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Please join us in welcoming another budding young writer to KUMB.com - Connor Geelan. Connor describes himself as "a 16-year-old avid supporter" and opens his account for KUMB by examining the current first team squad...

As you all probably know, West Ham United need to make improvements in many areas.

However one area we don't need to improve is central midfield. We have got players of good quality in that area; Mark Noble (West Ham legend) and Kevin Nolan, a very good player who has proved he can play in the Premier League. Yet Big Sam has signed both Mohamed Diame and Alou Diarra. Both are brilliant signings for West Ham United but do we really need them?

Does this signal a change in formation? Three defensive midfield players and one attacking? This might mean West Ham move to a more defensive formation, such as 4-2-3-1 like Manchester City and Real Madrid. This I think would work at West Ham, as long as we play fluent football which isn't just kicking the ball up field and hoping Carlton Cole can get a touch.

But I'm sure Big Sam knows what he is doing; I guess we'll find out when we kick off the 2012/13 season against Aston Villa at the Boleyn Ground this afternoon.

Our defence as a whole is weak. We have a three central defenders - James Tomkins, Winston Reid and James Collins - which isn't enough. What happens if one of them gets injured during next season? We are left with two to play every week. Alou Diarra can play in that position, but I'd like to see a signing in that area of the pitch.

On to our full backs. We have decent players there but are they good enough for the Premier League? To be honest, I don't think so. We need a full back who can offer great defence as well as being effective on the counter. For example, Glen Johnson, in the Euros; he proved to be a quality player for England.

He did well defensively, but when attacking he proved he could deliver a well-placed ball into the box for the likes of Andy Carroll to get his head on. Although this may not have worked for England as we only reached the quarter finals, it could in the PL. There are many examples of good full backs out there such as Ashley Cole, Glen Johnson and Gael Clichey. These are all players who do what I have just talked about (though probably out of our price range).

On the wings we have the options of Modibo Maiga and Ricardo Vaz Te. Maiga is a winger who can play well there, but Vaz Te dosen't look comfortable on the flanks. He is a proven striker (obviously, as he scored three against Brighton & Hove Albion and the crucial winner at Wembley in May) but I feel he may not be up to PL standard. Matt Taylor can play on the wings, but he will easily be beaten by pace and skill. I can't see him playing well as a winger in the PL.

Finally I come to our striker dilemma. Carlton Cole had a good season in the Championship but he hasn't really made an impact in the PL. Rumours have linked us with Adebayor but this is silly if true - he's another overpaid player who no longer makes a major impact on games. If we break the bank for his wages, I won't be happy.

But what can we do; I'm just writing about it, I can't really change Big Sam's mind (and I suspect he doesn't listen to the supporters). So let's leave the professionals to do what they need to do. You never know, some of these signings may have a postive impact.

Anyway that's me for today, I hope you enjoyed my first article for KUMB. All I know is whatever happens, West Ham United fans will stay with the club. No matter where you go you will find a West Ham fan; we are West Ham's claret and blue army!

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.