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- 24/25 Season Preview 20 in 20 - West Ham
24/25 Season Preview 20 in 20 - West Ham
13 of 20 - The Hammers
nick lochner
August 07, 2024
The 2024/25 Season kicks off Friday August 16 when Fulham travel to Man United.
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“The Hammers” “The Irons” | 2023/24 Finish - 9th Place |
Consistency. A pretty big London club known for consistency and developing players who typically underspend the largest clubs. Have spent 65% of their seasons in the top league and have never fallen below the second league. While not considered a “Top 6” club the Hammers have been consistently in the next tier, with fan expectations to be consistently competing for top 4.
Underappreciated. Gaffer David Moyes was relieved of his duties at the end of last season in what seemed to please most fans. Moyes is one of the most successful managers in West Ham history, yet despite his achievements, fans were not happy with the style of play Moyes brought to the Hammers - too boring, too conservative, not enough attacking. Moyes kept WH solidly in the top 10 and won a European Cup - Europa Conference League but it seemed both Moyes and ownership felt new energy and a change was needed.
Let’s See. Enter Julien Lopetegui, the manager who left Wolverhampton one week before the start of last season, in part, because he felt ownership did not commit to what they promised him - a commitment to spending. Lopetegui see’s West Ham as a club that will provide greater resources, and West Ham see’s Julien as bringing a more progressive style of play that fans will like. We will need to wait and see. At the end of the day, style of play can be entertaining, but winning is the objective.
Style and/or Results. Lopetegui will bring the style of play Hammer’s fans want to see. The question is, will he have the players to execute at the PL level and how long will it take for JL’s management style to connect. Top 10 is a must for West Ham and anything less than earning a European spot would be falling short of expectations. Will fans be happy with a more attractive style of play and a 10th place finish? That’s what the bookmakers predict.
The Club
Located in East London (Stratford) London Stadium, 60,000 capacity Rough estimates $370M Annual Revenue (17th worldwide, 8th PL) $110M Player Payroll  | History on the Pitch
Sponsorship
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 Home Shirt |  Away Shirt |
OwnershipWest Ham’s current ownership is led by David Sullivan (interestingly made his initial $ in Porn) who owns 38%. Sullivan and David Gold partnered to acquire WH by buying 51% in 2010. In 2021, Czech Daniel Kretinsky, purchased 27% of WH and was appointed to the Board. In early 2023 David Gold (age 83) passed away and his 25% stake is now owned by the family. The remaining investors make up the final 10%, most notably WHU LLC, led by American Tripp Smith with 10% of the club. | Biggest Rival - Millwall
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The Culture
The name “The Hammers” began in part from the club’s origins as Thames Ironworks. In 1900 several disputes around finances Thames Ironworks FC was disbanded and then immediately relaunches as West Ham United FC. In 2016 West Ham moved into London Stadium, home of the 2012 Summer Olympics, and are consistently near the top in attendance across Europe in PL at 62,000.
WH is considered by many The Academy of Football, known as the top club for their youth development system. Since the 70’s WH has contributed a considerable number of players to the English National Team. Also has led the PL in “home grown players” averaging 6-7. They do have a history of losing top players to “bigger clubs” who spend more. See Declan Rice this year. WH also has a significant hooliganism history, most notably the Mile End Mob and Inter City Firm. Green Street , a 2005 movie starring Elijah Wood, is named for the street next to The Boleyn grounds. In 1989 Gary Oldman stared in The Firm, a made for TV drama about the activities of Inter City Firm. The club has tried to remove the Hooligan moniker.
The BoleynAlso referred to as Upton Park, was home to WH from 1904-2016. The grounds were part of Boleyn Castle, named after Anne Boleyn Queen of England (1533-1536), second wife of King Henry VIII. She was executed by beheading for treason and other charges. In 2008, The Other Boleyn Girl film was released based on the book by the same name. Supporters You May Recognize
 | SongThe story behind West Ham and Bubbles…..is shrouded in mystery. Composed in 1919 in the USA, its said the WH version took off in the early 1920’s, in part from a a U14 player who looked exactly like a kid from a famous painting entitled “Bubbles”.  Game Day Pub Guide Tap East |
Fan Sites
According to the AI tool COPILOT - here is an image of a West Ham fan at London Stadium, based on Wiki’s description of a Hamer’s Supporter.
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Official Twitter@WestHam High Follows on Twitter @WestHamViews_ (34k) @WestHambuzztap (22k) @UberWestHam (28k) |
The Team
The Gaffer
 Julen Lopetegui ODDS
| Roster NotesFull Roster click link Projected to finish 10th Americans on the team (as of Aug 4)
Interested in playing Fantasy Soccer? Here are the basics. Typical teams have a budget of $100M and 15 players - $6.7M per player.
Goalkeeper
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London Stadium
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