Frank McAvennie: GSB have delivered promise to West Ham fans
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie is gutted to see West Ham suffer a major blow in their bid to qualify for the Champions League in the 1-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first-half goal and West Ham’s failure to respond means that with three games to play, the Hammers are five points behind Leicester in the race for a spot for the top-four.
McAvennie has a bittersweet feeling after seeing the Irons’ bid for Champions League football all but fail.
While he wanted to see his former club playing in Europe’s top competition, the ex-Scotland striker is happy that owners GSB have delivered on one of their promises with the Europa League still within reach.
Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie said: “It was just a shame.
“Listen, they’ve had a wonderful season and they’re still going for a top-six finish or the Europa League.
“If they don’t get the Champions League then we’ll get it next year. It’s going to be so hard but West Ham have got to buy good players because other teams around them are going to be buying.
“It’s going to be one of those seasons that people remember and it just wasn’t to be. But I’m certainly not going to complain about it because it’s been wonderful – I just wish the fans could have been in to see some of the games they won.
“But listen, it is what it is. Everyone is in the same boat.
“This is what West Ham fans were promised by the owners and you can’t complain this year because they’ve come so close to getting into the Champions League.
“Europe League, I’m delighted for the fans because the West Ham fans are great. It’ll be very interesting going to all those other clubs and you might see me at a couple of them.”
Can we qualify for the Champions League next season?
As McAvennie says, other clubs are going to spend a lot of money in the summer after disappointing seasons at Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal.
You also have other ambitious clubs like Everton, Aston Villa, Leeds and Wolves who’ll want to improve on what they’ve achieved this term. They also have big-money backing from their owners.
Will West Ham have similar backing? We don’t see it, unfortunately. However we do have a manager who knows what he’s doing and has proven he can work on a budget.
In other West Ham news, this Irons star is being forced to move house because of what fans are doing.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.