West Ham United got the new Premier League season off to the worst possible start with a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United.
A brace from Romelu Lukaku and goals from Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba brought Slaven Bilic’s side crashing down to earth after what seemed a successful summer of recruitment.
The likes of Joe Hart, Pablo Zabaleta, Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez could do little to prevent the kind of scoreline Hammers fans have long been accustomed to on visits to Old Trafford over the years.
And while none particularly impressed, they were no different to any of their under performing teammates, with the exception of bright young thing Declan Rice.
After all the build up, hype and excitement the crushing defeat to the Red Devils together with the prospect of another three consecutive away games due to the athletics at the London Stadium has dampened the mood of Hammers fans significantly.
Expectations were high going into the new campaign, but it looked like the same indifferent West Ham which toiled to an 11th place finish last season often flirting with the relegation battle along the way.
Trips to Southampton, Cheltenham and Newcastle await before the first home game of the season against Huddersfield.
And despite the sense of foreboding that has engulfed Hammers fans in the wake of the Old Trafford hiding, the East London club’s co-owner David Gold has been trying to offer some perspective and much-needed positivity to supporters.
“We were away to one of the best and most expensive teams in the world and it showed,” Gold said on Twitter.
“But we have (Cheikhou) Kouyate, (Andy) Carroll, (Manuel) Lanzini (and Michail) Antonio back soon.”
Of course getting a result at Old Trafford isn’t easy for the best of teams so Gold is right to reinforce the point.
But expectations are higher at West Ham since fans were promised the club would able to compete with the elite following their big move to the London Stadium.
Since then the Hammers have also gatecrashed the top 20 richest clubs in Europe (18th) and supporters want to see that reflected on the pitch.
To that end the return of four crucial players will be music to the ears of Hammers fans and undoubtedly Bilic as West Ham search for some kind of early season momentum.
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