#davidmoyes – Under The Hammers

Moyes, The Palace, And Resignation

The exit of David Moyes looks increasingly certain as the season enters its final weeks. The beginning of the end starts with West Ham’s cross town visit to take on struggling Crystal Palace

In the end the Europa League exit we were expecting came at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen at the London Stadium on Thursday night . There was no faulting the effort and commitment of the players or the intensity at which West Ham approached the game, but ultimately old legs and the lack of reinforcements to replace them turned the tide.

The Hammers had the German champions on the ropes for much of the opening hour. Alonso was forced into making three tactical substitutions before the second half was underway as his side looked decidedly rattled. And then at around 65 minutes, West Ham ran out of steam. Unused to playing a high press, the demands began to take its toll. With nothing of note on the bench, the game petered out as a contest and even the consolation of becoming the first side to beat Leverkusen this season was lost.

What might have been if West Ham had taken another of their early chances can only be speculated upon. It would have made matters interesting but added time would have been a huge challenge. And with a referee who was becoming increasingly erratic as the game progressed who knows how many players would have been left on the pitch.

If the manager took the same approach to games as a matter of routine, rather than saving it up for occasional must-win European ties, then the ranks of Moyes Out supporters would be nowhere near as numerous. It has been fascinating to watch the narrative switch in the last few days with the now almost universal acknowledgement that Moyes contract will not be renewed. It is now an open secret which I guess will be spun as a face-saving mutual agreement once the final whistle sounds on May 19. The manager packing his bags with the claim that he had rejected a new deal.

As I have said before, the history books will present Moyes time at West Ham in a positive light. Although it may not be remembered quite as fondly by a good many of those who were there and paying attention. I am not personally sold on the idea that he has done a superb job. There were, of course, highlights – exciting counter-attacking football in the 2020/21 season and the memorable night in Prague – but the multiple flaws cannot be ignored. The dour, safety-first nature of the football; the inferiority complex against top sides; the absence of tactical flexibility; poor in-game management and use of substitutions; the obsession with running with a tiny squad; players played out of position; and the lack of trust in youth. If and when he goes, he will leave the club with the smallest/ oldest squad in the Premier League, and the need for an urgent summer rebuild. And this despite record breaking investment in new players during four years in charge.

With both manager and player recruitment on the cards, it will make for a double whammy of incoming speculation during the summer months. Clearly, the managerial situation needs to be resolved as the priority, if only to quell fears over some of the unimaginative names being thrown around. Not sure I would be excited by the appointment of Graham Potter but others – Thomas Tuchel, Arne Slot, Kieran McKenna – sound intriguing. The benchmark is not to hire someone who is better than we currently have, but to hire the best man for the job of bringing entertaining football to a second level Premier League club. Another name to throw in the ring is Sebastian Hoeneß who has done an outstanding job at Stuttgart in the shadow of Alonso.

If the pundits are right – unlikely I know – there will be a long line of suitors ready to employ the newly available David Moyes. We will wait to see how well that turns out.

Between now and then, West Ham have the contractual obligation to complete another five Premier League games, starting with today’s fixture against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Theoretically, there is still a target of European qualification for the Hammers, but it is looking to be an increasingly outside bet after last weekend’s loss at home to Fulham. The way I see it is a maximum three or four points from the remaining games with a 9^th or 10^th placed finish.

Palace pulled off a shock win at Liverpool on Sunday to record only their second win in ten games. It has been a less than spectacular start to his Crystal Palace career for manager Oliver Glasner, who holds a 100% record in games against David Moyes – from his tenure at Eintracht Frankfurt. Glasner has been hampered by injuries to key players and his side still need the comfort of a few more points to push away any thoughts of relegation. They will see today as one of the best opportunities in their run-in for the three points needed to ensure safety. Defensively they look suspect but carry a major attacking threat from the flanks through Eze and Olise. Wharton in the centre of midfield has also looked a genuine prospect.

West Ham have several injury concerns going into the game to add to the usual post-Thursday malaise. Among the doubtful are Alphonse Areola, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jarrod Bowen, Nayef Aguerd, and someone called Kalvin Phillips. There should, however, be recalls for Lucas Paqueta and Emerson after their midweek suspensions. It could mean one last run-out for veteran Angelo Ogbonna who strangely always make the backline appear more secure. Otherwise, the lineup is unlikely to feature any surprises.

My head says defeat, my heart says a scrappy draw. That’s how low expectations are. 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!

“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!

Can West Ham win at Nottingham Forest to avoid a run of eight winless games at the beginning of a calendar year?

Once again Geoff hit the nail on the head with his article published on Thursday. Week after week we seem to be writing the same thing about the current state of the team, and the ongoing debate concerning the manager. The longer the winless run continues the further the pendulum will swing towards Moyes Out, especially with catastrophic performances like the one we witnessed last Sunday. There are still a number of fans, although the number must surely be dwindling, who are convinced that he should be offered a new contract, but it is hard to believe that they like what they see from week to week.

It is mainly pundits, comprising the same ex-players that dominate our screens and airwaves, and journalists who continue to support Moyes and suggest that West Ham fans are giving him an undeserved hard time. One of the latest to join in is Ian Herbert who took a whole page of Wednesday’s Daily Mail to tell us that ‘Moyes deserves a better exit.’ At least he seems to agree that the end is approaching, but suggests that we, as fans, are not giving him a ‘longer credit line and greater appreciation’.

He suggests that the calls for a manager like De Zerbi, who many feel would provide greater imagination and flair, provides a curious logic, given that ‘the supposed model manager’ has taken Brighton to ninth position in this season’s Premier League while West Ham are …. eighth. As far as the demands for Potter goes amongst the fans, he writes that he is out of work and very much available. But he adds the well-worn line that we, as West Ham fans, get thrown at us every week, should be careful what we wish for in Potter. In his view he is a coach lacking personal charisma who is no more a fit for the club than Moyes.

His defence of Moyes extends to trying to deconstruct the notion that with him in charge it has all been grey, solid, dull football. He makes the point that in Moyes second spell in charge the club have scored more goals per game than under any manager in the Premier League era, and only Bilic managed more goals per game than Moyes in his first spell in charge.

And then the heights to which Moyes has taken us are set out, as all his ‘defenders’ do. You know the ones – the club have managed five top seven finishes in the Premier League era and Moyes has been in charge for two of them. And of course the first trophy for 43 years.

We all know this so why is there a ‘perception’ among the fans that the football is dull? We want to see a team that provides more entertainment. We want to see a squad that can move the club forward, greater depth in all positions, so that when key players are missing, others can come in to do a job. For how long have we been crying out for additions in certain positions where the squad has been depleted?

We want to see better team selection, not full backs deployed on the left wing. We want to see greater ambition; we don’t want the team to try to hang on the slender leads when we have them, we want to see our team go for the jugular. We want a manager who can make adjustments during the game when it is necessary to do so not just continue to rely on Plan A.

We want a manager who will play the players in their best positions to get the best out of them. We don’t want four central midfielders lining up at the start of a game. We want a manager who will make less predictable substitutions. Why do we always have to wait until it is seemingly too late to make changes during a game that might affect the outcome? When we are behind we don’t want to see like for like defensive substitutions, we want to have a go.

We want to see better use of successful Academy players. Don’t throw them all in at once of course, but at least give them a taste when appropriate to do so. We don’t want players picked because they seem to be favourites who, on the odd occasion, because of their height will win the ball in the air, whilst at the same time lacking an inability to control the ball or pass successfully to a team mate.

We want to be entertained with flair and style. Perhaps we want too much. Be thankful for what we have they say. Be careful what you wish for. The grass isn’t always greener etc. etc. I’ll thank David Moyes for his time at the club, and for his achievements. His record is decent, but as I have written before, I believe that most football managers (with very few exceptions) have a shelf-life that expires. Has the ‘best before’ date already been reached or gone past?

When was the last time a West Ham team began a calendar year without a win in seven games (all competitions)? I’ve been trawling through the records to try to find out. In 1998/99, a season with Harry Redknapp in charge where we eventually finished fifth, we began the 1999 calendar year poorly, failing to win until the seventh game, ironically against Nottingham Forest on 13^th February.

I’ve now found it. In 1996/97, again in Redknapp’s time, we went winless in the first eight games of 1997 before defeating Tottenham 4-3 at Upton Park. Failure to win at Nottingham Forest this weekend will see us equal that (unwanted) record.

Out of interest I went all the way back to the 1958/59 season to see if I could find any other winless periods of more than seven games at the start of a calendar year. I couldn’t find any so I went back to when we joined the Football League in 1919. The calendar year 1922 started poorly with a run of eight winless games, but despite that we still finished fourth in Football League Division Two in 1921/22. I did find examples of longer consecutive winless games at other stages of seasons. There are a few odd examples of 8, 9, 10 or 11 games in a row without a win, which not surprisingly included some relegation campaigns.

The longest consecutive winless runs I found were 12 in the 2002/03 relegation season (Glenn Roeder) – ironically the final 12 games in the calendar year (2002), and the biggest of all was the 13 winless games at the very beginning of the 1973/74 season. In fact that season we only won one of the first 21 games between August 8^th and early December. But incredibly we rallied in the second half and lost only 3 league games from the beginning of 1974 to the end of the season and avoided relegation by one point.

1968/69 was an interesting season during which we had a consecutive run of 9 winless games twice. In the first half of the season the winless run came to an end when we beat Sunderland 8-0 (the Geoff Hurst 6 game), and then we also didn’t win any of the final 9 games but still ended up a creditable eighth.

With the run of games coming up surely the winless run won’t extend much further to match any of those I’ve referred to above? If it does then perhaps a new manager will be appointed sooner rather than later.

West Ham Log 2024: It’s Football Dave But Not As We Know It, Moyes Out!

Do we really need another two years of dour Dave’s drab and dreary caution? Does anyone enjoy watching West Ham play these days? How much longer can the manager cling on?

It’s a question that’s been asked before but is there anyone left who genuinely looks forward to watching West Ham play right now? Sure, there may be those who follow the results from a distance and take quiet satisfaction of seeing the team sitting sixth in the standings and having reached the last 16 of the Europa League. But does any fan who takes the time to watch games closely believe what they see is good value. That a game plan built on caution and attrition is worthy of the beautiful game. Does anyone ever say to their mates “Going to the game? I never get tired of watching West Ham’s resilience”?

David Moyes has been at West Ham for just over four years now. After a slow start, he hit a purple patch with a sixth place finish in his first full season. The swift counter-attacking football took opponents by surprise and, for a while, was exciting to watch. While the form carried over into the first half of the following season, West Ham had become a known quantity by now. Opponents worked that a high press cancelled out the counterattacking threat and without a tactical plan B, Moyes approach became increasingly cautious.

Fans desperate to see a fresh face and fresh ideas in the London Stadium technical area are routinely accused by the pundit community of being deluded or entitled. “Careful what you wish for” is the stock response. West Ham supporters should be grateful they are not in a relegation battle. That showing greater ambition would without question replace grim one goal victories with assured 4-3 defeats. Media outlets likewise are loathe to be critical of the manager, fearing losing access for their next big story. Even so, some have started to openly admit that watching West Ham is not easy on the eye – although preferring to describe the style as pragmatic, rather than boring. The well-worn phrase that football is a results business misses the point that it is also meant to entertain.

The elephant in the dressing room is, of course, the Europa Conference league win. After 43 trophy-less years it was amazing to experience the club winning something again. For many supporters it would have been a first ever taste of success. But in the cold light of day we cannot ignore the relative strength of the competition that we were in. The scenes in Prague at the end of the night and in east London the following day demonstrated how much it meant to the Hammer’s faithful. But Moyes can’t dine out on that result forever in the face of growing fan unrest. Surely, the Board are aware of that.

This season has been a weird one in many respects. It almost came as a surprise to find us sitting in sixth place at the turn of the year, so unremarkable were our performances. There have been several notable results – winning away at Brighton, Tottenham and Arsenal were all unexpected– that owed much to dogged defensive resistance. But in very few of the ten league wins to date have West Ham been a dominant force. They say that a good team needs to know how to win ugly, but it shouldn’t be the default model.

The Hammers remain without a win in 2024. Having been knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship opposition, they have drawn each of their three Premier League games. They were outplayed by both Brighton and Bournemouth at the London Stadium and despite being rightly aggrieved at the poor refereeing in Sheffield, did not deserve to come away with more than a point on the balance of play. With games against Manchester United and Arsenal on the horizon, the chances of extending the stay in the sunlit uplands of the top six may very well be limited.

There are parallels between this season and 2021/22 where the team were also handily placed to push on as the January transfer window opened. Just as the club failed to act then, little was achieved this time around either, aside from the loan signing of Kalvin Phillips. Even more unexpectedly, a squad which was woefully thin anyway was allowed to become a net three lighter following the belated departures of Said Benrahma and Pable Fornals. Both players clearly went backwards during their time at West Ham – did they become worse players or simply get disillusioned – but have still been among the most used substitutes from the bench this term. Is Moyes now going to turn to youth or just make even fewer in-game changes?

The team selection for the Bournemouth game was bizarre to say the least. The decision to select all his favourites even if it meant playing them out of position must have seemed a good idea in the manager’s head. Would none of his assistants dare challenge him on the madness of putting JWP on the left wing and pushing Tomas Soucek forward as a Number 10? That Kalvin Phillips might be a tad ring rusty came as no surprise to the average fan but was apparently beyond an experienced manager with a thousand plus games under his belt. In fairness the real culprit for the Bournemouth goal was Kurt Zouma but digging out Phillips made for a better headline.

Sunday sees Moyes take his Hammers side to Old Trafford to face an erratic Manchester United side. The Red Devils victory in their topsy-turvy midweek encounter with Wolves moved them to within a point of West Ham. Moyes has never won as a manager at Old Trafford in 17 attempts and Carlos Tevez was the last Hammer to score a league winner there in 2007.

It is not difficult to predict that we will see a backs to the wall low West Ham block which will be described as a defensive masterclass if we win, but as tame surrender if we lose. Definitely less than 30% possession and fewer that ten touches in the opposition box – mostly headers.

I can see Moyes dropping Phillips to the bench for this one, allowing Soucek to drop back and Danny Ings to reprise his Bramall Lane role behind Jarrod Bowen. The most probable outcome is a comfortable home win unless further heroics from Alphonse Areola and Mohammed Kudus earn a point as they did on Thursday. It could well be the start of a Hammers slide down the table and its not difficult to imagine being overtaken by Manchester United, Newcastle, Brighton, and Chelsea before the season is out. It really is time for a change. COYI!

Dyche Outwits Moyes In Brothers Grimm Horror Story: Here Are Five Fairy Tale Takeaways

Another dull, low quality and instantly forgettable encounter between the Premier League’s two Cinderella clubs where nobody is interested in going for the ball.

Entertainment Goes Missing In Action

What a sorry excuse for an elite level football match that was. A tumultuous battle of trench warfare between two sides equally determined not to lose. A game as grey as the Everton shirts where nothing exceptional occurred during the entire ninety minutes. It was so grim even VAR fell asleep and couldn’t be bothered to intervene. Was this entertainment worthy of the extravagant ticket prices charged? Are dour, old-school managers like Moyes and Dyche, who got left behind by the game some years ago, really the best that clubs like West Ham and Everton can find? In the end, Everton deserved their win by default, scoring with the type of goal that the Hammers concede all too frequently. Along with Areola’s fine save to prevent an even more embarrassing defeat it was a brief flicker in an otherwise dull afternoon. If Dyche can be cut some slack some slack because a) his brief is probably survival at all costs in perilous circumstances; and b) because his side were playing away, what is the excuse for Moyes? Into his fourth straight season at West Ham, having spent hundreds of millions to shape a side in his own image and what we get is a run of shambolic, disjointed displays explained away by a barrel load of implausible excuses. Nice work if you can get it!

Team Selection and Its Unintended Consequences

The West Ham team selection may well have raised a few eyebrows when it was first announced. The replacement of the suspended Emerson with the ageing Aaron Cresswell was expected, but Mohammed Kudus starting in place of the hitherto undroppable Thomas Soucek came out of the blue. It was high time Kudus was given a start, but had expected it to be as replacement for goal shy Michail Antonio. Kudus began full of promise, his energy and neat footwork threatening to give the crowd something to cheer but then faded as the game progressed. The omission of Soucek required James Ward-Prowse to drop deeper and he rarely impresses there – his passing laboured, his lack of pace apparent. His best work is done further forward where opponents are required to keep a careful watch, providing others with space. It was no shock when he was taken off. Cresswell did nothing particularly wrong but equally he didn’t do much right – at least creatively. Emerson is the only full-back at the club who supplies width and offers invention going forward – he was sorely missed yesterday.

The 21 Day David Moyes Low Intensity Workout Plan

Having to play seven matches in 21 days must always be a challenge. But that is not a reason to approach each game with such low levels if intensity. West Ham have now played three of those games and in each they have been weary and woeful. Even making wholesale personnel changes for the Europa League didn’t change the lacklustre, half-hearted attitude that has ben seen on the pitch. Unless it is a case of getting back quickly into their defensive shape, the team appears to have no apparent plan. Pre and post-match, Moyes claims he knew what to expect from a Dyche Everton team. Yet he was seemingly clueless on how to combat it. His hangdog caution and negativity must surely transfer to the players taking the field? Last season it fell to Declan Rice to galvanise and inspire through words and example. Kurt Zouma isn’t that guy. In the early exchanges there was hope that Kudus and Lucas Paqueta might have the tricks to unlock the visitors defence, but as Kudus faded, Paqueta became frustrated and increasingly over-egged the showboating. In the final knockings when we should have expected everything but the kitchen sink to be thrown at Everton, the game petered out with a whimper.

David, You Have Three Games To Save Your Job

The clocks have gone back and the nights are drawing in – so it must be time for a brand new season of You’ve Got Three Games To Save Your Job. We already know the script for episode one. Routine defeats to Arsenal in Wednesday’s EFL Cup tie and at Brentford in the League will be be followed by a scruffy victory over Olympiacos in the Europa League. The clock is reset and off it goes again. Rinse and repeat until we are mathematically safe from relegation. Must we live through the same charade again? Can’t those in the boardroom not see that Moyes is Yesterday’s Man? That his continued presence is doing nothing more than sucking any remaining joy out of the club. I have to believe that the squad of expensively assembled players are more talented than they look most weekends. That with a more enlightened coach they would prosper and be viewed in the same positive light as Tottenham, Villa, and Brighton. Thanks for the Conference cup win and a top six finish, Dave, but that was then, and this is now. Time for a change before the season becomes a meaningless slog.

Down With The Halloween Decorations

Ten points from the first four games and then a mere four from the next six. It is common to look at form over the last six games and just one win against the hapless Blades is poor in anyone’s book. With Edson Alvarez and Paqueta now suspended for the visit to Brentford, the Oracle Cloud Computer will struggle to calculate a positive West Ham win probability for that one. It is becoming more apparent that the early season wins were a quirk, and that the trajectory is downwards – and at speed. It can now safely be seen as a poor start to the season.

Fast Fading Hammers Must Get Stuck Into The Toffees Or Risk London Stadium Meltdown

Dreams are starting to fade and die at West Ham as consecutive defeats in League and Europe suggest the promising start might have been another false dawn. Can they bounce back in style against a stubborn Everton side?

West Ham’s bright start to the season has officially been downgraded to mediocre after the Hammers began their demanding schedule of seven games in 21 days with two well-deserved defeats. Disappointingly poor performances in Birmingham and Athens putting prior victories against Brighton and Chelsea in the category of freak early season anomalies.

The two lame losses have switched the focus back to future of David Moyes, whose contract expires at the end of this season. Humiliation at Villa Park was especially exasperating and made worse by the manager’s post-match comments which suggested the hosts were well-ahead of his own side in their development. An analysis that conveniently overlooks the respectively tenures of the two managers. Moyes is no new boss on the block having been in charge at the London Stadium for almost four years now while Unai Emery is only just celebrating his first anniversary at Villa Park.

For a veteran of over 1100 games as manager, Moyes is remarkably thin-skinned and tetchy at press conferences on the rare occasions questions stray from the banal. He reverts to a dour and uninspiring demeanour that would make Dad’s Army’s Private Frazer look like an optimist. The worry is that this is how he comes across in the dressing room pre-match and at half-time – talking up the opposition and fixating on how to stop them rather than on how to beat them.

The current West Ham side are with no shadow of doubt a team that Moyes built. Its shortcomings – whether in personnel or tactics – fall squarely on his slippery shoulders. It can surely no surprise to even the most casual observer that failure to bring in additional striker resources in the summer would prove to be a disastrous decision. Michail Antonio has form for fading away after a bright start and who could have imagined Danny Ings playing as an isolated lone striker when he was scouted. Unai Emery must be having a good chuckle about that one!

Perversely, the Hammers goalscoring form this season has been surprisingly decent, despite it needing a huge slice of luck to to keep the run of scoring in every game going last weekend. Rather it is in defence where the team have been exposed, conceding 16 goals in the first nine games. This is by far the worst defensive start to a season under Moyes. The compact and narrow defensive ploy of inviting long shots and crosses has come unstuck as players endeavour to push forward more quickly. A central defence recruited to head away crosses all afternoon are dangerously vulnerable to opponents attacking them with pace. The historic solution for a leaky defence will be to pack it even tighter.

Not much can be read into the result at Olympiacos. Moyes gambled with a clutch of second-string players who quite frankly are either past it or not very good. Was that because he underestimated the Greek league leaders or was willing to write-off the game with more important fixtures coming up? It must have occurred to others that the Hammers best chance of more silverware (and a fourth consecutive Europe campaign) would be to drop down into the Conference. A Europa League knock-out stage that could potentially include Manchester United and Newcastle as well as Liverpool and Brighton would be formidable – can anyone see West Ham beating any of these over two legs?

Tomorrow, the London Stadium visitors are founding members of the Premier League Calamity Club, Everton. Already embroiled in what has become an annual relegation battle, the Toffees are also facing sanctions as a result an FA investigation into their finances. It was reported this week that the penalty could be as harsh as a deduction of 12 Premier League points. If that happened it would be a massive blow to survival hopes even allowing for the other hopeless cases likely to be fighting the drop.

Everton now have the look of a typical Sean Dyche team. They work hard, are difficult to break down, and share Moyes infatuation with resilience. The two managers are cut from the same old piece of cloth that should have been thrown out years ago. Unfortunately for them, the Toffees score very few goals. Leave aside the graft and there is little to get the fans off their seats in what will be a desperate campaign for them. The biggest threat tomorrow will come from Doucoure who managed to pop up to score important goals at just the right moment last season. Or perhaps Calvert-Lewin will finally recover the goalscoring form that made him such a hot property three or four years ago.

The challenge for Moyes will be to put out a team capable of breaking through a rugged Everton rear-guard. Faced with an organised defence the Hammers attacking efforts can lack creativity and urgency and another insipid display is not going to go down well with supporters. Everton will be well aware that frustrating the home side will get the fans on their backs.

After the Villa game it was expected changes would be necessary but having seen the potential replacements struggle to make an impact in Athens nothing is now certain. There will be at least one enforced change, however, due to the suspension of Emerson, plus there are also concerns over Vladimir Coufal’s fitness.

It is difficult to imagine Moyes making radical selection changes, just as it is unlikely that he will make early switches if it looks like things are not working out. We can expect the standard pre-planned substitutions around the 75 minute mark – Ings on for Antonio, Said Benrahma replacing Lucas Paqueta or Thomas Soucek. It begs the question as to why Divin Mubama is left on the bench as an unused substitute each week – or getting a 2 minute cameo deep into injury time if he is lucky? Young players need a 20 – 25 minute run-out to make it a worthwhile experience. But with Moyes approach to game management not allowing matches to be killed off when on top, that luxury is never available.

Having seen what a breath of fresh air can do at clubs like Tottenham, Brighton and Villa it is dispiriting to have to plod along under the dark cloud of a cautious and unadventurous manager. The mood isn’t helped by talk of Mourinho as a replacement next summer. Surely that is just media tittle-tattle and aspirations at the club go beyond another tactical has-been. COYI!

Bankesy’s Identity Revealed As Incompetent Referee: 5 Takeaways From West Ham’s Draw With The Toon

A terrible refereeing performance from Peter ‘Bottle’ Banks overshadows a thrilling game between West Ham and Newcastle. Once again, Moyes caution and lack of belief sees him happy to settle for a point against top opposition. Here’s what we learned:

Bottle Banker

Should we just accept that the standard of refereeing in English football is so poor? A multi-billion dollar world-wide sporting phenomenon susceptible to the whims of a handful of unaccountable, puffed-up amateurs. Not a week goes by without one referee or another putting himself at the centre of the action. Right up there with the worst inexplicable decisions of the season was Peter Bankes failure to wave a second yellow card in the face of Bruno Guimaraes for an incident identical to the one he had been penalised a few moments earlier. It was a clear case of bottling an important game-changing call. Eddie Howe’s assertion that the incidents looked worse because they occurred so close to each other is complete bunkum. It was their proximity that saw him excused by a weak referee. As mentioned in the match preview, Howe’s sides are well known for practising the dark arts and their fondness for tactical fouling was apparent (and went unpunished) from the first whistle. Bankes must have been aware of his cowardice as he was all over the place with his cards and decisions for the remainder of the half. How on earth can this joker be considered an elite referee in the world’s ‘best’ league?

Doubling Down The Bankes

If it was not enough for Bankes to allow Guimaraes to stay on the pitch and make an important contribution to Newcastle’s fightback, he also took it upon himself to provide an assist in the visitor’s equaliser. A fine save by Alphonse Areola from Dan Burn’s header was cleared up field. Lucas Paqueta shrugged off a weak challenge from the anonymous Sandro Tonali creating an excellent breakaway opportunity for the Hammers. But it was the intervention of Bankes whistle who saved the day for the Magpies when he denied a clear goalscoring opportunity. The only person in the stadium to spot a foul in the middle of an honest tussle. The Hammers should still have done a better job at defending the corner, but the damage was done and Newcastle were allowed to seize the initiative.

Licence To Kill Off A Game

There is a worrying pattern in West Ham games at the moment. Score a goal early doors and then spend the remainder of the game protecting rather than extending the lead. Throughout the first half yesterday, the Hammers looked by far the likelier team to score, despite once again being happy to surrender the lion’s share of possession. A fly on the wall of both dressing rooms at half time would have been interesting to hear what instructions were given to each team. Newcastle did eventually raise the intensity but not until Bankes had gifted them an equaliser. After that the combination of the visitor’s newfound belief and the Hammers reticence to push players forward suggested the game would only end as an away win. Much was made of Newcastle’s exhaustion following their mauling of PSG while the demands of the Hammer’s triumph in Freiburg (a day later) were downplayed. In the end, the Hammers rediscovered their resilience and following Mohammed Kudus excellent equalising strike, might easily have snatched a winner when Said Benrahma missed the ball on the far post.

Moyes Lack of Self-Belief

The tenor of David Moyes post-match interview seemed to be that coming away with a point against Newcastle was the best a man could get. He has elevated the cash-rich Magpies into the elite group of teams who he doesn’t really expect to beat. These are games where he hopes to nick a home win once in a blue moon or maybe grab the occasional point on the road. Victories at St James Park will now be as rare as thy are in the northwest. Listening to him you can imagine he corners the market in Uninspirational Quotes. Can that be how he comes across in the dressing room at half-time? “You’ve done well first half, lads. But they are a better team than us and will probably equalise sooner or later. Best try and dig in and hope for the best.” Having gone behind, Moyes did eventually make useful substitutions – 15 minutes too late, but they did pay off this time.

Kudos to Kudus

It was a thrilling cameo performance from Mohammed Kudus, full of energy, intent, purpose, and endeavour. Why would you leave that on the bench in place of a barely fit Michail Antonio? It will be outrageous if Kudus is not in the starting eleven at Villa Park in two weeks’ time. A fairy-tale strike to claim his first Premier League goal in the dying minutes.

David Moyes Versus The Lettuce: Which Will Last The Longest?

As his trademark caution once again fails to push home the advantage, how much longer will the West Ham board tolerate his dull and negative approach to the game. What did we learn from the points shared in the season opener at Bournemouth?

The Plan: We Only Need To Be Better Than Three Other Teams

If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome, then our manager must be as mad a box of baby haggises (or is it haggi?). Who would have guessed that completely surrendering the initiative would have given a boost to a previously short-on-ideas opponent? Or do we expect too much? Perhaps in the Moyestro’s mind a draw at Bournemouth represents a very satisfactory day at the office. In an ‘any point away from home is a bonus and we were unlucky not to win’ sort of way. Pick up another point at Luton and his side will be right on track to reach the manager’s targeted two points from the opening six games. Then we can focus on the more realistic challenge of fighting for scrappy home wins from the peer group that includes Forest, Everton, Burnley and Sheffield United.

Possession And How Not To Use It

I’ve never been too hung up on possession statistics. It’s more about what you do with the ball once you have it at your feet. The clue is pass to a teammate. Take Brentford for example. Last season, they had a similar level of possession to West Ham and relied just as heavily on the long pass. But because they commit more players forward, they pose a far greater threat, are exciting to watch, and force every opponent to be wary of pushing too many of their own players forward. Sadly, that’s not how Moyesball works. To him, risk is a dirty word along with its evil twin, entertainment. Despite this, West Ham were the better side in the first half yesterday, taking advantage of a hesitant host who were uncertain what their new manager expected of them. The Hammers were never likely to run riot (as they had a few months earlier), but they created the better opportunities in a low-key first half, without ever dominating.

The Natural Negative Instincts Are Never Far Away

The watershed moment in the game came when West Ham took the lead – and what a beautiful strike it was from Jarrod Bowen. The possession percentage barely changed pre and post goal, but the balance of play switched completely. Bournemouth threw caution to the wind, bringing on more attack minded players while Moyes reverted to type – attempting to batten down the hatches and protect the slim advantage his team held. It just isn’t in his DNA (or Dinnae in Scottish) to exploit the extra space on offer in search of a second conclusive goal. His only strategy for killing off a game is through boredom. It was no surprise when the equaliser came. Anyone watching could sense it was only a matter of time. All the opposition needs when you concede so much space is to get lucky once. And they did just that when a mishit shot turned into a killer pass for Solanke to finish. The sight of Moyes yelling at Vladimir Coufal in the dying minutes not to take a quick attacking throw and take his time instead says all you need to know about his cautious mindset.

Substitutions And How Not To Use Them

Andoni Iraola had made five substitutions before Moyes sprang into action with his. And when he did, he really needn’t have bothered. I’m convinced he has an alert on his phone, set up at the 70-minute mark with a reminder to swap Michail Antonio with Danny Ings. The type of like for like change that the manager loves. A change for change’s sake play that confuses activity with action. Antonio’s role yesterday was baffling. Appearing in the most unlikely areas of the pitch and taking only one touch in the opponent’s penalty area. He looks to have lost all interest in playing for West Ham (or the manager). The second change in the aftermath of the Bournemouth equaliser (Thilo Kehrer for Pablo Fornals) was a clear indication of intent – preserve the point at all costs. Finally, there was a rare sighting of the illusive Comet. Maxwell replacing Lucas Paqueta in added time and being on the pitch just long enough to be caught offside. Paqueta showing once again what a difference he could make to a team that wasn’t quite as static as the Hammers. He will be missed when he leaves next week.

Of Strikers and Recruitment

The manager loves to present himself as a tight-lipped man of ~~misery~~ mystery when he speaks to the press. It is beyond belief that any Premier League coach would contemplate embarking on a new campaign with only Antonio, Ings and Divin Mubama as the main striker options. Or is the cunning plan to convert Bowen and/ or Cornet to plough that lone farrow? Neither is the brightest of ideas, and we can only hope there is an adult somewhere in the recruitment process who can make the Board see sense. Moyes cannot be trusted to act as sole arbiter of the transfer kitty. Come on Tim, find us a proper striker. The ‘David Moyes has only n games to save his job’ news cycle cannot be far away. I might need to buy a hat to eat if he is still around at the end of September.

Player Ratings

Areola (6), Coufal (5), Zouma (6), Aguerd (6), Emerson (5), Soucek (6), Paqueta (7), Bowen (7), Fornals (5), Benrahma (5), Antonio (4)

A remarkable two years as we look back on West Ham’s progress in that time.

Tonight West Ham face Southampton in the fifth round of the FA Cup hoping to take another step towards winning a trophy

It has been quite an amazing couple of years for West Ham. Just two years ago as coronavirus (we didn’t call it COVID 19 then I don’t think) was beginning to attract more attention and we were all washing our hands more regularly (no lockdown or social distancing at that early stage) there we were battling relegation. We had already been dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side West Brom, as well as on the end of a 4-0 thrashing in the EFL Cup by lowly Oxford United.

Our last home game before the (2019-20) season was suspended on 13^th March was on 29^th February 2020 was against Southampton, almost two years to the day before we meet them again in the fifth round of the FA Cup this evening. We beat them 3-1 that day, climbing out of the bottom three in the process, and rising to 16^th in the league. We only played once more (a 1-0 defeat at Arsenal) before the season resumed on the 19^th June (we lost to Wolves on that day too).

On that Leap Year’s Day two years ago, Jarrod Bowen put us in front, scoring his first Premier League goal on his full debut when he lifted the ball over McCarthy in the Saints goal from Pablo Fornals’ fine through ball. Southampton equalised with a goal from Obafemi but we restored our lead before half-time when Sebastien Haller beat McCarthy to Antonio’s cross that hung in the air and scored from close range. Antonio then increased our lead to 3-1 early in the second half, gathering Fornals’ pass and sliding the ball past McCarthy. It was our first win in eight matches. As we sat in the cold February sunshine little did we realise how long it would be before we could return to the London Stadium to see our team again. In front of empty stadiums we picked up 12 points from our final seven games to avoid relegation.

Football continued to be played in front of empty stadiums in 2020-21 and after losing our opening two games, we began to see a new West Ham. By 27 February 2021 (just one year ago) we had only lost a handful of games and sat proudly in 4^th place in the Premier League table. I was one of the lucky ones in the ballot to be among the crowd of 10,000 to witness our final home game of the season when we comfortably beat Southampton 3-0, Pablo Fornals once again having a big influence on the game, scoring twice in the first half before Declan Rice wrapped up the scoring late in the game. That meant we finished 6^th at the season’s end, narrowly missing out on the top four but qualifying for a place in the Europa League.

Fast forward another year and we sit in fifth place in the Premier League with just eleven games of the league season to go. We are also in the Europa League knockout stages, where we have been paired with La Liga side Sevilla, as well as the Fifth Round of the FA Cup tonight. What a transformation in just two years! None of us can honestly say we saw this coming when we went into lockdown two years ago.

It will not be easy for us tonight. Southampton have been in excellent form lately, and their 11 points from their last 5 league games is bettered by only two teams (Liverpool with 15, and Newcastle with 13). In fact they have only lost once in their last ten league games (3-1 at Wolves), a run (5 wins and 4 draws) which has seen them climb from 16^th (just above the relegation places) to 9^th, sitting vary comfortably in mid-table.

They needed extra time to knock out both Swansea and Coventry in the last two rounds, but now we’ve reached the stage where the winners of this tie will progress into the last eight, I would expect both teams to field close to first choice sides. They certainly should because at this stage we are only three wins away from a place in the FA Cup final and the chance to lift a trophy. Of course we remember the last round very well, only just surviving to get past Kidderminster thanks in the main to Declan Rice.

Ron Greenwood Taking Home The FA Cup in 1964. Will This Be David Moyes in 2022?

Southampton’s fine recent form sees them installed as favourites to win the tie by the bookmakers at around 13/10. The odds on a West Ham win are around 2/1 with 12/5 on a draw in 90 minutes. Betting on cup games is always a precarious business as you can never be sure how strong the teams will be. You’d like to think that being this close to a Wembley final would mean that teams are at full strength but that is not always the case.

In the next 19 days, starting with tonight’s last 16 game at Southampton we will play 6 matches, including home and away ties against Sevilla in the Europa League last 16, as well as three league games with visits to Anfield and White Hart Lane plus a home game against Aston Villa.

I wonder where we’ll be in three weeks’ time? We could be in the Quarter Finals of the FA Cup and the Europa League and still challenging towards the top of the Premier League. Or perhaps we might only have eight league games left of our season having gone out of both cups? Or perhaps even somewhere in between?

With the relatively thin squad available to choose from it is remarkable that we are where we are considering where we were looking back to just two years ago. But whatever happens in the next two weeks and then in the final weeks of the season it is interesting to hear David Moyes’ thoughts. At the Press Conference prior to tonight’s game these are some of his quotes:

“Every manager wants to win a trophy.” “We’re on a good track but the next couple of years will be an important time. We’re trying to build a team that’s getting stronger.” “I look more at how we’re going to continue to try to build the club and keep getting closer to winning trophies.” “We’ve made a swift move towards the top end of the Premier League. We’re involved in Europe, had a decent run in the Carabao Cup and we’re trying to get a good run in the FA Cup if we can as well”

Well done David Moyes and his coaching team. What a fantastic turnaround in our fortunes in just two years.