da bet sport： West Ham’s brilliant start to the season has seen them play attractive, attacking football and has resulted in a place in the top four of the Premier League.
da fazobetai： Many would have expected West Ham to be falling down the pecking order by now but they are still mixing it with the bigger teams. This begs the question of whether West Ham can actually stay in the European places throughout the season, fending off the likes of Tottenham, Everton, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Firstly, they have a manager who has qualified for European football before. Sam Allardyce led Bolton Wanderers to a sixth-place finish in 2004-2005, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Since Allardyce has been at Upton Park, he has built the team into an outfit strong enough to aim for European qualification. Considering the amount of pressure he faced from the board and West Ham fans in the summer, the fact that West Ham are sitting high in the table should prove that Allardyce is the right man to lead West Ham forward. Although the manager has enjoyed the recent success of his team, Allardyce does remain cautious about the potential banana-slip of the upcoming winter schedule and the possibility of losing Diafra Sakho, Cheikou Kouyate and Alex Song to the African Cup of Nations in January.
Another important aspect regarding West Ham’s push for Europe is their squad quality. The signing of Alex Song in the summer was a surprise, mainly because the likes of Arsenal and Liverpool were looking for a defensive midfielder in the summer window. Nevertheless, Song joined West Ham on a season long loan and has grown from strength to strength. His displays have been nothing short of outstanding, showcasing an excellent range of passing and composure on the ball as well as being defensively solid. Another new signing, Cheikou Kouyate, looks like an excellent seven million pound purchase from Anderlecht. His pace, power and stamina make him an ideal fit for the Premier League.
Adding Mark Noble, an ever-reliable Premier League performer, means that West Ham’s midfield is incredibly difficult to overrun, allowing them to keep the ball for longer periods and take the game to the opposition. The impact of the full-backs and the new strike force cannot be ignored either. Aaron Cresswell has quickly transformed himself into an excellent Premier League player after his £3.5million switch from Ipswich in the summer. Carl Jenkinson on the other flank also adds pace and width to the side. In terms of up front, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho add a new dimension to the West Ham attack, offering pace and deadly finishing. Sakho has managed seven goals in nine appearances in the Premier League so far, averaging a goal every 99 minutes.
As well as the new signings adding quality to the squad, West Ham also have a larger contingent of players, meaning that injuries and suspensions will not completely ruin their quest for European football. The only significant first team departure in the summer was Mohamed Diame but West Ham’s new midfield suggests that the team are coping more than well enough in his absence.
West Ham’s European push could also be affected by the January transfer window, with rumours of Winston Reid leaving the club not going away. West Ham have not performed brilliantly in defence this season, having only kept three clean sheets in 15 games, often adopting the old West Ham mentality of outscoring the opposition. However, if West Ham can keep hold of Reid or find a quality replacement in January, they should have enough defensive quality to push for a European spot.
The season is an extremely long one and Sam Allardyce will be praying that star striker Andy Carroll remains fit, especially after he scored two excellent headed goals against Swansea City on Sunday. Allardyce described the big Geordie as being ‘unplayable’ on his day and West Ham will need his undoubted physicality and presence throughout the rest of the season, he clearly offers a different dimension to West Ham’s play so the returning striker needs to stay fit. If West Ham can continue their good form, they won’t have the distraction of Europa League football, something Tottenham, Everton and Liverpool will have to accommodate into a busy fixture list over the rest of the season.
Overall, it is looking good for West Ham as they aim for their first taste of European football since 2006.
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