Thursday 16 July 2009

When Ashton Goes, Where Does That Leave Duxbury?


So, the Newham Recorder has come out and said it, the absence of Ashton from the tour of Austria stinks. Every other member of the first team squad is there - even Behrami - as part of a team bonding exercise, so why has Ashton failed to make the journey? The Newham Recorder have reached the conclusion that Beano is about to roll up his medicare kitbag and move to treatment rooms new.

And if that happens, where does that leave Duxbury? Well, still in charge of course because the guy appears fire proof - who knows what he knows and what damage he could do if cut adrift? But what about those interviews and his assurance that Primadeano was going nowhere. He was very categoric if you remember. "I am not selling Ashton to Stoke".

However, regular readers might remember that I pointed out the escape clause that Duxbury had allowed himself. The Slippery One positioned himself in a such a way that the door was left open for Zola to sell Beano. When Primadeano departs, therefore, Duxbury will be able to claim, "It was a footballing decision made because, after assessing the strengths and weaknesses of his squad, the manager decided that Dean Ashton was surplus to requirements." Anybody fancy a bet?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

looks like you just answered your own question.

i can't see how ashton will pass a medical anyway, he has been injured two and a half year and as soon as he plays 4 or 5 games he is out another year. hopefully stoke are so desperate just like hull were with bullard and they ignore the fact he is a crock and pay up only for him to break down after a few weeks

Xcott said...

Er but Ashton HASN'T GONE.
This is a nothing story.
Why dedicate an article to idle speculation... sorry, I should learn, that is exactly what you do!

Anonymous said...

Evening Standard is saying Dean is two months away from full fitness but doesn't elaborate.

Anonymous said...

I'll hold my hand up and say that in the past I haven't been very constructive in my criticism of this blog but I do find myself in agreement with you here.

With Stoke fans claiming to be ITK suggesting the deal will be done by the end of the week, Ashton seemingly missing and not in action something feels very dodgy.

Have heard rumours that Deano is still only 50/50 rated on being able to play again, in which case why can't the club admit this?
There are accusations that Deano's OCD attitude stinks and it is as much a psychological state keeping him out of the game and at home with the Dominos but then he has a private physiotherapist which means the club may not know themselves.

Ultimately I was a big fan of Ashton and have to appreciate that his ankle break has totally destroyed the prospects we could have had over the last three years, but now patience is running out and I feel that he does not have the desire to be here - whether that is his fault or the fault of previous and current management is unclear.

However if Duxburry goes back on his word it would take a replacement signing of high calibre to appease the outrage of yet another lie.

Duxbury's eyebrows said...

Oh for God's sake fanno, leave Ashton alone, I am absolutely sick and tired of people jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst then constantly knocking him, if anything he probably needs a bit of moral support from the fans but no! Instead he gets a constant berating and what makes it so sad and even embarrassing, is that it is coming from our own fans. It's not his fault that SWP done a stupid and rash tackle on him during an England training session, a challenge that by all accounts would have seen SWP having an early bath if it had been during a real match. It is not his fault that Curbishley's bunch of quacks never sorted out the problem once and for all, instead they just patched him up and wasn't there a report form some institute that basically dammed the training and fitness regime of Curbishley and Co? So he's stayed back in Blighty with Terry Dixon to work on his fitness, so what? It is not up to him to say when he is ready, it is up to the consultants and the physio who are and have been working with him to say when he is fit enough to play, like I said, I am sick and tired of all this Deano bashing at the moment and it is all on the back of rumours, speculation and assumptions and I just wish that people would stop it and save it for a time when we do know more(that's if there is any cause for it of course):(

Hammersfan said...

1156, thanks for the backhanded compliment LOL. Love it or hate it, the blog gives people something to react to n'est pas?

Anonymous said...

Since all these Dean Ashton stories are based on rumour and speculation, is it not time for the club to make a definitive statement on his fitness? Weekly appraisals and updates maybe? Would anybody believe them?

Hammersfan said...

1403, I think the problem is that the club's assessment of Beano's fitness varies somewhat from what Primadeano believes. Remember, Zola was predicting a return before the end of last season and Ashton hurried out a statement saying he would return when he was good and ready.

Anonymous said...

Sorry Fanno but absolutely crap points mate! For a start the only speculation that Deano is leaving has come from Mark Holmes at TeamTalk. And guess what? He's a Stoke fan and has been winding-up the Stoke fans on his forum! One or two other journos have rushed to follow the story rather than be left behind but it is all just nonsense IMO. It's most likely that Dean Ashton is still recovering...

Scott Duxbury is our club's CEO and has stated on WH Till I Die and KUMB that Dean Ashton is going nowhere but hey, don't let facts stand in the way of a "good" story.

West Ham has a Technical Director - Nani and a Team Manager - Zola. They now decide whether a player stays or goes as the club are running profitably again. How do we know? Well Scott Duxbury told us that's how!

Well of course, it's easy pickings to throw conspiracy theories into the ring but what if he was actually telling the truth? Doesn't it seem likely that he probably was? Zola and Nani should be the ones to make decisions on players.

Our club employs these specialists yet by your theory Scott Duxbury over-rules them and sells Dean Ashton. Yes OK that really works because Zola and Nani are such tame push-overs aren't they Fanno?

Billbansy

Muggins said...

As a relatively new follower/fan of all things WHUFC I am fast becoming disenchanted with our club. It really does seem to me that the club is forever badgering fans/supporters for yet another pound or two for one thing or another, but it rarely gives proper news about what is going on within.

Most of the news on the club's website could only be described as 'spin' - designed for nothing more than to keep the poultry coming back for more. It genuinely appears that it (the club) has a developed a culture of trading, as much as it can, on the fans' passion and largely treats us as fools.

This situation with Ashton is a perfect example of the intransigence demonstrated by the club towards its fans. Anyone with an ounce of empathy towards the fans would understand that they would like to be informed about the progress or otherwise in respect of one of its most talented players.

There will come a point in time when this convert will cease to endure being treated as a mug.

Hammersfan said...

I agree with all you say Muggins except for the last bit. Once West Ham is in the blood, it cannot be purged. Like marriage, it is Til Death Do Us Part.

Anonymous said...

Still talking to yourself fanno ha ha. Love the names you come up with though Muggins, you certainly are. What's a real classic is that you answer yourself too, brilliant. I'm a schizophrenic and so am I

Hammersfan said...

And somebody who agrees with me must be me I suppose? I agree with you, because you are me too. There is nobody else here! Everybody is me! But that's true on the Mordant Org too!

Muggins said...

Yes, I know what you mean hammersfan, but I am a new convert. There was something about the east end and the club's history that attracted me.

The passion has been rising in me and growing stronger but being from other 'fields' it (the passion) hasn't been there that long; so I'm vulnerable to poor treatment on the part of a club that might enjoy the support.

Love is a two way street and I don't like to be burned - especially by those I love.