Cup IS Important To Moyes AND Conti!

The League Cup, Carabou Cup or even the Moose Cup or Elk Cup as some call it, is a competition that has become increasingly devalued, the final nail in it's coffin being the lack of European competition as an incentive for winning the domestic competition and the fact that Manchester City had made the Cup their own for a staggering FIVE years!

Of course David Moyes oversaw a famous victory over the serial winners, a win that was preceded by beating Manchester United at Old Trafford, so obviously it is a competition that the Hammers manager sees as important. The timing of the quarter final against London rivals Tottingham raised many eyebrows, as it comes right at the thick end of the Premier League's 'murder month' for fixtures.

The Omicron variant of the Covid Pandemic has arrived at such pace that it is impossible to predict events that are unfolding at such an alarming rate. The postponement of several fixtures has thrown the Premier League in to chaos, let alone the League Cup, but winning a trophy albeit a devalued one is still very desirable, particularly for a club that has won bugger all in 42 years!

The postponement of the Premier League Norwich game scheduled for today does have the positive of giving Moyes more time to reassemble his troops after what has been quite a battering of late, even having a couple more days on the training ground will help the team enormously as it works out how to cope with the loss of Angelo Ogbonna AND Kurt Zouma.

Fortunately Aaron Cresswell WILL be fit for the Tottingham game, as will young Ben Johnson who has recovered ahead of schedule from his low grade hamstring injury. Valdimir Coufal is also available but will have to sit out the game after against Southampton, as a result of harshly receiving two yellow cards against perennial divers Arsenal during the week.

David Moyes will have to choose who should replace Vlad for the Saints game, he may well elect to give Harrison Ashby his Premier League debut, because he desperately needs Ben Johnson on the bench as back up for Cresswell. Johnson's ability to play on either flank makes him an invaluable utility player for Moyes, an asset the manager will need to exploit during the rest of the season as it is highly unlikely reinforcements for the full back positions will be brought in during the January transfer window.

An additional centre back and a 'proper' striker will be the spearhead of Hammers January recruitment, but as events are unfolding so rapidly acquisitions will be made with one eye on the future, given how impactive a possible lock down could be, with games being played behind closed doors once again.

The much maligned League Cup DOES represent a chance of attaining silverware and should be pursued with maximum effort, however tarnished that trophy may be. Winning it would be real progress, despite people snivelling at it's value, after all it wasn't too shabby for one of the biggest clubs in the World to covet for so many years was it? - ED