Pushing for Europe

Many people are in appreciation of some of the transfers made by the ‘not-so-big teams’ and rightly so. In particular, West Ham, Leicester City and Swansea City have caught my eye and both have made decent starts to the new campaign.

Andre Ayew and Dimitri Payet will be instrumental for both teams and pivotal if either reach the knockout rounds. Both left French side Marseille, after a topsy turvy season in the South of France. Starting superbly, Marseille were clear at the top of Ligue 1, and much of it was attributed to the Argentine tactician, Marcelo Bielsa. As for Leicester, Claudio Ranieri is achieving the best out of Riyad Mahrez. The Algerian international has made a blistering start to the season scoring 5 goals in his opening 7 games, culminating in a nomination for August's Player of the Month.

After 6 games, all three sides sit in the top half with West Ham in 3rd, Leicester in 4th and Swansea further back in 7th.

West Ham have played some nice football this season, similar to what they experienced in the opening stages last season. In the last campaign, Diafra Sakho was key and his 12 goals made him the Hammers' top goal scorer last season. While they started the season well, two wins in the last sixteen games presumably sealed Sam Allardyce's fate and paved the way for Slaven Bilic. This season, West Ham have started with confidence, and the introduction of Dimitri Payet has proved a master stroke by the former Croatian international.

Like many other clubs, West Ham are threat from full back. Aaron Cresswell, signed from Ipswich in summer 2014, was voted the club's Player of the Year last season and made an average of six defensive actions a game, according to Squawka. West Ham managed to fend off interest from both Chelsea and Manchester City during the transfer window. He is equally adept in the defensive and offensive apartment, creating 30 chances last season and 7 this season - two have led to goals.

They lead the way in the goal scoring tally with 13 and conceding 7 goals - the second most inside the top ten. Offensively they have been superb this season and they look as if they could cause problems for any defence in Europe at times. Bilic has a bit of work to conduct on the defence if they are going to challenge for the European places, but with him getting to know his new squad, I suspect this will improve in the coming weeks. West Ham look good this season and I thoroughly enjoy watching them.

Similar to the Hammers, Garry Monk's Swans have been earning praise for their style of praise this year. The loss of Wilfried Bony to Manchester City was expected to cause problems last season, but his replacement in Bafetimbi Gomis is just as good. The French international has netted on four occasions this year and is going through a streak of good form. He displays similar physical strengths to Bony, hence why he is taking to Swansea like a duck to water. Currently one goal off Callum Wilson and Riyad Mahrez in the scoring charts, Gomis is becoming one of the favourites for the golden boot when the season concludes.

Gomis has made a great start to the season, but he has formed a formidable partnership with former Marseille man Andre Ayew. Recently named Player of the Month for August, he was the star of the side for Marseille last season, creating 22 chances and scoring 10 in the league. With Swansea, he is quickly becoming a fan favourite at the Liberty Stadium and provides one of the main creative sparks in the side. While Monk has commented that the Welsh side will not rely on the Ghanian, a fit Ayew will greatly ameliorate their chances of European football.

Former Liverpool star Jonjo Shelvey is also a key player for the Welsh side. He has a terrific range of passes and is the heart beat of the midfield for the past season. Lying a bit deeper, he is able to break up the play and offer defensive reinforcement, and has adopted this role since the arrival of Ayew. Swansea may not have scored many goals, but their creative players Ayew, Jefferson Montero and Shelvey have the guile to produce more chances for Gomis to feed off. I do think they will able to qualify for Europe, whether through the league position or else a cup victory.

Last for now is Leicester City. The pundits among us may have been able to predict West Ham and Swansea's terrific start. but there won't be many to have predicted the start of Ranieri's men. I remember back to when Ranieri was appointed, there was much criticism about this and why Nigel Pearson was sacked. Pearson steered the Foxes away from relegation with a magnificent run of form that culminated in them finishing 14th, not bad considering they were rooted to the bottom from game-week 13 right through to week 31.

Undoubtedly, Riyad Mahrez has been their star performer this season and leads the way in terms of goals with five and has been grabbing the headlines. He seems to be the player that is able to create something out of nothing this season and if he continues this form, then Leicester will be a real force. They have had their fair share of luck, including a 3 goal comeback to seal the victory against Aston Villa as well as scoring two goals to snatch a draw of Stoke City. While people may say that they have been lucky up to this stage so far, I am a firm believer that you are the architects of your own luck.

Will Leicester be able to keep this run of form up? We all long for a fairy tale story but I'm not convinced. Squad depth around Christmas time will be a major factor as to whether they can retain the momentum. At the same time, not many people thought that Southampton would be able to continue their form for so long last season, so there is every possibility that the Foxes can follow in the Saints' footsteps. Leicester City should be aiming for a high mid table finish either 6th, 7th or 8th however should not be too disheartened if they finish 10th or 11th. It would be steady progress to build on for next season.

West Ham and Swansea really should be pushing for a Europa League spot as both have the squads capable of challenging. In the domestic cups they also have a great opportunity with the ties generally being one match. The ground work has been laid for these sides, now it is time for the respective managers to act upon it.

Dimitri Payet Master-class Defeats Shoddy Toon

Dimitri Payet’s brace sends Newcastle to the foot of the table while Slaven Bilic’s men produce a very positive display at Upton Park.

West Ham made a superb start and found themselves in the lead in less than ten minutes, capitalising on poor play from the Newcastle defenders. Mark Noble’s drag back found summer signing Dimitri Payet and the Frenchman finished to show why he is so highly rated by the Hammers. Newcastle were having all of the possession in the opening exchanges however West Ham were comfortable and had the better opportunities. Daryl Janmaat did have an excellent chance to equalise after nice build up play by the Dutchman but his shot was weak and was easily dealt with by Darren Randolph in nets.

There wasn’t many chances on offer in the first half and the home side were happy to absorb the pressure for . For West Ham, they looked dangerous countering on Newcastle’s sloppiness on the ball and almost extended their lead, when Payet’s through ball found Victor Moses but he couldn’t hit the target. The Toon lacked any real creativity in the final third and struggled to fashion any chances. In the second half they need to play the ball into Georginio Wijnaldum and have him turn and run at the Hammers’ defence. With the forwards making runs, it will pose difficult questions for Slaven Bilic’s men.

West Ham doubled their lead shortly after the interval with a swift counter led by Victor Moses off a Newcastle free kick. Moses managed to beat Haidara before releasing a rocket that thundered off the underside of the bar, but yet again West Ham’s golden boy was there to supply the finish. The defending may have been less than impressive and this leaves Newcastle with a mountain to climb. Similar to the first half, Newcastle had all of the possession but little or no penetration. The home side looked the more likely to extend their lead.

The introduction of Pedro Obiang was a more defensive option and signalled Bilic’s content at just seeing the match out. Hammers’ fans will be aware of the events at White Hart Lane last year when Harry Kane’s last gasp penalty snatched the three points away from West Ham. If Newcastle were to manage a goal then the momentum would completely swing. That goal never came. West Ham ran out deserved winners.

West Ham have reason to be optimistic this season. They have a man who could unlock a safe not knowing the combination, as well as useful operators in the middle of the park and some inspiring individuals at back. Even though they will face sterner tasks in the near future, teams will find West Ham very hard to break down and will trouble many other sides. I really look forward to watching West Ham play this season and they will be challenging for the spots in Europe.

As for Newcastle, this was a completely different performance to when they took on Arsenal at St James’ before the international break. A real worry for Steve McClaren is the failure to create and finish many chances and their hunt for a goal since the opening match continues. Daryl Janmaat had three out of the four shots, showing the dire need of another striker on Tyneside. Even having the majority possession, they were sloppy and often gifted the ball to the opposition allowing them to counter. Improvement needs to drastic and speedy if they are not going to fall into a slump and fight another relegation battle.

Transfer Round Up #3

I'm back with another five transfers for you to take a look at. This one may not focus on the marquee signings, but I'd like to hear your opinions irrespective of your allegiance.

Raheem Sterling – Liverpool to Manchester City - £49m

I think everyone knew that Raheem Sterling’s departure from Liverpool was imminent, and it has finally happened. Manchester City’s need for English players did not help lower the price for the young winger. City are certainly paying for ‘potential’ and many people think that they have overspent. In a season of despair for Liverpool, Sterling was one of the stand out performers. He created the most chances for Liverpool with 75 and only Philipe Coutinho completed more take-ons (109). He was 2 goals behind their top scorer, Steven Gerrard and also two assists behind Jordan Henderson. City will be hoping for an improvement if he wants to stake a claim for a starting spot.

I have been focusing most of my attention on the marquee moves to the Premier League, so here are a few that have gone under the radar and could shine for their respective clubs.

Andre Ayew - Olympique Marseille to Swansea - free transfer

I was surprised at this capture by Garry Monk as I never thought that Marseille would let him go that easily. Having played the majority of his career in the south of France, Ayew became an ingrained name at the club. Completing 80% of his passes this season, Ayew will fit well into the mould that Monk is building in south Wales. He was at the forefront of Marseille’s early form which saw them lead the table in the early rounds, but eventually tail off. He scored 9 goals and created 18 chances this season. Garry Monk works his magic once again to seal this move, as the Ghanian international aims to boost Swansea’s quest for European football.

Dimitri Payet - Olympique Marseille to West Ham - £10.5m

Another player that was key for Marcelo Bielsa at Marseille is Dimitri Payet. There was outrage in France and the President of the French Football Association branded this as an ‘embarrassment’. There were suspicious rumours that Payet had gone behind Marseille’s back in order to force through a move to the London club anyhow, this is a terrific coup for the Hammers new boss, Slaven Bilic. Payet created the most chances (134) in Europe’s top five leagues last season. Similarly, only Kevin De Bruyne, Cesc Fabregas and Lionel Messi assisted more times than the French international. It is a very positive signing from West Ham and I cannot wait to see him play in the Premier League.

Gerard Deulofeu - FC Barcelona to Everton - £4.2m

Back for his second spell at Goodison, Deulofeu will be welcomed back with open arms after a tumultuous season for the Merseyside club last year. Gerard Deulofeu was a key component to the squad that Roberto Martinez assembled to guide Everton to their highest ever points tally the year before last. In that season, Deulofeu was successful with 44 take ons, more than any of the Toffee’s other forward options. This year however, they were unable to create chances and ultimately looked a shadow of themselves. The former Barcelona man scored 1 goal and created 14 chances in 12 league appearances on loan at Sevilla last season. Martinez has finally got his hands on the man that he wanted last year, and a man that can return Everton to the European stage.

Shinji Okazaki - Mainz to Leicester - £7.7m

Last in this issue is Shinji Okazaki. Despite failing to recruit the Japanese international in January, Leicester are finally able to land their man. Last season wasn’t the greatest for the 29 year old with 12 goals in 32 appearances. Currently he is the most prolific Japanese goal scorer in Bundesliga history and is third on the all-time goal scoring charts for the Japanese national team. Last year Mainz finished just below midtable, even though they narrowly missed out on European football the season before. Okazaki may not create fireworks that Payet, Deulofeu or Ayew will, but he will score goals and I see him doing a job similar to what Leonardo Ulloa did last season for the club.

It's very interesting to see how these players will fare in the Premier League. We know what Sterling will bring to City, and I do think he will get first team football. For the others, I'm looking forward to seeing them I'm action for their clubs. All have the potential to be wondrous signings if used correctly. I can't wait to see them in action.