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For too long West Ham United has been seen as a last hurrah destination for players who might have been good once but have reached the end of the line, a sort of retirement half way home. Now, possibly as an unforeseen positive byproduct of the club's current FFP restrictions, it appears that Manuel Pellegrini is beginning to dip in to the vast amount of young talent at his disposal.

Eyebrows were raised when Eintrecht Frankfurt sold Sebastian Haller to West Ham United for a fee of £45 Million, not just because he is a top striker, but because Eintrecht had already sold Luka Jovic to Real Madrid for £62 Million only a couple of weeks before. Jovic and Haller had 'ripped up' the Bundesliga between them in a stunning season which saw them share 57 goals along with Ante Rebic's contribution.

How far away you are from 'your' team but still support them can be dependant on many circumstances, you might have moved areas, you might have moved countries or entire continents. Or maybe a team playing on the other side of the World just appeals to you, possibly for their footballing exploits and achievements, or maybe just because you liked the colour of their kit!

Having seen their team get well and truly battered on the opening day of the season, many Hammers fans were hoping to see their players 'chip in' with some flair play and a few goals against 'bogey team' Brighton & Hove. When the team sheets were released that optimism instantly evaporated , Manuel Pellegrini would be deprived of nearly £90 Million worth of players in the form of record signings Seb Haller and 'Pepe' Andersson.

Brighton: Mathew Ryan; Martin Montoya, Shane Duffy, Lewis Dunk, Dan Burn, Solly March, Pascal Groß, Davy Propper, Dale Stephens, Glenn Murray, Leandro Trossard Subs: David Button, Neal Maupay, Jurgen Locadia, Florin Andone, Adam Webster, Aaron Mooy, Bernardo
West Ham: Lukasz Fabianski, Ryan Fredericks, Pablo Fornals, Robert Snodgrass, Issa Diop, Jack Wilshere, Declan Rice, Manuel Lanzini, Angelo Ogbonna, Arthur Masuaku, Chicharito Subs: Roberto Jiménez, Fabián Balbuena, Pablo Zabaleta, Andriy Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez, Albian Ajeti, Antonio

Although both players are due to have a late and final fitness test, it appears Hammers most expensive signing, Sebastian Haller, will make the starting line up against 'Bogey' team Brighton at the Amex Stadium this afternoon. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the club's second most expensive signing Felipe Anderson, apparently the medical team feel that the Brazilian needs to be rested for the Seagulls match, and that Pablo Fornals will fill the void.

It would take a rather cruel hearted West Ham fan to not enjoy ex-Keeper Adrian San Miguel's moment in the spotlight, unless he is psychic there is no way the shot stopper would ever have envisaged playing in the 'Super Cup' final between Liverpool and Chelsea.

Now the dust has settled on what was a wholly unagreeable start to the season, West Ham fans are asking pertinent questions about the squad assembled for the coming campaign. One of the main sources of confusion is what plans are realistically in place for Winston Reid, it is easy to forget that not that long ago Reid's name was one of the first that managers put on their team sheets, not only that but the powerful New Zealander was coveted by various clubs, including Arsenal and their neighbours!

The opening fixture of the Barclays Premier League is the one day when hope springs eternal, before reality comes crashing down. In Hammers case the team are generally beaten by at least four goals, so Saturday's drubbing didn't come as too much of a surprise.

West Ham Utd: Fabianski, Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell, Rice, Wilshere, Anderson, Antonio, Lanzini, Haller. Subs: Roberto, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Sanchez, Snodgrass, , Fornals, Hernandez.
Manchester City: Edison, Walker, Stones, Laporte, Zinchenko, David Silva, Hernandez, De Bruyne, Sterling, Jesus, Mahrez, Subs: Aguero, Bravo, Otamendi, Gündogan, Bernardo, Cancelo, Foden