Even Tougher Calls Ahead For DM

It would be much easier to jump on the doom and gloom Hammers threads around this morning rather than trying to be positive following this weekend's draw against Newcastle that felt so much like a defeat, but here goes. In our opinion constructive criticism is acceptable even though it may be painful, and there can be no more painful a decision to make as to Tomas Soucek's continued selection, closely followed by the 'Antonio up top' dilemma.

There is NO point in bleating on about the non-existent new arrivals during the January transfer window, it is what it is now, regardless of the cavalier stupidity of the board AND the manager. One thing most people will agree on is that Hammers look just like an under resourced team that has ground to a halt under the strain of competing in too many simultaneous competitions for them to cope with.

Most notably Tomas Soucek AND Vlad Coufal have both looked shadows of their former selves, unfortunately Hammers ONLY striker Mikey Antonio is also going through a lean spell that has seen him playing out of position in order to try and get some service.

Soucek is currently being deployed in a role to which he is NOT suited, that is not to say that he doesn't try his hardest, far from it, but he is just NOT a deep lying defender, his strengths have always been as a marauding attacking midfielder who scares the hell out of opposition defenders due to his late surging runs into the box which invariably cannot be picked up until it is too late.

Playing in such a defensive role has essentially nullified Soucek's ability to influence a game like he did last season, his positional change has been made in order to facilitate Declan Rice's more attacking role this season. It should be remembered that when Tomas resumed his attacking role against Watford, due to Declan Rice being suspended, he scored a goal and looked every ounce of the player he used to be!

Moyes needs to either reverse Dec and Tommy's roles or drop the latter, problem of course being who could replace Soucek as a deep lying midfielder, Alex Kral anybody? It is entirely correct to drop Tommy, he has been less than impressive in a role he was not supposed to be playing, Kral is far more suited to being a defensive' destroyer.

The other bone of contention is Mikey Antonio, recently he has spent more time on his backside than his feet and would definitely benefit from being benched, Hammers coughed up nearly THIRTY MILLION POUNDS to bring Nikola Vlasic to the club, surely NOW is the time to utilise his talents.

Vlasic's physique looks like that of a mixed martial arts fighter, to us he seems like an ideal replacement for Big Mick, let Vlasic start and then bring Mikey on for the last 25 minutes or so of the game. Vlasic deserves to be given a start, hopefully the Boss will do the right thing and start him.

David Moyes is going to HAVE to make some tough calls during the week, even if it means dropping a couple of his 'pet' players! - LN