As with most sporting competitions, football has its elite. The distinction with football, however, is the gap between the ‘average’ club and the ‘super’ club. In the English game, these elite clubs come in the form of the so-called ‘big six’. This self-proclaimed title holds little relevance however when it comes to the league table. The Premier League has experienced a change of the guard in 2021, with clubs usually destined for European competition tumbling down the table in dramatic fashion. Nevertheless, the distinction in money remains clear. The ‘big six’ have spent more than all the other teams in the league combined over the last 5 seasons - A total spend of over 3 billion. Though despite this disparity in wealth one team looks to break the mould.
West Ham United currently sit fourth in the Premier League table two points ahead of fifth-place Tottenham. Achieving this impressive league position all while beating Chelsea, Liverpool, Man City and Man United. Though can this impressive form really continue. And are they genuine challengers for Champions League football?
The ‘top six’ will shudder at the thought of this reality. The money obtained by achieving a top-four place is incomparable. Though The Hammers cannot simply be brushed aside. Their impressive form at the end of last season saw them achieve a sixth-place finish and a spot in the Europa League. Many pundits and journalists alike sentenced West Ham to mid-table mediocracy after this, claiming the fixture congestion experienced from playing in Europe would be too much for a team with modest spending abilities. Thus far, however, West Ham have proved those doubters considerably wrong.
Anyhow the challenges this team are yet to face cannot be ignored. The club have qualified for the knockout rounds of the Europa league subjecting them to a packed winter fixture list. And with a squad size paling in comparison to the teams around them, injuries could cripple West Ham. Even the sports elite can collapse from injury woes. 2019-20 champions Liverpool capitulated last season after a series of A-list injury casualties. The team only finished third through a blinding end to the season with an impressive run of five wins on the trot. Liverpool are casing example then of the perils that come with injuries.
Money unfortunately may also be the hammer blow for West Ham. The league’s aristocracy will not stand for the clubs unannounced challenge for the throne. They will spend in January, in fact, don’t be surprised to see the kitchen sink thrown at transfers this coming window. The East London side simply cannot compete with the sheer volume of money these clubs will spend. On that account, if the team have aspirations of Champions League football, they must not let their form drop.
West Ham have knocked down the doors of the league’s status quo. Are they challengers for the top four? Yes, by all accounts they should be considering the owner’s investment over recent seasons. Yet holding back the tide of the league’s spending giants won’t be easy. Sooner or later though, a team outperforming become a team of capability.
Author: Will Heason