Have West Ham Already Lost Their Cup Final?

There is something special about the first game of the season. All those speculations and transfer activities through the summer, together with that unrealistic optimism that engulfs all football fans, as they let their imaginations run wild, before reality hits.

Expectations will be varied; Chelsea and City will target the league title, Liverpool will want to retain their top four standing, Arsenal would love a trophy of any shape or size, and United will attempt to get back into the elite.

West Ham's chief target will be to avoid relegation. But if the board are in an ambitious mood, their target (along with many of their fans) must be to finish above Spurs. What better opportunity to stamp their mark on their intentions by beating their London rivals in the curtain-raiser? Beating a team that has played in the CL recently would send out a message of intent, and put down a marker. Could they topple a side that have won numerous league titles and FA Cups, as well as European silverware?

Dreams were shattered when Spurs notched in a last-minute goal to take the spoils, but how damaging could that prove to be? Is it just three points dropped? Wounded pride? Or does it signal something more calamitous?

Can the Hammers lick their wounds and bounce back, or are they now destined to finish in opposite halves of the table from Tottenham? Will their fans be quite so bullish in the return game? Or will they quietly go about their business, praying beyond hope that they can add to a trophy cabinet that boasts, in pride of place, the Inter-Toto Cup?