How To Fix West Ham
West Ham have grossly underperformed this year.
Following the performance of last years team finish many people were expecting the team to build on that success and kick on to the next level. That coupled with the wonderful opportunity provided by the London Stadium seemed to be something that the squad was generally overwhelmed by during this dismal season. West Ham haven’t lived up to the hype.
Admittedly we need to be fair. Several issues this year would have been difficult for any club to deal with. The he-who-shall-not-be-named issue as well as the injuries to star players and the transfer to the London Stadium as well have been the sort of stuff that any manager and club would have had trouble with.
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Looking Ahead
The most important thing that West Ham need to do this summer is find a direction. I don’t mean go away to some Zen camp in the mountains and hum a bunch of things (though I am not principally against that option). The club is simply trying to do too many things and what it ends up doing is hurting itself. Is it trying to grow into one of the big six? Or are they trying to represent East London? Become a massive modern brand? Or stick to their roots? It seems that the direction of the club is rather lost.
This all starts at the top and works its way down. West Ham’s owners David Sullivan and Gold need to come out with a statement of intent. Where do they think the club should be five years from now? Unfortunately football isn’t a sport where people can remain in place and tread water. If you’re not moving forward you’re moving back. A lack of ambition is self defeating. West Ham need to find their ambition and a plan to achieve it.
If West Ham can return at the beginning of next season on a united front and knowing the steps in how they wish to achieve it they’ll be far better off then they were at the beginning of this season.