Author: Geoff Hopkins

Squad Game – The Challenge: West Ham Players Pushed To Their Limits In Search Of Euro Qualification

David Moyes has slowly painted himself into a corner by relying on just a small, trusted number of his squad. It’s an approach unlikely to sustain both Premier League and Europa League challenges in the coming two weeks.

As another season draws to a close its success (or otherwise) history will judge it on the final outcomes, not in the way they were achieved. As was the case last season, it might have been painful to watch but if there’s something shiny awarded at the end of it, much of the detail will be forgotten. The equivalent of Braveheart winning an Oscar.

With approximately six weeks of the season remaining, there are two obstacles standing between West Ham and failure. There is the ever diminishing possibility that they will claim a European qualification spot through league position, wherever that line is eventually drawn under today’s convoluted rules. And the even remoter possibility, that they make their way to and win the Europa League final in Dublin. Within the next week, the Hammer’s fate on both fronts may be permanently sealed.

Managers will often say they don’t prioritise one competition over another, but we know from past experience that actions speak louder than words. Then there is the unconscious appeal that playing in the later stages of cup competitions will surely have. Intentionally or not, Thursday’s visit to Bayer Leverkusen will be on everyone’s mind prior to today’s Premier League fixture in Wolverhampton.

The demands of an intensive run-in are not helped at West Ham by the small number of players in the squad that the manager is prepared to use and trust. With no squad rotation of note and minimal use of substitutes the consequence is certain players being flogged beyond their limits as the chasing pack look to overtake them. The team bus could even have a bumper sticker on it – Running In – Please Pass.

There was an obvious irony when David Moyes spoke about the difficulty of coping with Edson Alvarez’s suspension due to the club’s small squad size. Completely overlooking that this has been a deliberate strategy of his own making. Pablo Fornals, Said Benrahma, and Thilo Kehrer didn’t go missing in January, they were let go when inadequate playing time finally got to them. They had been alienated in Moyes system of favourites, just as Danny Ings and Maxwell Cornet have been since. The effective size of the squad in the manager’s mind is no more than 13 or 14 players. And the one player that Moyes did elect to sign in January was a defensive midfielder, the same as Alvarez.

It will come as no surprise that West Ham’s use of substitutes is one of lowest in the League. In stats prepared prior to the last international break, they had used an average of 2.79 subs per game. Only Manchester City scored lower at 2.75 – the sole statistic where Moyes can be mentioned in the same breath as Guardiola. In comparison, Brighton used 4.75 subs per game and 13 of 30 clubs exceeded 4.0. Moyes had only used all 5 subs once (in a fit of anger during the heavy defeat at Fulham) and opted for just one change four times – out of the ten times recorded in all Premier League games. The Hammers also had the oldest bench – the players on it that is, not the bench itself – and were last place in both the timing of the first change (67 minutes) and the average time of all substitutions. Over 17% of all West Ham changes happened after the 90th minute.

There was, however, a first in the Tottenham game, when Moyes made no changes at all. Perhaps chastened by his game changing switch at Newcastle, he opted to stick with what he had rather than risk Kalvin Phillips screwing things up again. In some respects, adopting a more defensive and cautious approach against top teams can make sense. After all, it was obvious Tottenham had few ideas on breaking though a low block. It is when the same tactics are employed against Burnley or Bournemouth that it becomes truly frustrating. On the other hand, fans deserve more to get them off their seats in the heat of a local derby under the lights. It’s fine to say you’re happy with taking four points from Tottenham in retrospect, but it can’t be justification or an intentional gameplan.  

I though there were two odd comments from the managers post-match . The first where Postecoglou kept repeating that West Ham are a big side. That’s not really the case, is it? Of the outfield players, only Kurt Zouma, Dinos, and Tomas Soucek are over 6 feet. In fact, it is one of the shortest squads in the league. The second was Moyes claim that his team had played on the front foot. Difficult to see how that stacks up for a side who had only 33% possession. Perhaps he uses a different definition of front foot.

Today, the Hammers meet another side who pooh-pooh the benefits or possession. Despite enjoying slightly more of the ball than West Ham, Wolves fall below West Ham on touches in the opposition area – although both sit in the bottom five for this metric. So, it will be interesting to see who takes control of procedings.

Gary O’Neil has done a fine job in his first season at Wolves. They looked to be in disarray when Lopetegui jumped ship in August, so to be in with a shout for a European place is some achievement. He will again be without Neto and Hwang to face the Hammers but should be able to give starts to Cunha and Dawson. Kilman and Lamina have always impressed when I have watched Wolves and it is side that rarely gives up.   

Typically, there’s little point speculating about how West Ham will line-up. It’s always the usual suspects. But with the Leverkusen game on the horizon, there must be concerns with the wisdom of featuring Zouma and Michail Antonio in both games. Angelo Ogbonna or Nayef Aguerd are options to replace Zouma, and the return of Alvarez may prompt a rejig that sees Antonio rested to the bench.

It seems no team wants to make the running in the battle for the minor European placings. It was all fairly inconclusive over Easter except for Chelsea’s win over Manchester United setting them up for a late charge. Of the other clubs involved, Bournemouth have the best form while both West Ham and Wolves have been consistently inconsistent. If the Hammers lose at Molineux it could see them drop into the bottom half of the table by the end of the current round of matches -having played a game more than the other challengers.

Richard provided an update on the projections of the Bennett supercomputer yesterday which describes what West Ham would need to reach the expected Euro qualification target of 57 points. Now, I know it’s never over until the fat lady sings but with just two league wins in 2024 to their name, a top ten finish only looks possible if Fujitsu can go in and edit the tables once the season is finished.

A 1-1 draw today. COYI!

David Moyes And The Game Changing Substitution Fiasco

If Anthony Gordon falls over in the forest and VAR is not there to check it, is it still a penalty? Moyes fearful retreat at St James Park cost West Ham another valuable three points. Will he fare any better against revenge-seeking, top four hopefuls Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night?

They’ve long said he was incapable of making game-changing substitutions. But the Moyesiah proved us all wrong on Saturday when, with the wave of a hand, he transformed unassailable lead into calamitous defeat. A sublime act of tactical sorcery. What other top level coach could have achieved that?

The Hammers had responded well to conceding an early penalty. Smartly taken goals by Michail Antonio and Mohammed Kudus – ably assisted by Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen respectively – had seen them turn the game around and put them in pole position by the break. When Kudus returned the favour for Bowen to make it 3-1 early in the second half- the most clinical of breakaway goals – it should have been game over.

Newcastle heads had dropped, their defence was in disarray, and injuries woes mounted. The hosts still carried a threat going forward but their brittleness at the back meant that all West Ham needed to do was hold theri nerve. Stayed in control, keep doing what they were doing and they pick off the Geordies at will as they became more and more desperate.

Then on 68 minutes disaster struck. The substitute alarm on Moyes phone sounded – his replacements are always a function of time rather than circumstances – to indicate it was time to take off Antonio. What to do? Antonio had run the Toon defence ragged all afternoon. Causing problems and creating space that the craft of Paqueta, Kudus and Bowen was able to exploit. If Antonio needed resting, then surely it had to be a like a like for change. But the Moyesiah had other ideas – that’s just what they would be expecting us to do, he reasoned.

It would not be Ben Johnson this time, as it was against Aston Villa two weeks earlier at the same stage, but the rusty and accident-prone Kalvin Phillips. It’s hard to imagine any player experiencing a more disastrous run of games for a new club but rather than lambasting his individual contribution, let’s consider the impact that the substitution had on the complexion of the game.

No longer was there a menacing threat to stretch and occupy the defence. No more would gaps be created between defenders and midfield which has caused Newcastle problems all season. What Plan B was supposed to be once Antonio was withdrawn was never obvious. In the absence of a plan Paqueta pushed forward into a role where he doesn’t have the pace and where he was removed from the areas where he can do most damage. West Ham could no longer defend from the front or control midfield and so reverted to type; dropping deep and inviting the opposition to attack. It was a decision driven by the manager’s ingrained fear and caution. A clear indication the initiative was now in the hands of Newcastle. It is Moyes 101 and a ploy which has been repeated throughout the season. Outside the bottom three, only Brentford have a worse defensive record than West Ham. What could possibly go wrong? Following the point given away against Villa, three were now being gifted to Newcastle.

Adding to Moyes incompetence, Newcastle received two other strokes of good fortune. The first was the injury to Almiron – himself an earlier introduced substitute – to be replaced by regular West Ham nemesis, Harvey Barnes. The second was the disgraceful officiating from the combined efforts of Rob Jones (referee) and David Coote (VAR). My own view is that both penalty decisions were wrong. I don’t just mean they were harsh calls – they were a scandalous interpretation of the laws with both ‘offences’ engineered by the actions of Anthony Gordon. Both were cheating – a known characteristic of how Eddie Howe now plays the game – and way outside the spirit of the game. Even if it could be argued that there was no ‘clear and obvious’ reason to reverse the on-field decision for the first, then the same logic should have been applied to the second. There was no reason for VAR to intervene. Officialdom once again going out of its way to spoil the game and big up their part. Of course, Phillips shouldn’t have dallied with his clearance but how was that ever an obvious penalty?

Because it was overshadowed by the penalty calls, there was minimal post-match analysis about an earlier incident where Dan Burn bundled into the back of Kudus. Had Burn not been the last defender I’m certain a foul would have been given – it was never shoulder to shoulder – but Jones took the easy way out to avoid making a red card call.

On Tuesday, West Ham welcome top four chasing Tottenham to the London Stadium for an extravagantly timed 8:15 pm kick-off. With Edson Alvarez still suspended and Phillips shot to pieces, the task of protecting the West Ham rearguard will again fall to the flimsy partnership of Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse. You have to fear the worst against what will be sustained visitor attacks. We are certainly capable of scoring against them but not outscoring them – unless an exceptional local derby spirit is unexpectedly discovered.

The Achilles heal for West Ham is the absence of depth in the squad. There are so few options to choose from that competition for places doesn’t really exist. If the West Ham starting XI is top 7 or 8 quality, the squad depth is the lower end of mid-table. A clear case of mismanagement from the manager and board.

Still, let’s cross our fingers and hope for a miracle anyway. COYI!

High Toon: Are West Ham brave enough to see off injury ravaged Geordies in Saturday’s early kick-off?

Premier League football is back once again as the Hammers face a succession of six season defining games in the next twenty days. It all kicks-off at Newcastle!

Where were we? Football’s all about stop and start these days isn’t. Like waking suddenly and not being sure whether it’s a VAR review you’re waiting for or it’s the middle of another international break. I feel about as confused as David Moyes looks on the sidelines when his team have just gone a goal behind and he is thinking about what game changing substitution to make – “Ben Johnson for Lucas Paqueta, that should do it!”

With all the interruptions we now have, the need for a Recap button like on Netflix is becoming all the more necessary. I always believed Recaps were intended for Americans with short attention spans due to the regularity of commercial breaks. Now I am starting to see the point. Fortunately, we have the clickbait fan-sites to rely on where every story has five or six paragraphs of ‘season recap’ before the big headline reveal at the very end. The one where a reliable journalist provides a major update that should West Ham win the Europa League, then the manager may be offered a new contract. Who knew?

So, at the end of the last episode, West Ham were left hanging on to 7th place in the Premier League and occupying one of the coveted European qualification slots. Except that each of the four teams below would overtake them if they were to win their games in hand. Gripping stuff! There now follows a run of six games in 20 days which will play a large part in determining the season’s outcome and the club’s immediate future. By the end of those matches, the Hammers could still be 7th and in a Europa League semi-final; have slipped down to 11th and bowed out of Europe; or stumbled along somewhere in between. Personally, I am at the lower end of expectations.

The upcoming league fixtures include two of the other teams targeting 7th place – Newcastle and Wolves; one looking for Champions League qualification – Tottenham; and an unpredictable side who are close to the top of the Premier League form table – Fulham. It’s a tough run to juggle around the two-legged Bayer Leverkusen showdown with just a comically thin squad at your disposal – a squad whose numbers were deliberately run down.

The first of the matches is the weekend’s long trip north to Newcastle for the early Saturday midday kick-off. The Geordies recent form has been as indifferent as the Hammers with both teams having taken eight points from their last six matches. The two teams have the worst defensive records in the top ten and the hosts have been riddled with injuries. In theory it is evenly matched.

But we should be well aware by now of the Moyesiah’s mindset. Newcastle are a big club in his eyes, while his Hammers are wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim’rous beasties – prepared to be overawed and uninspired. The only option is to ramp up the low-block setting to maximum and hope for the best. That most other clubs have identified the Geordies defensive weaknesses – the dangerously high line, the space between midfield and defenders, Dan Burn, the reticence of stand-in keeper, Dubravka to sweep outside his box – will likely be lost on Moyes.

What is needed to beat Newcastle is bravery, not caution. For all their defensive frailties, only the top four have outscored them this season, and they have scored in every home league fixture so far. Is a plan built on shutting them out going to work? If we should score first, will the usual tactic of retreating deeper and deeper make any sense? The best laid plans of Moyes and men often go catastrophically wrong.

Not helping the West Ham cause is the enforced absence of Edson Alvarez, serving a two game ban for picking up ten yellow cards. A good effort by Edson who trails only Palhinha of Fulham in the top flight yellow card stakes. In his absence, the onus shifts to the desolate Kalvin Phillips as the only potential active ball-winning force in the centre of midfield. Little chance of either Tomas Soucek or James Ward-Prowse fulfilling that role. Whatever happened to that Flynn Downes?

The other doubt is Mohammed Kudus who pulled out the Ghana squad for their friendlies against Uganda and Nigeria. Hopefully, this was precautionary measure (or because he didn’t fancy it) rather than a real injury. Assuming he is fit it should be the same team that started against Villa other than the Phillips for Alvarez switch. If Kudus is out, then JWP comes in somewhere.

It was good to see Jarrod Bowen put in his best showing yet in an England jersey on Tuesday. It should certainly improved his chances of winning an all-expenses paid summer break to the Euro benches – as long as the German’s haven’t already laid out their towels on it. More importantly, we need Jarrod to get his Premier League scoring boots back on. He remains two goals short of matching Paolo Di Canio’s record of 16 in a season, with only nine matches left to do it in. Bowen has only scored in one league game in 2024, although that was the Brentford hat-trick.

Saturday’s hosts have a long list of injuries. Botman, Joelinton, Pope, Wilson, and Miley are all injured while Tonali is on long term suspendsion. There are also doubts over the fitness of Trippier, Barnes, and Livramento and late tests will be required. The question springs to mind as to whether high rates of injuries are simply bad luck or a reflection of training methods that are far too intensive to sustain for long periods.

I was once quite a fan of Eddie Howe in his Bournemouth days where he did an amazing job in getting them promoted to the Premier League for the first time. But there is something cynical about him – and his henchman Jason Tindall – that is difficult to warm to, despite a positive approach to how the game is played. When Howe is inevitably sacked before Newcastle win any trophies, I hope he doesn’t end up at the London Stadium. Never trust a man whose face is way too small for his head.

In the circumstances this is a winnable game, but only with the right attitude and positive approach. If our forward players are on song they should be able pull Newcastle all over the place. But past performances have seen attacking intent only in short flashes, rarely sustained over 90 minutes. Playing on the front foot from start to finish doesn’t appear to exist in the manager’s toolkit. The Moyesball approach relies heavily on opponents fluffing their lines in front of goal, or man-of-the-match performances from Alphonse Areola and VAR.

West Ham have never won away in an early Saturday kick-off against a team playing in stripes. I can see that run continuing this weekend. Actually, I just made that last bit up but I’m sure Peter Drury will know the answer. A score draw, I think. COYI!  

They Think It’s All Over: Not Until VAR’s Had A Good Look It’s Not

VAR has become a disaster and is spoiling football as a spectacle. Meanwhile, David Moyes lack of courage against Aston Villa ensures that three points are turned into one.

Little did I know when I had a whinge about VAR prior to the Freiburg game that it was possible for matters to become even worse. The idiots at PGMOL have finally lost the plot – clearly and obviously. What was originally conceived as a second pair of eyes to eliminate the most glaring of on-field refereeing errors, has turned into a system that retrospectively searches the slightest reason for a goal to be disallowed.

There is an old saying that ‘what gets measured gets done’ and this is the approach VAR has been allowed to take. Rather than using the technology to fix existing issues they have taken a solution in search of a problem that no-one knew they had. Because most refereeing decisions are subjective anyway the focus has turned to those that are more obvious – fractional offside calls and balls hitting arms – and where CSI Stockley Park will do all it can to find the evidence for you.

Someone should bang the PGMOL’s collective heads together over their interpretations of the offside and handball rules. Let’s not forget that offside was originally introduced to deter goal-hanging. A more practical definition that acknowledges that context, and either only looks at player’s feet or requires a threshold of clear daylight needs to be found.

It would be difficult to imagine that anyone could create a bigger mess with handball even if they tried. The guidance flip-flops from week to week and with different interpretations depending on whether you are attacking or defending. Most of the issues revolve around which at one point was removed as a consideration but is slowly making its way back depending on circumstances. And I have never liked the idea of rules being interpreted differently depending where on the pitch offences occur.

A pet hate of mine s to see defenders adopting the Riverdance pose rather than making an attempt to block an attacker. Of course, there are going to be cases where a defender uses arms to make themselves a bigger target but in any sporting endeavour arms are essential for power and balance. How about an Olympic 100 metre sprint where athletes must keep their hands by their sides? In the same way there have been cases of attackers deliberately playing the ball at a defender’s hands. These are the areas where officials should be directing their judgement. And sorry, but it will be subjective. To aim for objectivity by changing the rules in pursuit of an elusive aim only ends with a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

Ruling a goal out just because the ball struck an arm or hand in the build up is my greatest irritant with the modern game. I’m convinced it was never a pre-VAR area of contention, but iso one that has been one invented solely for the technology. Again, there will be occasions where players intentionally seek to gain advantage by use of the hand but that is also for the officials to determine.

But above and beyond all this micro-analysis of events is the impact VAR is having on the spontaneity of the game. The attraction of football is that is a simple and fast-moving game – something VAR has made immeasurably worse. It is no longer possible to get lost in the moment celebrating a goal when you know it is being subjected to review for the slightest misdemeanour. This weekend it reached peak absurdity by taking almost six minutes to check whether a clear and obvious error had been made.

There is a case for VAR working in the background to check major incidents, but its current scope is not fit for purpose. How much more refreshing it is to watch a Championship game where it doesn’t feature. Its introduction has failed to make the match experience superior for players or supporters. In fact, it is quite the reverse.

Personally, I would like to see VAR suspended at the end of the season until a more suitable implementation and supervision can be proposed. The PGMOL have demonstrated they are not competent to be in control of VAR. Officials should not be the centre of attention in a football match but that is the situation that has been engineered.

The game itself against Aston Villa was classic David Moyes in a microcosm. In the opening half, a well executed high press against the visitor’s defence forced a series of errors that handed the advantage to the Hammers. There was an intensity that picked up from where it left off the previous Thursday. A smart cross from Vladimir Coufal and a brave header from Michail Antonio put West Ham ahead, and the only disappointment at the break was that there was still only one goal in it.

Understandably, Unai Emery made changes at half-time, but it looked like the Hammers had extended their lead early on – until VAR intervened. After that the home side slowly started to retreat and abandon further thought of scoring a second. What had been Moyes instructions during the interval? Emery made more substitutions and now had two attack minded full-backs on the pitch in Cash and Digne. How would Moyes react? Look to exploit that extra space down the flanks and kill the game off, or sit back and invite Villa to attack at will. Sitting back to protect a 1-0 lead has not worked in the past for Moyes’ team, but perhaps it will one day in the future.

We were left in no doubt as to the manager’s mindset when he replaced Antonio with Ben Johnson with the best part of 30 minutes still to play. Possibly the most inexplicable substitution ever and a sure way to undo the good work of the first half. But Moyes instinct is always caution before courage with the low block his safe place when the chips are down. Just like the salmon who has no option but to return to its breeding grounds, caution is programmed into the Moyes DNA and he will never change. That’s why he must go.

A Villa equaliser was inevitable and once they had scored the feeling was that they would go on to win the game. West Ham had little ambition for either attacking or retaining possession by then. So, the late added time flurry where James Ward-Prowse should have scored, and the second VAR incident occurred came as a huge surprise.

We should also mention the performance of shocking Australian referee, Jarred Gillett. This is the guy, remember, who when on VAR duty disallowed the Maxwell Cornet goal against Chelsea. How this drongo keeps getting return gigs shows how thinly the referee gene pool is spread. Awarding a tame foul on the keeper before the disallowed Kudus effort, booking Edson Alvarez for being a victim and no consistency in the application of the ‘delaying the restart’ diktat were the highlights of his ineptitude. Having booked Dinos mere minutes earlier for kicking the ball away, he gave Zaniolo a free pass for a similar offence as it would have meant a second yellow.

International breaks and suspensions now mean Alvarez can enjoy an extended holiday until the Wolves game on April 6. As the only defensive midfield player who actively hunts the ball down, he will be sorely missed. An opportunity for Kalvin Phillips to step up and earn his corn, perhaps. COYI!

One Man, One Goal, One Mission: Is Ings The Key To Overturning Freiburg Deficit

West Ham have enough firepower to come through the Europa League tie with Freiburg. But winning games by more than one goal has not been a Moyes speciality.

West Ham’s last two games – defeat at Freiburg and the draw against Burnley – had the Moyesiah’s cautious fingerprints all over them. The brief barnstorming opening against Brentford now just a rounding error in the history of the season. A season which any sane West Ham supporter would want to end with the manager’s final farewell.

A point I have laboured at length on these pages is that the problem with Moyes is not about results but with performances – the way he approaches game. The trip to Freiburg was the perfect example. An unspectacular, mid-table opponent who had been beaten twice in the group stage and the overriding priority was to avoid defeat. This wasn’t a first leg away at the Nou Camp. And even after going a goal down, the response was to bring on another defensive midfielder. Never mind looking for an equaliser, let’s make sure we don’t concede again. The master tactician’s only attacking change was to introduce Michail Antonio in the 91st minute.

Anyone baffled by events in Germany would have been close to a breakdown when the teams were announced for Sunday’s league game. The cunning plan for what should have been a routine win against basement dwelling opposition was to set up with a bank of three slow defensive midfielders. Who could have guessed that it would allow Burnley to give us a footballing lesson in the opening 45 minutes. The resting of Edson Alvarez given his yellow card position was understandable but what was in the manager’s mind.

The half-time changes needed were obvious and completely changed the urgency on the pitch and the atmosphere in the stadium. And the later introduction of Danny Ings almost won it for the Hammers. It is fair to say that Ings time at West Ham has been disastrous in the role that he has been asked to play. And after putting in a good performance at Sheffield United he was immediately sidelined and rarely seen again. You’re either one of Moyes boys or you’re not.

From the body language at the break, I had a sneaking feeling that it was John Heitinga’s work behind the early substitutions. It just seemed too revolutionary for Moyes who was slumped in his seat.

There is an amusing moment on the TV commentary where Tony Gale was asked by the commentator if the West Ham fans were justified in wanting Moyes out. You could sense him squirming and sweating like a small-time villain under oath in the witness box as he ummed, ahhed and waffled in search of a diplomatic answer. Finally admitting that with the players available it might be possible to take more risks.

Each of the recent games involved the now customary VAR talking points. Both potential handball penalty appeals that were not awarded to West Ham. It is extremely rare to see a referee go across to the pitch-side monitor and then stick with his original decision in the Freiburg game, but no surprise it happened in a Hammer’s game. With the Burnley incident I’m convinced VAR are under orders not to spend any time looking at incidents so close to the final whistle, especially where the ball is still in play.

I don’t have any sense that VAR is getting better with age and experience. Trying to think back to the golden pre-technology days, I don’t recall many being up in arms because a striker’s shoulder blade was offside or that the ball had brushed someone’s knuckle immediately before a goal was scored. The pain points (as I remember them) were around penalty calls (inside or outside the box) and the more obvious offside decisions that had been missed. The authorities have made up a whole new set of rules as an excuse to use the technology. As a believer in the adage that the best referee is the one you don’t notice, I can’t help thinking that VAR has gone to their heads – believing they are part and parcel of the entertainment. It won’t be long before Howard Webb appears in the stands at big games to reveal VAR decisions with a Caeser like thumbs-up/ thumbs-down signal.

It is blatantly obvious that the team to face Freiburg in the second leg needs to be similar to the one that started the second half against Burnley. Lukasz Fabianski in goal perhaps, Jarrod Bowen back out on the right, Lucas Paqueta in the middle behind the striker and Mohammed Kudus on the left. The dilemma is whether to start with Ings or Antonio in the striker role. With Freiburg likely to be sitting back the predatory skills of Ings might be preferably, as long as he is not left isolated. I am sure we will see them both at some point of the evening. I’ve a feeling Ings will be the evening’s unlikely hero, assuming Moyes makes the correct call.

The unfortunate Kudus draws the short straw in this lineup as the person picked to play out of position. The left-wing berth preventing him from cutting inside and shoot on goal.

It is difficult to see any circumstances where it is a good idea for Tomas Soucek and JWP to start in the same midfield. Although both have specific skills their overall contribution in open play is poor. Perhaps a team can carry one, but not both.

Picking the defensive lineup is also problematical on current form and injuries. If Emerson is out injured the only alternative seems to be Aaron Creswell who too easily loses concentration these days. In the centre, Zouma is crocked, Aguerd has lost all confidence, and Oggy has mysteriously disappeared – after two clean sheet appearances against Arsenal and Brighton he has played just one minute of football. Personally, I would opt for Oggy and Dinos in the following line-up:

Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Alvarez, Soucek, Bowen, Paqueta, Kudus, Ings

If Moyes team-sheet doesn’t reflect this, he should be given his bus fare and sent home before kick-off.

Occasionally, there are fleeting thoughts entering my head that it wouldn’t be so bad if we lost this one. Not if it means getting rid of the manager.  But once the game starts, I only want victory, no matter what. The reality is that the Europa League is all that’s left of the season and hope has to be kept alive for as long as possible. I’m confident we can beat Freiburg but winning games by more than one goal has not been a core competency in recent times. Let’s make it an exception tonight and, please, try to get it done without extra time and penalties. COYI!

Moyesball Über Alles: West Ham Return To European Action In Germany

After two consecutive Premier League wins, West Ham will be hoping to take their improved fortunes into the business end of the Europa League at Freiburg

Nothing says missing the point better than the pundits who write off disgruntled supporters as ‘moany’ because they dare to see style of play as important (if not more so) than grinding out results. If as supporters all we did was check the score at the end of the game, then maybe we would arrive at the same superficial conclusion as radio talking heads such as Stelling and Sutton. But many of us have more invested in the action than that – and expect more.

If the win against Brentford had hinted at a new spirit of adventure, then the performance at Everton was quick to dispel the idea. It was a return to safe space of caution and negativity that has become the club’s trademark in recent years. Moyesball above all else! Some said that Goodison Park is a difficult place to go and get a result, yet the Toffees have managed to lose half of their home league games this season.

Had it not been for the extraordinary events of added time, the game would have been instantly forgettable. The first 45 minutes was as drab as expected and although it did liven up after the break, it was largely down to the hosts smelling blood. Entering the closing stages, Everton looked to be the only team likely to break the deadlock. But unconvincing finishing and a man-of-the-match display from Alphonse Areola had contrived to keep the scores level. Areola is really up there with the best of keepers when it comes to shot-stopping and instinctive saves. If only he were more commanding in the air!

The Hammers had played their brightest football midway through the first half before apparently losing interest. In the second period they simply dropped deeper and rarely threatened even on the counter. Lucas Paqueta had one of those days which make you question whether the links to Manchester City are real or imaginary. Are the flicks, tricks and first-time passes what Guardiola is looking for in a play-maker? Particularly as a replacement for Bernardo Silva who is all about keeping possession and recycling the ball? And when JWP is dragged deeper and deeper into defensive midfield he becomes largely anonymous. No surprise that both were later withdrawn.

As the game approached added time the best hope was the Hammers holding on for a point. What happened next was way beyond expectations. As the wayward cross from Mohammed Kudus floated behind Tomas Soucek who would have imagined a deft one touch control and the ball being lashed into the net with the outside of the boot. It was an exquisite finish that even the Czech’s peculiar goal celebration could not dampen.

By now it was a case of thinking at least we won’t lose – but the third goal put the icing firmly on the cake. It was the classic counterattack from an opponents mistake in the attacking third. A strong run from Jarrod Bowen and a perfectly timed pass into the path of Edson Alvarez’s gut-busting run was finished with aplomb by the Mexican. Alvarez was the pick of the outfield players all afternoon for me while Soucek made two major game-changing contributions which encapsulated his value to Moyes – one stunning goal and a desperate goal line clearance.

The performance was quintessential Moyesball. And despite everything it was impossible not to rejoice in the last gasp nature of the victory, even allowing for what had gone before. Like a substandard movie rescued by a jaw dropping finale – the third in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, for example.

With just two months of the season remaining the future of David Moyes at the London Stadium continues to teeter on the brink. It could go either way. At one extreme, we finish 6th and win the Europa League and he has to be given the chance to stay. At the other, we finish 10th or 11th and bow out of Europe in or before the quarter-final and he packs his bags. It leaves plenty of room for dithering in between and an extended period of uncertainty. I’d wager we’ve not heard the last of the results versus performances predicament.

This week sees the return of Thursday/ Sunday football with tonight’s visit to Freiburg followed by a home Premier League encounter with Burnley. Being drawn against a side who had been in the same qualification group was a huge disappointment – for Freiburg as well as the Hammers. But it will give the army of away fans the opportunity to visit the Black Forest which was denied to them previously by a UEFA ban.

The biggest concern is one of the unwritten laws of football which states that any team who came out on top in the group stage will always have the tables turned on them during the knockout. I have no evidence to back this up other than paranoia. Much will depend on what the Freiburg coach learned from the two-legged experience of playing against a Moyes side. We are not the most difficult team to work out and frustrate.

Since the last meeting, Freiburg have stumbled along in mid-table Bundesliga obscurity, the lowest scorers in the top half of the table and without a league win in their last seven outings. They did, however, manage a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich last weekend and had earlier beaten Lens of France over two legs in the Europa League qualifying round.

We are past the stage now where fringe players are given a chance to shine in European games, and I expect Moyes to go close to full strength tonight. The only anticipated changes are Lukasz Fabianski replacing Areola in goal and Nayef Aguerd coming in the fragile Kurt Zouma. Apart from that, it will be as you were.

There is no doubting that nights of European action under the floodlights provide an added gloss to the season. Three consecutive years has been unprecedented – a fourth would be dreamland, but possibly out of reach. Do two consecutive league wins mean we are suddenly a team in form who have turned a corner? Or were they simply hard-won wins against struggling sides that we should expect to beat? The Hammers should be favourites to get through this particular tie but it is difficult to see past Liverpool or Leverkusen as eventual winners.

On Sunday we can look forward to the visit of relegants-elect Burnley to the London Stadium. Did you know that only Burnley and Sheffield United have had fewer touches in the opposition box than West Ham in this season’s Premier League? Could be in line for a pulsating thriller. COYI!

The Eagerly Anticipated Jurassic Park The Bus Derby Sees West Ham Travel To Everton

Will West Ham’s win against Brentford be the catalyst for embracing greater adventure, or will they be dragged back to dreary reality by Dyche’s cynical tactics at Everton?

For different reasons both West Ham and Everton had cause to celebrate on Monday evening. For the Hammers it was a first three point haul of the calendar year as they overcame struggling Brentford with a convincing 4-2 score-line. The Toffees even managed to go one better earning an extra four points after the Appeals Panel decided their original punishment for flouting the Premier League’s financial rules had been excessively harsh. On Saturday the two sides go head to head at Goodison Park for the title of the league’s most uninteresting team.

Last Monday night’s match was the second successive home game where the ball hit the back of the net six times. On this occasion, the goal distribution was more to the Hammer’s liking than when the Arsenal had visited two weeks earlier. It was West Ham’s first four goal return since victory at Bournemouth last April.

This was a much improved showing from West Ham that finally offered supporters the value for money they crave in terms of entertainment. As an aside, it was refreshing to hear a breakaway faction of pundits before the match agreeing that supporters had a right to expect entertainment in exchange for their hard-earned ticket money.

It would be premature to conclude on the evidence of one match that David Moyes team had turned a corner with Monday’s victory. After all, just look at the number of corners Manchester United are alleged to have turned since the start of the season. But a consistent ambitious approach such as this would certainly reduce the number of complaints. The win also puts the Hammers back in the ‘conversation’ for European qualification – perhaps another stab at our favourite Europa Conference. The battle for the minor placings looks destined to depend as much on the consistency (or lack of it) by the likes of Newcastle and Brighton as it will on West Ham’s own efforts.  

Moyes received a massive boost prior to the game by being able to name Lucas Paqueta in his starting eleven. It wasn’t the Brazilian’s most influential game, but his mere presence gives opponents more to think about – and takes the pressure away from others. No surprise that Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus rediscovered swagger coincided with his return.

Paqueta also restored a balance to the team with his ability to operate effectively on the left hand side of the front three. It allowed Emerson to resume his impressive repertoire of overlapping and underlapping runs, and for neat triangle interplay between Paqueta, Emerson and JWP to confuse the Brentford defence. The preference for attacking down the left makes it all the more of a puzzle why Moyes opted for Kudus, Ward-Prowse and Ben Johnson in that role rather than the obvious natural replacement in Maxwell Cornet.

Could it turn out to be the ironic story of the season that Paqueta helps to save Moyes job before swanning off to pastures anew in the summer?

While the final scoreline against Brentford looks convincing enough it was not, in my opinion, the entirely convincing performance that some reports suggested. Of course, six goals, a Bowen hattrick and a super Emerson strike provided welcome entertainment, but reasons to be guarded remain. The visitors still contrived to have more possession and more touches in the opposition box than their hosts.

It is not unusual for West Ham to start home games with a bit of a flurry – and a spot of high pressing – before tailing off and settling into their more usual passive rhythm. It was just that on this occasion, the opening flurry resulted in two goals courtesy of disorganised Brentford defending – a tally which could have been higher if Tomas Soucek had converted the easiest of all the chances.

But after West Ham had reciprocated the defensive generosity by allowing Maupay to pull a goal back, the game went off the boil for a lengthy period. There was little notable goalmouth action until Bowen scored his third just after the hour mark, closely followed by Emerson’s stunner.

At 4-1 it should have been a case of coasting to victory but instead Moyes trademark game management foibles ensured the closing minutes were as tense as ever – with the final whistle nervously anticipated. If it was not the perfect opportunity after 70 minutes to give at least one of George Earthy or Ollie Scarles a run-out, then when would it be? What was gained by the introduction of Michail Antoinio at that stage of the game, or Ben Johnson in injury time.

It is difficult to know what to make of Brentford. A shocking run of form has seen them win just two of their last 12 league games. With the Everton points adjustment, they now look nervously down instead of up the table. It seems they are missing Brian Mbeumo as much as they did Ivan Toney who did little to enhance his reputation as a £100m striker. But the Bees main concern is their disorganised defending. A second points deduction for Everton may be their best hope of survival

Saturday’s opponents are without a league victory since winning at Burnley on 16 December – to record a fourth consecutive three point haul. Since then, they have lost four and drawn five of nine League games played. If they are eventually hit with a second points deduction when their most recent financial misdeeds are heard, it would put them in serious jeopardy of a first ever relegation from the Premier League.

Sean Dyche is the clubs eighth manager since Moyes left for Old Trafford in 2013. Managerial appointments have flipped-flopped between the dour, the dramatic and the dreadful. While the ‘dinosaur’ manager has largely become an extinct species, Dyche and Moyes continue to wave the flag for low thrills, caution and pragmatism. It’s just that Dyche’s brand of workmanlike comes with far more physicality, cynicism and outhousery than we see at West Ham. With Everton one of only four clubs boasting a lower average possession than the Hammers, it doesn’t promise to be the most pleasing of spectacles.

How Moyes approaches the game will be an interesting test of his corner-turning abilities. His team needs to show far more character and ambition than it did in similar circumstances at Nottingham Forest two weeks ago.

The only debate from a team selection point of view is what to do about the centre-back pairing. Zouma now looks permanently crocked and with all the manoeuvrability of a low-loader. He is even more uncomfortable when asked to play on the left hand side of a pair. Dinos suddenly looks to be the most accomplished centre-back – accepted it’s a low bar – but may not be the best choice to partner Zouma. An Ogbonna – Dinos pairing would make sense but is it likely that the ever loyal Moyes will drop his captain to the bench?

Just as we saw with last October’s game between the two sides at the London Stadium this is not going to be a end-to-end goal fest. A single goal wins it or else it will be a low scoring draw. With the Toffees packed with muscular giants, the Hammers challenge is how to pass their way through a packed defence. Or is it time for JWP to finally equal the Beckham direct free-kick tally.

Three goals on Monday moved Bowen onto 14 in the league for the season. Only two players – Paolo Di Canio (16 in 1999/2000) and John Hartson (15 in 1997/98) have scored more in a Premier League season for West Ham. Another hattrick on Saturday will see him burst through the record books. COYI!

“You’ve Never Had It So Good” Claims SuperJock As West Ham Continue Their Slide Down The Table

With managerial chaos and uncertainty dominating the narrative at the London Stadium, West Ham must prepare for their customary defeat to Thomas Frank’s Brentford

It is almost impossible to imagine a scenario where David Moyes is offered a new contract by West Ham at the end of the season. Only a madman could conclude that another term of Moyesball is the right and sensible option for the club. The Board may see Moyes as ‘the devil they know’ but there is far too much antipathy from supporters for it to work – and they are unlikely to take two or more years of misery lightly. Would a business owner knowingly sign-up for that – an extended period of guaranteed toxicity?

Although the owners will have their major focus on revenues, they cannot be impervious to the cause of fan unrest – a style of football that will bore the pants off from anyone paying more than casual attention. With 60% of the club’s income originating from Broadcasting (including prize money) the past three seasons may well have served them handsomely. But with the recent slide down the table and the prospect of further European participation fading by the week, there will already be a hit to revenues – without risking a season ticket holders revolt.

By the time West Ham kick-off against Brentford on Monday night they will most likely be down to tenth in the table. Had it not been for the Carabao cup final distracting Chelsea, they would probably have slipped into the bottom half. And history doesn’t offer much hope that the long eight game winless run will come to an end against the Bees.

If anyone had been looking for a reaction to the Arsenal slaughter during last Saturday’s visit to Nottingham, they were sadly disappointed. With Lucas Paqueta still absent through injury and Forest doubling up on Mohammed Kudus the lack of creativity on show was painfully obvious. The return of Michail Antonio should have been a positive but served only to reinforce the obsession with route-one football. When presented with the Hammers only realistic goal opportunity of the afternoon he fluffed his lines as often happens when allowed too much time. West Ham may have enjoyed more possession than is usual in games, but were slow and predictable with their possession. The long misdirected cross-field representing the go-to tactic. The hosts had the lion’s share of goalscoring attempts and could easily have doubled their final tally.

Rather than taking the opportunity in his post-match comments to apologise for yet another abject and depressing performance, Moyes opted for tetchy distraction with tales of his winning genius. It convinced no-one and served only to widen the divide between manager and fans. Perhaps if you add in three seasons of Euro group games against teams from third tier continental leagues then his win percentage still looks healthy. But in the Premier League, it is now just 27 wins from the last 81 games. Hardly genius level.

The uncertainty over Moyes future has been a godsend for the clickbait websites who on a single day can carry stories that he is about to sign a new contract, that he has x games to save his job, and that West Ham have drawn up a shortlist of managerial replacements. A list that bizarrely has Steve Cooper’s name included on it – possibly as a diversity candidate.

None of us know what is actually going on, or how the various board members view the situation. The vacuum of uncertainty exists because I believe they intend to limp along until the end of the season under the current regime. Allowing Moyes contract to run down avoids accusations from the punditocracy that they have treated their pal harshly.

While most pundits continue to implore us to “be careful what we wish for” – is the collective noun a predictability of pundits – a few have started to break ranks and suggest that fans are right to want better. That anyone can believe the manager has what it takes to turn things around or lead the club forward is magical thinking. The tendency for casual observers is to confuse results with performances – but to the supporter they are very different. There have been very few notable performances this season even if impressive results against Brighton, Spurs, and Arsenal have been recorded. They were more a case of opponents not taking chances, riding your luck and benefiting from individual moments of brilliance from Paqueta, Kudus or Jarrod Bowen. A style of play based around the low block might turn up trumps once in a while, but it is not a recipe for long term sustainable success in any competition higher in quality than the Europa Conference.

And if results aren’t quite as brilliant as they have been presented, the negligence in running down the size and quality of the squad could be considered a sacking offence in its own right. And this despite large sums of money being invested in the transfer market. It has left us short on experience, with precious few options from the bench, and is the reason why so many end up playing out of position. Equally, the manager has no track record of improving or developing players – apart from trying to shoehorn them into his rigid system. It cannot be an attractive proposition for potential signings and it’s hard to imagine the existing playing staff being at all happy with it.

I fully expect the winless run to continue into next month when we play Burnley. Thomas Frank has had the measure of Moyes tactics from the very start and there’s nothing to suggest that Monday will be the time to take a first Premier League point from Brentford. The only hope is that Paqueta finally returns to deliver a stroke of inspiration – for without him the team is impotent. With Kalvin Phillips suspended there will be a recall for Tomas Soucek – providing another chance to see the 1970’s tactic of goal kicks lofted towards the touchline for Soucek to head on. It’s the beauty of Moyesball. With a guarantee that Ivan Toney will pick up at least one goal, the Hammers will need to break their three game duck if they are going to put an end to the Brentford whitewash. COYI!

Fans Fan Flames As Moyes Faces Forest Fire

After last weekend’s slaughter West Ham put their winless 2024 run to the test against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. What could possibly go wrong for the Moyesball machine?

I’ve said this before but it is a mystery to me that anyone would support an extension to David Moyes contract at the London Stadium. Is it really possible that anyone who has actually sat and watched West Ham play recently would reach the conclusion that two and a half more years of this is exactly what is needed?

The ritual humiliation at the hands of Arsenal last Sunday was the perfect storm of the manager’s shortcomings condensed into a single ninety minute horror show – bizarre team selection, outdated tactics, lack of ambition, reckless depletion of the squad, poor substitution policy, and the inability to make in-game adjustments according to circumstances. Let’s face it, once the inevitable first goal was conceded there was never going to be a way back for the Hammers.

Remember this is the team that Moyes has built and coached for himself over the past four season – at not insignificant cost. Of the 14 players used against Arsenal only Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell were at the club before he arrived. Yet to hear the manager talk you would get the impression that events on the pitch have nothing to do with. His was a cunning plan whose brilliance was only let down by the players executing it badly.

Moyes continues to get plenty of support from the pundits and media commentators community who demonstrate a disappointingly superficial view of the club and its fans. After all, West Ham are merely a support act to the big six in their thinking. The results look OK, so complaints are delusional. Get real! The idea that fans might want something more than the current turgid, unadventurous offering is unthinkable. What, they want to be entertained as well?

Most of the fan polls I’ve seen are hoping for change with many threatening to give us season tickets if the manager is renewed. Even through the Board’s financially skewed lens they must be starting realise that this team can only scrape a top ten finish at best and will not be playing in Europe next season. And Moyesball is not the biggest selling point to attract promising talent.

I’m not at all convinced by the frequently aired argument that Moyes has done a fantastic job at West Ham – although that might depend on what you expect from your manager. On paper his legacy is decent with consecutive top seven finishes and the club’s first trophy for over 40 years. The history books will not be concerned with the state of the current squad – small, slow and old – with how much money has been spent to achieve that, or that the trophy win – as welcome as it was – offered little by way of stiff competition. West Ham are reported to be the eighth richest club in the Premier League – that is our benchmark as an established top tier club. We should not be run and play like a newly promoted club that is seeking consolidation

It is difficult to look at West Ham and believe that a platform for the future is under construction. That is a reflection on both the Board and the manager. Temporary fixes to long standing structural problems have unfortunately been papered over by European glory.

There’s no doubt that Moyes first full season at the London Stadium was full of promise, particularly during the purple patch when Jesse Lingard was surging into space in the opposition half. It was by most measures the Hammers best ever Premier League season. But there was a watershed for Moyes and his tactics which occurred as we welcomed in 2022. Between the start of the 2020/21 season and December 2021 Moyes could boast a 50% win percentage and an average of 1.7 points per game. The record since then (to date) shows the win percentage dropping to 33% with a return of 1.2 points per game. Hardly impressive! The consequence of everyone knowing how West Ham play and a manager who is unable to change his twenty year old tactics.

Apparently, the club has now returned to the groundhog cycle of giving the manager three or four games to save his job. These would be away to Nottingham Forest and Everton and home to Brentford and Burnley. On current performances, the Burnley game in mid-March looks the earliest opportunity to put an end to the 2024 winless run – and, I suppose, to reset the doomsday sacking clock one more. What a way to run a football club.

The first of these games is this weekend’s visit to the City Ground which is always a passionate and tricky affair. Despite impressive wins over Newcastle and Manchester United following the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo, Forest are also winless in the league in 2024 – although they did manage to defeat both Blackpool and Bristol City in the FA Cup.  They will view the game against a shell-shocked West Ham as a perfect opportunity to put daylight between themselves and the rest of the relegation pack. How easily the Hammers defence succumbed to the Arsenal overload at set pieces will not have gone unnoticed.

Early team news suggests that both Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio will continue to be absent for the Hammers. It leaves Moyes with few options to mix up his beleaguered charges. Something needs to be done at the back and there must be huge concerns about Kurt Zouma’s ongoing fitness woes. A centre-back pairing  of Nayef Aguerd and Dinos seems most probable. But don’t rule out the tantalising prospect of Aaron Cresswell and Angelo Ogbonna pushing for recalls in a safety first back five. The standard Moyes response to a big loss is to get back to basics and become even more cautious.

There was an amusing story online yesterday that West Ham were dismayed to discover Kalvin Phillips had eaten too many chip butties and was overweight when he joined West Ham. Apparently, a West Ham medical does not include being weighed which led to Moyes unknowingly putting him straight into the first team. Whether Phillips or Edson Alvarez gets to partner the undroppable Tomas Soucek is an unanswered question. Soucek does seem to be a decent fella but is there a more technically limited outfield player in the Premier League right now? The giveaway for me is the number of times he heads the ball or hooks it first time rather than rely on his control.

In attack, Maxwell Cornet wanted to know whether he needed to bring his boots along this weekend. I wonder whether we can top six touches in the opposition box for this game?

I’ll admit that at half-time last weekend I was half-hoping Arsenal would go on to score double figures causing Moyes to quit in embarrassment. I’m similarly torn this week. Never want to see my team beaten but equally want a fresh face and new ideas in the manager’s dugout. I know that relies on the Board making a sensible appointment as replacement, but we have nothing if we don’t have hope. COYI!

Football Is A Contract Sport: Will It Be Deal Or No Deal For Moyes As West Ham Welcome Arsenal To The London Stadium

With a transfer window that promised much and delivered little now closed we can all turn our attention to the question of the manager’s contract. What will it all mean as West Ham seek to resist the title-chasing Gunners

I dreamed of seeing a newspaper headline that the West Ham board had taken out a contract on David Moyes. That did seem a rather extreme reaction to a run of typically lacklustre performances when other less painful remedies were possible. But given the Hammer’s record of recruiting hitmen they would most probably have fired high and wide anyway.

The will-he/ won’t he be offered a new deal plotline is one that looks destined to run and until the end of the season. It’s more interesting than the football after all. I don’t see what benefit there is for the Board in renewing early and arguments of players becoming unsettled appear spurious. It would be surprising if the manager’s future was not in jeopardy amid ongoing supporter disquiet and threats not to renew season tickets. Failure to secure a further season of European football may well be enough to seal his fate.

For me, it has always been a question of performances rather than results. I understand that not everyone sees things the same way and that some are happy to trade entertainment for relative success. Indeed, many outside the club are genuinely puzzled as to why so many supporters want to see a fresh approach to what Moyes has been offering. This week it was the turn of Jim Beglin who urged supporters to ‘get real’ and be thankful for the scraps being served up. It was a surprising comment given that he must have actually seen us play a few times this season. Football so boring that when you watch it on an internet stream even the computer goes to sleep.

Prior to the Manchester United game, I was expecting West Ham to begin a gradual slide down the Premier League table. After the game I am even more convinced it will happen, and have doubts that even top half is within our grasp – unless something drastic happens or Lucas Paqueta makes a rapid return to save the day. Just as Slaven Bilic’s side were toothless in the absence of Dimitri Payet, so it is now without Moyes and Paqueta.

At least the performance at Old Trafford showed some improvement from the Bournemouth game a few days earlier. Up until the break it had been a reasonably well contested match – but the routine of conceding just after the half-time pep talk killed off any thoughts of a stirring comeback. The hosts were nowhere near as good as the media reports excitedly suggested, even though they were comfortable winners. Despite almost unheard-of levels of possession (49%) and 22 touches in the opposition box ,West Ham rarely troubled the Red Devils defence from open play. The best chances were the opening Emerson created and then squandered for himself and the ball over the top to Jarrod Bowen who hesitated a moment too long. On a weekend of record Premier League goalscoring, the Hammers were one of just two teams failing to find the net.

With the chance of a first league double of the season missed at Old Trafford, another presents itself when Arsenal visit the London Stadium on Sunday afternoon. Having also knocked the Gunners out of the League Cup an unprecedented third West Ham win in a season is a possibility – albeit a slim one.

Arsenal announced themselves back in the title race last weekend by beating Liverpool 3-1 at the Emirates. Post match reports paid tribute to Arteta’s tactical genius of playing Karl Havertz as the most advanced player for securing victory. From what I saw, though, the result hinged mightily on a brace of howlers by Alisson in the Liverpool goal. There’s no doubt that Arsenal have a collection of excellent first choice players but they lack the requisite strength in depth to truly worry eventual champions, Manchester City. I really hope players like Nketiah and Nelson are not on the Hammer’s radar when they are finally cleared out in the summer.

We must wait to see whether Moyes has a brilliant tactical plan of his own for dashing the Gunner’s hopes. Or whether he will play the same way that he has for the past 25 years. The relative freedom seen last Sunday will almost certainly revert to the lowest of low blocks in the hope that Bowen or Mohammed Kudus can deliver a get out of jail card. With Kalvin Phillips providing more evidence that he is a long way away from match sharpness, the manager has few options for mixing up his limited squad. But if there’s any way to fit a square peg into a round hole then Moysie is the man to find it.

It is easy to become cynical following West Ham and the feeling is particularly acute right now. My deja-vu moment is that we are in a familiar cycle where Moyes reacts to pressure for a more expansive style by allowing a little more space between the lines for a one or two games. When that inevitability fails to work due to slow, elderly or infirm defenders he claims to have tried and reverts to his tried and tested tactic of all-bar-one behind the ball. It is philosophy rather than formation that needs to change.

Naturally, it would be great to complete a treble against Arsenal (or a quadruple if you count the West Ham Woman’s victory) but the odds of it happening must be very long. Unfortunately, all the pointers are for the winless start to 2024 continuing for another weekend. I so wish it could be different. COYI!