Remember January? West Ham United were four points from ‘safety’ and Scott Parker’s Burnley were breathing down our necks, just two points behind. Relegation seemed a certainty and the bookies had the Hammers at something likean 89% likelihood of exiting the top tier of English football in May.
The turnaround, dramatic in it’s rapidity, has produced form reminiscent of David Moyes’ best season at the club, such is the claim in todays’ report by planetfootball.com:
“West Ham have been in Europe-chasing form since January;
The Hammers have been notoriously bad with their recruitment in recent years, which prompted zero optimism among their supporters that the Irons would do what was necessary in the winter transfer window.”
Nuno Espirito Santo Talks to Paco Jemez
As important as any player transfer? The arrival of assistant Paco Jemez has co-incided with West Ham’s transformation from Premier League basket case
As ‘Planet football‘ continue, the change in form engendered by the arrival of Taty Castellanos, Pablo Felipe, Adama Traore and Axel Disasi has been nothing short of breathtaking:
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“Upto the window opening they were earning 0.73 points per game. Since it closed, the Irons have doubled that number to 1.5 points per.
If the season started when the window shut, Nuno’s side would be in the running for Europe, not desperately trying to fend off relegation”
For the record, if the season started in January West Ham would like eighth on current form. Can’t help pointing out that Tottenham would be 20th ..with just one point this year compared with West Ham’s 12.
Just for once, the Hammers seem to have avoided making a pig’s ear of a transfer window: Credit where it is due to whoever signed those four players.
However the one factor not taken into consideration in their article is the arrival of Paco Jemez as Nuno’s assistant at the same time, mid-January window and right before the QPR Cup tie that many, including Jarrod Bowen, feel was the season’s turning point.
If West Ham remain in this kind of form until May we can spend all summer arguing whether Axel Disasi’s arrival was more influential than that of assistant Paco Jemez, without the spectre of relegation haunting our discussions.