Green Street Hammers
Fansided

West Ham and the race for 7th: Can we get there? Do we want Europe?

By Scott Johnson

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Manuel Pellegrini, Manager of West Ham United looks on prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on February 27, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 27: Manuel Pellegrini, Manager of West Ham United looks on prior to the Premier League match between Manchester City and West Ham United at Etihad Stadium on February 27, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
STRATFORD, ENGLAND – AUGUST 04: Cheikhou Kouyate of West Ham United celebrates with the team scoring the second goal during the UEFA Europa League Qualification round match between West Ham United and NK Domzale at London Stadium on August 4, 2016 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images)
STRATFORD, ENGLAND – AUGUST 04: Cheikhou Kouyate of West Ham United celebrates with the team scoring the second goal during the UEFA Europa League Qualification round match between West Ham United and NK Domzale at London Stadium on August 4, 2016 in Stratford, England. (Photo by Tom Dulat/Getty Images) /

Do we want Europe?

Before I get some weirdo rival fan accusing me of not respecting the Europa League, this isn’t what I mean. I’d love to see West Ham in European action again, and I was there when Kouyate scored the first goal at our new stadium in a Europa League qualifier. It’s a great spectacle and one that isn’t taken seriously enough in the UK.

More from Green Street Hammers - West Ham

But what I do mean is would it actually be good for the club? On the bright side you would have an extra attraction for the big players, ones that might see us as a gamble to take for a few years to see if we progress or see them advertised to a Champions League or regular top side. It could also help us secure permits for players that might not otherwise meet visa credentials, because of our status.

But last time it saw us simply padding out the squad rather than signing quality, and our domestic form suffered. We also crashed out of Europe early, meaning we had a huge squad not really doing anything for the rest of the campaign. It wasn’t our finest hour. Even if we did scrape into it, I don’t know if we’d have the legs to replicate it after only one year of squad clearing out. Pellegrini’s on the right track, but he’s not there yet.

Next. Quality over quantity in EPL 100. dark

All in all I would love to see us push for Europe, but I don’t know if it would be something we could make a success of next season. Hell, 7th place might not even yield a European place if the winners of the FA cup aren’t already qualified. So it’s probably stupid to worry about something that might not happen, and we only have a 15% chance of securing anyway. But it’s West Ham. So of course we will.