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Where can the Hammers expect to finish ?

bilicby Carl Sampson

When West Ham appointed Slaven Bilic to take the club forward, they were clearly looking to finish higher than 11th in the league which was last season’s finishing position.

The move to the Olympic Stadium was Β tough but in fairness few clubs make immediate successful transitions to new stadiums without a hiccup.

Already the betting firms are not rating West Ham’s chances for the 2017/18 Premier League campaign. There are several big questions that need to be asked. Firstly, just where can West Ham expect to finish in the coming season?

Europa League at Best

Clearly West Ham are not a Champions League club and so the top four is out of the question. The problem comes from the expectations of the fans and the board. West Ham may be unable to match that short term ambition. The overrun of moving to the new stadium will still be a factor this coming season.

If West Ham have any sort of aspirations of competing for a top ten place then they must become accustomed to losing their top players. Very few clubs in Europe outside of the supposed “super clubs” can keep their star performers. If West Ham finish between 7th and 10th then they will have had a solid season.

Loan Signings will be Key

The loan signing of Joe Hart will be a big plus for Bilic. The reported imminent arrival of Β Marko Arnautovic will potentially be even better and once Javier Hernandez’s name is on the transfer papers that will be a huge coup.

An end of season relegation dog figh is no longer on the agenda and why should it be? A state of the art stadium, a solid manager and some good signings should see the Hammers well clear of any trouble come next April and May.

It is unlikely that Andy Carroll will have a season without injury. He’s a paid up member of the same sick note club inhabited by such as Jack Wilshere and Vincent Kompany .

Slaven Bilic will need to remain active in the transfer window but the news that Hernandez has agreed terms and will be announced to have joined the club next week could seriously freeze out Carroll next season.

Running to Stand Still

The Premier League is one of the most unforgiving leagues in the world. Huge sums of money need to be spent and big signings need to be made just to remain competitive.

Any new players that come to the club will need time to gel. Hammers fans need to be patient this season and so do the board. It takes more than just a big stadium to gain success in the Premier League, ask Newcastle United fans!

West Ham will not be fighting for relegation but Bilic will be under increased pressure to improve on last season. and his ofdds of being sacked are probably far higher than the hammers being relegated, even with the impending signing of Chicharito.

Some of the comments that came from the owners last season indicated their obvious ambition. There is nothing wrong with ambition as long as it is mixed with a good dose of good old fashioned common sense. West Ham are a great club but there is massive work to be done to achieve regular top six status.

Fancy West Ham to finish inside the top 10? All Premier League odds can be found below:
https://www.sunbets.co.uk/sports/betting/Football.

 

Carl Sampson is a full time poker player, sports writer and football nutΒ 

 

25 comments on “Where can the Hammers expect to finish ?

  1. Top 5
    Chelski,Manure,Man City Gooners,Liverpool
    Then Everton Probably Kane and co
    If we get our transfer targets us
    8th
    If we want to go better then that we need to really splash the cash like Leicester are doing
    Just an old mans opinion

  2. Arsenal, Man Utd, Man City, Spurs, Liverpool, Chelsea, and Everton will all finish above us. We have not made the signings at the top end of the pitch to break into the top 7. If we had signed Sigurdson and Bats/Martial then top 6 was a reality but the signings we have made have been positive (not as positive about Hernandez is the majority of fans on here) will improve us into top 8 which is an improvement on last season but they are not the signings to move us to top 6. Not I am hoping that West Ham have one more major marque signing on the way which may change my prediction – Sigurdson please !! So as is it is 8th position for me with at best 7th and at worse 10th.

  3. Pretty much bubs πŸ™‚ once group captain Hoble ,china doll , feghouli , Snodgrass are outed
    And we get a top class centre half, top defencive midfielder if sakho is fecked get rid and get another c/f a top creative player plus we all hope some of the young ones will com through, we could be a threat πŸ™‚ the least some silverware , πŸ™‚ to b fair I don’t think we are that far off its just about time and cash available, give it a year or two and see where we have come , quite looking forward to it , just the injured and they’re return that’s concerning πŸ™‚

  4. Spurs are playing at Wembley this season which means pretty much every team will up their game because it is at Wembley, it is hard to predict what effect that will have on them but generally even Arsenal at their best struggled there and Spurs certainly did last season so we can hope that they do also and we can take advantage. For me 5th to 8th is realistic, I think we will finish higher than Everton even though they have bought well so far, they will have European football and a lot of new faces to forge into the team, if we do get these transfer targets over the line and ideally a target man such as Slimani or Giroud and we have good luck with our injuries we should do a lot better than last season, more than finishing position I would look at how many points we should realistically achieve and my benchmark would be 65 for a good season which imo is achievable if we get the players in the right mindset and properly conditioned, if we are doing well this January window could be one of our greatest opportunities to attract talent previously unattainable for us.

    • Well , 32 . Most visiting teams appeared to up Thier game at the LS last season . Something I did mention last season but it was frowned upon . Can’t see the same thing happening for Spurs at Wembley though . It’s the national stadium , not West Hams new ground . I reckon Spurs will be just fine and Thier normal selves and the same for visitors .

  5. The first 3 games will be the mind set 32 πŸ™‚ its all about available players πŸ™‚

  6. We will finish 9th.

  7. Busy boy so short but sweet-8th-10th.
    Btw i know i will get slaughtered from the Noblettes but shouldnt we really be thinking about finding a replacement for him.Ok im going before they appear πŸ˜¨πŸ˜€

  8. With these signings we are not far off from being a serious threat to the perennial top six .
    We have a good solid chance of finishing strongly this coming season . Let’s all hope we can gel into a truly competitive side and crack the Premiership wide open .
    My feelings are that we can , with leadership and commitment, ambition and guts achieve a points tally with a plus Goal difference that could see us playing European Football with a will to win instead of throwing it all away due to lack of squad strength and / or ambition . The ambition being demonstrated by West Ham this window is blowing my mind tbh .
    The one player that really and honestly, in my opinion , needs to up his game for this to happen is ,,, no surprise ; Joe Hart . A lot will be expected of him and after all the furor it is only fitting . Good luck to all new players . Give us a season and a future to be even more proud of West Ham United than we already are .
    God , it’s hard work being a fan .
    Come on you Hammers .

  9. Top 4 and a cup win.

    I always start the season expecting the same, sure beats spending the season expecting doom and gloom.

  10. I prefer to expect nothing but hope for everything.

    But I think a sensible view will be getting safe by new year, a push for top 8 early spring…

    Given the alleged money spent, it will be interesting hearing what the board’s expectations are this season…

  11. You never know. Sometimes one of the top six has a wobble and surely losing Lukaku will disrupt Everton. But I will be happy if we finish in the same position but put in some good performances. Last season felt like almost every win needed a bit of luck. Spurs game excluded.

  12. Understandable to speculate on what our new signings can achieve, but i’m more worried about what Billic can achieve, his tactics and substitutions have left a lot to be desired over the last couple of seasons…

  13. I’m back from my long spiritual retreat in Tibet and I see that West Ham are back on the top. My prayers were answered, aside from the fact that the unplayable, beautiful and immortal China Doll is still here… I’ll continue to pray and to wait… lol πŸ˜‰

  14. Ehi Rads, how are you my friend? Hostage of a gang of figas? That would be a dream, unfortunately, that’s not the reality… I’m getting married in a month and that’s a nightmare… lmao πŸ˜‰

    • Lol yeah some of the lads on here wondered where you were & i said if i remembered rightly you were getting married so you were probably too busy for football bullshyt.Anyway congrats then mate.
      Im good cheers,life is excellent.nice French lady,young kid,so its all great.
      Catch up later mate im just off out πŸΊπŸ˜€

    • welcome back young man.
      the nightmare being.. wedding organising or the idea of getting married? lol
      you missed lots of soiled nappies on here up until the last couple of days, the usual bs about being lied to, sugo full of s##t, everyone is signing players, why can’t we sign any? etc etc

    • Personally I thought you was still trying to cut a deal with bacca,s Columbian agent and just stayed as their main tester oops I mean negotiator πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ then rads let on you were busy getting married and getting withdrawal symptoms πŸ™‚ haha, congrats anyway , china’s still a waste of space no change there matte πŸ™‚ nice to have you back , bubs also πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

      • Hugh stuck Matte in a monastery just outside Milan until he had learnt not to be a misogynistic Italian figa hunter πŸ˜‚

  15. Mattefumi- you think getting married is nightmare a month BEORE the wedding?? Your problems have not even started mate!!! He he only joking. There are plenty of ladies out there with whom married life would truly be bliss. None of them would look twice at me but then I can see why..But a month’s time will clash with football. Bad start. Seriously all the best to you and the lucky lady.

  16. Thanks for welcoming me, guys… and to answer your question… nightmare is the idea of getting married and planning the wedding… lol anyway, my wedding is going to be televised, live from Matera, South Italy. The whole world waits with bated breath… haha πŸ˜€

  17. China Doll is your best man im sure of that Matte.I know you are like blood brothers πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

  18. Yes , can see it now , a TV camera zooming in on matte while escaping in a abandoned dingy πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ only joking matte , just make sure it doesn’t have a puncture πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

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