Season Preview: West Ham United

Overall Outlook - It's been quite some time since I felt like I had any idea what the people assembling the Hammers roster are thinking.  It seems that every year they go out of their way to overstock one or two positions where they really didn't need any more support in the first place.  This year the overstocking seems to be coming at strikers who aren't target players.  With Franco [ed note. Franco was released at the end of last season], Diamanti, and Sears already on the books to vie for time opposite Carlton Cole they have now added Frederic Piquionne and Miralem Sulejmani and are rumored to be after Yakubu as well.  Hard to know why they'd be doing that when there are other positions that are in need of more help perhaps anywhere and everywhere across the back line which is adequate but hardly rock solid.

Hammers sign Diamanti

West Ham have eased their striking problems with the signing of Livorno forward Alessandro Diamanti. The 26-year-old, who joins the Upton Park club for an undisclosed fee, has signed a five-year contract with the Hammers...

Mattia Fontana of Eurosport's Italian website gives us the lowdown on the new Hammer:

Diamanti is an incredibly talented forward, a 'number ten' if you like.

He is perfect in a 4-3-3 formation so Gianfranco Zola could play Luis Jimenez and Diamanti behind Carlton Cole.

He is fast, his ball-control is simply amazing and his shot, always with his left foot, is powerful. He loves to shoot from distance and is also a free-kick specialist.

The big question, for me, is about his character. Diamanti is a bit 'crazy', similar to Paolo Di Canio if I was to draw a comparison.

You had me at "free-kick specialist".