Last season, West Ham had the
season everyone expected them to have but it didn’t please their fans. This is
due to the negative football played all season long and most results didn’t go
their way. This season many fans are hoping will be a different story as a
brand new attacking style of play has been promised, it will be interesting to
see just how attacking it is.
Transfers
Last year was a bad window for
West Ham. Other than the signing of Adrian from Real Betis, nobody actually
made an impact for the side as Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing, Razvan Rat and
Petric all failed to impress and the latter two found themselves released by
the end of the season.
This season has seen West Ham
follow up on their promise to bring in attacking players. Their first signing
was actually a forward in Mauro Zarate who scored 19 goals in 29 games last
season. They have also signed Aaron Cresswell, Carl Jenkinson (on loan),
Kouyate and Diego Poyet. They then added to their promise of signing attack
minded players by signing World Cup star Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho, both
of whom will be looking to make a massive impact this season.
Predicted Line up
West Ham actually have a decent
side when you look into it closely. Their defence seems pretty solid and the
attacking prowess of the two full backs could certainly help West Ham score
more goals. Other than that, their team is slightly above average everywhere
but if Carroll and Valencia can rediscover their best form then perhaps West
Ham can scrape a top half finish.
Squad Depth
West Ham certainly have decent
squad depth. They have a quality reserve keeper who’s name I won’t even attempt
to spell, decent defenders in James Tomkins and James Collins, decent midfield
cover in Kevin Nolan and Diego Poyet and also attacking cover in Ricardo Vaz Te
and new signing Mauro Zarate.
Final Predicted Finish: 16th
Even though West Ham have
significantly improved this summer, I think they will struggle getting to grips
with an attacking style of play and the lack of real quality in the centre of
midfield could leave them vulnerable to counter attacks and a bit more open
when it comes to general attacks.
Predicted Key Player: Adrian
Arguably West Ham’s best player
last season, Adrian will be looking to continue his reputation of saving
important shots and keeping West Ham in games. I genuinely thought a bigger
club may move for Adrian but since he is at Upton Park for at least another 6
months I expect him to keep his performances to the same high standard and possibly
win West Ham a few games with his saves.
By @nathan_said
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