Premier League Preview - West Ham United
After a season to forget, can David Moyes guide the Irons to the top half of the table?
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West Ham will be looking for a top-half finish under pragmatic coach David Moyes. The Scottish boss was rehired midway through last season, following the disastrous tenure of Manuel Pellegrini. Moyes brought stability to the East London side, eventually leading them to a 16th place finish. The Irons picked up eight points from their final five games to push them over the line and were inspired by the goalscoring antics of Michail Antonio who scored six in the run-in.
On the transfer front, it seems that West Ham is on shaky ground already after club captain Mark Noble voiced his displeasure at the club letting go of promising youngster Grady Diangana to West Brom. That could be an issue that could affect the start of the season.
Elsewhere, Czech midfielder Tomas Soucek has been signed on a permanent deal after a promising loan spell, whilst the club is in the market for a central defender with James Tarkowski of Burnley heavily linked with a move.
Fans View - Billy Finnegan - @billyfinnegan
Dream Season - The dream would be a top six finish and to make a cup final. That might not sound particularly ambitious, but we haven’t finished top six for over 20 years, so it feels more like a dream scenario these days. I think most fans would be delighted with that.
The Manager in Three Words - Pragmatic, steady, necessary.
Player to Watch - Sebastian Haller had a difficult middle part of the season after his big-money move last summer, but showed plenty of potential. With a season under his belt and better supply now we have Bowen in the team, I can see him pushing 15-20 goals with a bit of luck. Ben Johnson at right-back is a real talent too.
Realistic Season - I’m confident Moyes can guide us to between 12th and 9th. Maybe that’s not exciting, but it will be better than flirting with relegation for most of last season. The apparent lack of transfer funds is a worry though, so without any investment, we’ll be in trouble again.
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