West Ham’s latest journey into European competition starts this Thursday against the part timers of FC Lusitanos. Now come on, had anyone ever heard of our opponents before this draw was made? In fact some of us might not have even heard of their homeland Andorra? I will leave Dan Coker to give us the run down on our opposition with his match preview, but really this will be a cake walk whatever side we put out. As we progress through the rounds the ties will obviously get harder and at some stage we may even face some opposition we have heard of before?
That last sentence probably alludes to most that I am not endeared to the prospect of the Europa League and you would be right. When I read the recent posts of the majority on here I get the impression that I am in the minority when I feel this competition is the last thing we need just as we appear to be stabilising ourselves back in the PL? I can understand those fans that attend matches, and in particular those who have not experienced European nights before, wanting to see the variety that the Europa League may offer, but for me this is a major distraction that could come back and haunt us. History tells us that those clubs that have experienced what we are about to undertake, in the whole have struggled domestically. This season, more than most with the move to the Olympic Stadium just a year away, is vital to sustaining our presence in the Premier League. For me nothing other than total concentration on improving our league position this season would have been paramount. One fact that can’t be ignored is that if we continued our 2015 form into next season we would be relegated and this season we are exposing ourselves to a much harder workload. We can’t even take pride that we deserved this opportunity on the back of a great league position. We won it via the fair play award despite a plummeting drop in form.
Whilst our owners are doing all that they can to improve and strengthen our squad, we have to accept that we are poorly equipped for such an endeavour this season if our goal is to achieve great success in Europe and at home. The early rounds will no doubt give an opportunity for Slaven Bilic to get a good look at many of the fringe players. I would expect that the likes of Zarate, Lee, Poyet, Hendrie and Henry to be given chances that otherwise they may not have got? That would certainly be one of the merits of this adventure in the short term. It is staggering to see the response to tickets for this Thursday’s game and by the looks of things we may see over 28,000 attend? That is really amazing. Perhaps the Bilic factor is already at work, is it just the fact we do want some Euro airtime, or is it a case of football withdrawal symptoms?
Not withstanding any of my views on this topic I would love to be at Upton Park this Thursday just for one thing. How long will it take for the chant of “Slaven Bilic’s claret and blue army” to be echoing around the Boleyn? Not long I would imagine! The start of this season will almost certainly herald in a new era of optimism and it will great if the new manager inspires the last season at the Boleyn to be more than memorable. I hope I am wrong and end up with egg on my face with my current views on the Europa League, I really do. But for me this whole experience could implode on our domestic season. What are your views?