With fewer than four weeks until the kick-off of the 2013-14 season, there’s an unnerving and unfamiliar air of confidence around West Ham.
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Enough time has passed, and we’ve enjoyed enough distractions away from football, that last year can be looked back on in a wholly positive light.
The results against teams like Wigan and Reading can be forgotten, the away day failures count for nothing, and costly refereeing decisions are forgiven.
It has also been a great off-season to be a sports fan in Australia. The Lions tour and the Ashes have certainly done much to fill the football void. But the glory of a beaming summer of British sport is infectious, and has got many of us hoping the Hammers can ride on that high back home.
With the start of pre-season fixtures, expectation levels around the club mount in parallel with the levels of excitement about the league starting.
This year, a strange optimism also appears to have descended amongst fans. One based not on a huge and varied recruitment effort, or a costly overhaul, but one based on a tweaking and fine tuning of an already well-functioning squad.
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It does remain to be seen what we have decided to aim for though. If it’s simply a case of securing Premier League survival, then we certainly can be confident.
If we’re looking to build on last season’s tenth place finish and make Europe, there is still work to do before we get ahead of ourselves. By the club’s own admission, we are short of two game changing players. As it stands, we basically have the same players that finished last season, with the addition of a decent left back and a goalkeeper who may or may not stake a claim for the number one shirt.
The fact is however, we have had seasons where we’ve splurged on squad players to boost numbers, with often underwhelming results.
Big Sam has said it is the first time in many years he has been able to go through pre-season with a core of players he is happy to take into the next ten months.
And the stability he and the board have brought to the club does bode well for our long term aspirations, as we can actually believe we are moving forward.
So has there been a more positive time at West Ham United? I don’t think many of us will let ourselves to get too carried away with thoughts of finding the hidden fortunes, we’ve all been through this too many times before, but there seems cause for cautious optimism.
It would be un-West Ham of us to totally let go of the pessimism, and any success should come to us as a surprise, not an expectation.
There have been pre-seasons over the years where the signing of the odd name was enough to raise an eyebrow or two. This summer however things are definitely different. We seem to collectively understand that to mix it with the big clubs in years to come we need to build immense foundations. These foundations can’t be thrown up; they need to be carefully laid down. And, if done right, we’ll have the real deal, a solid team and an awesome stadium…
A football club that can attract the best!
Just wanted to say great blog and nice comment eltel71! Great to hear basic truths and commonsense for a change! For the first time in a long time we are turning into a very well run club with a firm grasp of reality and direction.the board and Big Sam are building excellent foundations and laying the groundwork for a very bright future and the squad is more stable and well rounded than it has ever been. We have real strength in depth for a change. I’ll even go as far to say although I am getting a little bit anxious about not signing more pace and goals, even this isn’t all doom and gloom! It may even be a good thing in the end As it keeps our feet firmly on the ground and help stops us from running away with unrealistic expectations of where we can go this year! I will be happy with and fully expect to see an improvement in performance this season! I think it was a case of needs must last year and at times it was very frustrating as we saw glimpses of what we could do, especially at home. But away we were particularly poor! And that must improve this year no excuses! A lot of people were prepared to give Big Sam the benefit of the doubt last year and much was forgiven for the new found stability and an excellent top ten finish. But fans wont except such poor football this year. Although I don’t think we will win a cup this year or be challenging for Europe, I do expect a vast improvement in performance and consistency. This would be a sign of true progress.
Need another striker then I’ll be happy!! But apart from this one missing piece feel good about the business big Sam has done and the club is now being run properly! I just hope my dreams don’t fade and die…..