Marked for Vinnie Perkins
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Squad30 Aug 2027
A knee injury of the worst kind for Vinnie Perkins
17 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. West Ham United lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Market30 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at West Ham United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
West Ham United asked and Crystal Palace said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
No deal for Johnny Kenny at that price
West Ham United offered $9.2M; Preston said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Transfer targets30 Aug 2027
West Ham United have gone to Stoke City with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Market30 Aug 2027
Nobody at the club will say out loud who this signing is for, which is how you know exactly who it is for. Othmane Maamma has been brought in to take a shirt somebody is still wearing.
Match28 Aug 2027
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
Squad30 Aug 2027
“Some mornings you wake up and you are still a long way from everything you know.” It is not the football and it never was; West Ham United are dealing with a man who wants a different country.
Match28 Aug 2027
It finished 1‑0, and it was Manor Solomon’s afternoon: on the scoresheet when it mattered, and the reason the points belong to West Ham United.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Steady
Squad23 Aug 2027
26 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. West Ham United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market23 Aug 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at West Ham United, and it is not being withdrawn.
Match21 Aug 2027
Birmingham will want this one forgotten quickly: 3‑0, every duel lost, and a long ride home. West Ham United were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
$10.7M on the table at Sheffield United. The manager wanted him, the board agreed a number, and the only voices still to be heard are the ones at the other club.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
West Ham United have gone to Preston with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Two goals and a mark of 7.92 to go with them. Strikers are judged on afternoons like this one and remembered for far fewer of them than people imagine.
Transfer targets23 Aug 2027
West Ham United asked and Molde said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
The dugout23 Aug 2027
Esquerdinha: that is not what I was promised
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” West Ham United have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Player ratings23 Aug 2027
Up for the corner, and James Ward-Prowse delivers — 7.92
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. James Ward-Prowse scored, was marked 7.92, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
From our football correspondent
Crisis
Squad16 Aug 2027
36 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. West Ham United lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Market16 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Transfer targets16 Aug 2027
Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Zenit have kept their man, and West Ham United go back to a list with one name crossed off it.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” West Ham United may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Match14 Aug 2027
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Match14 Aug 2027
0‑1 to Burnley, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout16 Aug 2027
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Squad16 Aug 2027
Esquerdinha and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Loan watch16 Aug 2027
“I did not go to Huddersfield Town to sit and watch. I want to come back to West Ham United and fight for my place.” 1 appearances in 9 matches say the rest.
In brief
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The dugout
The manager’s verdict
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Squad
Kion Etete signs on for more
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Looking ahead
West Ham United take on the side everybody is chasing