The Club

The Hammers were once the darlings of London football, having won the FA Cup three times and also the Cup Winners Cup. However, grandiose ambition seen the club move away from Upton Park, instead moving to the Olympic Stadium in 2016. The club struggled greatly with the move (see below) and found a huge chasm forming amongst their working class fan base.

A club in relative flux, it’s hard to see where West Ham United can go from here – the glory days are gone, so what’s left?

16-17 – How Was It?

Awful. They stayed up but for many fans they were expected to challenge for Europe. Their rancid home form played a big part in this, too, seeing their new home become a curse in no time at all. They looked set to go down at some stages, and if it were not for the work of Slavin Bilic they may have done just that.

A good club, West Ham squandered money and security, likely leaving themselves with a much harder future as the learning curve settles. Overall, the first season in their new home quickly became an exercise in frustration.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

Obscurity. The club is not doing very impressive work in the market (yet), there has been little in the way of harmony between all interested parties, and the team in general does not look very exciting any longer. Much of their original verve and swagger under Bilic is gone, and they do not look up to the task of genuine improvement.

We expect that a solid mid-table finish is likely, without too much more really being possible without immense surgery. Given the competition and the negative club atmosphere, though, that may be somewhat harder to achieve than fans expect.

The Club

The Foxes are, to many football fans, a middling Midlands club that has never seen much success or glory. Always in the shadow of the likes of Aston Villa, Wolves, Derby County and Nottingham Forest, success for The Foxes was always quite fleeting. Until 2015-16, of course, when they managed to lift the league. Their famous title win will go down in history as one of the most impressive of all time, never to be repeated. Now, though, the club looks to be returning to relative, middle-of-the-road stability.

16-17 – How Was It?

Sobering. After the league win, the club never kicked on and poor signings were made. They lacked the ability to really continue on and an impressive run to the Quarter-Finals of the Champions League was a massive highlight. League form was awful, though, culminating in the exit of league winning coach Claudio Rainieri.

Star players lacked the same hunger as before and much of the club began to feel disjointed. A lifetime of goodwill was used up and gone in a single season, as the ‘second season’ struggled to live up to the hype and Leicester truly fell away spectacularly.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

It depends, really. Craig Shakespeare has been given the job full-time, and he looks to be on the market for some impressive signings. Little activity so far, though, means that some fans might be worried about where the club is going to be next season. Overall, we expect a season of relative obscurity from the former Champions.

They lost a lot of their verve and Shakespeare merely wants to try and play the same way as the title winning season. People appear to have worked that out, so what lies ahead will be determined by how adaptable they can be.

The Club

Crystal Palace have always been a perennial strugglers club. Known for decent youth production and always trying to play football the right way, Palace rarely have the ability to compete at the top end of the table. Financial instability, too, has regularly been a problem for one of the smaller London clubs.

In their classic red and blue kit, though, The Eagles have always been a club that people respect. Their famous FA Cup final appearances against Manchester United have always earned them a ‘neutral’s favourite’ tag.

16-17 – How Was It?

Challenging. Club legend Alan Pardew rightfully moved on, before Sam Allardyce returned from disgrace to take the club to safety. Impressive wins – again, with a win at Anfield – helped to seal the clubs safety and they managed to stay up. A lack of movement on and off the pitch since, though, has seen a rather stressful summer come together.

A lack of improvement on a rather imbalanced playing staff could see major problems for Palace, who while they managed to finish 14^th in the league never really looked particularly safe, with some big name signings never truly settling in.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

A battle. The hiring of Frank de Boer seems ambitious but also misguided. A good coach, he managed to lose it with Ajax in the end (despite rebuilding them) and also managed to fall apart at Internazionale in a record space of time. A good coach, he lacks the right kind of profile for a club like Palace – he’s too ambitious in playing style for it to likely work, and not pragmatic enough to make it stick.

Either way, it’s going to be interesting. We expect Palace to be battling relegation, although we expect them to stay up – just about.

The Club

The Swans are the sole representative in the Premier League outside of England, having been joined be eternal rivals Cardiff in 2013/14. Swansea were in regular trouble for many years, bar a rather wild time under John Toshack in the 80s. Once the residents of the charismatically awful Vetch Field, they moved to the Liberty Stadium and done very well. Now, they are one of the more established clubs, having lifted the League Cup in 2013, culminating years of work from chairman Huw Jenkins. Now under manager Paul Clement, The Jacks want to take another step forward.

16-17 – How Was It?

Poor. The sacking of several coaches, including US coach Bob Bradley, seen the club go through a period of relative flux. Under Paul Clement, though, the club maintained a decent run of things after a crazy 3-2 win at Anfield vs Liverpool. They went on to finish an impressive 15^th, given the relative mess of the club that season. The season, though, was one of serious issues for the clubs fans.

Fallouts and a lack of trust in the new ownership meant things went wrong, with survival only achieved late on.

17-18 – What Lies Ahead?

More stress, we suggest. Summer moves have been slow and a lack of quality in the market could see them struggle further. Coach Paul Clement is very good at his job but can only do what he can with the squad he has. With an ageing team and everyone a year older, doubts exist as to whether they can survive again without more intelligent investment.

Either way, the season is not likely to be one that is memorable for the right seasons. Swans fans should be ready for another battle at the bottom: not enough progress looks to be made in summer.