Zamora and Pantsil to go?

West Ham have given Fulham permission to speak to both Bobby Zamora and John Pantsil, and I understand the pair will have a medical today with a view to signing a deal with the Cottagers.  I think this is a good move for all concerned, though one departure saddens me more than the other.

Bobby Z didn’t have the best of starts at the club but a couple of seasons ago, he came alive.  Not only did he score the goal that secured our place in the Premiership, he followed that up two seasons later with some crucial goals in our relegation run-in, including a beauty at the Emirates which will live long in the memory.  Last season, he was severely restricted by injury, which allowed Carlton Cole to step into his shoes.  When he did return, Bobby always looked enthusiastic but still had the capability to frustrate by losing the ball or not converting easy chances.  £4/5m would be a good return on the player who we got as part of the Defoe deal and a first choice opportunity at Fulham will probably see the boy do good in the long term.  With Bellamy and Ashton both returning to fitness, this was probably not going to happen for him at Upton Park.

The departure of Pantsil is less troubling, although it leaves us with less cover at right back.  Although he has attained cult status at Upton Park, his distribution can be poor and concentration questionable.  We’ll lose a character but not much else.

Both players can expect a warm reception when they return to the ground, but like I say, they are both far from irreplaceable.

The club are also rumoured to have turned down £4.5m for George McCartney.  I think that number represents a bit of a ‘tipping point’, if they were to up it but half a million, I think it will be too good an offer to turn down.  I thought Macca was great last season but is likewise not irreplaceable and Nicky Shorey could potentially be his replacement.  £5m would be good business for a decent full back, though ideally he’ll continue to be part of the squad.

Comments

[Matthew Hammer]

typical West Ham. How on earth could we get rid of Zamora and keep Cole? This is yet another annoyance of Curbishley's reign and i'm starting to question him more and more. The site says we don't mind losing him due to the good form of Cole? i must have been watching a different Carlton Cole last season then. He works hard, but is awful. Whereas Zamora works hard and half the time or more is decent and gets good goals.

Atrocious.

[Gavin Thurston]

Unbelieveable. Where's the permission to talk to the REAL deadwood - Boa Morte, Carlton Cole, Lucas Neill, Lee Bowyer can all sling their hook ahead of these two. Fulham will get two of our most committed and capable players ahead of all the players who haven't made a fraction of their contribution.

I'm in despair at this decision by the club.

[sean]

sorry am i missing something?,John pantsill is an appalling player(people only cheer his name coz they are taking the piss) and boby z even though i will always love him because of that play off goal is a championship striker at best!!!!!!!

bring in eidur gudjohnson any day of the week,and lets then see who's moaning!

[sean]

You cant compare cole and zamora,one is a striker who is good in the air and holds the ball up for the players around him and the other is a striker who relies on his pace,and lets face it when it comes to pace weve got bellars havnt we? also zamora is the worst headerer of a ball in the premiership well apart from harewood that is!

give curbs a chance,for gods sake or go and support someone else and do us all a favor!

[Jo]

sean - he's had a chance.
Zamora wears his heart on his sleeve, he scores good goals when fit.
Cole will never do that for us, he doesn't hold the ball up well, nowhere near as well as Harewood used to.
West Ham have made some shocking decisions with players in the last couple of seasons.

[sean]

Football is all about opinions!
i would wear my heart on my sleeve if i played for west ham aswell but that doesnt make me good enough .remember George Parris ran around like a nutter chased every ball but still was knowere near good enough!

curbs kept us up against the odds in his 1st season youve got to say he done well there!
obviously last season was a let down mainly because of injury but 10th place finishing above spurs and in the top half was not a disaster!
lets give him 10 games to see how he does!but we must give him and the team our full support if you dont support him please dont bother going over there to ruin it for the rest of us!
cheers.

[Simon]

I imagine if we get rid of Zamora, a replacement (Eidur?) will be brought in and Cole will accept a place on the bench for at least a season, having never really been a starting forward anywhere he has gone, whereas as Bobby probably wants more first team football. I agree though, there is other trash to get rid of at the club and these were by no means the first two that spring to mind...

[jon]

What has pantsill ever done??????
he's a waste of space,pardew signed him after watching him play on a couple of videos!