Hodgson talks a lot about importance of pre-season. Sure he will be pushing for early signings

Easier said than done but I note that Pascal Gross - probably best buy last summer - came in on 19th May

Read the article. I am commenting on an interview Parish gave, where he admits mistakes were made. I guess Steve is on a negative crusade then, as he talks about negative things (previous mistakes) which is what I am talking about?

If you dont want to read any criticism of anyone connected to the club, why dont you start your own message board website.

You could call it "cloud cuckoo land" or "everytings fantastic....always, lets debate it!!" or something like that, and discuss kittens, clouds, and your favourite colour with your besties.

Trump lost. Badly. Hahahahahahaha.

It seems an honest self-appraisal with a commitment to change things. Hopefully the keeper situation is already sorted. That leaves someone to replace RLC if we can't keep him, another striker and maybe another two midfielders.

Aren't you being a bit negative with your comments ...?

Not surprised that he has admitted to making some mistakes, it would be more worrying if he didn't. He has done a better job than many of his fellow chairmen with basically similar resources, you can discount the top 7 teams.
A lot is made of his transfer activity, but what a lot of posters seem to overlook, it's about getting the right players to fit into the current set up with a desire to play for the club.
It has come to light over the past few weeks that Stokes dressing room was poisonous due to Berihino, Vimmer and a few others, how many players have West Ham purchased only to be moved on very quickly.
Whatever people think about Parish, it's not an easy job and most think he is doing a fantastic job and glad he is there.

No value? Are you certain of that? It is as if the Sky Sports transfer deadline day special only started 6 years ago...

Of course doing deals early has its benefits - the problem is getting the stars aligned. Those stars are the player, his agent, his club and family.

The club wants the best deal so does all it can to run an auction. So even when you meet the asking price you fail to close the deal especially as the player may want to go to a bigger club or his wife to a hotter city/etc.

The agent is key and most of them are dicks. He may or may not be working in the interests of his client but either way its another variable that can throw a spanner in the works.

Unless you're one of the bigger clubs and prepared to pay over the odds it is very difficult to close deals early. Which is why there is a frenzy every deadline day. It is the nature of the beast - like a bad disco used to be one hour before it ends. Suddenly the needy get ready to pair up.