Will West Ham avoid relegation? Yes, say our predictions.
Where will your side finish in 2012-13? With the season just one week away, our pundits have put our heads together to give you a comprehensive set of predictions.
Opinions and analysis on all 20 Premier League clubs are given here by 12 of our writers and pundits here at HITC Sport. On the basis of the predictions from our ‘daring dozen’ we have calculated how the table will look come next May.
How does it work? All the predictions are totalled together, the team with the lowest score will finish 1st, and the highest will finish 20th. Here are the predictions for your club.
Verdict – West Ham will finish in: 15th
Highest prediction: 10th, Lowest prediction: 20th.
Dan Coombs: 14th; West Ham are ambitious, and will be desperate to avoid being sucked into a relegation battle. They have been busy in the transfer market strengthening in attack, but are still chasing a big name striker. It is in defence though that the Hammers are most vulnerable, and further recruits may be needed there. Even so, on their return to the Premier League they will hope to upset a few of the big names and win their ‘six-pointers’.
Vic Daniels: 10th; The surprise package of the season, as Big Sam’s siege mentality and direct approach wins matches, if not the support of the fans.
Mathew Nash: 17th; Star Player – Kevin Nolan. Top Scorer – Modibo Maiga. I am going for a repeat of last year with all the promoted sides achieving survival. Sam Allardyce has previous of finishing 17th and that’s where I see The Hammers this season. A slow start and indifferent home form will soon sort itself out and results against the teams around them will help them survive. James Tomkins will need to step up a level and Kevin Nolan will have to lead by example as their star man in amongst a lot of teams fighting for survival this year.
Tomo Taka: 13th; A Premier League team two years ago, the club took a financial gamble last season by paying top-flight players correspondingly with the aim of returning straight to the Premier League. Sam Allardyce prevailed and the gamble will pay off even further this season as they already have a proven Premier League team. Sam Allardyce too, as the most experienced manager of promoted clubs, will organise his team well and they will be safe. Kevin Nolan will be the star man as a proven goalscorer from midfield. Mark Noble too could be ready to shine in the Premier League having shown glimpses in the past. A bigger stage could be what the once England Under-21 international requires to establish himself. Biggest challenge will be goals. And how new signing Modibo Maiga will settle in EPL following £5m move from FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. Carlton Cole only scored 12 last season in the Championship as the club’s top goal scorer.
Jake Lane: 18th; Those who believe the Hammers “belong” in the Premier League, don’t be fooled. Yes, they have Premier League quality within their ranks and an experienced manager but one thing also carry is pressure. The second things get tough, which they will, their fans will turn on Allardyce’s back and go (claret and) blue in the face until they get Di Canio. West Ham will be the victim of their own potential and will back in the Championship before they know it.
Nigel Owen: 20th; Many may say that West Ham have the best manager for a relegation dogfight, but I don’t see Sam Allardyce being able to keep his record in tact with the Hammers this season. It took the play-offs for them to get back up last season, at times having looked outstanding, but too often also looking like the poor side that got relegated the season before. Has Kevin Nolan still got it,now he’s 30, to drive histeam in the Premier League? Sam Allardyce’s chief lieutenant at Bolton and Newcastle was, unsurprisingly, one of the best players in the Championship last season after his £3m transfer from St James Park, but if he can’t cut it at the top table now, it will be a long season for the claret and blue fans.
Surya Solanki: 15th; West Ham have a relatively strong side and should stay up in the Premier League this term. The signings of players like Jussi Jaaskelainen and Mohamed Diame will add the much needed quality and it will be interesting to see how their Portuguese striker Ricardo Vaz Te fares in the Premier League.
Paul Moore: 20th; Big Sam got them up via the play-offs, which says it all. Signing a past-it old keeper is hardly brilliant. Cole isn’t the player he once promised to be.
John Aggrey: 17th; This is the last real position of survival. Big Sam loves it direct and boring but breaking his team down is really hard. They did score lots of goals last season and even though unlucky not to secure automatic qualification, its good they are finally here. Big Sam will have to find who fits best in goal for the starting position. As customary to promoted side’s seasons, they will sure face some stiff opposition and might sometimes be embarrassingly beaten so a good keeper should go a long way in helping keep some clean sheets and at the same time make sure the goal difference is safe. Big Sam is used to challenges but just like any other promoted manager, having to start a new season in a higher league without some players who really helped during promotion must be really tough. Bringing somebody to step into Green’s shoes should be the greatest issue and getting a striker with EPL experience too should be another issue.
Naveenan Thanendra: 14th; The 2012/13 season sees the return of Sam Allardyce’s magnificent brand of football back to the premier league. While this will not suit everybody’s tastes, one thing Hammers fans can expect is safety from the drop. Having lost Robert Green, Allardyce has made some very savvy signings to ensure that they are strong enough to remain a premier league team. The two that stand out are Mohamed Diame who was nothing short of inspirational in midfield for Wigan, and Modibo Maiga who has the potential quality up front to be a success in the premier league. However, it is the effectiveness of a 37 year old Jussi Jaaskelainen that will determine how successful West Ham will be next year.
Keval Shah: 19th; After triumphing in the playoffs, West Ham are back in the Premier League. However, even with the dynamic pairing of Kevin Nolan and Mark Noble I still believe their stay will be a short one due to a lack of defensive options combined with their inability to kill games off at home. It has always been the case that relegation candidates have to win as many games as they can at home and if their championship showing was anything to go by, the hammers just may struggle this season.
Khiam Barry: 12th; West Ham have the likes of Carlton Cole and Kevin Nolan who have Premiership experience. They will relish their return to the Premier League and I think they will have a good season.
Connor Jipps: 12th; West Ham fans will be delighted to return to the Premier League and they look set to have a decent season with a squad full of players above Championship standard before a signing was even made. Sam Allardyce’s brand of football is not pretty by any means but it is without doubt effective, so West Ham will hope to replicate the league finishes of Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers and Bolton teams and cement their place in the higher echelons of League football. Allardyce’s signings have all but confirmed they will be approaching the league season with a physical approach with Collins, Diame and Maiga all powerful units that won’t shirk from a tackle or getting their head stuck in where it hurts. The news that West Ham are also close to signing Alou Diarra and Liverpool’s Andy Carroll fits as Allardyce’s footballing philosophy revolves around these types of players. The famed Upton Park academy has failed to hit the heights of talent production as it did over a decade a go but Mark Noble will, to coin the phrase, work his socks off in the Hammer’s midfield and his energy and commitment should be applauded. James Tomkins failed to produce his true ability in the Olympic football tournament but is another academy graduate who will feature heavily, and could prove to be one of the better young Premier League players. Whilst West Ham have struggled in the last eight years, dropping down to the Championship twice, they look a club on the up with ambitious owners ready to finance a squad regeneration. Some will love whilst others will loathe West Ham’s style of play but they’ll be blowing bubbles as they head towards a decent midtable finish.
Full predicted table: (1) Manchester City, (2) Manchester United, (3) Chelsea, (4) Arsenal, (5) Tottenham, (6) Liverpool, (7) Newcastle, (8) Everton, (9) Fulham, (10) Sunderland, (11) Aston Villa, (12) Stoke, (13) QPR, (14) Swansea, (15) West Ham, (16) West Brom, (17) Norwich, (18) Reading, (19) Wigan, (20) Southampton.
Where do you believe West Han will finish next season?
image: © Matthew Black
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