Written by: @FredDWHU

The season so far has been an improvement, a disappointment, and a rollercoaster ride.

A West Ham season is never short of controversy – and this season has been no different with the appalling performances in the first four games and the Arnautovic transfer malarkey, both of which having been the main topics of debate this season. We’ve had highs, including beating Arsenal and Manchester United at home, but we’ve equally had lows, including crashing out of the Fa Cup to Wimbledon which, as we’ve seen with the teams remaining, was a massive missed opportunity to not only get to Wembley but to play Millwall!

It’s been a huge batch of ups and downs – but it turns out we are  statistically the most improved Premier League side this year, so should we be happy?

The season started with optimism when we spent £100 million in the summer window and broke our record transfer fee with the signing of Felipe Anderson. Us fans were expecting a good season to put to bed the disappointment of the previous season, so it was definitely a shock when we lost the first four games. After the loss against Wolves, all optimism had disappeared. We were already thinking that we’re in a relegation battle and a few fans were calling for Pellegrini to be sacked after four games! However, in the next three games against Everton, Chelsea and Manchester United, we managed to pick up seven points – which put our season back on track. After that, we struggled to pick up points until December where we finally showed our true potential as we won four in a row against Newcastle, Cardiff, Palace and Fulham.

This run is probably the highlight of our season as it pushed us out of the relegation zone and into the race for seventh place.

2019 started off well with a win in the FA Cup and a win at home against Arsenal, but after that it all fell apart. We didn’t win in five games and we got knocked out of the FA Cup by Wimbledon – which made us a laughing stock. We should’ve put out our best team for that game, and the players should have treated Wimbledon with the respect they deserved as this year is a big missed opportunity when you look at the teams left in the competition.

Recently, things have improved slightly but if we’d have lost that thriller against Huddersfield, some serious questions would of been asked about Pellegrini and the players. We had our best side out, so if we’d have lost to bottom of the league it would of been dreadful.

Overall, the season has been average but inconsistency has been our main issue. If we want to push for Europe in the coming seasons, we have to stop being so poor so often in games which we should be dominating. Too many times this season we’ve played important games and we just haven’t turned up.

When it comes to being happy with this season it all depends on your expectations at the start of the season. For me, I wanted to see an improvement in the results and the style of football and I believe that has happened. Watching us this season has been so much more entertaining than last season and as we are the most improved Premier League side, I think we have to be happy.

However, there’s still a lot to work on to allow us to improve for next season and challenge for Europe.