West Ham: 2020/21 Team Grades and way too early predictions
For West Ham United, the 202/21 season is over; and what a campaign it was. With the Hammers finishing in 6th, we break down the season and look ahead.
The dust has settled on another fantastic season, especially for West Ham, even with all the COVID-19 complications. It seems like a long time since the Hammers got knocked around by Newcastle to start the season. Since then, David Moyes has gotten this team to connect and become one the most together groups in recent memory.
Declan Rice set the bar for expectations, Michail Antonio was electric, Jesse Lingard became an instant legend, and the Czech mates took the entire East End by storm. This season wasn’t short on exciting moments (stay tuned for that post later), but for now, let’s dig into the overall grades and review the 2020/21 European earning campaign.
West Ham Overal Grade:
A+
Hammers fans shouldn’t be surprised by this grade; this has been West Ham’s best-ever finish regarding points earned. No one could have guessed that when David Moyes got the band back together, that this is how they would’ve finished, and if you did… you would be sitting pretty rich right now.
West Ham: 2020/21 Team Grades and way too early predictions
How long has it been where en entire fanbase has backed the manager? Slaven Bilic in 2015, maybe? Certainly not in recent years and certainly not the meat to the “Moyes Sandwich,” Manuel Pellegrini. That, for starters, has been a massive turnaround in East London. This season has also shown that the lads can play as one and play with attacking confidence.
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As previously mentioned, the likes of Rice, Soucek, Coufal, Antonio, Lingard, Beni, etc… made this campaign remarkable to watch and enjoy at the same time. From top to bottom, this team just flat-out performed at a high level for most of the year. Baring a few down results against Newcastle, Brighton, and a few others, this team looked the part week in and week out.
Honestly, this team grade was an easy one to pick. Looking forward to next season, however, not so much. West Ham will have a fight on their hands to keep the likes of Rice, Soucek, and a few others around, all while trying to bolster the squad depth for the Europa League. Chances are, the Hammers will be playing well into the post-summer season unless they finish 4th in their group.
The Europa League, traditionally the lower of the two European competitions, will have some hefty matchups next season. Besides Leicester City, Lazio, Frankfurt, Marseille, Lyon, Napoli, and Bayern Leverkusen, to name a few. Unlike West Ham’s last European adventure, I foresee Moyes and Co. making a strong push and trying to get deep into the competition.
They will be stretched thinner than ever before and with a squad that, so far, is ultra-thin. Keeping the core of the squad is essential, and getting the likes of Lingard to come back and others to come in will keep things optimistic. Our way too early prediction to next year looks like this… a deep European push into the quarter-finals and a solid top 7 finish in the EPL.
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Moyes gets most of the praise for this finish, and the future finishes for West Ham, as he should. He has rejuvenated not only himself but the club. His new contract will certainly help settle concerns and allow him to focus on the season ahead solely.