Written by: Terry Driscoll
The West Ham board have long talked about European contention but what does that mean and is any European qualification a target worth aiming for?
Without a doubt, the top four positions and qualification for the Champions League would boost the income of any club and is definitely what we should be aiming for but finishing seventh seems more like a curse to me.
Qualifying for the Europa League from such a lowly position is more of a burden than a prize. Firstly you have so many qualifying games to play before the season starts and through the early stages of the league season. Secondly, you need a much larger squad of players to cope with the twice-weekly games. All this takes serious investment and the returns really aren’t worth it unless you win the competition.
So what are the chances of winning the Europa League? I would say that for a team that has recently qualified for Europe they are very slim indeed. For a start, they would need to compete against teams that have greater experience of playing in Europe and have a structure and squad that is used to the demands of competing in both European and domestic competitions. They would also face the top teams with Champions League squads that have been knocked out of that competition. In short, the task would be near impossible.
The target for any club the size of West Ham has to be Champions League qualification, that way the club can attract better players and the rewards of playing in the competition would be sufficient to pay them.
However, we all need to understand that pushing for Champions League qualification is a real gamble and I’m not sure that I would want to be the Chairman to take that risk. The rewards are enormous but they don’t come cheap. In order for a club to challenge for the top four they need a top class squad and that costs money in terms of transfer fees and salaries. West Ham have made some significant investments but they are still lacking in several key areas and the three that stand out most are the right and left back positions and a top striker.
At left back Creswell is very good but he’s not at the level of the top six clubs. Masuaku is a talent going forward but lacks the ability of a top defender. On the right, Zabaleta is a world class fullback, but he’s nearing the end of his career and can’t be expected to perform at the top level week in week out and especially not with the additional demands of European football. Fredericks is a really good prospect but still has much to learn. So the addition of a quality right and left back should be a priority.
Up front West ham seem to have a whole raft of strikers but they are all nearly men, players who have shown promise and occasionally dazzle but none of them are consistent and all have been rejected as ‘not quite good enough’ by top six teams. Perez, Carroll, Chicharito and Arnautovic all have ability but none of them are capable of scoring twenty plus goals in a season and that is what all the top team have. West Ham have plenty of goals from wide areas and midfield with Antonio, Lanzini, Anderson, Yarmolenko, Nasri and Diangana all capable of chipping in with a few and I believe that with the addition of two top strikers the Hammers would be right up there with the best of them.
