Well done indeed! That's good news if he's as good as everyone's saying. Just the right age, and it sounds like he didn't cost much at all. I also like the extra 350 grand we got for Ridgewell off the Villa. I can sense another good signing coming this Jan as well.
Why another striker (Harewood, Zamora, Sheringham, Bellion, Aliadiere, Ashikodi) and Katan, is he cant be that good, playing with f****** Dudu Awat
Another great signing by all acounts. Never have to many strikers but wonder if this takes the pressure off finding a striker come Jan and now frees up some money for a good right back etc Way to go Pards
Sheringham is on his last leg. Bellion and Aliadere are on loan. Ashikodi is young and unproven with a troubling past. That leaves Zamora and Harewood. Plus, I think Katan was a deal too good to pass up. I
I can only assume that Katan was recommended to us by Yossi and if he rates him then he should be fairly good. It's the combination of these two that's going to be good for us. They know each others game, strengths, etc as well as the fact that the presence of one will help to settle the other. I think it will prove to be Pardews best value signing to date.
I get the feeling that Pardew will make one big signing in January. Maybe a loan as well. The Katan deal seems excellent business cost sweet fa by all accounts. Seems to have excellent pedigree and a diploma in ancient history.
Excellent signing, he cost the club £250k + £7k per week, a fortune to me but a bargain in footballing terms.
I guess they got him for cheap,, so it's good. I was never a big fan of katan, I don't know,,,,, he just never seemed to be a real good goal scorer in my point of view. Joining this team is probably great for him, he will improve as a player, I doubt he is as good as Yossi Benayoun but I hope he surprizes me and proves me wrong. I would of liked to put Pini Balili from Israel but he plays in the turkish league. Interesting how Ireland is still crying over Dudu Awat, I would rather think we Israeli's should be upset at him for taking that first goal against ireland. C'mon Hammers, I hope West Ham will get even better, I want this team to do good. They have the best fans in the world so they deserve it even more. p.s. I got my West Ham's Benayoun jersy , I hope not to miss any more games this season. UP THE HAMMERS RIGHT
Price is right I guess, Theres definetly gonna be a huge signing coming up during the transfer window. We will most likely sign another top class striker, either Saha or Johnson, and probably another defender. Id love to try and get Huth on loan from Chelsea if its possible (although doubtful) Rumor I heard is Pardrew wants to play Harewood in the midfield which makes sense to me especially if we sign another striker
From what I've heard, Katan is more of a second striker/winger than an actual centre forward. Thats perfect imo because with guys like Harewood and Zamora we lack anyone (barring Teddy) who's going to come deep and link up play. Also, he's supposedly a very athletic player who's got good pace which leads to a thought I have regarding Benayoun. Obviously Yossi is far more effective played centrally behind a frontman/men. Pardew could be thinking of maybe playing Katan as maybe a wide forward allowing Yossi to be played more centrally. I'd be in favour of that being tried out because imo we're never going to get the best out of Yossi if he continues to be played in his current position.
We have been saying that, Mutu, since Yossi arrived. We thought that bringing in Bellion and Aliadiere on loan would allow us to move Yossi centrally but as yet it hasn't happened. Maybe signing a right winger permenantly instead of a loan would be the right move to make AP reshuffle the midfield to bring out the best of these players. Nothing has been said yet though about playing Katan on the right wing, to my knowledge. One thing that may present a problem for AP though is how do you play an attacking midfielder through the middle without changing the formation? I don't think you can. For Yossi to be effective in attack he needs to be able to get forward knowing that other midfielders are plugging the gap behind him, which usually means playing 5 in midfield. We certainly can't afford to leave gaps in our midfield at this level. So how would it work? We can't really buy another forward but play a formation with one up front. We would end up putting 2-3 strikers on the bench!! So that just leaves playing 3 at the back, which is always a risk. Maybe if Dailly or Mullins played a defensive midfield role this may help. All this does present a problem for AP and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see Yossi in a permenant central role for some time.
Yeah, the formation would definitely have to be changed to allow Benayoun to play centrally. 4-5-1 or 4-2-3-1, whichever way you interpret it. ------------------------Harewood-------------------- ---------Etherington-----Benayoun--------Katan---- ------------------Reo-----------Mullins------------ If we are going to play a 5 man midfield thats how I'd do it, with Katan playing wide. The only problem is, I can't see Pardew changing the formation half way through a season. He likes to keep a settled team and formation so maybe this is an idea for the future. Another variation could be the use of a diamond. In a couple of games this season, I've seen Pardew switch to this style if we're chasing a lead or going for a winner. Basically he moves Etherington in a bit to a make a 3 man midfield and then pushes Yossi more centrally. That could be a possibility as it still allows us to use 2 strikers which would maybe suit the arrival of Katan more.
KATAN COMPLETES SIGNING JobServe are the official sponsors of West Ham United - go to JobServe now for thousands of jobs STORY LINKS Print this page More NewsYaniv Katan arrived at Upton Park on Tuesday morning to complete his signing from Maccabi Haifa, and admitted he was fulfilling a lifelong ambition in the process. The Israel international striker put pen to paper on a four-year contract to become Alan Pardew’s first signing in the January transfer window and, having flown in to London on Monday afternoon, revealed that he had been in a rush to enjoy his first taste of Premiership football. “All my life I have dreamed of playing in England and this is a very happy day for me,” said the 24-year-old. “I hope to be very successful with West Ham United and I am looking forward to meeting my new team-mates. “I only arrived in England yesterday. I wanted to come here to watch the match against Chelsea but my plane didn’t land in time! I didn’t manage to watch it on TV either, but I saw Yossi Benayoun in the evening and he told me all about it.” The presence of Yossi has certainly been an important factor in Yaniv’s decision to leave his homeland and begin a new career and life in England. The pair have been close friends since their youth team days in Israel, and it’s clear our skilful midfielder played a big part in persuading his former Maccabi Haifa team-mate to follow him to Upton Park. “It is fantastic for me that Yossi is here,” said Yaniv, who has so far won 13 caps and scored one goal for his country. “We played together at Maccabi Haifa and for the national team. In fact, we roomed together on away trips with the national team, so we are very good friends and I have kept in touch with him since he moved to England. “Yossi has told me a lot about West Ham United, he said that everyone at the club is very nice, the players are all good friends and that the supporters are fantastic. Of course, Yossi is one of the big reasons I came to West Ham United, and now I am just looking forward to being able to train with him and the rest of my team-mates.” Having completed his move, Yaniv is now available for selection and is hoping to be included in Alan Pardew’s squad for the FA Cup third round tie at Norwich City on Saturday. However, he admits that it will take him time to settle in and says he is prepared to wait for his chance to impress. “Every player wants to be successful but first of all I want to get to know my team-mates and get used to life here,” he said. “Everything takes time and I don’t know when I will play. I need to make the first practice and we will see what happens after that. “I like to play as a wide attacking player, but the main thing I can tell the fans here is that I play for the good of the team and always give everything I have. I am so excited about the opportunity I have been given and I really can’t wait to play for West Ham United.” West Ham United’s legal director Scott Duxbury said: “We are delighted that Yaniv has completed his transfer. There were a number of other European clubs looking at him and, with the transfer fee set at only £100,000, we had to move quickly to make the signing. “We felt that, given the size of the fee, it was an opportunity we couldn’t miss. Yaniv will hopefully prove an excellent addition, and we are now working hard to strengthen the squad further during the transfer window.” YANIV KATAN FACTFILE Position: Striker Squad No: 18 Born: Kiryat Ata, Israel Date of Birth: January 27, 1981 Height: 6ft 2ins Weight: 13st Previous clubs: Maccabi Haifa (1990-2005) Joined West Ham United: January 1, 2006 Honours: Israeli League Championship 2001-02, 2003-04, 2004-05 Israeli Cup Runner-up: 2001-02 13 full caps for Israel Seems he sees himself as wide player as apposed to a forward. Excited about his debut, probably at Norwich.