Jamie Carragher has predicted West Ham to beat Newcastle to the European spots this season.
Although it was far from an ideal start for West Ham, it was great to see club football back, as well as getting a look at the new era of the club. Julen Lopetegui has a lot of work to do based on the performance, but his reaction to the loss against Aston Villa suggests that it was well below his expectations which is an extremely good sign of things to come.
After spending well over £100 million this Summer, bringing in some top quality players in the process, it’s no surprise that expectations amongst the fanbase are so high.
However, it’s not just the fans that are expecting another historic season from the Hammers, as many pundits have also backed them to fight for European football this season, something Jamie Carragher believes they will achieve.
“I don’t think it will be completely different [style of football], maybe the West Ham fans are sort of having this idea that maybe it will be this really open, expansive [football]. I don’t think Lopetegui’s is that.”
“But I do think it will be a case of trying to get on the ball more, trying to get Paqueta on the ball more, Kudus as well we saw [against Aston Villa].
“A bit of a disappointment to start the way they have but their actual recruitment this summer, I actually like some of the signings that they’ve made. But I’m saying a European contender, they were that under David Moyes, they won a European trophy so you know they’ve been there or thereabouts but I think it might be done in a different way, that’s what they want.”
In fact, the Liverpool legend is so confident in the Irons’ abilities that he actually believes they will finish above Newcastle. “I like Newcastle, I love Eddie Howe but I think they might just miss out on the European positions – like they did this year.”
Realistically, despite the signings, it’s hard to really know what to expect this season. On one hand they on paper have a squad more than good enough to finish in the top 7, on the other hand it’s a new manager with a completely new philosophy and that takes time to develop. Hopefully Carragher is right, but it’s vital the squad is given the time they need to adapt before we start setting expectations.
