling the reseves. As it stands right now, three reservists, Kamara, Frisher and Grax will be on the first team next season."

"Ah, well, as much as I dipise saying this, well done."

"Thank you Mr. Chairman. I'll circulate an offseason memo in August and meet with you again in September."

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * West Ham United - Sunday 22nd May 2005********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2004/5 Senior Club Stats============================================= ================================================== =No Name Apps Gls Con Pens Asts Yel Red MoM Av R--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bald, William - - - - - - - - ---- - Baldé, Boubacar - - - - - - - - ---- 21 Barré, Mickaël 18 (3) 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 6.43 1 Baxter, Lee 30 0 53 0 0 2 0 1 6.67 - Berthelin, Cédric 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Camara, Ibrahima - - - - - - - - ---- - Campbell, Gordon - - - - - - - - ---- 35 Carmignani, Simon 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.50 10 Cissé, Djibril 36 (1) 14 0 3 (2) 6 1 2 7 7.32 - Collet, Cédric - - - - - - - - ---- - Courts, Thomas 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 36 Curren, Lee 20 (7) 2 0 0 2 5 0 0 6.48 23 Devaux, Jean-Christophe 8 (2) 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 6.00 32 Dureuil, Rémy 3 (4) 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 6.29 - Faubert, Julien 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 17 Ferguson, Steven 7 (13) 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 6.70 - Fisher, John - - - - - - - - ---- - Forsyth, Ross 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 20 Giacopelli, Romain 3 (1) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6.00 9 Grady, James 24 (2) 9 0 0 0 0 0 2 6.88 - Grax, Sébastien 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Hind, David 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 33 Howie, Willie 5 (3) 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 7.00 - Kamara, Abdelhaziz - - - - - - - - ---- 16 Keogh, Liam 14 (3) 7 0 0 4 0 0 1 6.94 - Le Bris, Ludovic - - - - - - - - ---- 34 Mathis, Lionel 28 (1) 5 0 0 2 1 0 1 6.62 29 Mémin, Frédéric 10 (4) 2 0 0 1 3 0 0 6.57 - Middleton, Gary 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 18 Migliore, Stephen 8 (9) 2 0 1 (1) 0 4 0 0 6.41 25 Mondafu, Gabriel 10 (5) 5 0 0 0 1 0 1 6.93 12 Nicholson, Barry 20 3 0 0 3 3 0 0 6.55 40 Nicol, Kevin 7 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 6.14 11 Paterson, Jim 35 0 0 0 8 2 0 1 7.03 - Planus, Marc 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- - Plessis, Guillaume - - - - - - - - ---- 3 Rae, Gavin 24 1 0 0 3 2 1 0 6.63 22 Rott, Yannick 8 (1) 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 6.44 31 Sahnoun, Nicolas 27 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 7.04 13 Schille, Cédric 12 0 11 0 0 0 0 1 7.17 - Shields, Dean 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 5 Smith, Barry 33 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 6.61 26 Smith, Jamie 30 (4) 5 0 0 3 0 0 0 6.53 24 Smyth, Mark 8 1 0 1 (1) 4 1 0 0 6.88 - Tordo, Sébastien - - - - - - - - ---- - Walker, Stephen 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 ---- 30 Webster, Andy 24 (3) 0 0 0 1 6 0 0 6.41 ************************************************** ********************************************** English Premier Division - Sunday 22nd May 2005********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== 2004/5 Table============================================= ================================================== =Pos Team Pld Won Drn Lst For Ag Won Drn Lst For Ag Pts--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1st C Liverpool 38 17 2 0 41 9 13 4 2 31 10 96 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2nd Chelsea 38 16 3 0 35 4 10 4 5 30 17 85 3rd Arsenal 38 13 3 3 35 10 8 8 3 33 26 74 4th Southampton 38 13 2 4 35 14 8 6 5 24 17 71 5th Man Utd 38 14 3 2 37 15 3 7 9 17 24 61 6th Fulham 38 12 4 3 31 13 6 3 10 17 25 61 7th Portsmouth 38 11 2 6 29 24 6 5 8 17 22 58 8th Blackburn 38 12 5 2 34 13 4 4 11 17 28 57 9th West Ham 38 10 3 6 30 22 6 4 9 24 35 55 10th Birmingham 38 11 6 2 24 10 3 5 11 10 19 53 11th Leeds 38 12 3 4 37 18 3 5 11 18 33 53 12th Newcastle 38 8 8 3 25 17 5 3 11 16 24 50 13th Sunderland 38 8 3 8 20 22 5 2 12 18 30 44 14th Tottenham 38 10 5 4 26 18 2 2 15 16 43 43 15th Bolton 38 5 6 8 24 25 3 7 9 12 20 37 16th Middlesbrough 38 6 6 7 24 26 3 2 14 17 39 35 17th Norwich 38 5 4 10 23 36 4 2 13 25 43 33 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------18th R Leicester 38 7 4 8 19 25 2 2 15 13 38 33 19th R Everton 38 6 4 9 25 26 2 3 14 8 35 31 20th R Cardiff 38 5 5 9 20 34 2 3 14 18 46 29 </pre>

retired_karamelkel

Off-Season

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the off-season was that we managed to stay solvent. The money came pouring in from seaso tickets and TV rights, but went right back out in player acquistions. The reserves were getting a bit old, so West Ham had to buy a few new prospects. Most of the prospects brought in were French, which kept the team in a balance between the Allance countries. The trouble with this was that French prospects tended to be expensive to buy. Generally, they cost between 500 to 800 thousand pounds. Even with a generous transfer budget, the costs added up.

The aging of the reserves also brought about a change in first-team policy. Previously, only 22 players were in the first-team squad. Now, however, to ensure that all the new French youth got playing time on the farm, three older reservists were added to the first team to make a roster of 25. It was hoped that the three extra bodies would help with injuries, which had been a constant headache the last two seasons.

The injury trouble of the past two seasons saw a change in the usual seven week training camp that was held during the pre-season. Instead of two weeks of consitioning, there were three. It was hoped that the extra week would help the players be in better shape for the start of the season.

The main news of the off-season had nothing to do with youth prospects or changes in team policy. The big news was that West Ham landed a second competant forward to partner Cisse. Aberdeen had suffered a horrible 04/05 campaign and had found themselves relegated from the SPL. They held a fire-sale in the off-season in order to reduce thier payroll, shipping serveral stars and prospects to teams from the English leagues. West Ham netted the biggest of these fish, landing Gary O'Conner for 2.2 million pounds. At 22, O'Conner is already skilled enough to thrive in the best leagues in the world and with top league seasoning, should become a bastion of the Scotland national team, which is desperate for a forward that can take the pressure off McFadden.

In sum, it was a busy summer as the roster showed much turnover as a couple of Scots besides O'Conner were added shortly before the season began. Barry Robbson was picked up from Dundee United and would man the LMC spot, allowing Rae to move to CMC. The roster took forever to finalize and the first-team wasn't coplete until two weeks before the away opener at Fulham. Given all the transfer activity it was amazing that West Ham still had 5 million pounds in the bank as the opening matchday approched.

<pre class="ip-ubbcode-code-pre">********************************************* ************************************************** * West Ham United - Sunday 7th August 2005********************************************** ************************************************** ================================================== ============================================== Squad============================================= ================================================== =No Name Position(s) Nat Born Age Caps Gls Wages Expires Value------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Bald, William GK SCO 22.8.83 21 - - £50K 24.6.08 £975K - Baldé, Boubacar S C FRA 11.2.86 19 - - £35K 28.6.06 £900K - Balfour, James D/DM RLC SCO 11.10.84 20 - - £9K 4.6.09 £350K 3 Barré, Mickaël D LC FRA 31.8.74 30 - - £400K 7.6.06 £600K 13 Berthelin, Cédric GK FRA 25.12.76 28 - - £350K 27.5.09 £1.3M 24 Boyack, Steven M RC SCO 4.9.76 28 - - £450K 28.6.10 £1.5M - Camara, Ibrahima M RC FRA 1.1.85 20 - - £50K 28.5.09 £1.7M - Campbell, Gordon D/DM RC SCO 26.11.85 19 - - £40K 23.6.07 £825K 10 Cissé, Djibril S C FRA 12.8.81 23 9 - £925K 22.5.09 £10.5M - Collet, Cédric D RC FRA 7.3.84 21 - - £50K 8.5.09 £1.4M 28 Curren, Lee M C SCO 22.10.82 22 - - £55K 28.6.08 £1.6M - Cuthbert, Kevin GK SCO 9.7.83 22 - - £90K 8.6.10 £475K - Davidson, John D C SCO 7.5.84 21 - - £18K 8.6.09 £825K 23 Devaux, Jean-Christophe SW/D C FRA 16.5.75 30 - - £400K 1.6.08 £1.2M - Diane, Ugo SW/D C FRA 4.4.87 18 - - £90K 11.6.09 £550K - Doyle, Jamie AM C SCO 23.5.83 22 - - £55K 18.6.10 £725K - Ebonbo, Albin D C FRA 23.2.84 21 - - £45K 9.5.09 £425K 4 Ferguson, Steven AM C SCO 18.5.77 28 - - £400K 28.6.06 £0 - Fisher, John D C SCO 19.1.84 21 - - £85K 28.5.09 £1.3M - Forsyth, Ross D L SCO 15.11.83 21 - - £120K 6.5.09 £1.4M - Giacopelli, Romain M RLC FRA 1.3.83 22 - - £75K 28.6.08 £1.8M 21 Grady, James S C SCO 14.3.71 34 8 1 £450K 11.5.07 £350K 15 Grax, Sébastien S C FRA 23.6.84 21 - - £250K 6.6.08 £2.9M 8 Howie, Willie AM C SCO 9.7.82 23 - - £375K 20.6.10 £2.6M - Kamara, Abdelhaziz D L FRA 10.4.84 21 - - £100K 15.6.08 £1.1M 19 Keogh, Liam S C SCO 6.9.81 23 - - £500K 19.6.08 £3.1M - Konaté, Alain D RC FRA 16.5.86 19 - - £120K 11.6.10 £475K - Le Bris, Ludovic S C FRA 21.11.84 20 - - £300K 5.6.07 £1.5M - Leray, David D R FRA 2.3.84 21 - - £40K 3.6.10 £650K - Mathieu, Jérémy DM/F LC FRA 29.10.83 21 - - £210K 25.6.10 £1.2M 7 Mathis, Lionel AM RC FRA 4.10.81 23 - - £675K 24.6.09 £2.8M - McLaughlin, Paul DM C SCO 12.2.84 21 - - £60K 19.6.10 £750K 16 Migliore, Stephen M C FRA 26.8.83 21 - - £130K 28.6.06 £525K - Nicol, Kevin D/DM C SCO 19.1.82 23 - - £60K 21.6.08 £1.8M 9 O'Connor, Gary S C SCO 7.5.83 22 1 - £775K 2.6.11 £6.75M 11 Paterson, Jim D/AM LC SCO 25.9.79 25 7 - £575K 17.6.08 £6.5M 5 Planus, Marc D RC FRA 7.3.82 23 - - £160K 23.6.08 £1.5M - Plessis, Guillaume DM C FRA 16.1.85 20 - - £35K 28.6.06 £950K 17 Rae, Gavin D/M LC SCO 28.11.75 29 2 - £375K 3.6.09 £2M 25 Robson, Barry AM LC SCO 7.11.78 26 - - £500K 2.6.11 £1.9M 22 Rott, Yannick D/DM L FRA 27.9.74 30 - - £475K 20.6.06 £600K 14 Sahnoun, Nicolas D/DM RC FRA 3.9.80 24 - - £450K 21.6.11 £3M 1 Schille, Cédric GK FRA 8.11.75 29 - - £350K 9.6.06 £1.1M 6 Smith, Barry SW/D RC SCO 19.2.74 31 3 - £450K 28.6.06 £800K 12 Smith, Jamie AM/F RC SCO 20.11.78 26 2 - £400K 6.6.08 £525K 2 Smyth, Mark D R SCO 21.8.83 21 - - £95K 21.6.06 £750K - Tordo, Sébastien F RC FRA 10.1.84 21 - - £40K 5.6.07 £1.6M - Walker, Stephen AM/F RLC SCO 20.4.85 20 - - £40K 20.6.07 £1.5M 26 Webster, Andy D C SCO 16.3.80 25 - - £425K 1.6.07 £1.5M - de la Loma, Cédric F RLC FRA 14.4.84 21 - - £20K 12.6.09 £775K </pre>

retired_karamelkel

September 2005

"Yet another mediocore start."

"Yes sir, but at least it's a higher level of medicority than usual."

"How so?"

"Well sir, West Ham have won 2, drawn 2 and lost 2 and are in 8th place."

"That's still medicore."

"Perhaps, but considering that we're now in the top ten, it's not as medicore as we have been."

"True, how do you intend to fire up the team?"

"One: we are going to replace the coaching staff wholesale. The French coaches I have are ineffective. The staff will be entirely Scot. That should help the team with the tatics. Second, we are going to get rid of Jim Paterson."

"I thought you said earlier that he was unsellable."

"Well Mr. Chairman, we need the money and Paterson is extremely injury-prone. He's misseda fair amount of time in each of the last three seasons."

"I see. Why do you need money? Surely you haven't spent your reserves."

"No sir, the West Ham finances are still around 4.8 in the bank. However, we need more money available if we are to fix up the practice facility and such."

"Ah"

"We may also sell Cisse."

"What, why?"

"Because we have some good forwards in the reserves. Cisse will bring in a huge chunk of cash if we can sell him. His sale would also pare the payroll by quite a bit."

"Can you afford to sell Cisse?"

"I think we can. O'Conner could fill the superstar role, and a rotation of forwards at the other spot could work."

"I see. What are your goals for this season?"

"I hope, Mr. Chairman, that West Ham has a top 10 finish. I hope to continue to raise funnds to revamp the practice facilities. Lastly, I hope to find a great goalkeeper for the 06/07 season. We are one goalkeeper short of true contention."

"I see."

"Well sir, if that's all, I'll report back in November."

retired_karamelkel

November 2005

"So you finally did it."

"Yes sir, we sold Paterson."

"To whom for how much?"

"We sold him to Shakter, a Ukraininan side, for 5.5 million pounds."

"They sound familiar."

"They should sound familiar sir. That's the side we sold Christian Dailly to whay back in 01/02."

"Ah, that's why. How is the team responding to the latest sale?"

"They seem to have caught on fire. We've won 3 of 4 since the deal and now sit in 6th place."

"And how do the finances look?"

"Well Mr. Chairman, the bank balance now stands at about 10 million pounds. We also sold Barry Smith."

"Ah and future deals?"

"Leicester signed an unprotected Andy Webster and they will give us 1.1 million pounds when he moves there in December. We are still trying to sell Cisse."

"Ah, sounds like things are going fairly well. Who replaced Paterson?"

"We called up Kamara from the reseveas. See you in January."

"Hopefully, your success will continue"

"Thanks...hold on a second- you're wishing me good luck?"

"Strange how things change isn't it? The better you do, the richer I get. I still own a good deal of West Ham."