West Ham fans were treated to a thrilling season in what was a fitting tribute to the end of our time at the Boleyn ground.
While we may have slipped up on the last day of the season and nearly lost Europa League football, only Manchester United’s FA Cup win putting us in the qualifier, this past season marked a record campaign for the Hammers.
In terms of titles, it is obviously not our best season, but it is easily our best performance for several years. I think a lot of fans will agree with me that this year was the first in many that we haven’t had to worry about staying up and managed to finish in a very comfortable position.
The squad that Slaven Bilic put together has been one of the most pleasing to watch and gave an attacking edge that has been missing for some time.
The attacking prowess had made Bilic’s team record breakers at West Ham United. 65 goals is the most goals that have ever been scored at the club in one season, which earned a total of 62 points, the highest amount the Hammers have accumulated.
It wasn’t just about the attackers either as the defence had a strong season to help secure a goal difference of +14. This is the best that any team has kept and the first time West Ham has finished a top-flight season with positive goal difference.
Bilic’s set up and transfers had a strong impact on the side from day one and brought the best out of every player.
Aaron Creswell and Andy Carroll played a big role in this team’s success, with the former fulfilling attacking and defensive roles brilliantly. Carroll needed good and constant service to be prolific and he got that as Dimitri Payet and Michail Antonio joined the side.
Payet was the key this year with practically all ball movement going through him. This, added to his world-class skill at set pieces, got him a total of nine goals and 12 assists in the league.
Antonio managed eight goals and three assists which is still impressive considering he didn’t play until late in the season and spent a large amount of his playtime at right back.
These players brought the confidence out in others with Mark Noble putting in one of his best ever performances for the club; he was superb at leading the team and controlling the midfield.
It was clear that this season was going positive fairly early on when West Ham became only the third team to beat Manchester United, City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool in the same season. They also didn’t lose any of the return games against these teams. The Hammers also managed to get to the last 16 of the FA Cup, knocking out Liverpool along the way.
Whether the team were playing well because of the feeling of it being our last year at Upton Park or just because this team worked so well, or a combination of the two, this was still a side which dominated many others.
Whilst it was disappointing that West Ham didn’t win any silverware this season, and European qualification was not in our hands at the end, this season has shown the beginning of a promising future.
The Boleyn got a good send off, not just the last match but also the whole season, and hopefully the new stadium will help the side to grow even more.
