Predictable Irons Proves Point

Having achieved far more than expected last season, this one was always going to be the 'David Moyes Experience's' difficult second album, but it hasn't. To continue with the music metaphor, this season has been like Pink Floyd following up Dark side of the Moon with Wish you were here, the magnificence of the former obscured the brilliance of the latter for quite some time.

Going into this season with a wafer thin squad AND the added commitment of European football to deal with, many West Ham fans feared they would possibly be embroiled in the type of relegation dogfight they had got used to in previous years. Nothing could have been further from the truth, Hammers thrived in the early stages of the season before the inevitable toll of extra games and the paucity of the squad began to bite, nevertheless the club still finds itself near the top of the Premier League and in two other competitions, relegation has ALREADY been avoided!

Although fans live in hope, few genuinely believe Hammers can pull off another top six finish, even fewer believe a top four slot is attainable but as it stands the club is still in the top four, albeit having played more games than those around it and must somehow kick on regardless of squad size and other elements.

In the last two games Moyes's side have struggled to break down determined Premier League opposition, needing a 'ball through the middle' to break the deadlock in BOTH games, Hammers have been FOUND OUT! Brentford arrived like a breath of fresh air with their enthusiasm, energy and novel approach to games which along with a more than healthy display of thespianism, earned them a good deal of success. However the Bees form has plunged off the cliff as a result of them being found out and officials becoming wise to their propensity for play acting and time wasting.

Hammers started this season on fire, playing so well that the "we are massive" chants began to be heard both home and away, but injuries did eventually bite, just about the time that clubs had begun to take West Ham far more seriously and analysed how the team's counter attacking style could be nullified.

Starting virtually EVERY attack down the wing, usually the left wing, has become SO predictable that teams just have to 'show' players the wing safe in the knowledge of what is about to come next. When it works it is superb, but when one of the key deliverers of the crosses isn't on their game, as was the case with Aaron Cressewell yesterday against Leicester, then your options become extremely limited.

Hammers DO have the ability to grind out results, but with a bit of 'left field' thinking, might just be able to reach the hallowed land of the Champions League still. Kurt Zouma's 'questionable' injury in the warm up yesterday handed Issa Diop an opportunity to atone for his dreadful performance against Kidderminster in the Cup, and he played an absolute BLINDER! He assisted Jarrod Bowen's first half strike with a superb pass that dissected the Foxes mid field, and was calm and assertive as he dealt with ALL that was thrown at him, earning him praise from Hammers other goal scorer and fellow centre back 'Les' Dawson as well as Moyes himself.

David Moyes is NOT a stupid man, neither are his staff foolish, so they will be only too aware of how the goals have dried up of late and might well be considering the odd 'ball through the middle' rather than the tippy tappy approach that has seen such success but is now floundering.

The end result of tweaking the team's style might not go down too well, with some fans fearing a return to the bad old days of Sam Allardyce, we are definitely NOT advocating a return to the dark ages, merely a little renaissance of an old faithful. - LN