West Ham: Kings of Europe

[a_fourteen]

Interesting things are happening over in east London. Next year they move into the Olympic Stadium with a capacity of 54,000 and with their following they should be able to fill it. Bilic is taking the reigns and while he's untested at this level he seems like a smart, motivated bloke. They've got stable management. With Bilic at the helm and greater match day revenues they could start attracting some interesting talent.
So who knows maybe a quiet revolution is brewing that in a few seasons could challenge for top 4. Yes? Maybe? No way?

 

[Rex Bezos]

@Dokaka going to be loving this thread.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

I thought the rise happened last year when West Ham were playing the most attractive football in England.

 

[Loken]

You never know, a fast start like they had last season- finish in the Europa League spots. Progression and building on the foundations is the way for the club to move forward.

I could see them potentially being similar to Newcastle in the early 2000's, or even much like themselves throughout 2005/06/07. The difficulty will be making the Olympic Stadium more like a home ground, and less like a neutral venue- could you imagine playing 'away' from home every single week?

 

[Gooner416]

Definitely see them becoming a top 6 fixture. The fact they only spend 25m pound to inherit that infrastructure boost is incredible. With that stadium in place, only us, Utd., City are positioned better in terms of infrastructure. It also makes me wonder the possible investment opportunities they now will have with that being secured.

If managed correctly, I definitely see West Ham passing Sp*rs, Everton, and possibly giving a good run at top 4 provided they spend on personnel. Rumors is they've got Song locked up and signed on 70k/wk, let's see what else they can do.

 

[a_fourteen]

The move to the new stadium and the arrival of Bilic will definitely lift their profile. Dont underestimate the support they get in east London. I have lived in east London and they have a great presence. They shouldnt have any more difficulty making the Olympic stadium feel like home than we did with the move to the Emirates.
Also, Sp**s new stadium seems a go. It will certainly mean that London is now the most competitive footie city in the world (if it wasnt already).

 

[Hunta]

They won't get top four in the next 10 years at least.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

Though I doubt they'll be getting top four anytime soon, I would love it at the expense of Man Utd, Liverpool and Sp**s. Please make it happen Bilic!

 

[Dokaka]

This thread seems pretty alright.

In all seriousness though, it will be a while before we become anything more than the occasional contenders for Europa League spots. What the move to the Olympic Stadium does do is make us the most attractive club in England for a potential Sheikh-like takeover. Massive stadium at basically no cost, almost in the middle of London, good size fan-base etc.

I see this as the long-term plan by the Davids. They could potentially walk away from West Ham with a £100m profit down the line if we attract that right buyer and become Chelsea/City 3.0.

That is just pure speculation on my part though.

 

[jones]

They are making much better use of the TV money than most other teams around them. 20 odd million for Valencia, Sakho, Kouyaté, Cresswell and Song is good business, Obiang this season also seems a decent prospect. If they keep this transfer strategy up, spending less on big English donkeys and more on below the radar European and English talents they will be up there in due time.

 

[a_fourteen]

The day the Olympic stadium was awarded to West Ham I said they'd be ripe for a big player to buy them out. It just makes them the most attractive English asset to invest in -- infrastructure, fan following, academy, London presence etc.

 

[Gervais]

They could very easily eclipse Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton etc. But they aren't finishing in the top 4 any time soon.

In fact, I think the current top 4 is more or less sorted until that European Super League arrives.

 

[Dokaka]

In regards to shrewd transfers: http://kumb.com/story.php?id=128696

Looks like we've beaten Chelsea and City to Song, and even managed to bring the transfer fee down to £0m.

The day the Olympic stadium was awarded to West Ham I said they'd be ripe for a big player to buy them out. It just makes them the most attractive English asset to invest in -- infrastructure, fan following, academy, London presence etc.

Yup, exactly. No need to invest in a stadium and the location couldn't be better. Fan support has never been a problem either, some proper investment and consistent top 7-8 football would easily fill the stadium pretty much every week.

 

[Rex Bezos]

They could very easily eclipse Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton etc. But they aren't finishing in the top 4 any time soon.

In fact, I think the current top 4 is more or less sorted until that European Super League arrives.

 

[Dokaka]

And yes, the top 4 is impossible to break into consistently for a current mid-table club without Sheikh like investments.

Combination of being an established top team when the TV money began to spiral out of control + CL football has made the established top clubs untouchable, seriously. One bench player's wages from Man Utd or Chelsea could pay for 4 of our current starters, it's a joke. Impossible to break the status quo as the top clubs simply just pick up every emerging talent as well. Not meant as whining btw, it's just an undeniable fact.

It says a lot that not getting top 4 is a catastrophe for the current top 4 teams.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

if we attract that right buyer and become Chelsea/City 3.0.

Is that something you should want? It leads to success of course but on the other hand, look at Chelsea. Even Chelsea fans have to hate their club, **** racist bastard **** club.

 

[rich 1990]

I don't know the ins and outs of the stadium move for West Ham so I might be completely unjustified but do we not have a right to be a bit miffed they're getting a new stadium for nicks whilst we built our own stadium from scratch?

 

[Dokaka]

Is that something you should want? It leads to success of course but on the other hand, look at Chelsea. Even Chelsea fans have to hate their club, **** racist bastard **** club.

Tough question. How could a club like us realistically break into the top 4 without investment on that scale? We lose our best players almost every summer to the established top teams. We will always be behind financially if we do it "the right way" as you lot get infinitely more sponsor money, merch sales, consistent CL money, more TV money, bigger attendance with higher ticket prices topped with the attractiveness of being a CL club in terms of attracting new players, both at youth and senior level.

Obviously I'd want us to do it the right way, I just don't see how that's even possible.

 

[redanddread]

A bit of a risk with Bilic imo. His Besiktas team gave us a real fright in the CL qualifying & they knocked out Lollerpool in the EL. He's got a big job on their hands and it's important that they go into the new stadium on a high with this managerial appointment working out.

Whilst West Ham won't be anywhere near top 4 anytime soon, it be good to see them playing attractive football and cementing themselves in the upper echelons of the EPL

 

[a_fourteen]

I don't know the ins and outs of the stadium move for West Ham so I might be completely unjustified but do we not have a right to be a bit miffed they're getting a new stadium for nicks whilst we built our own stadium from scratch?

yes, there is a case to be made that they've got a freebie. the whole stadium move is dodgy. my understanding is they are only on the hook for the remodeling and that too has council support. It's a desperate effort to get the Stratford area up and running. the east side is where the action has been for the past few years with the expansion of canary wharf, london city airport etc. So it has a lot of local support.