Football Season Guide

West Ham met the target of survival last season on their first campaign since promotion and the aims this season are higher as they look to break into the top half of the table and put their hat in the mix concerning teams challenging for the top six places. That may be too optimistic of an aim for the Hammers but the club has the clout and potential to make the next step having made considerable progress on the pitch last season. Allardyce created an effective and solid team that also knew how to get the needed results at the right time and they were never really in danger of going down. There will be more pressure now and the one worry for the fans is that the squad has not been strengthened as much as it was hoped. Andy Carroll is the main signing of the summer after turning his semi-successful loan spell from Liverpool to a permanent move. The big striker was at times unplayable but endured some pretty long dry spells in front of goal too and will be expected to deliver a more constant stream of goals over the coming seasons. The other two signings, Razvan Rat and keeper Adrian, are more of squad players and are not really going to lift the overall quality of the squad. At least one more signing is expected to come off before the end of the window as a cover striker and a new winger are among the targets but Allardyce has endured frustration after moves for South American talents Jefferson Monteiro and Duvan Zapata fell through. The squad already looks quite good on paper but injuries really took their toll at times last season and that is why a bit more depth is needed. West Ham can definitely be among the teams that improve on their last season's finish and have both an experienced manager and players with pedigree but this is a tough league and it may be too bold to predict anything more than a mid-table finish.