Premier League preview: West Ham
When last season finished and West Ham just about avoided the drop, their owners – David Sullivan and David Gold – announced that every player was available for transfer apart from Scott Parker.
As it turns out the only departures they’ve had were all the players they released on free transfers. Can that be considered a good summer? Only time will tell, but with the additions manager Avram Grant has been allowed to make this season should be an improvement on the last.
Guillermo Franco, Ilan, Josh Payne, Daniel Kearns, Matthew Fry have all departed the Hammers and you’ve got to say it’s not exactly the expected list with a few days till the start of the Premier League. Alessandro Diamanti, Matthew Upson, Carlton Cole, Valon Behrami were reported to have been the players most likely to leave but they’re still there and that is a good sign for the West Ham faithful.
And recent noises coming from Grant suggest that he is going to keep his best players and is optimistic the Hammers can do well this season.
"I don't want to sell Carlton. He is working very hard. His attitude is good. He is a good player,” Grant said.
"I think the new system has helped him. We also have a team that know how to play football so they can give him the pass at the right time. If you look at all the goals we have scored this summer, all the goals came from combinations between many players in the team. Of course it is good for him."
Consider the additions of Mexico international Pablo Barrera, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Tal Ben-Haim and Frédéric Piquionne, West Ham have, well at least on paper, the look of a team that should be mid-table all season.
But the biggest addition this off-season was appointing Grant as manager. With Gianfranco Zola under constant pressure last season, West Ham needed a season of clarity – something Grant hopes he can give the fans.
"I'm the manager. I pick the players not the Davids [Sullivan and Gold]. We are looking to make the club stronger. It's not easy in the current financial climate but I'm sure we will meet most of our targets,” Grant said in his first press conference.
The tough financial climate Grant referred to doesn’t seem to have affected the Hammers too much. Grant has been allowed to spend over £9million without taking in any money and that’s despite the clubs well documented financial problems.
Signing Barrera, who shone for Mexico at the World Cup, will add pace to a team which was lacking speed last term. If he reproduces the form he showed in South Africa, Barrera could find himself forming a nice partnership with Cole.
On paper the Hammers have a squad big enough to cope with injuries, but Grant believes the new Premier League rules of a 25-man squad could be take a toll on his young side, which includes the likes of Zavon Hines and Junior Stanislas.
"At West Ham we have a lot of young players," said Grant. "I don't think it's good to have 25 men in the squad - we have a lot of games. The physical side is highly pressurised and it's not like any league in the world, so there are always a lot of injuries.”
If things stay the same and the transfer deadline passes with no major departures, any fears the West Ham faithful had of a relegation fight should be put to bed.
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