It has been roughly two years since the English football pitch came to a standstill, as the unprecedented impact of the coronavirus pandemic began to make its presence felt.
For three months West Ham United fans had to look at a Premier League table that showed their club in 16th position, above the relegation zone only because their goal difference was three more than Bournemouth, who finally fell.
It hardly seems believable that Hammers fans can now confidently look ahead to the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie with Sevilla.
The match is widely accepted as the biggest the club has played at London Stadium since completing its controversial move from Upton Park in 2016.
It will not be easy. Sevilla have won the competition four times in the last eight seasons. In two of the other campaigns, rival Spanish teams have lifted the trophy, including last season when Villarreal beat Manchester United.
Yet just being involved in the game, at a time when David Moyes’ side are sixth in the Premier League and with a chance of finishing in the top seven for the first time in club history, feels like West. Ham. they begin to become the club that many of their supporters always felt they were capable of being.
- Emotional Yarmolenko scores on the return
- Which Hammers players made Garth’s team of the week?
- More important things in life than football – Moyes
- Moyes: “I want this to be the new West Ham” – official club website
Moyes’s revolution
When Moyes returned to West Ham following Manuel Pellegrini’s dismissal in December 2019, he set himself the task of building “a new West Ham”.
Moyes already knew the club. The Scot had been ruled out by Pellegrini in May 2018 despite guiding West Ham to safety following the sacking of Slaven Bilic as the Hammers found themselves in relegation trouble.
Three wins and 12 points from the last seven games of the 2019-20 extended season saw West Ham finish five points above relegation.
Moyes had already begun to transform his team by signing Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek in the January window. That summer, Soucek’s loan from Slavia Prague was made permanent, with compatriot Vladimir Coufal also joining.
Said Benrahma was loaned out by Brentford, but that was converted into a £20m permanent transfer three months later to allow Jesse Lingard to sign on loan from Manchester United.
At the same time, expensive Pellegrini-era recruits left, including Felipe Anderson, Sebastian Haller and Jack Wilshere.
When Lingard scored twice against Leicester City on April 11, West Ham moved up to fourth place.
Although they ultimately finished sixth, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, they maintained their momentum into the current campaign.
So successful has Moyes been that, when he returned to Old Trafford to sign Lingard on loan again in January, Manchester United turned down the request as they did not want to help what they saw as a top-four rival.
For many fans, that in itself is beyond what they might have expected at a club more used to internal division and fan discontent.
working hard in the community
Behind the scenes, many people have worked incredibly hard at West Ham over the last six seasons to make the move to London Stadium work.
The award-winning Players’ Project initiative involves male, female and academy players working directly with the local community. During the lockdown, West Ham kept in touch with older fans through their outreach program and organized virtual holiday camps for their younger fans.
When restrictions were relaxed, this was extended to sports sessions in some of the most deprived areas, including lunch at a time when schools were still closed. Co-Chairman David Sullivan made two separate sizable donations to food poverty charities.
West Ham committed to spending £28 million in the local area in the first five years after their relocation. Those within the club feel that this sum has been significantly exceeded.
However, they are well aware that good work will not be recognized if the team does not perform.
“Everyone can have a good year,” Moyes told BBC Sport recently.
“I’m trying to see how I can grow West Ham. I want my conversations with the owners going forward to be about where we can take West Ham, what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to achieve.”
“It won’t always be an upward spiral and there will be times where you may need to break it to fix it and get it back to where it wants to go. But what we have to try and make sure we do now is have continued success.”
London Stadium has an atmosphere
West Ham fans will tell you there was never any “absolute hostility” towards the London stadium.
That may be true. But without a doubt he has been a lightning rod for many of the club’s ills.
Fierce criticism over the relatively small £3m annual rent West Ham pays to play in the stadium has been returned to the elected officials who negotiated it after the deal was found to be irrefutable.
But removing relatively minor details to make the stadium more palatable to fans, such as squaring the seats behind both goals, getting a burgundy carpet instead of a green one, and unveiling a statue of club legends Sir Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore and Martin. Peters off the ground has been a painstaking process.
At 48,464, West Ham have the fourth-highest average crowd in the Europa League this season, behind only Barcelona, Marseille and Celtic. In the Premier League, only Manchester United and Arsenal have an average gate higher than their 59,016.
He whispers softly, but the atmosphere at London Stadium, ridiculed by home and away fans alike, has improved as the team has started to win.
That is perhaps predictable, but, five minutes before kick-off against Sevilla, nobody is expected to complain about the noise on the ground. The same will happen at the final whistle if West Ham come back from a one-goal deficit from the first leg and reach the quarter-finals.
The following steps
There are some concerns. On the pitch, some fans criticized Moyes for not strengthening his team enough, either last summer, when he spent £60m on Kurt Zouma and Nikola Vlasic, or in January.
Moyes feels this is unfair. West Ham tried to buy players in January, when they made a massive bid for Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, but the clubs did not sell. And he’s never been in the business of spending money on players he doesn’t want.
Sullivan, 73, as well as co-chairman David Gold and chief executive Karren Brady, remain wary of large sections of West Ham, even if hostility has been tempered by performances on the pitch.
And there is great uncertainty about the business operations of Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, who bought a 27% stake in the club in November, given that his investment company owns 49% of Eustream, the huge pipeline that transports Russian gas to Europe. .
However, compared to how West Ham have been in the not too distant past, when they borrowed from sponsors and sold players to ensure the bills were paid, they have come a long way.
Loss to Sevilla would not irrevocably halt that progress, but victory – and the first European quarter-final since 1981 – would open a window into what could be a bright future for this East End club.
“Throughout history, the best teams have usually won the competitions,” Moyes said.
“At West Ham, we have to try and put ourselves in a position where we have a better chance of reaching the semi-finals and finals and hopefully winning those trophies as well.”
- Six movies that got the facts wrong: From the Jamaican bobsleigh team to Sylvester Stallone’s goalkeeping exploits
- ‘King of spin’: A look back at when Michael Vaughan sat down with cricket legend Shane Warne
Add Comment