After the completion of the transfer for Downing and with Morrison leaving fans’ jawlines agape in pre-season; I have witnessed many supporters calling attention to the number of quality Irish and British players we have amidst our ranks.
Think back to the seventies and eighties where West Ham United were at the prime of their success, many of our team sheets consisted of numerous British players. Our current squad is way off of that standard, although we could quite easily name a starting eleven and subs out of British and Irish players. There is also the fact to consider that we have a youth system rich in local talent, with the likes of Blair Turgott and Elliot Lee amongst our development squad of whom would appear to be part of our future plans.
Of course there are our first team players within that category, O’Brien, Noble, Nolan and Carroll to name a few. With a new look Hammers side for the new season with depth in more positions, our intentions as a club must be to move up in the table and continue to advance on our dream of becoming one of the bigger clubs in the Premier League. Who wouldn’t like to achieve this goal without having to rely on a team of foreign players, like Manchester City? There’s a reason we are know as the academy of football and I hope we can retain our reputation of promoting home grown talent as well as moving forward to become a bigger and more successful club.
In my opinion the new Adidas kit deal and the announcement that the renovation of the Olympic Stadium is now in process, will enhance our steps towards becoming a more dominant side in the league. But it is important that we keep hold of our British and Irish talent in order to aid our success and keep hold of our long held reputation of being the academy of football.