Last Season: 3rd (Championship, Play-off winners)
In: Alou Diarra (£2.2m, Olympique Marseille), James Collins (£2.8m, Aston Villa), Modibo Maiga (£5.2m, Sochaux), Mohamed Diame (free transfer, Wigan), Jussi Jaaskelainen (free transfer, Bolton), George McCartney (free transfer, Sunderland)
Out: 13 players have left West Ham this summer. For a full list see here.
If they were an Olympian: The Olympic Stadium. An area of great history, once again catapulted into world wide attention, serious questions still remain over long term future.
The sight of Sam Allardyce once again prowling the dug-outs of Premier League grounds is unlikely to cause much cheer for opposing fans. Compared with many of the likeable managers of promoted clubs in recent years, i.e. Ian Holloway, Paul Lambert and Brendan Rogers, the return of Allardyce to the league is not being relished.
This, as much as anything, is a sign of the grudging respect that people retain for "Big Sam". Whilst he is never going to win a popularity contest, his achievements with Bolton were nothing short of remarkable and Blackburn fans would happily have him back at Ewood Park.
Allardyce is no more popular with the West Ham fans, calling them "deluded" at one stage last year. However theirs is very much a marriage of convenience; Allardyce wanted to be back in the Premier League where he feels his talents belong and West Ham desperately needed to get back in the top division for financial reasons.
With promotion clinched, Allardyce has begun reshaping a squad that was still suffering from the inconsistent years of Gianfranco Zola and Avram Grant's management. 13 players have left including Rob Green and Abdoulaye Faye and 9 players have come in. The players that Allardyce has signed are what one might term typical Allardyce signings and in James Collins, Mohamed Diame and Jussi Jaaskkelainen, there is no shortage of Premier League experience. The signing of Alou Diarra and Modibo Maiga are shrewd and both should suit West Ham down to the ground.
The major question that West Ham face is that if results are not going well, how long will owners David Gold and David Sullivan persist with a man who retains little affection with the supporters. Allardyce's style of football is unlikely to provide him with much leeway.
West Ham have been granted a fairly reasonable opening set of fixtures, with their first six games against Aston Villa, Fulham, Swansea, Norwich, Sunderland and QPR which are all games that Allardyce will be quietly confident of getting points out of.
I expect West Ham to stay up fairly comfortably this year, although they may well start 2013 in the relegation zone as they have a horrifically tough run of games in the lead up to Christmas. Goal scoring should not be an issue as they have a decent selection of strikers to choose from and Kevin Nolan can always be relied upon to chip in with a few goals. The concern will be the defence which has a distinct lack of pace and contains a goalkeeper who has barely played in a year.
As I say West Ham will stay up but it will not be particularly easy nor pleasing on the eye. But then again, "Big Sam" would not have it any other way.
Predicted Finish: 14th
Key Man: James Tomkins. Like many other players who have been relegated, a year away from the Premier League has done wonders for James Tomkins. Often exposed during his time in the Premier League, Tomkins has rebuilt his confidence and it showed last year as he was immense for the Hammers as they clinched promotion. Tomkins will take inspiration from Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini, who returned to the Premier League after a year in the Championship a far better player.
Underrated: Mark Noble. Local lad Mark Noble has spent his entire career with the Hammers and is held in the highest regard by the Upton Park faithful. A tenacious competitor, Noble is an excellent passer of the ball and will run and fight all day for the West Ham cause. His delivery from set pieces is vital as one thing we all know about Sam Allardyce teams is that they will be dangerous from dead ball situations.
Watch out for: Ricardo Vaz Te. West Ham were struggling for form and goals at times last year and it was the arrival of Vaz Te from Barnsley that really kick started their drive for promotion after Christmas. Capable of providing moments of brilliance and lunacy in the space of a few minutes, the Portugese winger chipped in with a number of important goals last season. None more so than when he slammed the ball past Matt Gilks at Wembley in May to secure West Ham's return to the top flight.
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