Carroll in, Maynard out

West Ham pulled off a major coup last night with the signing of Andy Carroll from Liverpool.

The deal will see Carroll join on loan initially with West Ham retaining the right to buy the striker next summer for an undisclosed fee.

West Ham have been chasing Carroll all summer and have now landed their man after Liverpool were initially reluctant to let the player they paid £35 Million for go out on loan.

It looks like Big Sam’s vision for West Ham is finally piecing together with Carroll the man to finish the crosses that will be laid on by fellow new signing Matt Jarvis.

This is a huge signing for West Ham and shows the clubs ambition, in the past we have been linked to many a good player just to be let down, now it looks like the tide is turning and we can be even happier Hammers!

Carroll himself can’t wait to get started and told WHUFC.com:

It’s great to be here at West Ham and all signed up – I just can’t wait to get started now.

I want to be playing games and obviously hoping to score some goals. I know the manager well and some of the lads, so it is nice for me to come to a place where I know people.

I’m hoping to add a lot of goals and create a few chances. I know Sam from Newcastle and he was a massive reason for me coming. When I worked with him at Newcastle it was great so it was a no-brainer really.

Sam Allardyce is delighted to have finally signed Carroll for West Ham and believes he has acquired an all round talented footballer and not just a great header of the ball. He spoke to WHUFC.com:

 I think for all parties this is a great signing. Andy is an all-round footballer, but because he is 6’3″ and one of his strengths is his aerial power, everybody dismisses the ability he possesses on the floor.

Hopefully he can score goals for us and we will be in a very good position at the end of the year in the Barclays Premier League.

Maynard Out

With Andy Carroll coming in this spelt the end for January signing Nicky Maynard who has been sold to Cardiff for £3 Million.

Maynard still needs to agree terms and pass a medical but this looks to be a formality.

It’s a shame for me personally as I liked Maynard and thought he looked very lively and had a great eye for goal and believe he would have done well for us in the Premier League. Maynard follows fellow striker Sam Baldock out the door and I will be interested to see how they are both doing this year and whether we made a mistake in letting them go.

Transfer Deadline Day

It’s that day again where everyone is glued to SkySports News and watching Jim go delirious with excitement over the clubs transfer dealings, don’t pretend you don’t watch it and love it!!

Anyway I hear West Ham are still in the market for a creative midfielder, maybe Joe Cole, and additional defensive reinforcements which I believe we need, especially at fullback.

Let’s hope West Ham can spring a few surprises and we have even more to coo about on the terraces against Fulham on Saturday!

Iron Bobby

West Ham beat Crewe 2-0 in Capital One Cup

West Ham are through to next round of the Capital One Cup after goals from Nicky Maynard and new boy Modibo Maiga helped the Hammers ease past Crewe 2-0 at The Boleyn.

Maynard, who is a product of the famous Crewe academy, opened the scoring for West Ham with a sweetly struck volley from inside the box and in front of the travelling support, Maynard however refused to celebrate in front of the fans of his old club.

Maynard, 25,  joined Crewe as a seven-year-old and scored 35 goals in 67 appearances for the club before moving to Bristol City in 2008.

Maynard & Maiga Celebrate

Modibo Maiga marked his full début for West Ham by doubling the Hammers lead from close range after the half time break as we eased into the third round.

Sam Allardyce made 10 changes from Saturday’s 3-0 Barclays Premier League defeat to Swansea, with club captain Kevin Nolan the only player in the starting eleven to feature from that defeat.

Maynard’s future has been uncertain of late with some corners saying he could be sold, however West Ham No 2 Neil McDonald disagreed with this in his assessment of Maynard after the game:

Nicky Maynard needed a game and he scored against his old team. He has put in a decent performance and that is all you can do – a decent performance and a goal.

He is certainly a goal-scorer and he took his goal very, very well.

He is an important member of the squad and he has put in a good performance today and given the manager something to think about, that’s for sure.

Modibo Maiga also had a very lively game and Sam Allardyce will be scratching his head wondering how Maiga only scored once, the Mali striker was denied by Crewe’s goalkeeper from distance twice, sent a volley over from close range and also headed wide from a good position.

A few markers were put down by players pushing for inclusion for our next league game against Fulham on Saturday, but a win and a clean sheet was just the tonic after the self destruction against Swansea at the weekend.

Maynard: West Ham The Right Move

Nicky Maynard says he made the right move choosing West Ham and his decision has been justified with The Hammers winning promotion.

The striker took some stick following his move to West Ham with some disgruntled supporters suggesting it was purely for money reasons, as some Premier League clubs were also interested in him at the time.

Maynard didn’t make the kind of impact expected, partly because of the success of Ricardo Vaz Te who was a revelation, but still managed to score 3 goals including a cracker past Cardiff in the play-off semi-finals.

Speaking with London 24 Maynard said:

“It is every English footballer’s dream to play in the Premier League and that is the main reason I left Bristol City.”

“I wanted to play in the Premier League as quickly as possible. West Ham came in for me, who were in the Championship at the time, but I knew that they would go into the Premier League.

“I am here now and it is down to me to produce and stay in the top flight with West Ham.”

Lets hope he gets a chance and finds those prolific scoring boots for West Ham this season.

Maynard’s Delight

West Ham United’s new striker Nicky Maynard is ‘ecstatic’ after managing to seal a late deal to join us on transfer deadline day.

The 25-year-old was the subject of a lot of interest in the January window after netting 46 times since joining Bristol City in 2008, even turning down a move to Premiership side Wigan Athletic.

The prolific centre-forward left Ashton Gate on Tuesday night after signing a two-and-a-half-year contract with the Irons.

Maynard who has 81 goals on his professional tally, has a proven goalscoring record and is eager to get his career underway at The Boleyn Ground.

“I’m ecstatic,” he told West Hams Official Website. “It’s been a long day but I’m delighted to put pen to paper and can’t wait to get going.

Over The Moon

“West Ham are a massive club. They’ve got everything geared to get to the Premier League and the Premier League is where I want to be.

“I’m a quick player who likes to get behind and thrives off chances. I’ll keep plugging away all game as I’m not happy unless I’m scoring.”

Maynard enjoyed a schoolboy spell with Arsenal before moving to the Crewe Alexandra academy where he graduated and went on to score 35 goals in 67 appearances for the Railwaymen.

Despite Bristols poor form this season Maynard has still managed to bag eight goals.

Official: Hammers Nick Maynard From Bristol

West Ham United have captured striker Nicky Maynard from Bristol City for an undisclosed fee.

Maynard has signed a two and a half year deal – with an option for an extra year – with the Hammers, was one of the most sought-after players in English football after a prolific spell at Ashton Gate, where he has scored 46 goals in 130 games.

Talking to WHUFC.com

“I’m ecstatic. It’s been a long day but I’m delighted to put pen to paper and can’t wait to get going. West Ham are a massive club. They’ve got everything geared to get to the Premier League and the Premier League is where I want to be.

“I’m a quick player who likes to get in behind and thrives off chances. I’ll keep plugging away all game and as I’m not happy unless I’m scoring goals.”

Great signing in my opinion, along with Vaz Te he will add some much needed fire power to our front line!