You can take West Ham out of the Premier League, but you can’t take the Premier League out of West Ham! A dismal draw this Saturday as the Hammers took a 2-0 lead against Burnley and have only walked away with a sole point after Flemming’s double, one from a poorly conceded penalty and the other from a loose ball inside the box- misery!
The Hammers started the game well and even saw Max Kilman score his first goal for the club, as well as debutant Manor Solomon doubling our lead late on, but unsurprisingly, the defensive reinforcements and antics the Hammers possess late in the game cost and a poorly timed challenge from Ollie Scarles kick-started it all.
More disappointingly, despite the draw, it doesn’t even feel like a well-earned point - it in fact should’ve been a defeat in reality. Poor marking across the match from the West Ham defenders made it feel like a goal was imminent for Burnley. Flemming hit the post with a header, and another effort was cleared off the line by Scarles - it seemed like a matter of time before something would go in!
Signings need to be made, and work needs to be done. Arne Engels will be a massive benefit for the Hammers in their next fixture against Charlton, as this afternoon was a demonstration of why a Kante & Orford double pivot doesn’t work in the slightest. Kante in the first half was forced to work two positions, and Orford only found his footing in the second half, leaving Nuno’s side exposed in the middle of the park for almost the entire 90 minutes.
The introduction of Ward-Prowse was nothing but lacklustre for the Hammers. His cameo offered no stability in the midfield, and it felt as if nothing had changed from the first half despite the change being made - it is a serious concern.
The point might be something on the board, but the message is clear as day… West Ham United still need signings if they want to compete in the Championship this year. A forward, a central defender and another midfielder are in need, especially given the pending exits that are set to take place of Edson Alvarez, Soungoutou Magassa and Jean-Clair Todibo.
A lot of work needs to be done before Charlton, and a lot of work needs to be completed before the end of the transfer window.
Comments
We need quite a few incomings
We need quite a few incomings. We need a left back as not convinced with both Diouf & Scarles. With AWB on his way a right back is needed. KWP is ok but only as a back up. We need another CB as Todibo is a non entity. We definatley need another striker.
Sp plenty off work to do.
The only positive to take from today is the performance highlighted how thin we are. Seriously lacking in depth.