What Would You Consider a Successful Season?
Meirion Williams: Whenever this question comes up at the start of the season, my answers have always been predictable. Top end finish in the league and a good cup run. Maybe we’ll get a bit of luck in the FA Cup and win that competition. However, after last season, our form and our current manager, I would consider a successful season as avoiding relegation as I have that fear that this year.
Gary Pitty: Based upon a difficult campaign last season with the changing of manager and a rebuild job ahead, I think we need to aim for a top 10 finish but ultimately avoid being dragged into a relegation battle. It’s going to be tough for Graham Potter but he must be given time to embed his own players.
WestHamRambles: Potter had a tricky end to the season, and he needs to push on now and make his mark. We need to be looking for a top 10 finish, and a decent run in one of the cups. We also need some morale-building victories against the likes of Spurs, Chelsea and Arsenal.
Dawud Marsh: I would say a top 10 slot or safe mid-table. Potter is rebuilding the team and he has started from the back, so clearly prioritising achieving some clean sheets. A good season would be us not in a relegation battle.
David Meagher: To be honest I would just like something to get excited about – a cup run or even a relegation battle would do as we look like a dull lower mid-table outfit playing mediocre possession ball. There’s time to overhaul the squad and we can hope that as Potterball embeds maybe we will improve but there’s little sign of that yet.
What have you made of our transfer window so far?
Meirion: So far I think we picked up two good signings to bolster a weak defence. Add into that the permanent signing of Tobido and it shows promise. However, they’re still clearing holes in our squad and it’s fair to say we are pretty weak in a lot of areas. We do need a striker at least.
Gary: Well there has been a clear out with a lot of experienced players leaving. Not many have arrived. However, the two that have, Diouf and Walker-Peters, look to be solid signings. With money from the Kudus sale hopefully some legs in midfield are bought. We really struggle with energy in the middle of the park.
WHR: Standard Sullivan form, a lot of noise but not much actually happening. There is some dead wood still to be shifted, but that is what happens when you overspend on poor players. Diouf looks very promising and KWP is a very solid back up. Lots more to do at this point, our midfield still needs a lot of work.
Dawud: It’s early days but some good business so far. Both Diouf and Walker are highly regarded and Walker has the Premier League experience we need. Plus we need cover for when some players leave for AFCON. It’s sensible to build a solid defence and Diouf performed well in his first preseason match against Grasshoppers. I’m sure there’s more business to be done, let’s hope we can do that sooner rather than later.
David: I disagree, the two signings are hardly earth shattering. Losing Kudus is a step backwards as he can be tremendous in a functioning team. That said, Summerville should be back and I’ve always thought Aguerd and Freddie Potts would be good in a Potter system and I hope we don’t loan them out again.
Who would you like to see us sign before the window slams shut?
Meirion: No names from me as it’s pretty fruitless because we get linked with so many players online and then it’s a rarity for any of those potential signings to bear fruit. We are desperate for a striker and desperate for some support for Bowen. We also need to replace Kudus. I said no names, but I would love to see Jack Grealish sign for us but I can’t see that happening.
Gary: Whatever you think about Jack, he’ll certainly excite the fan base if he has a little freedom to run with the ball like his Villa days rather than the five yard pass Pep instilled in him. We need a striker as well. We can’t rely on Fullkrug all season looking at his injury problems last season.
WHR: A goalkeeper who can use his feet, two pacey midfielders and a good striker. If there are any magic beans left, a centre back too.
Dawud: I’m with Gary here, Grealish would be a good signing. Plenty of Premier League experience and he will add something extra to our midfield. A striker has to be a priority along with a goalkeeper. But our funds are limited.
David: There’s a lot of nonsense rumours out there. We need a striker and a pacey central midfielder.
Where would you place Mohammed Kudus in our list of Judases?
Meirion: That’s a bit like classifying Bobby Moore, Declan Rice and Michael Carrick as a Judas. Let’s be honest, Kudus was not with us long enough to make any real impression in my eyes. There will only be two Judas for me, Paul Ince and Jermaine Defoe. Kudus doesn’t even run close to those two.
Gary: He’s not in that category for me really. As Meirion says, he wasn’t with us long enough. He also won’t be at Spurs for long based on his loyalty to clubs. He only went there due to Champions League football. Let’s face it, would he have gone there if they didn’t have that? They were just as bad as us last season. Why didn’t more clubs come in for him? Perhaps they saw someone who hasn’t got the correct attitude.
WHR: Not that high to be honest – I don’t think he’s the sharpest tool in the box. He is also all about him and he’ll move on from Spurs as soon as it suits him. We also need to remember that Sullivan was hawking him around for sale in January, that’s hardly going to make a player want to stay.
Dawud: Good riddance to him to be honest. Didn’t have his heart in it last season and doesn’t have a great history of commitment to clubs. As Gary says, he won’t be at Spurs for long. It’s just another reason to not trust our owners to be fair. We need to get rid of players who are not up for it and clearly don’t want to be at the club. Kudus for me was top of my list of players to sell.
David: I am really disappointed to lose Kudus but in reality he wants to play on the right wing which is the only non-negotiable position in our squad as Bowen is king. It’s a measure of how business-dominated things have become that true-betrayal doesn’t really happen in modern football as we just take the money and run. I don’t think that he’s even in the top ten.
Which months are you afraid of judging by our fixtures, and which are you looking forward to?
Meirion: Simply put all of them. We need to start off well otherwise I can see the team collapsing very quickly and the relegation battle ahead. August, September and October are the ones that will define our season.
Gary: Any months are difficult in the Premier League as it’s competitive throughout. We need a good start, maybe seven points from a possible 12 should keep us on a steady trajectory. Where the points come from, who knows but that’s West Ham and that’s football.
WHR: It is vital we get off to a good start in August and September. Sunderland, Forest, Spurs, Palace and Everton are all interesting games, and all fixtures we can get something out of. Chelsea have looked good pre-season, so it will be interesting how we fare against them. Hopefully, we have kicked on and will be in the top 10 by November, if not could we see another Burnley, against Burnley on the 8th?
Dawud: I think post-Christmas is going to be tough for us. With AFCON on and if we are not doing well in the league, it’s going to be a tough run into the end of the season and my worry is that if we are struggling come the New Year, there will not be funds for any transfers.
David: It’s a mixed start in which we need to get points on the board and then the month up to Christmas could see us slump. Christmas looks like a period in which we can grab points and the run in looks OK. All in all, it’s a pretty balanced fixture list.
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