Freddy Sears was awful against Cardiff. So, Hines will get his chances to play in the first 11. He didn't impress me last season but heard he was excellent in the reserve league.

That loan he had in the last year didn't help either.

I agree with MafiaBoy that Sears was poor against Cardiff. Cole, Carew and Piquionne are all tall strikers. We therefore need a player like Hines, who is small and adds something different to the target men.

i always thought zavon has been the better player out of the two and hopefully barrera makes that rw his own because sears isn't up to the grade

There is a good chance to progress in the league cup after a home draw against Carlisle in the second round.

Sears may have been poor on Saturday but he was one of West Ham's best players at the latter half of last season.

Plus, you should all know what Big Sam is like by now, so i think you can expect 2 out of Cole, Carew and Piquionne to play, instead of Hines.

Chicken: You've not been on the West Ham boards for an eternity (2 days). Are you one of those teenage hoodies released yesterday? How's the plasma tv?

myhammers

Oooooooooooooh someone's tired.

Chicken if you picked two, you can sell it one on gumtree. Just an advice.

John Carew is surely past it he didn't do too well in the premiership these last few seasons, and as for Sears i think you're all forgetting that his natural position is up-front not a winger. If we play Piquionne and Sears up front then we'll get some goals from sears beause Piquonne is stronger in the air than Cole and with Nolan playing behind both fowards i think he'll score about 10 goals as well.

Peanut,

I have to disagree, i think Carew will be a good signing for West Ham. We all know the type of football Big Sam will play, which Carew will be ideal for.

Chicken,

I see your point but at the moment we have 3 target men and Sears who doesn't get played in his natural position for some reason. We seriously need a finisher if we are to get back up. Cole can't finish his breakfast, piquionne couldn't finish a toss and Carew scores a few but not enough on his own.

I agree, Peanut. We need a finisher. I guess that's why Andy Johnson was on our radar.

I genuinely don't understand how your club can afford the wages of Nolan, Taylor and Carew alongside all the players who are still on premier league wages from last season and beyond. It's mind boggling and seems a massive gamble on promotion at the first time of asking. Good luck Hammers.

West Ham have also released a lot of the parasites who were on massive wages e.g. Dyer, Upson, Boa Morte. But, yes, it is a gamble.

West Ham revenues are considerably gone up from the new sponsorship deals this season.

MafiaBoy - surely when you factor in prize money, TV money and tickets the club's revenue has gone down???

West Ham had poor sponsorship deals in the past. May be the new lucrative deals could compensate the less prize money and TV money.

as myhammers said, relasing Dyer, Upson and Boa Morte potentially save 11 million on wages.. I know that's quite a lot.

Fair point. Those three bloodsuckers were on over £160k per week between them, and no offence, but Upson and Boa Morte were rubbish and Dyer's appearance record was a joke. In Taylor and Nolan you've got two guys who rarely get injured and will always give 100%. If Faye can recapture the form he showed when Big Sam was at BWFC, you also have one of the most destructive holding players in English football in your ranks. He was awesome at times.

One more point about Taylor and Nolan. In my opinion, in Bolton's 11 years in the Premier League, we have had three midfielders who have that David Platt quality of turning up in the box at the right time. The kind of midfielder who always seems to time his runs perfectly into the box. Taylor and Nolan are two of those three (the other was Stelios Giannakopolous).