West Ham United were impressive in Slaven Bilic's debut season as manager of the East London club.
The Hammers took some massive scalps away from home in the form of London rivals Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City while also treating the Upton Park faithful to wins over Chelsea, Liverpool again, Tottenham and Manchester United to sign off from the fabled venue in fine fashion.
They also managed to score the same amount of goals as second-placed Arsenal (65).
West Ham now prepare to leave the Boleyn Ground for an upgrade at the Olympic Stadium and with a move of such magnitude brings an enormous amount of expectation.
Dimitri Payet came from France with massive wraps last summer and it proved to be an inspired signing as he was one of the top half dozen players in the competition. Further additions of this type, while difficult to pull off, will have the Hammers knocking on the door of the top four for years to come.
Already the club is in hot pursuit of a number of potential big-name signings, making clear their intent as they look to make the step up from also-rans and nearly-men to genuine Premier League elite.
HAMMERS SNAPSHOT
POSITION: 7th
WIN-DRAW-LOSS RECORD:16-14-8
POINTS:62
GOALS FOR-AGAINST:65-51
WEST HAM'S TOP 3
SCORERS:Dimitri Payet, Andy Carroll both 9, Michail Antonio 8
ASSISTS: Dimitri Payet 13, Michail Antonio 7, Four players on 4
CLEAN SHEETS (leader): Adrian 9
YELLOW CARDS: Mark Noble 7, Cheikhou Kouyate, Winston Reid, Angelo Ogbonna all 5
RED CARDS: Adrian, James Collins, Cheikhou Kouyate, Mark Noble all 1
EA SPORTS Player Performance Index:Dimitri Payet 701, Mark Noble 581, Aaron Cresswell 514
TRIBAL'S TOP BOY
TWITTER TALK
What a night for the last at Upton Park.
A victory in an incredible atmosphere.
Thank you very… https://t.co/NocDiVVdX1
— Dimitri Payet (@dimpayet17) May 11, 2016
Priceless pic.twitter.com/kkjNs8j2ex
— MARK NOBLE (@Noble16Mark) May 11, 2016
Thanks for your support this special season for me personally and the West Ham family, have a great summer and we will see you at the OS
— MARK NOBLE (@Noble16Mark) May 16, 2016
A great,historic & memorable season has finished,many positives memories & records beaten⚒
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!! pic.twitter.com/BTbfFx6HcD
— Adrián San Miguel (@AdriSanMiguel) May 15, 2016
What a season! Thank to everyone for your support, really made me feel at home, thank you ⚒⚒ @whufc_official#COYIpic.twitter.com/6dqYOFfVEP
— Michail Antonio (@Michailantonio) May 16, 2016
FROM THE BOSS
"I believe this been has been a terrific season for us at West Ham.
"We were fighting basically until the very end, even theoretically for the Champions League qualification.
"We played some good football, we broke some records at the club and if you add a good run in the FA Cup, it adds up to a very good season for us."
- Slaven Bilic on whufc.com, May 2016.
STAT STORY
*Thanks to Opta
+14 - West Ham have ended a top-flight season with a positive goal difference for the first time since 1985-86. Patience.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 15, 2016
