By Hughie Southon
Let’s be realists – fourth place – if it was ever really was – is no longer on.
The sixth place lies in the lap of the footballing Gods who sometimes seem to control these things but before Saturday, we can no longer think in terms of games being considered “comfortable.”
And if we follow Thursday night with the sort of performance we produced against Brentford when Burnley arrive and gain anything less than three points we are looking into a bleak situation.
That makes the game against Lyon on Thursday as important as it gets. It’s a season-defining affair as victory in the Europa Cup may be our only route back into it.
Should we find ourselves in the dreadful little secondary competition next season it will almost be an embarrassment given how we have all been packing ourselves on the back and talking top four for so long.
As things stand there’s no certainty of that given how close we, Manchester United and Wolves are too each other and with a paper thin squad having been asked to perform to their ultimate limits.
They have had so little rest and all we can now is sit back and pray to whatever God we believe in.
I’ve been a Hammer for too long to over judge but what I do know is the fall out from a failure to win the trophy or hit the top six could have one horrible moment without dramatic summer transfer activity.
Declan’s departure may move even closer as both Terry Westley and Tony Cottee have predicted without some big big players arriving.
As I’ve said many, many times it’s not how you start – it’s how you finish and seventh or eighth is not going to impress those who have carried the team this season – Declan, Daws, Jarrod, Pablo and Kurt.
We are so close – how much closer might we have been with a couple of badly needed signings?
Son, Kane et al stayed at Spurs after finishing in a Europa Conference spot. Arsenal are still up sh*t creek and Man U seem to have made that tributary thier home of late so what’s the panic, I mean really as Hammer this is still a cosmic season whatever!!!
We have punched above our weight with a thin squad all season but have also given certain players a chance to shine which they have done amazingly well.
I say give the board and manager the summer window and if a couple of three players lose patience (or one returns to a team from where he was discarded like rubbish as a youngster) and turn thier back on the club that made them. So be it…I reckon they’ll be sorry they did as they’ll be warming a bench or having to get used to being a smaller cog in a “bigger” machine…
COYI
The point was that whether that is enough to keep Declan and that we need big names in the summer anyway
Rice is going nowhere this summer. He will be our new clib captain next season
And my point is if its not (given that we WILL make big signings in the summer) and some still leave the club do we want them anyway??
Yes cos we want to be successful and show our ambition by keeping our best players. I don’t want this to forever be a selling club.
If we end up in the conference league then so be it. It may be the European equivalent of our own Mickey Mouse cup but it does offer a route to the Europa League and the early group games should provide an opportunity to blood a few promising young players. I don’t think we’re a big enough name in the game to talk disparagingly about that competition to be honest. I remember some years ago an Arsenal ST holder who is a friend of mine referring to the Europa League as “the Thursday night also rans cup”. But looking at Arsenal now I imagine they would grab some Thursday night action for next season with both hands.