How The Irons Can Crack The Top Six In Five Easy To Manage Steps

Next level? David Meagher reckons he’s got the whole journey mapped out

- David Meagher

When all is said and done, the principal attraction of the move from Upton Park to the London Stadium was the prospect of becoming a top six side.

Prior to that, neutrals described us as a yo-yo club and as fans we had to endure the repeated losses of our best talents to ‘bigger’ clubs.

As such, the lure of bigger status was undeniable but having taken the plunge, we might well ask how well are we progressing in the journey towards top six status?

We were well warned about teething problems with the move and indeed there have been significant problems both on and off the field.

Although the crowd unrest and general atmosphere has definitely improved, it has become clear that breaking in to the top six is no easy feat and, even if we do, the Leicester City example demonstrates how difficult it is to maintain progress.

So, with that in mind, here is my five point plan for Premier League greatness.

Use finances wisely

Although it is pretty obvious that successful clubs are invariably well off, rich clubs are not necessarily successful!

Financial clout needs to be used with considerable care as it only takes a few underperforming stars to sink a club.

Expanding too quickly rarely works and can result in a QPR-like experience. Whatever grumbles you might have about our chairmen, there’s no denying that they have transformed what was a financial basket case of a club into the 16th richest club in the world.

Our problem is that despite being ranked amongst the top 20 clubs in the world in terms of wage bills we are still in the bottom half of the Premiership – no wonder we are described as ‘underperforming’.

In short, having developed significant financial wealth we need to match that with a high performing team.

Have a decent stadium and fan base