Consistency holds the key to West Ham’s chances of a top-ten finish
West Ham moved into the top ten for the first time this season with a comprehensive 2-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Saturday, thanks to goals from Michail Antonio and Robert Snodgrass.
The win against Fulham marked West Ham’s fourth consecutive win in the Premier League this season, having already beaten Newcastle, Cardiff City and Crystal Palace in recent weeks.
After taking charge in the summer, Manuel Pellegrini was granted a huge transfer budget by the board to bolster the squad ahead of the campaign.
The hugely experienced Chilean tactician splashed the cash to sign as many as nine new players in the transfer window and the Hammers made all the headlines with the mega-money signings of Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko and Issa Diop. The acquisition of Jack Wilshere as a free-agent was also seen as a massive steal for the east Londoners.
However, West Ham endured a terrible start to the season, losing each of their first four games in the Premier League. It looked as if the Hammers were destined to fight a relegation battle once again despite spending a fortune in the summer.
West Ham had a glimmer of hope after a series of positive results against the likes of Manchester United, Everton and Chelsea but they once again lost momentum with some lacklustre displays in the subsequent games.
Injuries didn’t help their cause either as more than half of the players who were supposed to be the mainstays of the line-up turned out to be long-term casualties. In fact, the injury to Yarmolenko dealt a huge blow to West Ham’s campaign as the Hammers didn’t have a quality replacement for the Ukrainian with Manuel Lanzini out for the count.
Well, West Ham have fought against all odds and the fans at the London Stadium have witnessed a dramatic turnaround of fortunes in the last couple of months or so. It all started with a 4-2 win over Burnley before the international break.
Marko Arnautovic has found himself on the sidelines with recurrent injuries but Javier Hernandez has risen to the occasion in recent weeks, registering 4 goals and an assist. After a slow start to life in the Premier League, mega-money signing Felipe Anderson has begun to pay rich dividends for Manuel Pellegrini.
In the absence of Arnautovic and Yarmolenko, the Brazilian has taken his game to a new level- scoring goals, creating chances and establishing that much-needed cohesion in the final third.
Robert Snodgrass has really turned it around in the last few games, chipping in with some valuable assists and scoring some spectacular goals to force highly-rated academy product Grady Diangana to start from the bench.
Credit should be given to the 19-year-old Declan Rice as well. The youngster has been one of the cornerstones of West Ham’s resurgence, playing as a shield for the rearguard and has made eyeballs turn with his consistently impressive shifts in central midfield.
Susceptibility at the back was one of the major causes of undoing for the Hammers early in the season. New signings Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop found it hard to acclimatise to the Premier League in the first few games but the centre-back pairing has now paid the dividends, putting in multiple solid shifts at the heart of the defence.
Another summer recruit Lukasz Fabianski has saved the team’s downfall on numerous occasions with some fine saves and has always been a reliable presence between the sticks.
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Suffice to say, things have fallen into place for Manuel Pellegrini just at the right time. With the Hammers set to face Watford, Southampton, Burnley and Brighton in their next four games, the fans have every reason to expect some fireworks.
Consistency holds the key and if they can take at least 8 points, if not more, from their next four games then West Ham have every chance of finishing in the top ten even with an injury-stricken squad.
