The story of West Ham United’s 2023/24 campaign begins with a look at July as they Hammers prepared for the season with a trip Down Under…
7 June 2023 – a moment we had waited 43 years for - as West Ham got their hands on silverware once more after defeating ACF Fiorentina 2-1 in the UEFA Europa Conference League final in Prague.
Hardly had a month passed, and David Moyes’ charges were back at Rush Green preparing for another busy campaign of Premier League and European football.
The foundations for another memorable season were paved with that historic Europa Conference League victory, with direct qualification to the UEFA Europa League group stage secured, while the Hammers were looking to right the wrongs of a disappointing 14th place finish in the Premier League last season.
The Hammers broke the 50-match mark for the third consecutive season, playing 53 times, 38 in the Premier League, ten in the UEFA Europa League, three in the EFL Cup and two in the FA Cup.
From memorable victories away at London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal in December to Claret and Blue-clad followings at TSC Arena, Stadion am Wolfswinkel (twice), Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium and BayArena to face high-flying Bayer Leverkusen, it was another long but successful campaign for the Club, as they recorded a third top-ten finish in four years.
This is the story of 2023/24 – and we begin with the first chapter, which covers the opening month of the campaign throughout pre-season...
July/Pre-Season
On the pitch, the Irons continued where they left off, winning their opening pre-season fixture against Boreham Wood, before the squad then boarded a long-haul flight to the other side of the world for the eagerly-anticipated Australian Tour, where they faced A-League side Perth Glory and Premier League rivals, winning both fixtures.
The goals flowed in our tour opener against home side Perth Glory, as Gianluca Scamacca, Jarrod Bowen (two), Emerson and Divin Mubama added to an early own goal in a 6-2 victory.
Then, three days later, the entertainment value was in full force once more as the Irons roared to a 3-2 win over Tottenham in a derby Down Under!
Fourteen Academy of Football players then got minutes under their belts during our next pre-season match at Dagenham & Redbridge, as they lined up alongside eight full internationals for a 2-2 draw with preparations for the new campaign in full swing.
Our final match of July saw the Hammers jet off to France for a trip to Roazhon Park to face fellow Europa League qualifiers Stade Rennais, where West Ham suffered their first defeat of pre-season, losing out 3-1 to the Ligue 1 side.
Pre-season might have kicked off, but the rollercoaster ride was only just beginning...
