Opinions

Parlour clearly believes cups are West Ham’s best bet

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Image for Parlour clearly believes cups are West Ham’s best bet

OPINION

Ray Parlour suggested that West Ham put all their eggs in one basket by targeting cup glory rather than perhaps aiming to finish in the Premier League top-six.

The talkSPORT pundit claimed the Hammers should be focused on winning the FA Cup and League Cup as he implied they were a team that would avoid the relegation battle, while not being in the fight to finish in the top-six.

“I really think West Ham have to look at cups, I really do,” said Parlour on talkSPORT (09:49, July 29th).

“I think West Ham have always been a good cup team over the years, FA Cup, I’m amazed at the some of the teams they have put out.

“You’ve got to go for it, League Cup as well, it’s a trophy, it’s a day out for the fans at Wembley and I’m amazed at times when a team isn’t going to be dragged into the relegation battle and not be in the top-six, so really you should put your eggs all in one basket.”

While Parlour makes a good point about teams, including the Hammers, underestimating how valued the FA Cup and League Cup is to fans for teams who haven’t won a trophy in years, why can’t West Ham dream of having their cake and eating it too?

Surely Manuel Pellegrini’s side are well within their rights to aim to do well in cup competitions while also having lofty ambitions to finish in the top-six after all the season hasn’t even gotten underway yet, so nothing should be deemed out of reach.

The Hammers finished 10th in their 2018/19 campaign with 52 points and ended up 14 points behind sixth-placed Manchester United, so that isn’t the most insane gap to make up.

This is especially the case when you consider that the Hammers have appeared to strengthen their side in the summer by breaking their transfer record to sign Sebastien Haller, as per the BBC, while also spending big on recruiting playmaker Pablo Fornals.

In fact, notable figures in football such as Harry Redknapp previously tipped the Hammers, while on talkSPORT (8:16 am, Thursday, June 27th), as being capable of finishing in the top-six.

While the Hammers don’t currently have the squad depth to be fighting on multiple fronts, Pellegrini did have a knack for finding talented youngsters in the academy last season and it’s worth noting there are still 10 days to go in the transfer window, so more arrivals can’t be ruled out.

With that in mind, while it is ambitious, Parlour shouldn’t write off West Ham’s dream of a cup and league glory.

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