OPINION
This summer has been a big one for West Ham United. A top class new manager, exciting transfer recruits and largely positive pre season results.
Of course, many teams have had fantastic summers on paper only to flop once the competitive football starts. That is the fate the Hammers must avoid this season.
Expectations have been raised, perhaps irrevocably so. West Ham have always seen themselves as a big club, and now they have the stadium and manager to match. The results must follow.
Manuel Pellegrini is in at the London Stadium, boasting a formidable CV that includes stints at Villareal, Real Madrid and Manchester City. The job he has on is a big one, but everything about the Chilean suggests he is the man to restore the club to its former glory.
He’s set about his task quickly enough. Felipe Anderson has arrived from Lazio for an eye-watering £33.75million, Issa Diop from Toulouse for £22million and Andriy Yarmolenko in from Dortmund for £17million [Transfermarkt]. These deals, plus the additions of Lukasz Fabianski, Fabian Balbuena and Ryan Fredericks, are a recipe for excitement in East London.
The top six are entrenched in their interchangeable places in the Premier League, but the target for the Hammers should be to be best of the rest. They will face competition from Everton, Burnley, Leicester and possibly newly-promoted Wolves, but seventh must be the aim after their summer overhaul.
There is an abundance of talent at the London Stadium now, the most they’ve had for many years, and they have the manager to make the most of that quality. They have no European football to distract them, the domestic game is the only thing that matter for the club this year.
As well as significant progress in the league, a deep cup run in either the F.A. Cup or the Carabao Cup wouldn’t go amiss. Supporters have been bemoaning the lack of cup success for years, but this squad is talented enough to have success in the Premier League while making a run in the cups.
A positive summer off the pitch will generate increased expectations on the field, and West Ham are finally in a position to realise their supporters dreams.
