When a host of pundits predicted West Ham United would reach this stage of the season bottom of the table with no points there weren’t too many fans disagreeing with them.
West Ham fans gutted young striker can’t fill in for Antonio
But fast forward six games since that lacklustre opening day defeat to Newcastle and things are very different.
West Ham have earned eight points from one of the toughest runs of fixtures ever handed to a team at the start of a Premier League season.
Their performances have caught the eye and David Moyes’s side have also emerged from the run with a positive goal difference.
The Hammers should by rights be on 10 points, which would be a fairer reflection of their start.
Hammers deserve more points but it is still a positive start to the season
West Ham should have beaten Arsenal in their second game. Indeed they could have beaten Liverpool had Pablo Fornals squared for Jarrod Bowen to make it 2-1.
But a draw against Arsenal and Liverpool rather than 2-1 defeats would have been justified.
Despite that it is still a very solid and respectable start. West Ham fans should be excited for what’s to come.
Instead a poisonous divide between fans and doubts within the dressing room over Sebastien Haller threaten to derail the positive momentum.
There has rarely been a player who has polarised the opinion of West Ham fans so much over the years than Haller.
Marmite Haller dominating West Ham conversation
One section of West Ham’s support feel the £45million Frenchman is lazy and doesn’t want to be here given his body language.
The doubters point out he played in a completely different system at his previous clubs which got the best out of his abilities.
It doesn’t help that Haller has Michail Antonio in front of him when fit.
The powerful, pacy grafter has set some benchmark when it comes to workrate and goals since football restarted after lockdown.
The truth with Haller is probably a bit of everything.
He could certainly work harder in the lone striker role, as Jamie Carragher brutally pointed out several times in commentary during West Ham’s defeat at Anfield.
But what was also clear from that game is that he really doesn’t get the kind of service he thrives on either.
It may be that long-term this just isn’t going to work for Haller and West Ham. Some transfers just don’t work out.
And it may be West Ham and Haller cut their losses in January or next summer.
The divide over Haller isn’t limited to the fans, though.
Divide threatening to derail excellent start
Moyes piled the pressure on the forward before the game at Liverpool, telling him it was time to start producing (Blood Red & Claret & Hugh).
And some of Haller’s own teammates have not been overly impressed according to former Hammers striker Bobby Zamora.
Speaking after the defeat to Spurs when football returned last season, Zamora claimed two current West Ham players told him they feel Haller is ‘too soft and must toughen up’.
Zamora also criticised Haller for not adapting his game for the Premier League following his record £45million move to West Ham.
And it is that divide which is dominating all conversation about West Ham at the moment.
Supporters are bickering constantly on social media. The focus on West Ham is shifting from positive to negative as a result.
The spotlight is now firmly on how Haller performs in games against lesser opposition during Antonio’s absence in the coming weeks.
The only man who knows whether Haller has got a future at West Ham is Moyes.
And it is his job to find a system to suit the striker while Antonio is out.
Many want to see Said Benrahma come into the team to play closer to Haller alongside Bowen.
Others want to see Antonio and Haller up top together when the former returns from injury.
But that would require abandoning West Ham’s new formation which has served them so well this season and made the east Londoners infinitely more solid.
This weekend’s game against lowly Fulham is the perfect test bed on paper.
But Scott Parker’s side have been steadily improving of late. And West Ham cannot turn up expecting to roll over the Cottagers and Haller to suddenly flick a switch if Moyes sticks to the same formation and personnel.
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