Chumps Chopped

Chelsea's victory over Leicester last night ensured West Ham could no longer qualify for the Champions League, it was not as if it were a surprise is it? This leaves the Europa League as an alternative, however there is every possibility that the dreaded 'Con' Cup might be an end result, or maybe no European competition at all!

Indeed there are some that argue Hammers would be better off by NOT qualifying for the 'Con'ference Cup, arguing with some reason that the extra travelling and game commitment will stretch any squad, particularly one that has a paucity of strength in depth.

It is an entirely new competition aimed at countries 'B' Teams, any new system will have 'niggles' to be smoothed out, and do Hammers really want to be guinea pigs? Perhaps it WOULD be better to miss out on Europe if it is not possible to gain a 'proper' Europa League place, and even qualifying directly would put an enormous strain on the club's resources.

It should be remembered how the Europa League impacted on Wolves, a club with a similarly 'slim' squad and other teams that competed, it took a team with a vast squad, ie: Manchester United to reach the final against Villa Real.

There is a parallel between 'lusting' after European Competition and having players represent their countries, each situation is gratifying, but the price paid can be catastrophic, Declan Rice's injury picked up while representing England is a case in point.

Perhaps finishing eighth this season would be preferable to finishing seventh? Whereas finishing sixth would be fine, tonight's game against Big Sam's West Brom at the Hawthorns, with fans in attendance, will seal the deal either way, win and the dream continues, lose and it would then be better to play out a draw against Southampton on the final day.

Of course only trying to attain a draw on the final day has it's risks, but even losing would probably be better than entering the 'Con' Cup, and while it is entirely counter-intuitive to NOT want to score points, Hammers may well have to face up to some awkward decisions.

Whatever happens it has been a season that is rich with good memories, but a salient example of how a critical lack of investment at the time when it was most needed came back to bite the club's 'asp'irations! Next season there will be fans back in Stadia, maybe not to full capacity, but full enough for fans to make their feelings known.

It is to be hoped that Moyes's boys are supported and not denigrated by what has traditionally always been a relatively fickle crowd, perhaps being denied the opportunity to have a good 'shout up' about the players will be tempered with a degree of appreciation.

If the players perform as they have done for the vast majority of the season, then there is absolutely no reason as to why the London Stadium shouldn't become Hammers fortress! - Ed