This may seem like a very strange article to be writing at this stage in the season especially as West Ham haven’t actually secured their Premier League status as of yet. But with the win away at Stoke at the weekend the thoughts of relegation have been put to the back of people’s minds (for now).
So with the thought in mind that West Ham will be in the Premier League next season what can we expect from them?
I think many West Ham fans would hope that the club would have progressed from this season and will be pushing up the table towards the top 8 and Europe but I can’t see that happening for a good couple of years. The club drastically needs to improve the quality in depth and also get rid of a few players who are on the fringes and who are simply not good enough for a team who want to start pushing up the table.
I honestly feel that West Ham will be looking at another mid-table finish next season and I reckon a lot of West Ham fans will feel that with Allardyce at the helm the club won’t ever push up the table.
The season started very well for the Hammers as they were new to the Premier League for this season and teams wouldn’t of known how they played, but as the season has developed all the clubs have worked out how to play against them. They don’t seem to have a plan B and Allardyce won’t change formation or tactics even if we are losing. I think I have only seen him go 442 about three times this season.
If West Ham are to improve from this season there three things that they will need to assess in the summer.
1.Diame’s contract: Diame is still on the same contract that he signed in the summer which has the release clause of £3.5m. The club need to get that sorted him and get him on a more secure contract that doesn’t allow him to leave easily
2.Full backs: In the January transfer window Big Sam tried to get at the least one full back but was unable to do so. But this is a big priority for the Summer and it is something he and the owners need to sort out. The full backs who are currently at the club are good squad players but not good enough to be starting every week.
3.Strikers: It looks as if Andy Carroll won’t be signing in the Summer which will leave us with just Carlton Cole as our main striker. They will need to bring in at least new additions to the strike force and hopefully one of them will be a natural goal scorer and not a tall striker who doesn’t score. West Ham haven’t had many goals from the strikers this season and that will have to change from next season if they want to push up the league.
Let’s hope for a strong finish to the season for the Hammers and another successful 2013/1014 season.