Next season’s team

With West Ham essentially securing safety with the win at Sunderland, I find myself thinking more about what next year might look like.

I feel, and have felt pretty strongly all year, that if the right decisions are made we have a potentially strong team going into next season. The biggest decision that needs to be made is what to do about Ravel Morrison. He is a brilliant talent and has the mercurial nature that all such talents have. I understand the hesitance of the team and of the fans to embrace that but the reality is that part of moving forward as an organisation is going to be learning how to handle such personalities.

The next decision that has to be made is what to do in the transfer market, both in terms of who to buy and who to sell. Recent reports seem to suggest that Jarvis is on the way out. I understand this sentiment but I am not sure it best serves the team unless a better winger is to be had. Our team is flush with talent in the centre of the midfield and Big Sam already has a habit of playing Diame out wide when that is not his game.

There is also the matter of getting one more striker, unless Elliot Lee is ready for the big time. Andy Carroll is a world class talent and I love Carlton Cole but an injury to either puts us in the same kind of bad place we were in earlier this year. Getting one more Premier League player at that position is necessary to reach a higher level of success next year.

One place to look for solid additions to the team would be with the teams that are likely to go down. Many have talked about Sunderland’s Adam Johnson and he would be a great addition to our midfield. If West Ham were able to sign Adam Johnson, a quality striker and perhaps one more defensive stalwart as well as bring back Ravel Morrison, we could be in a position to push on and even challenge for a spot in the Europa League next season.

With one more year before moving to Olympic Stadium, it is key that this be the sort of track the Davids decide upon.