West Ham United: Keeping Their Heads Whilst All Around Them Lose Theirs

2012/2013 Season Review:

                In their first season back in the Premier League after the briefest of stays in the Championship, Sam Allardyce’s side were looking to consolidate themselves as a Premier League team once again. In order to do so, the former Bolton, Blackburn and Newcastle manager made several signings that he hoped would propel his side up the table. Matt Jarvis was bought from Wolves for a reported £10 million, as well as Mohamed Diame, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Modibo Maiga. The most notable acquisition in the summer was certainly the loan signing of £35 million Liverpool striker Andy Carroll. All of these enabled the Hammers to start the season with a victory, a 1-0 home success over Aston Villa. Though a disappointing first away game resulted in a 3-0 defeat at Swansea, West Ham quickly collected themselves to remain unbeaten in the league throughout September.

                Whilst they suffered a disappointing exit of the Capital One Cup via a hammering at home to Wigan, they were settling in well in the Premier League. 3 wins out of 4 in October extended the Hammers unbeaten run to 6 games, and moved them well clear of the dreaded relegation zone, and into the top 10. Whilst they did eventually slip up in an away defeat at the DW Stadium, I am certain that had you offered the East London side’s fans a top ten place by the end of October, the majority would have bitten your hand off! Further strong form continued through November, though they did suffer consecutive away defeats away at Tottenham, Manchester United and Chelsea, before a home defeat against Liverpool. None of these should be considered particularly, surprising, but they did have a considerable effect on the Hammers’ momentum.

                December as a month was comfortably their most challenging one so far, collecting only one point, and losing away at Reading at the end of it. As the Premier League was beginning to become ever more competitive and congested, there were fears that continuation of this form could leave West Ham in danger of relegation by the end of the season. A home win on New Year’s Day gave Hammers’ fans some relief, though once again a poor run of results followed. An exit of the FA Cup to Manchester United was followed by two further defeats, including a morale-sapping hammering at the Emirates. February once again started more promisingly, with a victory over Swansea, but as was the story of the mid-season, they lost the remaining two league games.

                That pattern finally ended in March, where the Hammers won two of their three league games, accumulating vital points to solidify their position. May would prove most pivotal in that achievement, with the Hammers going the first four games unbeaten, including draws against Liverpool and Manchester United, and a win against Wigan that all but ensured their survival in the Premier League. Their next target was then to achieve a top ten finish in their first season back in the top flight, an objective completed with the final day 4-2 victory over relegated Reading.

                Overall, an exceptionally successful season, with West Ham (the 3^rd promoted side) being the top finishers of all the three promoted last year. A top ten finish is more than many fans would have dreamt of, and will bring in valuable cash to spend on players that can push them further up the table. Whilst I would issue a word of caution to firstly consolidate before looking any further up the table, I see no reason why West Ham cannot achieve this aim.

 

Player of the Season: Kevin Nolan – The fact that a midfielder is the club’s top scorer tells you one of two things: either the forwards have had a nightmare season, or the midfielder has had a superb one. Fortunately for West Ham, it is the latter. The former Bolton and Newcastle man clearly enjoys working under Sam Allardyce, and has been producing consistently excellent displays throughout this season, including his first Premier League hat-trick. Nolan’s strength, determination and leadership have enabled West Ham to do more than just survive this season, and he will be key to any future success.

 

Game of the Season: West Ham 4-1 Southampton – A difficult one, as unlike many of their counterparts, West Ham were exceptionally consistent in their performances, rather than having several atrocious ones and a few outstanding. So perhaps it is best to select the one with the largest margin of victory, and one where they comprehensively outplayed their opponents. After a fairly weak first half, Allardyce’s words at the break obviously had the desired effect, as the Hammers scored twice in the opening 5 minutes of the second half. Adam Lallana’s reply briefly had West Ham worried, but subsequent goals from Noble and Maiga ensured the three points for West Ham.

 

Summer Transfer Targets (What I Think They Need): Having made their intentions to re-sign Andy Carroll, but this time permanently, and having made the initial signing of Razvan Rat from Shakhtar, perhaps the only area that requires any attention is in the centre of the defence. Other than that, most areas of the squad have been performing to their maximum, and therefore reinforcements are not required. Perhaps Aston Villa’s Matt Lowton could be a potential target this summer.

 

Transfer Gossip Links:

In:

Razvan Rat (Shakhtar Donetsk, RB, Free), Nikica Jelavic (Everton, ST), Alpaslan Ozturk (Beerschot, CB), Maynor Figueroa (Wigan Athletic, CB), Peter Crouch (Stoke City, ST), Nathan Redmond (Birmingham City, RW), Andy Carroll (Liverpool, ST), Lamine Sane (Bordeaux, CM), Wilfried Bony (Vitesse Arnhem, ST)

Out:

Carlton Cole (Released, ST)