Selhurst awaits as the Eagles make their first appearance of the season at home with West Ham making the trip to South London.
TEB – How was West Ham’s pre-season? What fixtures did you have (apart from us!) and were there any stand-out players?
HH – West Ham’s pre-season was a bit underwhelming – a new manager and massive overhaul of the squad combined with numerous key players missing for it’s majority due to Euros and Copa America, meant we lacked consistency. A lot of our defensive problems from last season were clear in the games, conceding 10 goals in our 6 matches including 3 to Palace and 3 to Wolves. However, we have now brought in more reinforcements at the back that fill me with a bit more confidence including Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo.
TEB – Are you happy with your summer transfer business? Were there any areas not strengthened that should have been?
HH – I think it’s hard to find a West Ham fan that isn’t happy with our business in the transfer window so far – 7 exciting first team signings with over £110m spent. The owners have been criticised in the past but they’ve certainly shown ambition this window. The defence was the big area that needed addressing, which as stated before, I’m now more confident in. I’m most excited to see Niclas Füllkrug hit the ground running. It’s no secret that West Ham have struggled with strikers in the past, but seeing what he did for Dortmund last season and Germany at the Euros, I think he could become a real hero for West Ham this season.
TEB – Thoughts on Julian Lopetegui? Is he the man to take West Ham forward?
HH – Getting rid of David Moyes was one of the most heavily debated topics I’ve ever seen amongst the West Ham fan base. What he did for the club was nothing short of a miracle. So on the one hand it was upsetting to see him go, given the collapse in the second half of last season, perhaps it was the right time for both parties to go their separate ways.
On paper Julen Lopetegui has a stacked CV – Real Madrid, Spain, Porto, Seville. However, I’ve read that his time at some of these clubs was rather underwhelming but they were earlier on in his career and what he achieved at Seville cannot be underestimated. He’s saying all the right things in press conference and looks very passionate and animated on the touchline, whether this translates to results and good football only time will tell. But I’m looking forward to a shake up after four years of low block football and want to be optimistic that Lopetegui is the right manager to take us to the next level.
TEB – Expectations for the upcoming season?
HH – Every pre-season press conference and interview with any of our players, they all alluded to getting back into European football as the main aim after three years on the bounce I would love nothing more than to achieve that once more. However, I am cautious that it’s incredibly competitive finishing in those positions and our toughest test will ultimately be how fast we can adapt to the new style of play and integrate the new players. I personally believe we will fall just shy of a European place but I think ultimately West Ham will still have a good season and lay a foundation to push on next year.
TEB – What are your thoughts on Palace under Oliver Glasner and what do you expect from them this season as an opposition fan?
HH – My first thoughts on Oliver Glasner will always go back to the Europa League semi-final where Eintracht Frankfurt knocked West Ham out, so on a personal level I have a bit of a grudge! But bias aside, from what I’ve seen I certainly fear Palace more as a rival in the table now than under Roy Hodgson.
It looks like Glasner has brought back a lot of the excitement to Selhurst Park and with players like Ebere Eze, Daichi Kamada and Wharton it does seem like Palace could also be on the cusp of those European positions. Glasner bettered Moyes on three occasions (two with Frankfurt and then the 5-2 hammering last season) so I would be more worried if we were going in with the same game plan, however, I’m hoping Lopetegui will have done his due diligence and have a plan up his sleeve.
TEB – If you could sign one current player from Palace, who would it be?
HH – From what I’ve read, West Ham are trying to offload Zouma and Aguerd so I would love to replace them with Marc Guéhi – an absolutely phenomenal Euro 2024 for England and it’s no surprise that Newcastle are trying to throw their infinite amounts of money at him. Outside of Guéhi, it has to be Eze – again an absolute pleasure to watch every time he gets on the ball and you just never know what he is going to come up with and create when he is in possession.
TEB – Favourite away day in the Premier League?
HH – Tottenham away will always fill me with the most excitment, however Selhurst Park is probably my favourite stadium to visit – a real traditional old school ground where we both bring our A-game when it comes to atmosphere, always good banter when it comes to the songs as well!
TEB – Predictions for the game including final score?
HH – Big pressure on both sides already after losses in matchweek 1, and I can only see that resulting in a draw so I’m going to go for 2-2.
