Which Hammer Looked The Most Knackered?

Normally most post match articles contain a player rating of some sort, however the post match analysis of West Ham players who featured in the game against Manchester United might concentrate on how knackered they were. By the end of the game even Pablo Fornals, who usually makes a Duracell bunny look lethargic, was on his knees and breathing through his proverbial.

Said Benrahma fared even worse and was hardly able to jog off the pitch when he was replaced by Manuel Lanzini, Aaron Cresswell made more misplaced passes than he had made in all the previous games of this season put together! However the biggest concern, as alluded to by other Hammers sites including Claret&Hugh, is the collateral effect so many games are having on Tomas Soucek.

He still performed admirably, but his spark, particularly going forward, hasn't been there for the last few games, and no wonder. Essentially he hasn't had a break since project restart and is definitely showing the signs. He is too good a player to let ruin himself through his devotion to duty, he MUST NOT play on Wednesday for the thoroughly pointless 'moose cup' fixture against Ronaldo United, he deserves a break.

Král was signed for the exact purpose of relieving the pressure on Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek, so Wednesday definitely represents the ideal time to give him his debut, possibly alongside Mark Noble who will of course have fire in his belly in order to atone for Sunday's penalty miss against the same opponents that the team faced on that fateful day.

Wholesale changes have to be made to give players a much deserved rest, don't forget that after the Leeds game on Sunday, the vast majority of the 1st team will be flying off for yet more International commitments! Obviously Moyes doesn't want to send out a team that will get slaughtered, but he will also be mindful of what a handful Leeds will be at the weekend.

Starting with Areola in goal will also give Moyes the chance to run the rule over the keeper with a view to giving Lukasz Fabianski some 'reflective' time as the games come thick and fast, Kurt Zouma looks as if he can easily play three games in a week, but we are not sure of the wisdom in taking that risk, especially as he has a ready made replacement in the form of Craig Dawson.

Given the need to give players a break, here is a line up that won't break the bank! : Areola, Fredericks, Johnson, Dawson, Diop, Král, Noble, Lanzini, Vlasic, Bowen, and our surprise card Armstrong Okoflex instead of Michail Antonio. Conventional wisdom suggests a slightly more conservative: Areola, Fredericks, Zouma, Oggy, Cresswell; Rice, Kral, Lanzini, Bowen, Vlasic, Antonio line up, but that risks injury to Antonio when it isn't really worthwhile, IF there was a European qualification slot available as a result of winning the 'Moose' Cup then of course David Moyes should field a strong team, but currently there are bigger fish to fry!

Our message to David Moyes? Give the lads a rest now while you can, instead of waiting until you have to.- Ed