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Hammering Away Ep #37 - Welcome Luis Guilherme
73 Plays1 year ago
On today's episode of the podcast, Jack and Joe discuss new signing Luis Guilherme, the potential of a new Ben Johnson contract, Kurt Zouma's future, and more!
Music by: LADI OGUN & @ANTlll
Blog: Hammering-Away.blog
Twitter/X: @Hammering_Away
Instagram/Threads: @HammeringAway_
Tiktok: @hammering.away
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Transcript
Episode Introduction and New Signing Announcement
00:00:25
Speaker
Welcome back to Man by My Life podcast. It's episode number 37. It is January 13th. We signed a player. We didn't sign a player until August last year. What's your what's your initial reaction, Joe? I'm just going to hop right into it. He seems pretty good. i Just the principle of making a signing this early in the window is kind of crazy. It's like, I like, the I can't, I haven't even had time to react yet. Yeah. You know, he seems really good. I watched the interview and he seems like really excited to be here, which is, I mean, as, as he should be 18 year old kid.
Player Potential and Impact
00:01:06
Speaker
Yeah. But like, you know, we're not the biggest club. He was linked with the, you know, still really excited to be here. Um, which is really cool. Um,
00:01:20
Speaker
i don't I don't know what the plans are for him like right away. But I guess he's definitely raw. He's definitely very raw. um And there's only so much you can learn from like, you know, compilations on YouTube and stuff. But something that jumps off the screen immediately is the pace and the athleticism. And for a player
00:01:46
Speaker
that's kind of built to have this light, this play style of more like a Mars type play style. It's kind of how he was described early on. I mean, that could just straight up be wrong, but you know, he likes to cut in on that left foot. He likes to be creative. He's, I think he's averaging more key passes per 90 than any other player in the Brazilian Serie A this season, um, which is cause he has some really stark games probably, but you know, he's shown that he can make an impact off the bench, even if it's in a different league. And I think that, having that level of pace and just dynamism is something that we've lacked for a long time. So I really like the idea of getting a player who's like young, hungry to prove themselves, and also just brings us
Team Dynamics and Transfer Strategy
00:02:30
Speaker
something different. Because that's that was one of my biggest criticisms of Moza's team throughout his time here, is we lacked athleticism and dynamism.
00:02:41
Speaker
um Which to put it shortly, I mean, Antonio and Declan Rice carried such a huge load in terms of being the two athletes that we had on the pitch, which obviously all of these guys are elite level athletes, but especially in today's game, if you look at the top teams, I mean, Liverpool are a perfect example and Real Madrid as well. Like these guys have athletes that make, you know, our players look like a guy you'd see at, you know, Tesco. You know what I mean? Yeah.
00:03:12
Speaker
um And Guehamme obviously, she's not the level of athlete that maybe Wesley Gasova is that we were linked to. Um, but it's nice to see kind of that being a focus because that, that is a part of our squad that could use some improvement. Yeah. I mean, we already like addressed it a little bit last year. We're getting kudos is, I mean, who's like, uh, you know, as top tier of an athlete as you can get. Yeah. Yeah. But there's definitely specific areas of the pitch where we lack athleticism. And that is basically everywhere besides kudos. Yeah, at this point. I mean, center backs. I mean, Mauro Bronos is an athlete, but Zoom was more of a conservationist. Zoom is of themselves. At this point.
00:04:03
Speaker
um Midfield, no really athletes to speak of. We need, we need somebody in there. Yeah. That that's another, that's where, that's where I really think we should. That's where I wanted to come from. Yeah. I agree. Yeah. Unless I don't know. Yeah. I don't, I don't know what Lopateki's plan is with, uh, the midfield, but I definitely need at least one other athlete in there. The Garcia link is interesting.
00:04:37
Speaker
because I think it it may give us more of a look into what they want which to me personally wasn't the kind of player I'd probably think I'd want to go after but I think you know coming into the summer up until April I would have been viewing it from like, well, what do we need for Mois, right? And with Mois, like you'd want somebody like Amadou Anano, obviously, yeah he's not attainable. And even he would be perfect for this because he's that top level player, but that idea of someone who is an elite level athlete and
00:05:12
Speaker
Maybe you're sacrificing something on the ball, not totally like he can carry it. First of all, I just want to say about Amadou Anana. This is more, I just use him as an example because I think that he's super undervalued on the ball. I think he's a lot better at it than people give him credit for. um yeah But that that idea of a player, like how he's viewed, I guess I should say, especially by top clubs or their fans when they are linked with him. um But, you know, if, if they want to go in a different direction, kind of have somebody who is more comfortable in the ball and who's like their, I guess, main traits being a progressive password, that's fine. Cause like, obviously we need that in this team, but I think it's important that that player isn't a negative athlete. Like I love James WordPress.
00:06:02
Speaker
And he is able to cover up for some things that he lacks in conventional athleticism with his just probably ridiculous motor. I mean, we talked about this early on last season, like he runs and he runs and he runs. And that is a part of being athletic, but he doesn't have, I guess, like, and this is not to say that James repression be starting games. I'm sure, I'm sure he will play his way into the team. He'll be fine. Um, and I think, you know, Lopategi is probably gonna like him more than people think he's gonna like him. Um, cause I think people are very short sighted where it's like Moyes versus everything else. It's just not how it works. Um, like James R. Krause has had a long, successful career playing under many managers and managers who like to play with the ball. Um.
00:06:53
Speaker
But yeah, I just think that as long as they don't sacrifice athleticism to the extent that maybe it would be sacrificed for putting war prowess in the pivot next to Alvarez, then it's fine. Like Alex Garcia, for example, was a good enough athlete and a good enough competitor and combative player in that middle of the park to play next to Alvarez, but I just think i really, really worry if they sacrifice things like being combative and having the athleticism to move in a Premier League midfielder, just so we have a guy who can break a few lines. Yeah, I i mean, I totally agree with that. I think that no matter how you play, no matter what system you run or whatever, whatever team you are, like athletes in the midfield is like, and basically non-negotiable. And if you don't have it, you're in trouble. Especially in the game today.
00:07:45
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, in the primary league, especially in the primary league, how it's played today, like you look at Arsenal, one of their biggest weaknesses this this season was that, you know, Rice was the only athlete in their midfield. And that's why they spent that money on him. Yeah. That was a trait he didn't get enough credit for here, in my opinion. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And then losing Jaco was also huge for that. because that's another, you know, that athlete in the LCM spot. Like that's what they're going to probably spend their money on this summer.
00:08:22
Speaker
um And yeah, I think that's, that's something we definitely need to address this summer. It's kind of alarming that we haven't been linked with anyone. yeah june it's so early It's so early, but yeah, the, Alex Garcia, like I was, I was excited for him, but I think he was always a long shot. The reason we haven't been linked to that many center mids yet is I think that, well, first of all, with the Brazilian trip, that was always gonna take precedent, whatever sides and thought he was doing over there. um And just for the record, I really hope that thing about Wesley is true. Because he was always our number one guy. And I think that that would be pretty cool. But um the thing I was getting to is I think that
00:09:14
Speaker
We're going to want a proven center meter, set central midfielder from Europe, right? And I think that for right now, the focus is going to be center backs. I mean, we just conceded 71 goals last year. And Garrett is horrendous. Zuma is falling apart. They're both likely to leave. Agbana's gone. So they they they're going to have to sign two or three center backs. Probably three, which is crazy. I think that the focus for the next signing, I would be shocked if the next signing is in the center back. Or if it's not very close and it's like Wesley's next signing, if that's really something that's happening. But I'd be shocked if the next signing is not the center back.
Defensive Concerns and Solutions
00:10:00
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, that's, that's definitely the most glaring hole. And with like Zuma and Aguero, like leaving, it definitely needs to be a, like a veteran signing, I think.
00:10:14
Speaker
because yeah now you're just left with Mavropanos. You're watching Zuma and Agbana leave, which are like two like senior players. Yeah, like not like your most senior center-backed, your like biggest voices in the locker room, you know like the most tenured player and the captain of the team. So it needs to be, it can't be another stident signing from like like some random guy from Paraguay. It needs to be like an experienced, experienced level head. And so I'm definitely interested to see what he does with that. Cause it's not like the, the sexy side and signing that like, you know, I mean, I think that there's a balance to be found as a reputation. Yeah. um And I think especially if they signed three, I'm okay with one of them being a siding guy. I really do wish that the Fabrizio Bruno thing had worked out.
00:11:15
Speaker
Because look, I mean, I mean, obviously there are questions around him, but like, if he had to come theoretically on like the reasonable wage that we felt we had agreed on, it's like you're getting a 28 year old, um, ba Brazilian international who's like hard nosed apparently. Um, and you know, every talks well about, and it's like, he's not going to be a disaster. Whereas if it's like somebody like Vishal, I don't know anything about him, but to me that has much more like,
00:11:46
Speaker
tragic possibilities whereas the Bruno outworse I think would have just been meh. But I think it's interesting because there's some people who say things like oh like bringing like Vishal or like Robert Renan and like Jacob Greaves and like we're good and it's like okay with Renan in particular like he's a super exciting prospect. I would be like really excited if we found our way to get him. I think that the price tag's gonna be too high. um just based off like us being quoted 25 million last summer or whenever we were linked. It's, I think that they're going to want that money to go elsewhere, even on a more experienced center back. Um, but I think that if you sign Greaves who for the record, I would love to get him, but I just think that if you sign him, I would also very much prefer if we signed like an established center back who can play the right and the left side. You know what I mean?
00:12:45
Speaker
So, yeah, which would honestly be the ideal way to do it. Cause then grieves and Mavropanos both are not being overly relied upon. Um, and grieves can be eased in a bit, but you know, there's, there's also a world where Greece could come in and just hit the ground learning would be awesome. And we've seen, I mean, Adam Warren, who was younger than him just did this for palace in the middle of the season. So there's no way to really, yeah but just from the outside, looking in. Yeah, i I agree. Like somebody, I would very much like to sign a center back who's on droppable, which, you know, maybe that's a big ask, but if you could sign somebody like that who can play next to map upon us and can also play on the right with whatever left side of center back we have, it just makes the squad feel much more sure. ah Yeah.
00:13:40
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, you knew that stability at center back. I think that's like, that's the thing. I don't, I don't want her like to be switching around the back four and the whole thing. And it gets too much. Yeah. We've had this problem with Ariola specifically plenty of times where like a rotating door in the back four has led to like communication errors. And in turn, like goals pouring. Yeah. Um, we see, we see that this season, we saw it last season. Um, Even in some of those early conference league games, we conceded two at soak board. Like that was a little ugly. Yeah. Um, I think, I think it's definitely worth the investment. If we're going to spend big anywhere, um, it would definitely prove us well to it be spending big at center back. And I would even, if you, if you want to only make two signings.
00:14:33
Speaker
at center back like that's that's fine with me too as long as one is like a big money signing who's going to eat a lot of games and and just and be like that secure like yeah number one it's definitely a risk of going to a season with only three center backs but i'm i'm thinking the same oh for sure and then I think we're, since we're, if we're going to bring back Ben Johnson, he can play that emergency role. Um, and we won't have Europe, so it won't be as pressing of a need to have all four be like first team quality. Um, and I think that between Ben Johnson and even like, like, if you want to get, get a little spicy, Kaitlyn Casey, um, he's like one of like the most like, um, highly thought of prospects in like, in the academy.
00:15:22
Speaker
He played well for anything the other day, apparently. Did he? Well, web level 18, I think 20. Oh, that's pretty impressive. um So, yeah, like, I think that fourth center back spot, like, if you're looking to, like, save money, or like, consolidate money, I think that's like, not the craziest risk to take is to leave like Casey and Johnson splitting that that like center of that fourth center. but I would even go a step further and I would say, um just like in theoretical world where a Glana, a Zuma, and a Garrett all leave and we only sign two, right? So then you have Mavropanos and two new centerbacks. In the world where like only one of them is available,
00:16:09
Speaker
You know, like you could theoretically play a back five with Crestwell and Johnson as the outside center backs. And then with the other one in the middle. Um, and well, I mean, I'm pretty sure a little bit tuggy had to use the five at wolves when he had to. So it wouldn't be totally foreign to him. Um, obviously that's like doomsday situation. I would prefer to sign three. If guys are going to go, I have a feeling to zoom. I might survive the season. Um, But we'll we'll see what happens. I would like to get rid of them both. it's Time's up. Time is definitely up on those two. Yeah, it's it's kind of weird. I don't know. With Zuma like bringing in a new coach and losing a captain at the same and the same year definitely doesn't sound like the best thing to happen. He's not going to be captain this year. Either way. Yeah, but he he was the captain this year.
00:17:07
Speaker
and Like, like it or not, he was the guy, like he was the the leader of this team. I mean, I wouldn't hate it if he, if he stuck around, like for the record, I wouldn't be, you know, disgusted. I would be sick to my stomach if a Garrett was here next season. I would be distraught. Um, he's which, which is not, he's not going to. Better not be. I think you can rest easy tonight. He's not going to be here. It's fine. ah But I honestly, more to think about it, like the prospect of Zuma being like the third center back and only playing, you know, when he has to. is That's just at the end of the world. I mean, I've been through the whole thing. He plays better when he's fresh. I mean, it was like literally against United last year. He was awesome. And he found he wasn't that terrible as the close of the year came. he It's just, he can't move.
00:18:04
Speaker
Um, but like the thing with Zuma is like, unless you're going to get a meaningful fee from Saudi, which, you know, it's up to anybody, whatever that means. I'm thinking like eight, 10 million, anything at that point, fine. Um, especially if you can get 15 out of Saudi, then, you know, drive them there. But like, like if you're getting like, is accepting a 5 million pound offer or 6 million pound offer for him, like, is that moving any real needle?
00:18:36
Speaker
Probably not. He could even be the fourth one. like It's not just not a big deal. aye And I like him. Yeah, the more I think about it, he'll play his way into the team at certain points of the season. He could do the iguana thing. Yeah, absolutely. He could do more than the iguana thing. ah Was he great last season? No. Was he good last season? probably not either. But yeah, he was he was really good for half of it. But um it it his problem comes when he's overextended. He's playing too many games. And that's been the story with him since he got here is that whether whether you like it or not, if we wanted a chance of winning, he had to be in the team news. And really, like, if even if you look through this year, his first two and a half years years, fucking awesome.
00:19:36
Speaker
Yeah. What a, I mean, what a signing that, I mean, that's not a thing. Like I, it's another a sign. what Yeah, absolutely. And I hope that the injuries and, you know, the fall off and forum post, uh, post his last injury that doesn't really take away from that because like he, he is really good and like, and give it a limited role, I think he can do a job and and save us a little money in the process. I'm with you. I mean, it it all depends because I ah would like to move on for like 10 million if we get the chance. Just because like I want to wash my hands with the whole Gare and Zuma thing.
Squad Consistency and Stability
00:20:21
Speaker
I'm done with it. But Zuma is different than a Gare and I can recognize that. And yeah I also like Zuma.
00:20:29
Speaker
and I'll probably talk about it all summer, the more signs that we make. I hate massive squad turnover. I think it's a recipe for inconsistency early on in the year. I mean, we just saw this, the summer that we signed. that um And we're going to sign six to eight new players a summer. We absolutely have to. That's it's not my complaint that we're doing that. It's just a worry. And I think that in places where you can avoid squad turnover, we should look to do that. And Zuma is a case like that, but even as much as I like Zuma, and I don't like Squad Turnover, I'm kind of like... Yeah,
00:21:12
Speaker
yeah I mean, this is like the last chance we're going to get to really cash in on Zuma. That's the thing. He'll go on a fray next summer, which also would be fine. I mean, it kind of just depends, like, how much do you value that voice? They kept Aaron Cresswell around because he was a voice in the locker room. And I think that there is a lot of value in that, especially considering how many voices we've lost over the last few years. I think Bowen's voice, again, the Bowen's voice in that changing room is growing and growing and growing. He could be the captain this year. There's no, there's really no telling who up with that. He's going to make it happen. Um, as you would assume, his first year as manager, he's going to want to make it somebody who's in the team every week. Um,
00:21:59
Speaker
So that kind of makes it weird on Stuchek and WordPress, especially if we're looking to sign us in a mid. I think, I think that WordPress will start the season with Alvarez. And I think, and I think that no, I mean, no matter what you think of that, I just think that that's the direction that the direction that this is going to go. Um, and I think WordPress will honestly, like have an R8 season. I mean, if Will Patagi can coach him. Because that's the thing with James Warprous is everybody's always backwards, always sideways, he's this, he's that. This game today that we watch is so about just coaching and passing patterns. And obviously, guys are always going to have their traits Warprous. He likes to retain possession. He doesn't really take as many chances as maybe others do. It's also never really been his role and ball retention is a valuable thing. But I think he has
00:22:53
Speaker
you know, the talent and like the ball striking and the ability to find a pass where if he knows where someone is going to be, it might look a little bit different. Yeah. I mean, we we see it all the time in the Premier League. We really do. We're like a new coach comes in and guys, teams and like players individually look like people totally different. I mean, look at like John Philippe Mateta was like fucking like turned into the best like center forward in the Premier League last season after. It's like a Barclays icon now. Literally. Like you just don't know with these new coaches and and I'm ready to, you know, give guys clean slates where we're we' applicable. And I think James Ward-Prouse could be one of those guys. Cause like you said, he does have traits to so like succeed.
00:23:47
Speaker
and the team with possession. Yeah, and I just think that this whole, and hopefully when the season starts, it'll end. But this whole, and I worry that it will follow players like Warcraft and Suchak specifically, but this whole Mois thing, why am I seeing people talking about Mois in and Mois out on my timeline today? It's June 13th. Give it a, both of you, give it a rest. Like, he's been gone for two months. The Mois out, shut up. Like, please shut up. This is stupid. Like, I don't even know what they're arguing, but they're arguing about like, somebody said some dumb shit, like, oh, it's Dyson's poll about Garcia, which is funny. But it's like, Lee read that and then people are quoting it. Oh, oh, you like, shut up about Moyes, blah, blah, blah. And people are like, he didn't even mention Moyes. Come on.
00:24:46
Speaker
no yeah like on like the anti it's a joke like It's funny. Yeah. And, but it's like, Oh, he didn't mention. Yeah, he did. And then it turns into the whole conversation again. And it's like, man, like, is this ever going to stop? It's, uh, it's never going to stop. And cause it, no matter what happens if you look at take, he's good. He's going to get, get, get compared to noise. If he's bad, he's going to get but compared to noise. Um, it's just like, he's such a polarizing figure. Oh, why? That it's just never going to go away. It shouldn't be polarizing. And by the way, if we do lose our first game of the season, you know, I'm going to be right here talking about that wouldn't happen to boys. Yeah. We lose more than by more than one goal at any point in the Pateki's tenure, no matter how good we're doing. Probably i always what it will probably happen every time we lose a game.
00:25:42
Speaker
one of us will say that Mois wouldn't know what happened. Which we should, and it'll be funny. But like. was I'll laugh. I'll laugh. I'll think it's funny. I might say it every time the ball goes in our net.
00:25:58
Speaker
Moisine doesn't concede that. And then we'll have to, you know, like, if we're going to have to make that point seriously, you have to, like, talk about it by two minutes. Like, no, like, but I'm being serious. Like, Mois. Oh, my
00:26:14
Speaker
Get ready for some more discourse, our favorite little west-hand discourse. Well, that's the issue, is that you're right. It's not going to end in the season start. It's going to ramp up. And it's just... It's going to be worse. It will be at its... You think the end of the season was bad? Wait until both sides have a guy to compare them against. Off of miniscule sample size.
00:26:39
Speaker
Yeah. ah Weeks between games all season again.
00:26:46
Speaker
Too much dead time. There's just gonna be too much. Not enough to talk about. I'm just... boys be that That is something I'm worried about with Guharamie, though, is that I feel like this signing specifically, because obviously his stats are far from eye-popping. But people, I think, need to understand that there's more to it. And the thing that they do with it is they're being dense on purpose. um Yeah. But I feel like, and this is something that shouldn't be happening. And I said this last week, where everybody who was moisten, which includes us was like, okay, like when somebody new comes in, like, we're going to get behind it. And they were like, Oh, you guys are crazy because you're going against the club. But now it's like, and it's okay to be critical of assigning or to be, you know, cautious of assigning, but to not even really attempt to look
00:27:44
Speaker
for positive parts and something that's objectively like just an exciting thing to do. And like to almost feel like you're kind of rooting against the kid is weird to me. It's weird. Oh, it's so weird. And I just hope that like that isn't a theme with him because it's so obvious. This kid's going to need time. There's going to be ups and downs and people have to stop saying the word that the number 30 million. We signed this kid. for 17 million pounds, or yeah, 17, no, no, no, 20 million pounds, twenty rising to 25 million pounds. In today's game, like, yeah, do would you want to contribute or immediately for that? Yeah, if they're 25, but sometimes there are investments. Like, let's see how the rest of the summer goes before we just attack this kid. Like, he should be allowed to have time because he's an investment in the future. And I also think that he will play a part this year. I think that he will be,
00:28:45
Speaker
You know, a spark plug for us, you know, like our squad got really small last year after January. It won't, you know, whoever you want to blame didn't replace Ben Rama and for an now. Um, like it'll be nice to have a player who can come on and actually run it. Instead of, you know, Ben Johnson and just crying.
Ben Johnson's Role and Future
00:29:10
Speaker
sick of them wherever like ah the guy who came off. Yeah, who's playing the worst today? All right, then go out there. Get rid of my left leg, Ben. at Old Trafford in a game to see who stays in sixth. Go do that Paquetta roll, I guess. That was a crazy stretch. Oh, my God. Yeah, dude. And he played well.
00:29:36
Speaker
Yes, we were losing, but it certainly was not his fault. He was he was going out there. He he did the goddamn best he could. What do you think about um but man him getting closer to signing a new contract, apparently, and Lopategi being a reason for it, telling him that he thinks he can challenge for that starting whiteback spot? Well, it's the first good thing that Lopategi has done since he got here, because I think that Ben Johnson has absolutely deserved that extension. He's earned it a long time ago. He ended again this season. A guy that that versatile from your own academy, ah who's who's served such an important role since he's come into the team, to let him walk for free would have been really stupid. And it would have been to another Premier League team. And Crystal Palace was on the yeah up and up, apparently.
00:30:33
Speaker
That super team is dead. It lasted about six weeks. Yeah. As soon as Operation Elise started. I don't want to get in the Chelsea. but yeah no Yeah, fuck that. But yeah, Ben Johnson, 100%. There were points where he only had two people behind him, and it was you and me. evening And we never left. We've only been here since. And Ollie, yes. Ollie Clark. I guess that's the docs, but. I mean, he's on hammering away. Yeah. Yeah. All the, every hammering away writer and no, every hammering away podcaster is pro Ben Johnson. I think even R is pro Ben Johnson. Don't talk about him. He's not, he's not welcome, but yeah, it's,
00:31:30
Speaker
Really great news. and And if he does get a legitimate chance to push it right back, who knows? There's a lot that should be said about Ben Johnson. So I'm going to want to go through a few things. First of all, I always loved Dave Noyes, right? Back most of his decisions. I thought for years that Ben Johnson was not given equal shot at that starting right back role as Kufala was. Which is fine. And we know that. Yeah. Like some people have their preferences. Kufal, I think it's pretty difficult to argue. Doesn't have his pros. He's super consistent. He's not afraid of a challenge. He's physical. He can... I mean, I think Ben Johnson's just as good of a defender one-on-one as he is. um But, you know, the the end product from fullback is a big thing, especially in today's game. Kufal has that. um And that's probably Ben Johnson's biggest weakness.
00:32:27
Speaker
But I think that throughout the 2021-2022 season where Ben Johnson was far and away better than Kufo, Ben Johnson was dropped way too often. And I think to an extent, Moyes got a little bit lucky with certain things that kind of forced his hand and forced him to play Ben Johnson. Like Leona Way is like the main example. Oh, for sure. Where he had to start Ben Johnson at left back and he was awesome. um But that that's number one, is that I think that he has been a little hard done by. I think that he started off ah the season at 22, 23. I thought he started that season really well. He heard his hamstring. He never really played after that. He never got his feet back under him. He never looked fit. And then he played 90 minutes, three times in a week. He made a few mistakes and he got killed for it on Twitter, which was ridiculous that he was treated that way in my personal opinion. He was not the reason that we were bad.
00:33:24
Speaker
We were bad long before he was allowed on the pitch. Okay. That's another thing. And then the last thing was that he was dead in the water. He was beyond gone. People were talking about loaning him last summer. He was going to talk about being sold to the championship last summer. he He was done. He was, his career was done. Even as late as January, his career was done. He had a few good games when he was allowed to play, but like nothing to really catch your eye. And then he came on against Sheffield be United.
00:33:54
Speaker
with during, during a transfer window with six months left on his deal, playing in midfield and he changed the game, essentially won us the game that we didn't win. Right. So he yeah has completely fought back from the dead. Like, and he wants to be here. And you know, like he's also, he's homegrown. Right. He wants to be here. He, think about how he could have signed a contract weeks ago. He's 23. He's eligible to sign a pre-contract somewhere. But it to me, it feels like this whole time he's had these other deals and he's just been trying to leverage them into a better deal with us. Which like you can feel whatever kind of way you want to feel about that, but that's business. That's what these guys have to do. Footballers get paid a ton. Yeah, athletes get paid a ton. They also retire when they're 35. That's not to say that he's not going to have more than enough money, obviously. But he's got to squeeze every cent out of it that he can.
00:34:52
Speaker
But I think that the fact that he hasn't signed for palace or Rangers or South Panther or any of these teams is interested in him yet is a sign that he's just wants to be here. And I think that the last thing is that we saw how much he improved as a ball carrier and as a progressor this year, when he started getting his chance more and more, he's obviously somebody that can improve his game. What if he improves his end product next, you know, like he's a great kid. who we are lucky to have had come through our academy. And I like, I'm going on a little bit of brand new teary eyed, because look, this is like, this is a guy that we have both loved. And he really just got treated like a black sheep for a year and a half for things that were out of his control. And he, you know, put his head down, worked hard, he he earned himself
00:35:51
Speaker
Premier League minutes down the end of that season. He earned every single minute. And now he's going to stay. Absolutely. And he has a chance to start. And you know what? I hope he earned the starting spot. Yeah. I mean, this, I mean, without a doubt, like should be celebrated. The fact that he was able to pull himself to the dead should be celebrated despite, uh, Kufal being such a heavy favorite for more. And Kufal was great this year too, which only made it hard.
00:36:20
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, listen, I think Kufal should enter the season as the, you know, the first choice, but it's going to be really refreshing to see that Kufal is not like this undroppable entity that he basically has been since he's been that since the World Cup of ah the last World Cup does since that break. when Moyes or Kufal went to the press telling them that Moyes came to him apologizing for everything. I know. Did I forgot that that happened? That's what I mean. Like, that's crazy. That's insane. I mean, I guess Tilo Correa was playing ahead of him, to be fair. But yeah that that wasn't even Ben Johnson who he was getting dropped for. It's so nuts. I would apologize to him, too. I'd be like, man, who the fuck is this guy? This guy stinks.
00:37:13
Speaker
those first few months are brutal. Jesus Christ, man. Yeah. But itll it'll be nice to see that there's like, it'd be nice to see a healthy competition at that position. Hopefully we'll get it. um I think that eventually Ben Johnson will beat out Kufall. Kufall keeps getting older at at some point. That spot's going to just be Ben's. Well, that's the other thing is that it's really nice that we're going to hold on to the 23, 24-year-old guy because Kufo, you know, we don't know what's going to happen the rest of the summer. He has links elsewhere too. um He'll probably stay because like I was talking about before with squad turnover, they probably want to consolidate some places and they seem to be more eager to sign a left back and a right back. I don't know what that's about. Yeah, I don't know. I have no idea what that's about.
00:38:07
Speaker
um Maybe it has something to do with how low Kentucky feels about Johnson. I have no idea. It's weird. But Kufo, you know, it's probably not going to be here after this season. More likely than not, you would assume. So now, like keeping Ben Johnson, you're able to only, like you allow yourself to only send one right back, right? And and Ben Johnson will also have a chance to prove himself like, well, kind of right back, to reassign we're going to sign somebody who's going to really move the needle.
00:38:40
Speaker
or are we signing something to compete with him, you know? And just overall, the versatility that you talked about earlier is so, he can play in midfield now. I mean, like, probably, like, I don't want to be starting him in midfield in games, but, like, you know, it's like a spark plug, like, ball carrier, like, energy guy, like, that works so well. I mean, Chuck United were terrible, but, like, works super well in that game. He plays left back just as well. He plays probably plays left back better than he plays right back sometimes. Um, his best performances are at left back for sure. And you know, he can slide into center back in a three. We've seen him play center back in a two. Like these are the kinds of players that you need when you build out a squad at the same time with his versatility. Um,
00:39:26
Speaker
If Loco Pataki really believes it in him as a right back, I think that's pretty exciting too. If you can get like a really consistent run at right back and and get kind of give him some time to like actually iron out ah some of the weaknesses in his game at that position, and especially his end product. ah Because you know it's hard to work on certain things when you're playing right back for a couple of weeks, and then you're playing left back, and then you're out of the team for a year and a half, and then you're you're back at right back. You know, it's, it's, it's tough. And I think versatility is a strength, but it could also be a weakness, um, in terms of like development. And if he can, you know, consistently stick it right back, then, uh, I think that's, I wonder if he's had a run of five starts in a row since the 2021, 2022 season.
00:40:22
Speaker
I'm super curious. I'm going to check this right now because he really. has not had that many runs of games, which is down to another season between injuries and, yeah but you know. So if I go all the way back to the 2021-20th season, he, okay, I'm talking about like at right back. If he's playing wing, that doesn't count. I'm going to make that rule because that's actually a great point.
00:40:55
Speaker
But he, I think Kufall got hurt. And he started against Everton. You remember this run of form? This was crazy, you this run that we went on. He's 21, 22 seasons. Started against Everton, we won 1-0. Started against Gank, we won 3-0. Started against Tottenham, we won 1-0. By the way, he's like, the ratings here are crazy. Started against City, we drew 0-0, we won on Palfi's. Started against Aston Villa, we won 4-1, he scored. Starting in silver pool. Oh, of course. I really want we won three, too Yeah, so that so we had that was right. That was the noise is best run as a manager essentially. Yeah, I would agree with you So we we had that run, right? Mm-hmm you started five games in a row here Leon Burnley Chelsea Frankfurt Frankfurt
00:41:54
Speaker
Obviously, there's an arsenal in between, but it's not listed. He must've been hurt. After that,
00:42:01
Speaker
it's like, you know, it's competency games, just fine. She's on the bench. She's on the bench. She's got good ratings in these games. She played a lot, but these are all coming off the bench. Yeah. Basically, my point is like, this is a guy who, when we've seen him have a run of games, we've seen that he can consistently put in performances and get better. And I think that even stands true for when he played poorly in the 2022-2023 season. Because, you know, like that run where we lost to United in the FA Cup and we lost to Brighton, he was really, really good in that United a game for about 75 minutes. And then I think he made his mistake after like it was done. Maybe I'm remembering that wrong.
00:42:55
Speaker
I remember his garnaccio scoring the winner from his side and then put him like doing a great job on him for the entire game. Yeah, like look at this. So he played, um, I think he started against Tom. Did he start this game? He did not start this game. He started the 4-0 win against Forrest, played great. And he started the 3-1 loss to United in the FA Cup and played really well up until the last 10 minutes. And that was his, and any of the Brighton games like that, he played much, he played 270 minutes and seven days, when before that, he barely got a look.
00:43:33
Speaker
And the fact that he was able to step up like that is just a testament to who this guy is. I will always go back to him, man. It will be celebrated when he signs that new deal, which hopefully it does. Hopefully, yeah, it better be sooner than later. Running out of time, we got 16 days. I'm calling my shot now. He will have a new deal by the time we record our next podcast. That would be a dream. That would be a dream. We're going to wake up to it tomorrow,
Rumors and Transfer Speculation
00:44:06
Speaker
even. Who knows? Yeah. All right. I want to ask you a different question, which you know my answer to. And I think is a controversial one and will be if it actually becomes a real thing. It's not a real thing yet. We've been loosely linked.
00:44:25
Speaker
to Chelsea's Raheem Sterling.
00:44:30
Speaker
Yes or no, and tell me why. You know my answer. It's my guy. I mean, this is this is the no-brainer of all no-brainers. This is a signing of a dying breed with the emergence of Saudi Arabia. I know in my heart of hearts, whether you like the guy or you don't, a lot of Chelsea fans don't. They're idiots. They don't even count. but Yeah, they're not even real people. But I know he's got one in me. One in one left for me. Without a doubt. This is Raheem Sterling we're talking about. He was at the city two years ago. Just two years ago, right? Two years ago, three years ago? Three years ago. He scored over 100 primarily. This is the
00:45:24
Speaker
the greatest English winger of the last 20 years, 30 years. This is a real story. That one's gonna get some people riled up, fired up. um Yeah, I mean, we were talking about dynamism before. Dude, I mean, can you imagine him running down the left? I mean, look, he frustrates the hell out of you. Not saying that he doesn't. Not saying that he doesn't. But first of all, you're bringing in this 18 year old kid, right? And you're potentially bringing in this 19 year old kid, which I guess if you sign, so for 20 million, you're probably not going to sign at all, but you know what I'm saying. We lack older players. I guess we don't lack older players at all, but like, you know, there's going to have to be some experience that comes with all the younger players that were potentially going to sign the summit. He's got.
00:46:23
Speaker
more experience than anybody in the squad could even dream about. Um, he is a goal threat. He's crushing the way he can run at people, his movement without the ball. I, him running that people down this left side is a dream. It's a dream. And to be honest, the way that he could probably work with Paquetta is
00:46:49
Speaker
it would be It would be disgusting. Do you think bowen and you remember how the relationship oh my goodness yeah remember how good he was? guess I was going to say. i a Dude, he was I felt like personally betrayed during that performance because he was killing us at the bowl. He had one where he picked the ball up like the edge of the box, the top corner of the box on the right side. And he just burst through like four guys that they weren't even, mad I was like, how do you even do that? And he just causes so much chaos and, you know, he'll stress you out, man. But I i really think that he would be a great player for us. The question, the real question about Sterling, like beyond like, do Chelsea actually want to sell them? Would they sell them? What's the price? Is it alone? Blah, blah, blah.
00:47:46
Speaker
It's, it's the wages and the fee and the overall package and how much it costs. You know what I mean? And that's, that's why this move will, I think pretty obviously not happen, but he is one of my favorite players ever. And I will talk about the possibility of him coming here. He got a link to West Ham. Are you kidding me? You know how long I've been making jokes about that? They linked him to us. It's like, are you like just, I saw the tweet. I was like, this is a joke.
00:48:15
Speaker
Just the prospect is just like crazy. And because dude, he's he's still got it. He's still got it. The fact that he's not in the England team or like even around the England team is kind of a farce. He dropped them for no reason. Do you remember the first squad he got dropped from? It was in September. He scored like three and four and he just dropped them. It was crazy. It was just like, he was just like, yeah, I'm done. And now now that's wow your and they got they got jar bowen ah like a consistent spot and looks in the squad but now now nobody knows whether to play like who they want to play on the left. You know what I mean? Nobody has any idea who to play on the left side now. It's craziness.
00:49:10
Speaker
It says here that Raheem has already turned down approaches from the Saudi pro league and Turkey in recent some months. It says ah movie a movie in major league soccer is something that you would consider, but at 29 you feel there's no major need to quit European football yet. This is all from Graham Bailey. So like you take it with a pinch of salt, but it is, you know, an image reporter who has some connections. He's not most reliable, but i it's interesting, right? so he's done ah let go ahead and now go ahead as you say Chelsea realized that if Sterling was to move within England, they would have to massively subsidize his contract, which he still has three years left to run. But TBR, no idea what that is, it's just the art, like wherever he's writing his article, understands that that is something that they are willing to do. Sterling's name has come up in conversation with Crystal Palace during the Michael Alise conversations, whilst West Ham are believed to be keeping tabs on the situation.
00:50:13
Speaker
Hey, man. Get it done. Get it done. They're going to subsidize our wage our wages for their best player. Get it done. I don't see why not. You know how much he's making, right? It's like $300, right? $300. Are they going to pay him over $175 to let him play like down the fucking street? Yeah, for him to come. to fucking play them twice a year and challenge them for whatever place they are trying to get. They're ridiculous. They just shouldn't let him go. Yeah, he still has a- He still has a- Like beyond anything else, like- Like, is he really like- He's not- He's still good.
00:51:06
Speaker
Like I, like, I know that there was moments this past season where he was like, had some really rough stretches, but like, I think it's pretty obvious that he still helps them. They are, they were just bad for a long time. Like, and it's not jokes. Yeah, they are, they are a joke and they're criminal. Yes. Yeah. I mean, their, their attack was so disjointed for such a long time this season. And it wasn't Rahim Sterling's fault. They figured it out towards the end. And I he i guess he wasn't in the team when they figured it out. But I don't think that's really indicative of anything. And I think the fact that they're willing to part with him because of how well they played at the end of the season just goes to show how stupid and poorly run this team is. And if we can take advantage of that,
00:52:05
Speaker
Sign me up. I mean, they also just for the record, they found something Palmer playing right wing. They signed Palmer last summer because he was an alternative to Elise. Right? Like, why are you going back in from Michael Elise? Like, and I understand, oh, Palmer will play the 10 and Elise will play the right. They like to operate in pretty similar spaces sometimes. Like, the other thing is like, it just, they boggle my mind. Why are you spending 60 million on Michael Elise that you could do something else? Why do you need him? You don't need him.
00:52:40
Speaker
Where's Nkunku gonna play? Okay, we just signed Michael Olese for 60 million pounds. So we're gonna put him on the right. We're gonna put Palmer down the middle. We're gonna play whoever fucking knows down the left. And we're gonna play Nkunku as a nine by himself. That's not his game. That's never been his game. That's never been who he is. Are we truly in a position to criticize a team for signing too many right-wingers? yeah yeah
00:53:11
Speaker
I guess not. I guess not. I guess not. I don't know what they say about throwing stones from glass houses. I know. I just, I do. They can't stand Chelsea. Yeah. Well, I can stand Chelsea if they decide to give us Ricky and Sterling. And they pay him $200 for the next three years. Yeah. That would be embarrassing. Yeah, if they if they let him go in general, or if they let him go in a way that ah leaves them in a position to be paying him to go play football somewhere else, when he is still quite literally a very, very talented player, good enough to be in there starting 11. Yeah, like, that's the thing is like, he could get back into that team, like he wasn't out of the team for that long. And who knows, Enzo Marasco used to coach with Pep,
00:54:09
Speaker
Like, I'm sure Sterling has something to offer him. I don't know, dude. It's just a very joke. um
00:54:20
Speaker
Yeah. I think Sterling would be awesome. It's obviously a pipe dream. I would really, really like if we got moving on some kind of left wing deal though, just because
00:54:39
Speaker
I've been getting crazy about this last few days. If we go into the season with the plan being to play Kurus as a left wing, I'm going to lose my mind. Like your most dynamic player. It's it's stupid. It's stupid. Bench Peketa before you plan out that. It's stupid. At this point, I agree. But do you imagine? the left Yeah. Imagine Raheem on the left. Peketa in the middle for as long as you can do it. Kurus on the right. I guess JB up front. That front four. It's something. It's definitely something. I don't know what really the plan is with with Bowen in terms of like, is he going to be at nine next season if we we're signing a left winger and we saw a piqueta? I'm sure we're going to find out. I really have no idea what the plan is for Jared Bowen.
00:55:37
Speaker
But he'll play. He better play. ah I'll get crazy. If he doesn't play, then then matters need to be taken into our own hands. But I don't think that's the thing. Yeah, that's not it's not a thing. but just He's better than all these guys. He is. And it is interesting. And I wonder that and wonder you know i mean we've watched strikers be so isolated for so long in Moi's system. i mean And like, I'm not, I don't say things like this is like an anti-moist thing. It's just like a reality situation. Coaches are different. I don't even know what a West Ham team looks like when a striker is not isolated. Um, like just between like moist, right. And then like the Pell greening days, like it was so bad so much of the time. Um,
00:56:32
Speaker
I mean, our best run in the good season Pellegrini had was when we played two strikers. Um, and then under Billich, I mean, like you have to go back to Upton park for when you felt like a striker was getting supported. So I don't know. But like, if you can give Bowen the support that he needs and get people around him, I'm happy to keep going in between those posts and just let him work. He can do it, man. He can do it. He's, he's physical. He's got all the traits. He's our best finisher. He's got a year of experience now too. He's got a lot more experience with striker than he did before this year. And he, he, he's got the, every year he gets a little bit more of that taste for scoring goals. Oh yeah. And then in different ways. I mean, he scored the most headers in this, in in the league this season. He was like, he was up there actually. I think you're right. Yeah. He was. ah
00:57:28
Speaker
is at least top three for for most headed goals in the Premier League this season at five something. And Lopateki does like his his wide play and it's crossing into the box. So that that could be another. What's an early prediction for how many goals Bellarmine has split up season? Do we want to say 20 again? Like we can say 20 again. I'm going to say like 12 to 13 in the league. in the league I guess, yeah, he's he's only got the league this season. Yeah, not even talking about the cops. ah Yeah, 12 or 13. Anyhow, I think I'll have more assists this season, next season, than here. I have to play Striker.
00:58:11
Speaker
Eh, you never know. Yeah. I mean, I think i think he the assist numbers came up towards the end, though. Yeah. You had a few assists, huh? What are you talking about, like seven?
00:58:26
Speaker
Not sure, but no wherever position he ends up in, he will certainly won't be the only goal scorer out there. And I think his decision-making has always been there, but ah the way Moyz has set him up to play ah has been just like a selfish, like go get, go like, go get as many goals as you can. We need you to score goals, so please. um But I think maybe in a different system, we'll see him passing. Cause I know, You and I both know very well he has the eye for the pass. He had six assists in the Premier League last year. In all competitions, he had 20 goals in 10 assists and 44 appearances. Wow. That's but's silly. That is just silly. got That something.
00:59:14
Speaker
um
00:59:17
Speaker
Yeah, and I think it's important to note that what you said about Moyes is absolutely true, but it's not a negative thing. That is his role on this team. and i think especially if he's playing on the right wing in this team, his role will be different. The same way it is for England. Like when you watch Bowen for England, like you see, he kind of sees some different passes and he plays slightly different. He looks to link more and stuff. Whereas for us, he really is trying to be in the box and get in the bowl, but he still does that for anyone. I think his presence, and by presence, I don't mean like his big body in the box, but like literally him just being there in the box is such a luxury because not a lot of wingers are that eager to get in there. And I think having another body in there like that makes you so much more dangerous sometimes. And it also allows your striker to do other things. For sure.
01:00:08
Speaker
And definitely going back to your Mois point. Yeah. Like you, you can't really say that's a criticism against Mois. Just like, cause quite literally he made the man. Yeah. Yeah. Bowen wouldn't be who he is if it wasn't for Mois. And that's just, and in order for Mois to play the way he wanted to play, Bowen had to fill that role and he did it as best as anyone he could. wants to trophy. Yeah. So it'll just be interesting to see him in a different role. He will be equally as effective, if not more. But he played, he did exactly what he needed to do and and far more under David Moyes. I'm super excited for it.
01:00:56
Speaker
I think that's where we're going to wrap it up this week. Thank you for everybody for listening to us. As i always, you can find the blog at hammering-away.blog. If you haven't read it yet, our good friend Joe Davis, who also does work for the West Hamway with X, as everybody knows. And we appreciate everybody over at the West Hamway too for letting us have Joe write an article for us that also went up on their Patreon. if you I haven't seen it yet. You should check it out. It's up on our blog you again at hammering-away.blog. ah The Twitter is hammering underscore away. The Instagram is hammering away underscore tiktok and is hammering away. Thanks everybody for listening.