Having written one solitary blog all summer long, the idea of writing chunks of prose fills me with a sense of dread I haven’t felt since the last 20 minutes of the Tottenham match last February.
So I decided simply
to ask myself a few questions. Or at least that was the plan – a
rather sad and lonely plan – until some of my Twitter followers very
kindly volunteered some of their own ...
Who's likely to be our close competition around us in the league
table?
That question can
only be answered by first predicting where we expect to find ourselves in the table (unless
we suspect that a copycat team may try to replicate all our results – which
would be very weird). Rather unimaginatively, I see us finishing in the middle
pack, untroubled by either relegation or Europa League qualification. Our
bedfellows? I don't honestly see West Brom and Swansea pushing themselves
beyond last season's achievements. I have a feeling Cardiff may also finish
comfortably.
Not so much a
question, but your opinion on our business so far this summer?
Given the massive
increase in TV rights I expected us to spend more, but I wonder whether the
plan has been to invest in big salaries (Carroll £80k/week? Downing £70k/week?)
rather than make lots of expensive signings. We still carry massive debt and
it's been a while since we made much money from a player sale, so I would have felt
uneasy had we spent too much more. I think the signings have all been positive, although the lack of another striker may come back to haunt us.
Will Andy Carroll
score around 20 goals or are we dreaming?
If he stays fit
he'll be there or thereabouts. The problem is, if he spends as much time
injured as he did last season, there's no-one else around to score those goals.
Nolan's ten goals last year kept us away from a relegation fight. There is a
risk that he won't reproduce that this time.
Do you think our
away form will improve? Do we need the first few games to go our way to stay
clear of trouble?
A good start last
season proved a big help during the barren winter months but I honestly
wouldn't panic if come October we're near the bottom. I have too much faith in
Big Sam to worry. As for the away form I think it will pick up. Every team
has the odd season where they are particularly good/bad at home/away (just look
at our phenomenal away form the previous season). It's not a pattern that tends
to last for multiple seasons. Anyway, it better had improve. I'm going to Hull
in September to watch us get three points, not to take in the scenery.
Bearing in mind Sam
is good enough for Real Madrid, does he see a good season as a platform to the
job 'he deserves'?
Big Sam's too good
for Real Madrid.
Perhaps an insight
of where we would be now if Fernandes did buy the club? Instead of QPR ....
One of the first
things Fernandes did at QPR was to sack Neil Warnock. So far so good. Hindsight
is 20-20 vision but at the time I honestly didn't think Mark Hughes was a bad
appointment, nor Harry Redknapp. Gold and Sullivan made a huge error in employing
Avram Grant but since then they haven't put a foot wrong. There's still time
for Fernandes to redeem himself. Just not at West Ham.
I'm interested in
what our best 11 is. Midfield competition looking good. No room for the likes
of Taylor/O'Neill/RVT anymore.
Taylor started
really well for us in the Championship but never got over his injuries. O'Neil
was a top player and will be missed. RVT has never been a Premier League
player.
My best XI: Jussi,
Demel, Collins, Reid, Rat, Diame, Noble, Jarvis, Downing, Nolan, Carroll.
I know a lot of
people would include Morrison but I'm not one to judge a player on friendlies.
That said, I hope he gets the chance to prove himself. I'm yet to see Rat play
but I'm assuming he's decent. Romanians usually do well at West Ham. Oh, hang
on ...
Is European
qualification possible or optimistic....
When I saw us win at
St James's Park last November I honestly thought we were on course for the
Europa League. I came crashing down to earth with a bump and haven't really
recovered. I think we're superior to half of the division but there's still a
significant gap between mid-table security and European football. I think we've
made good signings but I'm not convinced it's enough to propel us four places
up the table.
Is the current squad
good enough to better last seasons points tally/position, given the signings
from teams around us as well?
At the very least, I
think there are no excuses for finishing any lower (is there ever?). But in order to make any
serious progress we would need a lot of things to fall into place (an
injury-free Carroll hitting 20 goals, Nolan getting into double figures again,
the defence staying injury free, Morrison becoming a revelation ...). In terms
of the teams around us, Cardiff, Norwich and others have spent big so it makes
things interesting. I think what we'll discover as the season progresses is
that some teams have invested well and will push on, while others will "do
a QPR".
Which of the
Liverpool 3 will be most successful?
I don't know who the
Liverpool Three are but whatever miscarriage of justice it is they are fighting
I wish them all the ... oh I see what you mean. I don't see Joey being any more
than a bit-part player. Downing I expect to do a good job, albeit he won't set
the world on fire. I think there's every reason to believe that Carroll will be
amazing. I was speaking to a Red the other day who was boasting that Liverpool
had got a good deal out of us. I look forward to reminding him of that
conversation come the end of the season.
Is there really a
problem for us finishing mid table for this season alone? As in cant fans just
settle for a safe season
Couldn't agree with
your sentiment more. Two years ago, Allardyce was picking through the wreckage
left by Avram Grant. A season of consolidation would be an achievement. Many
fans will get frustrated with that, but that's football fans for you.
How does a club at
our level cope with genuine competition for places? We have at least 2 full
midfields
That's a good thing,
no? I don't think we're overloaded. Collison remains an ongoing doubt (though
it pains me to say so), I'm not convinced Diarra and Allardyce have kissed and
made up, RVT's days are numbered, and I think we may be getting ahead of
ourselves as regards Ravel. We're never going to play with two centre forwards
(something that is true of most Premier League teams) so it's natural that we
should have lots of midfielders.
Will Maiga ever be a
regular first team player? Where will Joey play? Will Tomkins ever be first
choice CB?
Maiga: I'd like to
think so but then again I felt the same about Maynard, Baldock and Montenegro
(well maybe not Montenegro). Joey: he'll cover for Downing or Jarvis when
injured and perhaps in the cup; though there's an argument that he could do
Nolan's role. Tomkins: Yeah I think there's a chance but at the moment Reid and
Collins are better than him, so he makes a very good back up.
Apart from Morrison
which youngster do you think will make breakthrough to first team squad?
As I've already
said, Morrison hasn't yet broken through, let alone anyone else. Wrongly or
rightly, I don't think Allardyce is interested in blooding the younger players.
I'm sure he'd give a chance to someone exceptional but whether we have such a
player on our hands I couldn't say. What I do know is that the Academy hasn't
done much for us over the last ten years and I'm not convinced that's about to
change. If I'm being positive I'd like to think Elliott Lee will get a chance this season.
What will you class
as a successful season?
Jack Sullivan
closing his Twitter account, making it to the fourth round of the FA Cup,
beating Spurs, the fans singing Allardyce's name ... and keeping out of the
relegation fight.
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