Report cards: Every Premier League team graded
As we approach the turn of the year, it's time to take a look at how West Ham have fared so far in 2016-17.
Can the Hammers turn their season around? Here's how the campaign has gone so far.
Grade: D
Positives:
Surprisingly perhaps, the London Stadium. In just a few months in the new ground in Stratford, the Hammers have suffered some heavy defeats and the crowd have witnessed some unedifying football. The fact is though that the Boleyn, for all the glamour and romance tacked on to it over the years, was no longer large enough to accommodate the type of crowds the Premier League could attract. A purpose built stadium on the same Stratford site may have been better perhaps, but the new theatre with its rail links and Olympic heritage was too good an opportunity for the club to ignore.
It could be argued that the 50,000 plus people who witnessed the 5-1 mauling at the feet of Arsenal, may not continue to come if that is repeated over a season; but those of the claret and blue persuasion are loyal. For all those who believe the club they grew up with is dead, there will be other generations who just see a big club with a big attendance. The increase in revenue can only help to grow West Ham. It will take time though.
Negatives:
For all the positives, there's been problems with the new ground. It's got to the point where nobody can see the wood from the trees, let alone the pitch from the stand. Bad feeling is rife throughout the club and the poor performances have been reflected in trouble outside the ground on the expansive concourse.
Serious questions need to be asked. If Slaven Bilic's summer signings had worked, and the Hammers were playing the type of football they displayed in their last season at the Boleyn, would the problems immediately go away? Some would undoubtedly, and that is why everyone from the boardroom to the pitch, via the stands and the corporate boxes, need to work hard to make the stadium a success. The bottom line is there is no going back.
Star man:
Pedro Obiang looked surplus to requirements last season in a team full of confidence and flowing football. It wasn't that he was bad, but few could see exactly what he added to the team when he made an appearance. What most failed to perceive is that -- like many of the best players -- most of their best work is done out of the spotlight. This season, the Spanish midfielder has made the central defensive position his own and in what has been a disappointing season so far for all the big names, Obiang has stood out as a tireless and enthusiastic worker.
Flop:
There have been so many flops at the London Stadium, it may be a case of closing your eyes and sticking a pin in one of a number of names. Cynically it could even be suggested that the pin might even cause some of the deadwood to liven up a bit.
Gokhan Tore, Jonathan Calleri, Alvaro Arbeloa, Havard Nordtveit and Sofiane Feghouli have all been disappointing. Some don't seem to have settled, others simply don't look good enough. Perhaps out of all the poor acquisitions last summer, the major disappointment is Italian international Simone Zaza. The Juventus player, currently on loan with a view to buying, looks totally lost, not just in terms of application and work rate but also in skill. Zaza has reached that point where it looks as if he has never played football in his life and the aimless chasing and poor decisions have left fans frustrated and angry.
Predicted finish: Mid-to-lower table
Thanks to the extra income from the new stadium, the January transfer window may ease the relegation struggle and the Hammers have mostly avoided the bottom three so far, so despite the portents of doom from some quarters, somewhere around 14th should be attainable.