We are now 10 games into the Premier League season and West Ham are set to endure their busiest period of the year, with seven Premier League games to play over the next month.
With The Hammers’ fixture against Man United on Saturday being the first to host fans since March, now seems an opportune moment to review what we’ve seen so far.
Early Indications
After what seemed a tumultuous start to the season after a 2-0 loss on the opening day to Newcastle and a mass discontent among the fans and even captain Mark Noble, criticising West Ham’s sale of academy starlet, Grady Diangana – the team’s prospects for the year looked bleak.
However, despite successive defeats, West Ham went on to show a lot of promise in games where they looked to be in control.
That promise translated over the next few weeks when the Hammers hammered Wolves 4-0 and Leicester 3-0 – two teams that had finished in the top seven the season prior.
Those results were followed up by a very early contender for game of the season when West Ham came back from a 3-0 deficit with 10 minutes remaining, to get a point against current Premier League leaders Tottenham.
Despite only gaining one point in the following two games when they came up against last season’s top two sides Liverpool and Man City, The Hammers had a faultless November winning all three of their matches – the latest being a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
That win lifted West Ham into 5th place in the Premier League table and only four points off top spot. Recent reports have suggested that after West Ham’s tremendous start to the season, they are set to reward Manager David Moyes with a new contract, which would see the manager stay beyond this season when his current contract expires.
Shining Lights
Central-midfield duo, Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, have been a staple in the side playing every minute of the season so far. Soucek has won 58 aerial battles which is the second most in the league and Rice has mustered up an impressive 86.3% pass accuracy. As a combination, their chemistry seems to improve with every game.
Left-back Aaron Cresswell is another player to have played every minute of the season so far and has recorded 3 assists, which is tied for 7th most in the league.
Jarrod Bowen’s pace, link-up play and work rate has proved to be important, resulting in his four goals which is the most in the team, with forward Michail Antonio, just behind on three, despite recently missing three games through injury.
Summer signings, Vladimir Coufal and Said Benrahma, have also thoroughly impressed with the former’s £5.4 million price-tag proving to be a bargain as Coufal has looked to be one of the better right backs in the league this season.
Despite not having started a game as yet, Benrahma has shown what he is capable of, grabbing two assists in the only 65 minutes he has played thus far.
Looking Ahead
After a start which not many West Ham fans expected, the expectations of the side would have increased throughout. The Hammers were one of the favourites for relegation before the start of the season – something many would laugh off now.
However, fans should stay realistic and although many are dreaming about securing a European spot, finishing in or close to the top half will be a massive improvement and could hopefully propel the team going forward.
