West Ham United’s season ended with three points won and a fourteenth spot in the Premier League secured, above Spurs, Manchester United and Wolves with 43 points: Just one more than the total of 42 which saw Glenn Roeder’s side relegated in 2002-3.
The day did have a similar ‘end of era’ feeling about it as the team stood taking the applause from the away fans, all of those departing coming forward to gesture their farewells to the crowd. I did find myself totting up the ‘likely’ departures in addition to those we know about: Lucas Paquetá taking the applause at the end did almost look as if he was waving goodbye.
Mohammed Kudus didn’t celebrate when he scored – as if mentally he’s already checked out and is just waiting for his ticket. Emerson Palmieri didn’t even make the squad and will surely be on his way this summer too – the Brazilians another pair of the Hammers’s ECL winners from just two years ago, along with Kudus, seem destined to join Fab, Coufal, Cressie, and Ings whose departures we already know. Plus of course Antonio looks less likely to return in his former capacity.
Big change is afoot and the direction of travel isn’t known. There’s a vacuum just now at the club as if waiting for the ‘main event’ to kick off when the window opens. Change, they say is neither good nor bad, it is just essential.
I could just have done with another season of some of these players showing their best: It seems sad to see the ‘boys of ’23’ dissolved so meekly and dispersed to go on to better, or different roles elsewhere. Just hope we don’t wait another 43 years to see their like again.
Good to end the season with a much needed win and an opportunity for Cress to come on in his final appearance against his former club. Must admit for the first time in years I couldn’t be bothered to listen to the game or even watch the highlights after the hugely disappointing season and mediocre football this season. Entertaining it is not,
Already decided not to renew my ST as I just can’t be arsed to do the 5 hour round trip to see the club I love losing its ambition, traditions and identity. Without Bowen the club would have been relegated and unless there is a change of owners and manager, together with huge investment, I fear for the club’s future as a PL team. Will miss the banter and regular faces but not the apathy and boredom of watching 9 defensive players against teams in the bottom 3. I suspect there will be many others who are also wondering whether to renew.
Let’s talk Potter;
Looking back at his time at Chelsea, it appears there are similarities between his time there and since he’s been here – the question is… what has he learned from the experience during his time at Stamford Bridge and what he can do with those lessons to help us?
At Chelsea he had a bloated squad of 40 players – an abundance of talent that he couldn’t keep happy!
At West Ham he has a Dads Army of what appears to be 40 year olds – massive experience, little dynamic energy.
At Chelsea, frequent changes in formations and player roles led to confusion and a lack of identity on the pitch. The absence of a settled system made it difficult for players to adapt and execute game plans effectively.
At West Ham, significant injuries to key players have taken its toll for the most part, but we are seeing green shoots of an identity starting to emerge.
He now has a transfer window to build on and bring in new signings he sees as the best option to get us back to where we need to be, challenging the top six;
Heres a reminder;
2019–20. 39 points – 16th
2020–21. 65 points – 6th
2021–22. 56 points – 7th
2022–23. 40 points – 14th
2023–24. 52 points – 9th
2024–25. 43 points – 14th
It’s easy to let players go, the difficulty is in bringing replacements in and we’ve been extremely hit and miss at that in recent times. We don’t have a lot of leeway for getting things wrong, I’m not optimistic bordering on fearful. Keep Sullivan out of it for petes sake.
Meantime when was the last time that we were 14th ? We climbed a few places just at the right time for it to pay is a starting bonus.
Major overhaul is essential as we know.
How it pans out is anybody’s guess, so now we approach the Summer of truth….
The biggest bonus for me this weekend was to see Martinez sent off and possibly costing villa a champions league spot , season after season he wastes time and has got away with it he even embarrassed his country in the World Cup,clown is what he is
‘the ‘boys of ’23’ dissolved so meekly’. You rather miss the obvious point here. The reason we were successful in winning the Conference was that we had an experienced squad the core of which had been about for a while. Even then there was the looming crisis on the horizon that the team was aging and the recruits we were bringing in, or looking to bring in were no spring chickens either. But Moyes developed that squad and won us a cup. But in true Moyes fashion his horizon is always about getting through the next twelve months.
We live in a world where the PL gets faster seemingly every season and during the season the comments are about how the current squad is too slow, too old. Yet, at the end of the season there are tears about how ‘the boys’ are moving on. Is your idea of keeping someone like Cresswell because it would be great to see him get torn a new one every other game he plays next year?
There will be moments next year when we’ll wish we had kept some of these players. But there will be others when the logic of letting them go will be equally obvious.