West Ham Shake-Up

Alan Curbishley will meet with Eggert Magnusson tomorrow to begin planning next year's campaign. It is being reported that Magnusson will hand Curbs a war chest of around £30 million, although whether that includes the money raised from the expected exodus of players is not certain.

Comments that Reo-Coker made after Sunday's game seem to suggest that he believes his future lies elsewhere and the same is probably true of Ferdinand. It appears that Arsenal are no longer keen on Reo-Coker. It will therefore be interesting to see if he and Anton Ferdinand feel that a move to Sp~rs or another middle of the table team is a better proposition than staying at a clearly ambitious West Ham. Unfortunately the treatment Reo-Coker and Ferdinand received from the fans this season will probably help them to decide their futures lie elsewhere.

Marlon Harewood, Paul Konchesky, Carroll and Hayden Mullins all seem to be out of first team contention and may well also decide to up sticks and move on. The rumours seem to suggest that Benayoun is not completely happy under Curbishley and will also seek another club in the summer. Today The Evening Standard quote Matthew Etherington as saying, "I’ve had four great seasons at West Ham but perhaps I need a change." And in the last couple of weeks Teddy Sheringham has also been indicating that he will leave West Ham (without Carroll and Etherington to supplement his wages there isn't much for him to stick around for anyway).

So who does Curbishley want in? Barcelona's Gujohnson keeps getting mentioned in connection with West Ham and would be more than an adequate replacement for Harewood. The Times today suggest that Curbs will also try to sign Scott Parker (despite the fact that Parker ended up refusing to play for Charlton when he wanted his Chelsea move). Parker would be another good signing, Martins aside, he has been the only consistent player in an average Newcastle outfit.

Which brings us to Carlos Tevez. Should Alan Curbishley blow the majority of his kitty on one player? I think if you are a West Ham fan (and if you aren't why are you here?) the answer is an emphatic 'YES!'. Unfortunately I suspect that despite the passion Tevez has shown for the club he will soon be watching his friend Mascherano playing in a Champions League final and will decide that his career would advance better elsewhere.

However even if Tevez does leave I suspect West Ham won't be struggling next season. And of course there is the return of Dean Ashton to look forward to.