West Ham Fans

With three games remaining how will West Ham's season pan out? Maintaining tenth spot ahead of Tottenham is the only achievable aim for a team brimming with talent, problem is of course that most of it has either made a brief cameo appearance before disappearing off into the injury ether or have struggled for form. So on the face of it this has been a poor season, but mid table safety was part of the three year plan wasn't it? The problem with such a plan is that half way through the glass is either half full or half empty, and to many Hammers fans and also the Chairman, the glass is most definitely half empty! Hammer's wage bill is phenomenal, when the interim trading figures are available in September there will be no disguising the fact that survival in the Premiership has come at a very high cost indeed, but the unsettling factor is that the team has been forced to play a 'percentage' game, all this is a far cry from the days of intricate football with nippy wingers rampaging down the flank pinging crosses in........................Injuries, Injuries and yet more injuries, an excuse? bad luck? or perhaps a little bit of bad planning. The fact is that Eggert Magnusson spent massively, some would say irresponsibly, in order to keep West Ham in the Premiership, but only two of the big signings actually did anything. The situation was compounded by the arrival of Freddie Ljungberg, it is not that he cannot play, but his disproportionate wages were always eventually going to have a effect sooner or later, it is quite obvious that the current chairman was appalled to find out how much dear old 'Eggy' had committed the club to pay out in wages........... Don't expect many big summer signings but do expect a few departures, that is if any club is willing and foolish enough to match the players ludicrous salaries. The future is still, as it has always been, in the academy, come on Curbs and BG and 'Nanny' come to think of it, invest in the future and not in the past! Sears, Tomkins and Collison represent the now and not the yesterday. - Ed