In years gone by, supporting West Ham United must have felt like Groundhog Day — hit the ground running, inevitably dip off in form, overpay for a foreign midfielder and repeat. However, the last couple of seasons must have been a breath of fresh air in east London, with the Irons demonstrating more consistency under David Moyes and after their best ever finish to a Premier League campaign 12 months ago, find themselves on the cusp of Europa League glory.
Few would have expected West Ham to do as well as they have in Europe’s secondary competition. The fatigue bought on by the additional games combined with the travelling to foreign lands could well have formed a recipe for disaster, and while the proverbial ‘European hangover’ may have compromised their pursuit of the top four, Moyes and co. have still managed to juggle things domestically, albeit with a few games to go. Now they approach the semi-finals with every hope they can win their first major tournament for 40 years.
The football tips still have RB Leipzig as favourites to go all the way in Seville next month, but if Rangers can pull off a minor miracle and upset the Bundesliga outfit, it will put West Ham in a much stronger position. Their hopes of returning to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium — having already played there against Sevilla earlier this season — also rely on a result against German opposition. They face Eintracht Frankfurt who may have struggled in the league so far under Oliver Glasner, currently in 10th, but showed their resilience after beating Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
The trip to the Waldstadion will feel like a bearpit atmosphere, something that is becoming familiar to West Ham with each passing win in Europe. However, the last round appeared to be more routine than usual. Following a 1-1 draw in the first leg, Lyon were unable to cope under the pressure of home advantage, with Craig Dawson’s opener quickly followed up by a second blow via Declan Rice just before half time. Without any time to settle, the French outfit found themselves 3-0 down when Jarrod Bowen put his side into the next round for an emphatic 3-0 win.
The relief was there for all to see and none more so than for Aaron Cresswell. Despite a controversial red card in the first leg, the left-back was in good spirits and is relishing the chance of having something to play for come the end of the season. “I was there with the boys in Lyon supporting them and it was an incredible, incredible night to be in amongst it all with the lads,” he said.
“What a night for the Club, for the fans who have been with us for years while we were fighting relegation, I’m sure they’ll be delighted to see us in the quarter-finals, knocking Lyon out 3-0 in their ground. It was just unbelievable and now there’s a semi-final to come. Bring it on.
“There have been a lot of games coming thick and fast in the last few weeks. We’ve got a normal week this week – a day off on Monday, so we’ll rest up and return fully focused come Tuesday.”
It’s testament to the dressing room Moyes has built since his second spell at the London Stadium. There appears to be no egos and the team spirit is something Irons fans will be thrilled at seeing. From their captain Mark Noble enjoying his swansong with the occasional sporadic appearance, the joy in seeing Michail Antonio find the back of the net and celebrate with his own cardboard cut-out, the next step will be keeping this side together. And if they do win the Europa League then the extra incentive of Champions League football will surely be enough to ensure they keep hold of their star players, with Rice and Bowen being linked with moves away.