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Is This Moyes' Line Up For Sunday?

Submitted by Louis Nixon on Fri, 17/09/2021 - 18:18

Last night's comprehensive win over perennial champions league qualifiers Dinamo Zagreb strangely threw up more questions than answers, for a start David Moyes played a very strong line up which included the backbone of his successful league side, this was not necessarily his expected course of action with many guessing, incorrectly, that he would give Mark Noble a start and play Alphonse Areola in goal.

He did neither, playing a strong eleven sent a message out to the other teams in the Europa Cup that West Ham are taking the competition very seriously, a loss or a draw would have put added pressure on the squad as they attempt to pursue a high finish in the Barclays Premier League for the 2nd season in a row.

Although Genk scored in the last minute to gain victory in their fixture, Hammers top the group on goal difference and have already faced the most 'fancied' opponents in the group. That cushion could prove to be important as injuries and a frenzied fixture list takes it's toll later on in the season.

Sooner or later David Moyes was going to have to come up with a plan B for when Mikey Antonio became unavailable, that necessity has occurred a lot sooner so who does he start in Antonio's stead against what will be a very pumped up Man Utd team?

We'll come back to that by first looking at who else will feature, Kurt Zouma absolutely MUST start on Sunday but which other new signings might feature? The gaping hole left by Antonio's unavailability has to be filled and the most obvious choice is new signing Nikola Vlasic, or is he? Jarrod Bowen has deputised for Antonio before and will not be fazed by the situation, however he is more suited to cutting in from the wing, so perhaps Moyes might elect to play Benrahma, Bowen and Vlasic as a front three that can interchange in attack.

Vlasic showed some decent touches against Dinamo and also the willingnes to chase the opposition, but he will need time to adapt to the frenetic pace of the current Hammers side, that element could be almost as hard for the player to learn as it is for the opposition to cope with!

Being a cautious man, David Moyes won't start with Areola in goal, he is much more likely to give the Frenchman a run out for Tuesday's EFL Moose Cup game at Old Trafford and retain Fabianski for the time being. Here is what we think will be David Moyes' line up for Sunday: Fabianski, Coufal, Zouma, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Soucek, Fornals, Benrahma, Bowen, Vlasic. Comment if you think differently. - LN

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Zouma & The Monster

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Fri, 17/09/2021 - 09:33

Hammers front line and of course Declan '£200 Million' Rice, have rightly received the plaudits from previous critics for their superb performance against Dinamo Zagreb in last night's Europa Cup victory, but it was the exploits of the defence, snuffing out what is normally a formidable Dinamo attack, that played a strong second fiddle.

Without wanting to unduly criticise Craig Dawson, who was one of the players that were instrumental in helping Hammers to their sixth place finish in the Barclays Premier League and subsequent qualification for the group stages proper of the Europa League Cup, new £30 Million signing Kurt Zouma is a definite upgrade.

Zouma's pace and power, combined with a cool experienced match day head puts him on a different level to Dawson, he marshalled the back line with aplomb in what was a very competitive game, all of which augers rather well for his French compatriot Issa Diop. Although the 'Og' (Angelo Ogbonna) is still the main man, he is getting on a bit and will eventually need replacing. Now that David Moyes has Zouma to rely on as well as Ogbonna, he can start to 'rebuild' Issa diop for the future, Diop was superb for the club when he first arrived from Toulouse, leading to Jose Mourinho famously referring to Diop as a 'monster' in defence, adding well done to whoever found him, however the young Frenchman lost his way eventually and found himself out of favour with David Moyes.

A bout of Covid occurred just as he had fought his way back into the first team and subsequently was unable to regain his place alongside Angelo Ogbonna, being kept out by the inform Craig Dawson. Last night proved that Diop CAN regain his mojo, playing alongside Zouma he already began to look like the super athlete that he used to be and was able to bring the ball out of defence quite well, he did make a couple of errors, but considering the quality of the opposition he did really well.

Having Diop firing on all cylinders will be pleasing for David Moyes, the manager may still leave Diop on the bench for certain games, but don't be surprised if Diop features in the starting line up with increasing regularity. An in form Diop also gives Moyes the option of playing three at the back with Aaron Cresswell and Vladimir Coufal operating as wing backs but becoming part of a five at the back when needed.

Diop was an expensive acquisition when he arrived at the club, but his value soared much higher and then plummeted, fortunately he is young and just like Pablo Fornals is capable of learning from those around him, those two players as well as Lukasz Fabianski are the only two 1st team players that have been retained by David Moyes from the Pellegrini era, they are still here for a reason!

Bit by bit David Moyes, his staff and his players are building a team with a capital T, even the majority share holder has gone quiet, although that may have something to do with events off the pitch, nevertheless the doom sayers have taken a break, at least until Sundays Sky Ronaldo fest!

It's a happy time to be a Hammer, enjoy it and soak up the experience, some of us have waited an awful long time for it!- Ed

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Comprehensive In Croatia

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 16/09/2021 - 21:44

West Ham went into what on paper was their hardest Europa Cup group stage fixture as an unknown quantity, well they are a known one now. David Moyes was 'forced' to alter his original game plan for the match due to Michail Antonio's red card against Southampton and the player's subsequent lack of availability for the crucial fixture double header against Ronaldo United.

Michail Antonio showed just how much he is going to be missed by putting in an 'Antoniosque' performance, he occupied as many as FOUR defenders at a time! It was Big Mikey's massive presence that helped unsettle the Dinamo Zagreb defenders and midfielders from the off, the panic and fouls they resorted to were testimony to just how much they were bullied.

Antonio latched on to a 'Lingard' like back pass and stole the goal that put Hammers ahead in a first half that David Moyes' well drilled team dominated. The second half was always going to be different, after all the home team are regular Champions League qualifiers and perennial winners of their domestic league, in other words they are no mugs.

Dinamo began the 2nd half like a team that had been given a good rollicking by their manager, as their approach was far more on the front foot which was initially a bit of a test for what was an almost full strength Hammers team. However the centre back pairing of Diop and Zouma were superb as they snuffed out the opposition, their pairing could form the basis of a central defence partnership that could serve the club for years to come.

When Alphonse Areola finally takes over between the sticks he might become a third of a French defensive triumvirate, and that's excluding French speaking Authur Masuaku and Said Benrahma, sacre bleu! Moyes may have sacrificed the Ronaldo fest game by selecting so many first team players tonight, but it was important to make a 'European' statement and that is exactly what they did.

Winning the group is essential in order to avoid the teams that drop down from the Champions League, so tonight's victory was really important if Hammers are to progress further than just the group stage. A comprehensive professional performance from a West Ham team who looked the polar opposite of the team that 'appeared' against the Saints.

Declan Rice's superb solo effort won the game for The Irons just as the home team were exerting some sustained pressure, having robbed an attacking midfielder Decs slalomed his way the length the pitch before nutmegging the keeper. What a fine result for Hammers first proper Euro outing in a generation, it is to be hoped that there are no incidents involving fans in Zagreb tonight, because it is a beautiful city and it was a beautiful result. - Ed

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Live Dinamo v West Ham Line Ups

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 16/09/2021 - 16:46

Dinamo: Livakovic, Sutalo, Lauritsen,Théophile-Catherine, Ristovski, Ademi (c), Misic, Franjic, Ivanusec, Petkovic, Orsic Subs: Zagorac(GK), Moharrami, Stefulj, Gojak, Andric, Tolic, Bulat, Juric, Baturina, Dilaver, Menalo, Spikic
West Ham: Fabiański, Fredericks, Zouma, Diop, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Vlašić, Fornals, Lanzini, Antonio Subs: Areola (GK), Randolph (GK), Coufal, Johnson, Masuaku, Ogbonna, Dawson, Noble, Král, Benrahma, Yarmolenko, Bowen

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Ere Wig Ho!

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Thu, 16/09/2021 - 15:27

It's been a long long time, but the West Ham bandwagon is back on the road, a fresh lick of paint and a new ticket was all that was needed to fire up the Atkins transport coach that had been mothballed for forty years!
Those who are old enough to remember will have conveniently forgotten some of the poorer excursions and will choose only to remember the great European nights of old.

It is rather fitting that 'old school' David Moyes should be in charge of the Irons for theDinamo Zagreb fixture this afternoon, whether his approach will be old school is another matter entirely, will he start all his new boys? Or will he elect caution as part of his game mode?

We'll find out pretty soon because the team sheets will be available in around an hour and a half, Mark Noble has been mooted as a surprise starter, the idea being that his experience of big match occasions will offset his waning abilities to perform at elite level.

For once the stress element involved in watching West Ham due to the fact that the Dinamo game is one of six in the group, this means any bad results can be overcome eventually, of course it would be preferable to gain a victory in Zagreb, but even a draw would be OK against what is the strongest team in the group, apart from West Ham that is! - ED Team sheets to follow at 16:45 hrs

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the devil and the deep blue sea

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Submitted by mcbikeman on Thu, 16/09/2021 - 11:25

So its finally arrived the day we start our European adventure and already i see little quotes of how tough it will be on the squad need to rotate because of the fixture congestion..well excuse me but we all new that and the club had all summer long to do something about it so whatever side we put out tonight i do not want to hear any whinging from the club because we play Manure twice in a matter of days as to why we put this side out or that side out.....our best chance of getting the holy grail of champions league footy is this competition so i do not want Moyes and co to start thinking lets play weaker side here strongest available sunday then another for tuesday....Play the game in front of you not the one after that.....winning and losing is part of the game as fans we know that and every fan of every club accepts it so lets give it a go and stop leaking players tired/sore legs/travel/times/etc etc.....all i ask as a fan is whoever pulls on a West Ham shirt gives it there all for the game they are playing and not hold back because they have another game 3 days later.....

Haller Scores Four!

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 15/09/2021 - 22:32

Wouldn't you Adam & Eve it? Hammers reject Sebasien Haller embarked on a one man demolition of Sporting Lisbon on their home patch by scoring FOUR goals in Ajax's 5-1 victory. Having lost £25 Million in the sale of the Frenchman to the Dutch club west Ham will at least be grateful there is a 25% sell on clause in Haller's contract.

Haller is a case of what might have been, devoid of confidence he was a fish out of water, he is now playing like the £45 Million player he was supposed to be when he was signed by Pellegrini. What conclusion to draw is difficult, Haller is definitely NOT the first player to arrive at a club for big money and then fail miserably, only to join another club and prosper.

Seeing Haller hitting the heights is especially painful when contemplating Hammers lack of ANY striker for Sunday's Ronaldo media love fest! - Ed

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The Stats Say It All

Submitted by Louis Nixon on Wed, 15/09/2021 - 12:39

During the summer transfer window much attention was paid to West Ham United's search for a striker, a search that ultimately proved to be unsuccessful. However although the need for a striker was blatantly obvious, the need for strengthening the defence was equally as important, to that purpose David Moyes signed Kurt Zouma from Chelsea in a bid to stop the club leaking goals.

Only two teams have scored more goals in the Barclays Premier League this season, but only one other in the top ten has conceded more! Hammers have 'got away with it so far due to a kind fixture list, now that is all about to change. Although he performed no worse than any of the other players during Hammers lack lustre outing to Southampton, Craig Dawson looks a shadow of the player he was last season. As we have mentioned before, maybe his lack of pace has been found out by opposing players who now know all they have to do is run at him at speed.

The cards are already poorly stacked for David Moyes ahead of Sunday's clash with 'Ronaldo' United, losing your only striker is bad enough, but having to face the 'Portugeezer' with Dawson as one of the centre backs is a frightening proposition.

Moyes has to play Zouma instead of Dawson for the League fixture, but he has to decide who plays on Thursday against Dinamo Zagreb. The home team would rather fancy themselves against Dawson as opposed to Zouma, but asking Zouma to play Thursday and then on Sunday might be perfectly acceptable to the player, but is it wise?

Defeat against Zagreb wouldn't be the end of the World, it wouldn't be ideal, but there would still be a good chance of redemption during the remaining five group games, whereas getting tonked by the visitors on Sunday would have a massively detrimental impact.

Of course there is every chance Manchester could go on and win Sunday' fixture irrespective of who plays for The Irons, but the nature of the game whatever the result will dictate how Hammers season is going to progress. The Southampton game aside, scoring hasn't been a problem, defending has, sort the leaky defence and the rest will take care of itself. - LN

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Was It Just A Flash In The Pan?

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Submitted by nevillenixon on Wed, 15/09/2021 - 09:31

Thursday evening's fixture against Dinamo Zagreb will provide a firm indication as to whether West Ham have 'turned the corner' or are still the underperforming mismanaged 'sleeping giant' they always have been since the glory days of the sixties.

Fans who think Zagreb are going to be a walkover might wish to remember it was Zagreb who tonked 'Tottingham' last season, they are by far the strongest competition in Hammers Europa League group and will be backed by a boisterous home crowd at what will be a packed Stadion Maksimir.

The breathalyzer checks made on supporters on entry might go some way to curb the enthusiasm of the home crowd, but only a spirited away performance from the Irons will quieten the home fans properly. Irrespective of which team David Moyes selects, the players will definitely know they have been in a game after 90 minutes of what will probably be a fiercely contested tie.

West Ham have dropped four points in their first four Barclays Premier League games, not bad but not good either, the Europa Cup fixture swiftly followed by the Manchester United double header and the game against Leeds, will show more clearly if last season's success was merely a flash in the pan, or the beginning of something quite special that can be built on for the future.

West Ham fans have spent far too long dwelling on the past because there appeared to be no future, well there is one now and we are about to discover just how much of one there is! -Ed

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