West Ham have lost spark for end of season

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 08: Manuel Pellegrini, Manager of West Ham United and Marko Arnautovic of West Ham United in discussion during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on April 08, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 08: Manuel Pellegrini, Manager of West Ham United and Marko Arnautovic of West Ham United in discussion during the Premier League match between Chelsea FC and West Ham United at Stamford Bridge on April 08, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

It’s a season in which West Ham have been up and down in form, and in headlines for all kinds of reasons. The club now appear to have run out of steam, and their season is dwindling away.

It’s the time of year that many fantasy football teams become ghost ships. Gameweeks begin at weird times, some sides don’t play and others play twice. So those not really fighting for anything disappear and can’t be bothered. It’s just a shame that West Ham are doing the same thing with an actual team.

Despite what I think are Pellegrini’s best intentions, the players don’t really seem too bothered by life in mid-table now. We’re safe and the chance of Europe has gone, so the players don’t really have much to fight for. Yes it’s millions of pounds worth of prize money to the club, but to the players…the difference between 11th and 8th is nothing really.

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The Hammers did look better in the second half against Chelsea, but there was a distinct lack of that something extra. There weren’t players breaking to get back or forward at every opportunity, passes were that half a yard slower and the Chelsea players had that bit too much time on the ball. Obviously it doesn’t help when someone like Hazard undoes all your hard work and makes it look simple, but the first half was very lacklustre.

And I know Pellegrini is looking long term and as part of a project, but our away form must be concerning him. Maybe he is playing with squad rotation to try and plug that issue, or who he needs to get in the summer, but you’d think that would be setting a fire under players. Especially those who get gametime now but wont next season if Pellegrini gets his players.

Can the Hammers perk up before the end of the year? I hope so, I got up at half 4 to watch the Chelsea match and I thought I looked more lively than some of them. We have to try and take momentum into the next season like Everton are doing, or we’ll find ourselves losing a lot of players to them in the summer. It’s not all about the league table…