Another season is well and truly underway, but despite having a long road ahead, things have felt incredibly bleak. Results matter, and just three games in, we were sat at the bottom of the League table and had conceded a whopping 11 goals.
But what was even more noticeable was the clear disconnect between fans and the club. This wasn’t a new issue. Looking back to the departure of Rice, we never really filled the void that he left. The result of this, alongside a lack of further investment, was a clear struggle to break up play and link up our attack and defence. Our team suddenly felt ineffective.
Late Business: Transfers and the Lack of Strategy
It was the perfect storm: we didn’t have money to invest until the departure of Kudus, watching on as other clubs got business done. While the arrival of Diouf was positive, announcing 28-year-old Kyle Walker-Peters and 33-year-old Callum Wilson felt very concerning, especially as we hadn’t addressed our midfield woes.
Goalkeeper Hermansen couldn’t have had a worse start to life at West Ham, but the clean sheet against Forest offers hope. Overall, one of the biggest catalysts for fans feeling so disconnected was how late we made these signings, putting immense pressure on them to hit the ground running.
The Midfield Solution: Fernandes and Magassa
Then as the window was about to close, we announced Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa—two fantastic signings.
In my opinion, these two have the ability to make or break our season. In Fernandes, we have a number eight that can help us link up attacks and Magassa is a number six that can break up play and get the ball up the pitch quickly. Fernandes looked great against Forest, so my hope is that these two can bring other players back into the game and start bringing out the best in all of them.
Finding the Positivity: The Way Forward
It’s not all doom and gloom. I genuinely believe that our midfield signings have the potential to fix our issues. On top of this, Summerville feels like a new signing and the immediate impact he had against Forest was spectacular.
Our win against Forest felt like we had turned a corner. We had a different formation, we stayed in the game, we took our chances and this has brought a sense of renewed optimism. The long-term fix is an overall strategy and vision that can continue regardless of the Head Coach. But for now, one win after our first three games gave me hope and optimism that we are able to fix things.
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