West Ham take on Watford for the closing match of this Barclays Premier League season, back in the day it would have been a celebration for both clubs to maintain their top flight status, but that was before the TV money really came in, nowadays teams like West Ham and Watford have got serious financial clout but have the advantage of being able to buy players cheaper than the 'top six' clubs.
With several high profile departures on the cards, speculation is looming that some of those scheduled for 'scrutiny' may include Jack Wilshere among others. Andy Carroll's contract runs out in a couple of weeks and of course the club will not be taking up their option to extend his contract, once bitten, twice shy, or in Big Andy's case one hundred times bitten!
PSG football club is owned by Qatar's Oryx Qatar Sports Investments (QSi) which is chaired by Nasser Al Khelaïfi, but essentially the club is owned by the Qatari royal family. Having pumped nearly £2 Billion in to ensuring PSG became winners of the Champions League, there are more than one or two angry 'royal' investors who need placating. Perhaps it is the ire of those who control the purse strings that is responsible for the recent rumours that have reserged regarding a Qatari bid to take over West Ham United.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Lanzini, Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Obiang, Arnautovic Subs: Adrian, Zabaleta, Sanchez , Chicharito, Wilshere, Ogbonna, Perez
Southampton: Gunn, Valery, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand, Ward-Prowse, Romelu, Højbjerg, Long, Ings, Redmond. Subs:
TBC
Saturday afternoon's match against Southampton has little relevance on paper, Saints secured their premiership status last week and Hammers, already way safe from relegation, cannot reach a Europa league seventh spot following Everton's victory against Burnley yesterday evening.
With The Hammers sitting mid table and this being the likely resting place for the 2018/2019 season, has progress been made, or should we be expecting more? We take a look over the high’s and lows and consider what we should expect in 2019/2020.
Livid Tottenham supporters have taken to social media (visit other sites to see their comments copied and pasted, we don't regurgitate such dross!) to express how sad they think Hammers fans are for celebrating their victory over Tottenham at the Daniel Levy 'It's Happened Again' Stadium. In addition to the vast majority of their supporters being in total denial over Tottenham's defeat, the usual excuses of a cluttered playing schedule were rolling out even before the final whistle of West Ham's 1-0 victory, excuses not made by Mauricio Pochettino who is a class act.
Tottenham: Lloris, Davies, Alderweireld, Sanchez, Foyth, Rose, Dier, Alli, Eriksen, Moura, Son Subs: Gazzaniga, Trippier, Wanyama, Walker-Peters, Llorente, Skipp
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Rice, Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson, Arnautovic Subs: Adrian, Zabaleta, Obiang, Chicharito, Wilshere, Ogbonna, Perez
Whichever way you look at it West Ham United's squad is about to undergo major surgery, particularly in the striking department, an area where players don't come cheap. With Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez, Javier Hernandez and probably Marko Arnautovic all set to leave there will be a need for substantial further recruitment.
Some West Ham fans will be disappointed on hearing the news that apparent transfer target, 'veteran' striker Edin Dzeko, has indicated that he would prefer a move to Inter Milan instead of to London Stadium, however the vast majority that we have heard from indicate their extreme pleasure that the club have dodged a bullet by NOT signing the 33 year old. The Roma striker is apparently desperate to sign for Inter, and will turn down any offer from West Ham in order to push through a move to the Nerazzurri.