West Ham United ‘failing’ as Stan Collymore shares surprise at preseason predictions
Stan Collymore has claimed he was shocked at the number of pundits who had backed West Ham to finish in the top half due to their European commitments.
The Hammers saw themselves drop into the bottom three after Bournemouth and Everton both picked up vital wins on Saturday (18 February).
The outspoken pundit has suggested the Irons have struggled due to their lack of squad depth whilst fighting on two fronts this season.
“West Ham are failing because their squad isn’t good enough to cope with Europe and the demands of the Premier League,” wrote Collymore (Sunday People, pg 58, 19 February).
“A lot of people thought the Hammers would be able to battle on two fronts. I wasn’t one of them. While they’re taking on all-comers in the Europa Conference League, they’re struggling in the Premier League. The reason for that… they don’t have the strength in depth.
“I was genuinely shocked when a lot of pundits had them finishing in the top half of the table and chasing another Euro dream.”
Complete rubbish
Collymore has come out with some rubbish during his time as a pundit, this is right up there. West Ham haven’t played a Conference League game for over three months (3 November v FCSB). Furthermore, they secured the top spot with room to spare which allowed David Moyes to rotate his squad.
The argument that the squad is tired or struggling due to a lack of games is completely redundant. To further dismantle this ridiculous take, the Hammers were competing in the top seven for the majority of the 2021/22 campaign and also reached a European semi-final.
One more reason to shoot down this drivel from Collymore is that West Ham spent £150million in the summer and dramatically improved the squad. The reason why they’ve struggled has been down to a failure to perform to the levels they did last season, it’s that plain and simple. The new signings haven’t settled in yet, and it’s cost the West Ham boss.
The argument for fixture congestions is an under-researched and ill-thought-out one from Collymore. It’s remarkable people actually pay for opinions like this.