West Ham United have shown they mean business showcasing an attacking flair and quality with the ball during Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League victory over struggling Watford. New Signing Sebastien Haller dispatched Watford with two emphatic goals, placing emphasis that he is the man for the West Ham job. After getting three points on the board, the Irons will relish the chance to carry on their blistering form when hosting Premier League new boys Norwich this Saturday.
The Hammers suffered a chastening 5-0 defeat at the hands of Premier League champions Man City at the London Stadium to open the season. Pep Guardiola’s men were in irresistible form as Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring, England forward Raheem Sterling fired in a hat-trick and Sergio Aguero hit a late penalty. However, it would be unfair to judge West Ham’s prospects for the 2019/20 campaign on this game alone, and fans can actually take a few positives from the match.
Man City are arguably the best team the Premier League has ever seen. They won the title with a record-breaking 100 points in 2017/18, they won the domestic treble last season and they have swept aside all their rivals along the way. They have played West Ham seven times since Guardiola took the reins and each one has resulted in a comfortable victory for Man City.
This game was always a write off. West Ham simply cannot live with the brilliance of Man City’s attacking play. Very few teams can. It is not in the Hammers’ DNA to sit back, soak up pressure and use defensive strength in a bid to battle to an unlikely victory over a technically superior side. Pellegrini does not set his teams up like that. They are encouraged to play expansive football, commit men forward in attack and take risks in an effort to unlock defences. It works against many opponents, but Man City will rip you apart if you try to play them at their own game.
Yet it was encouraging to see the Hammers make a bright start against the Premier League champions. They actually dominated the first 20 minutes of the game, and it suggested they could thrive against less vaunted opposition.
West Ham’s defence is the weakest link in the team and that has been the case for many years now. They are always liable to concede, but they should be strong enough going forward to secure plenty of fine victories over the course of the season.
It was a baptism of fire for record signing Sebastian Haller, but he held the ball up well throughout the game and his performance was promising. He has big shoes to fill after Marko Arnautovic decamped to China, but the French striker looks perfectly capable of flourishing in English football.
He banged in 14 goals in 27 games for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, and he was known for his strength and his ability to bring teammates into play.
“What a s*** game to start with!” he joked before the match. “I go there for a lot of money, now first game City! Why? There are better games to build your confidence! Hopefully I will touch the ball! We will see.”
That pretty much summed up the sentiments of most Hammers fans. It is now time to put this game behind us and look forward with renewed optimism to the remainder of the campaign. It was good to see Pablo Fornals come on for his debut and he looks as though he could nail down a place alongside Declan Rice in the heart of the West Ham midfield. He delivered a string of fine performances for Spain’s under-21 team as they won the European Championships this summer and his composure, passing ability and reading of the game will be a great asset to the club.
It was also great to see Jack Wilshere fit enough to start the game. Mark Noble is due back and the Hammers look well stacked in midfield. Javier Hernandez offers an alternative to Haller up front, and they could even play together as a little and large duo in some games.
Felipe Anderson remains the best player at the club and he will terrorise Premier League defenders once again this season. He should now be fully acclimatised to the pace and intensity of the league and we all know he has the flair to light up any game. Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko also dynamic and creative, so the Hammers really should have no problems going forwards.
The main issue is obviously the defence. Lukasz Fabianski is a decent goalkeeper and Issa Diop is a strong centre-back, but the rest of the bunch inspire little confidence. A fit and mobile Winston Reid would help matters, but that could be wishful thinking. West Ham will surely leak goals this season, but fans are well accustomed to that by now.
The Hammers will not be troubling the top six, as illustrated in no uncertain terms by the Premier League betting markets. But they could realistically expect to fight the likes of Leicester, Wolves and Everton for seventh place. A top half finish should be the bare minimum expected of this group of players.
They sneaked 10th place last season, their first top half finish since 2016. That is where the bookies and many pundits expect them to end up this time around, and that would not be disastrous. However, West Ham should be more ambitious than that. They have every chance of making a much bigger dent in the Premier League this season, as they should play some scintillating football once they get into a groove.
Anderson, Fornals, Wilshere, Haller and Lanzini should be able to combine to devastating effect and few teams can boast such technical proficiency. Pellegrini is a Premier League title-winning coach and he certainly knows how to get the best out of attacking players.
Wolves, Everton and Leicester are all ambitious and they have all spent serious amounts of money this summer, but they all have weakness in their squads too. Everton also look light at the back and they lack an out and out goalscorer. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Cenk Tosun and Oumar Niasse are not prolific strikers. Leicester could also struggle defensively after selling Harry Maguire and failing to secure a replacement. Wolves lack the surprise factor this season and playing in Europe will stretch their thin squad.
If West Ham can tighten the defence just a little, and if they get lucky in the injuries department, they just might be able to push for seventh place this season. That sobering defeat to Man City, the draw against Brighton and the win against Watford should help shake off any rust from the summer and jolt the players back to life. There are far less difficult games on the horizon and the Hammers look well placed to overwhelm plenty of teams going forward, so fans should not be too disheartened by falling short to Man City.
