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The West Ham United 2022/23 season preview and prediction was originally printed in the Season Preview edition of FourFourTwo. Subscribe today! (opens in new tab)
Continue snapping at the heels of the Super League teams, hold off the Saudi money and fashion another European run. Easy, right? The renaissance under manager David Moyes has been startling, with West Ham shifting from perennial relegation candidates to European semi-finalists and achieving the almost impossible task of making supporters forget how bad the London Stadium truly is.
The immediate task is to get the transfer policy back to the consistency that brought the arrivals of Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen and Vladimir Coufal, and away from the profligacy of buying Said Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic. With the squad verging on the elderly, the time for a rebuild is due as all efforts again go into keeping Declan Rice, now captain after Mark Noble’s retirement.
West Ham United 2022/23 season preview and prediction: The lesson from last year
Footballers get tired. The not-all-that-unintentional side effect of the Europa League is that it generally prevents Champions League wannabes from getting a second run at the prize.
The Hammers were the latest to find this, despite unusually competing on four fronts, and matters worsened to such an extent that Moyes started larruping balls at an unsuspecting lad on the Eintracht Frankfurt touchline. The small squad performed miracles in keeping things competitive for a large part of the campaign, but faltered, exhausted at the last, and not helped by the self-inflicted wound of steadfastly refusing to sign a backup for Michail Antonio.
Turns out that ‘vibes’ aren’t as effective an understudy for the Jamaican as Sebastien Haller, who bagged 34 goals in 43 appearances for Ajax last season.
The coach: David Moyes
There are some murmurings that David Moyes is overcautious, but not from those who can remember as far back as 2020. Successive top-seven finishes and that Europa League run mark the Scot as the Hammers’ best modern manager, and the first to have a long-term vision. Now to take the next step.
The owner: David Gold and David Sullivan
Davids Gold and Sullivan will never be very popular, but their decision to stop talking and give Moyes the lead has been a good strategy in several ways. Terrace unrest has diminished, and minority owner Daniel Kretinsky, the Czech energy magnate, looks likely to purchase the club in 2023.
The mood around West Ham…
Like a gang of kids who’ve snuck into a theme park – last season was the first time the Irons scored in every top-flight home game since 1926/27. It’s been glorious, but there is a distinct worry about how long this can all last before things start going south. Older West Ham fans are natural pessimists, used to zeroing in the bottom half of the table, after all.
The one to watch
Nayef Aguerd has arrived from Rennes as a ready-made replacement for long- serving centre-back Angelo Ogbonna. At 6ft 2in and quick, the 26-year-old Moroccan also adds some long, raking diagonal passes that Bowen will be salivating over. Just three clean sheets in last season’s final 17 league games shows that he’s got his work cut out.
Most likely to…
Terrorise your back four on his own, hold up a cardboard cut-out of himself when he scores, get booked for being fouled and crash a Lamborghini into your garden shed while dressed as a snowman. Big Antonio, the Premier League’s most chaotic footballer, and the man with the most publicly analysed hamstrings in the East End.
Least likely to…
Use the phrase “dead cat bounce”. Kurt Zouma, what were you doing?
The fan’s view: David Blackmore (@WestHamMagazine (opens in new tab))
Last season was such an incredible adventure. From the beginning of Project Restart to today, David Moyes has transformed us from relegation battlers to European challengers.
The big talking point is squad depth. We ran out of steam last season because we couldn’t afford to rest our starting XI. With Mark Noble, Ryan Fredericks and Andriy Yarmolenko all off, we need 10-plus arrivals to continue fighting on different fronts.
This season will be different because opposition teams will give us more respect and be wary of our threat going forward. We’re more of a threat on the counter.
The fans’ opinion of the gaffer is hugely respectful. Moyes has helped the players to re-connect with fans, but now there’s some pressure to sustain this. I worry his weakness lies in recruitment. He’s brought in a number of fantastic players, though for every Bowen or Soucek there’s a Vlasic or Kral.
Our key player will be Declan Rice. A big reason we’ve enjoyed two amazing seasons – he’s really grown.
Our most underrated player is Pablo Fornals, who works tirelessly in attack and defence. He lacks pace, but his vision and touch enable him to create space and thread passes others can’t.
I’m least looking forward to playing Brentford, our new bogey team to join Brighton. One point from four games against those two last season.
The one change I’d make would be hearing more from Daniel Kretinsky, who owns 27 per cent of West Ham and could one day take over.
We’ll finish top half. We’ve got the quality to push for Europe again, but I fear we may struggle competing on different fronts.
FFT’S VERDICT… 9th
Moyes’ men wilted as they advanced in Europe last term, and may well go far again this time. Can they handle it?
