There are a lot of questions surrounding the future of West Ham currently. The manager, the players, must possibly the most important, the Europa League. It looks likely that the Hammers will slide into the first qualifying round of the Europa League next season via the Fair Play League. So, we asked our team of writers…
Would a Europa League campaign be beneficial or detrimental to the club in 2015/16?
I’m all for a Europa League ‘campaign’, which I’m not even sure it’ll materialise as such. In my lifetime, West Ham haven’t had a foray into European football, and to commemorate the last season at Upton Park, I believe one last hurrah in Europe would be perfect. All this talk of it ‘derailing our season’ I believe is overblown. How far to people think we’ll get? We’d do unbelievably well to reach the group stage, anything more than that is just a bonus. The likelihood is we’ll get knocked out of the competition before the fixtures get too intense. From a fans’ perspective, I just want to make one trip to Upton Park to see us play in a European game of some capacity before we move.
I think that a Europa League campaign would be a fantastic addition to our final season at the Boleyn Ground. We are already a midtable side, so our league form shouldn’t go amiss as a result. As well as attracting a new calibre of footballer in the summer transfer window with the assurance of European action, it is a top opportunity to find out just exactly where we rank as a football club continentally. Furthermore it gives us a chance, albeit an outside one, of competing for a trophy and a route into the Champions League.
I see why people might think of the Europa League as a disruptive addition to our Premiership campaign but I am all for it. Although we have to endure a lengthy qualifying process, it renders pre-season more meaningful. The early-round opposition will not be pushovers and will relish the chance to claim a Premier League scalp so the games will have that competitive edge that pre-season normally lacks. Our squad might not be ready yet but if we can hire a new manager promptly and recruit 4 or 5 worthwhile players, then our squad should have the strength in depth to compete.
The Europa League will be an amazing send-off for the Hammers from Upton Park, and the perfect way to enter Olympic Stadium. The 2006/07 UEFA Cup campaign did not go as well as planned, and a chance to have one last hurrah at the Boleyn Ground will be a reminder of the glory days and increase hope for what lies ahead. Also, European football may bring bigger names to the club: both players and managers. It could be difficult to do both European football and the Premier League, but the possibilities are endless. Onward to Europe, East London.
The Europa League could prove a double-edged sword for West Ham United. Should the club advance from the qualifying rounds, there would be a very real risk of fatigue, injuries, and fixture congestion. On the other hand, a place in the competition may encourage greater summer spending from the owners than if it were a normal domestic season. Furthermore, with a European tournament comes television revenue, participation fees, and publicity. The Europa gamble may hurt West Ham’s standings in Premier League, but the opportunities it presents have the potential to outweigh the disadvantages of a lower-half finish.
I’d have to say at this moment in time participating in the Europa League would be detrimental for the club. The squad is simply not big enough to cope with the demanding schedule but also the travel. Our form has suffered in the second half of the season for a variety of reasons but one of them is injuries. If we lose key players early on, courtesy of playing extra games, we could end up fighting at the wrong end of the table, similar to Newcastle a couple of seasons ago. If we qualify for the Europa league our recruitment will be prioritised on bringing in extra bodies. If we just have the league to focus on we can focus on bringing in enhanced quality to push us up the league table.
Let’s first look at the beneficial factors in the question. Financially, this would give West Ham extra income coming into the club, which can only be a good thing. Secondly, the club will thrive off the European status that comes with it and give the fans some excitement heading into the new campaign. However, it’s not enough. We need to look at the bigger picture and what’s best for the future. If you look at the History of team’s who have made it into the Europa League, for example Everton, would they have had a better season this year if they were not in attendance? It takes a toll on the players, the manager and the staff and I sincerely believe it would affect our season as a whole. Not to mention the depth of the squad and the reliability of injuries surrounding them from this season. We need to establish a firm grip on the league, manager status, and quantity of the squad before we embark on such a high profile campaign.
Let’s be honest too, I would prefer to be in the Europa League on merit rather than ‘How fair we play as a team.’ Give it time, and given our future ambitions with the stadium and managers being linked with the club, we can do well in this competition and still maintain a healthy Premier League position at the same time.
If West Ham United are to qualify and play in next seasons Europa League it can only be seen as hugely beneficial to the club… if we improve the size of the squad and if the squad is managed wisely. We would have to play four two legged ties just to qualify for the group stage, so if we were to go all the way to the final in Basle, Switzerland, then we would have to play a monumental twenty-three extra games in the season. It would be detrimental to our Premier League performances if we asked a group of fifteen-sixteen first team players to play in all those games, so for me it’s very simple what we must do: Do not call ALL of the first team players back early for pre-season training. Let a mixture of players from the first team and the development squad play the first three rounds in early July. That should be enough to negotiate those ties.
Then, if we get that far play our strongest side for the deciding Play Off tie to get into the Group Stage. There is no guarantee we would get that far by fielding weakened line-ups, but I’m afraid we have to be pragmatic about it as we can’t risk burning out players for later on in the season. Once in the group stage we should pick second string sides in probably half of the six games and see where we get too. The likes of Reece Burke, Reece Oxford, Stephen Hendrie, Doneil Henry, Diego Poyet etc. could get some invaluable playing time and experience in the early rounds of the Europa League which served Spurs so well in bringing through Harry Kane.
Realistically we are going to need to add around six to eight proper first team Premier League standard players to the squad and not lose anyone to be able to rotate the squad and compete. If the club is able to do that then we should all really embrace the competition. What a fitting send off for the Boleyn Ground if we can have one last classic European tie under the lights against the likes of Seville or Roma in the knock out stage. It would be wonderful. We just need be sensible about it in the early rounds and show ambition by getting some decent players signed up. I’m up for it!!
At this moment in time I think a Europa League campaign would be detrimental to the club. The squad isn’t the biggest as is as we’re likely to see a fair number depart as the squad is revamped. The strength in depth is not there currently to be able to compete on both fronts, for me it would be great to use the early games as our pre-season fixtures as they’re likely to get the squad into better shape. The early start to the season doesn’t help if we are looking for a new manager, there would be a rush on to appoint someone. An early exit for me would be best case scenario.
After going through all the issues you have to consider related to this subject, Will depend on Who will be guiding us through the season with both Europe and the BPL. If Allardyce stays we are doomed in all competitions, as far as I’m concerned he’s past his use by date. If the miracle happens and we get Rafa, we will be fine with the league, get in a couple of high class players attracted by Europe, maybe even a knockout round run from experience in these competitions. That’s the optimistic view, hoping the fixtures don’t ruin our chances in either leagues and signings aren’t like Valencia in 2015. Depressingly poor.
There are of course, positives and negatives of us being in the Europa League. Qualifying through the fair play league means that we have to do our qualifying in pre-season. This is good preparation for the season ahead as it is more serious, competitive games rather than friendlies against lower league clubs. It is also an opportunity to give youth players a run out for the first team, and with players like Reece Oxford, Lewis Page, Emmanuel Onariase, Moses Makasi and Josh Cullen yet to make their debuts for the first team it could be wise to give them a chance in the Europa League.
Like most things, it has its negatives with a lot more games to be played during the season if we qualify. And I’m sure I share this opinion with most fans – doing better in the league is more important than the Europa League. If these games affect our performance in the league, it means that players are likely to get injured. We’ll need to make more signings if we want to get up to the standard of being able to play seamlessly in both the Premier League and the Europa League.
West Ham fans seem to be polarised by the topic, so we thought we’d ask a selection of other football fans, of clubs who have competed in European competition in the last few seasons.
For a club like City or Chelsea, who have strict fitness regimes, European participation isn’t too big of a deal in terms of amount of games or priorities, because of the amount of planning that goes into making sure everything runs smoothly. For some clubs who don’t often have as much European competition, that planning won’t immediately be in place and it can have an effect on fitness – and, by extension, other competitions. Although, the financial benefits of being in European competitions make it very difficult for any club to pass up.
Plenty of teams in the past have struggled with lengthy injury lists due to the torrid Thursday-Sunday combination, which exhausts players and puts a real strain on other competitions. Everton, Newcastle and Swansea, to name a few, all suffered clear dips in league form due to the hinderance of the Europa League. However, should your team make it through to the later rounds, then the fans can enjoy some truly unforgettable nights, especially for the less reputable teams. Newcastle and Everton in the quarter finals facing Benfica and Kyiv respectively and, of course, Fulham facing Atletico Madrid in the final.
Provided West Ham’s next manager can cope with the midweek trips to Ukraine, as well as the burden of a busy treatment table, then the Europa League will be beneficial to the club. Although they may drop a few places in the league due to their hectic schedule, it is extremely unlikely that the Hammers will be relegated and the fans would probably prefer a European quarter final to a tenth place finish.
All things considered, I think it would be positive. If the club’s eventual ambition is to consistently finish in the European places, any experience they can grab at this stage is valuable. Sure, it might affect their league position next season, but it’s hard to see them getting relegated as a result of the extra games. By the same token, it would be hard to see them leapfrogging Everton, Spurs or Southampton next season so a nice run in the Europa League could be a good thing and might be the best the Hammers can hope for.
COMMENT: What do you think about the Europa League and how it will affect West Ham domestically next season? Tell us below, or tweet us directly @TheIronsCircle.
