Forum | General Discussion

Irrespective of where the club eventually finishes in the Barclays Premier League, one of the first orders of business in the closed season is for David Moyes to acquire a 'top notch' striker. The problem is strikers are like gold dust and their price reflects that, having already been 'linked' with Tammy Abraham, Ivan Toney, Abdallah Sima, Adam Hlozek, Adam Armstrong, Youssef En-Nesyri and Odsonne Edouard, the choice seems endless, but is it?

Who ever arrives at the London Stadium has got some pretty big boots to fill, Mikey Antonio proved once again how devastating he can be as a forward in scoring his brace against Burnley last night, he did miss a couple of sitters as well though. Now if Antonio's hamstrings weren't serial offenders, he would probably be the League's top scorer or thereabouts, unfortunately he is never going to be available for more than half of the games throughout the season, and so the need for his 'replacement' is critical.

The problem is there aren't ANY strikers similar to Michail Antonio clearly available, his game play is unique and there isn't a single defender who relishes playing against him, he literally bullies them! Who ever arrives at the London Stadium will need to be the polar opposite of Sebastien Haller, 'Le Sulk' was sold on to Ajax for a £20 Million loss, such was David Moyes's desire to remove Haller's negativity, lack of pace and lack of strength from his team.

Haller's absence was covered by the arrival of Jesse Lingard, although not an out and out striker, his energy was exactly what was needed for the team, since his arrival results have been superb, especially given the amount of injuries that finally started to accrue.

Moyes will probably adhere to his 'Red Bull' policy of young and hungry, as opposed to old and past it, it seems a very simple concept, but one that has alluded West Ham's recruiting system up to now. For too long West Ham has been the final destination for players who are past their prime, they have usually been injury prone and have all arrived on massive wages, this has to stop, and will do as David Moyes looks pretty determined to push his blue print through.

The financial ramifications of the Covid pandemic are still filtering through company accounts, and West Ham just as every other club have been hard hit, but maybe fans don't need 'big name' players, preferring those who are prepared to put a shift in and are hungry to progress by buying into Moyes's plan. - Ed

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee (c), Taylor, Brownhill, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Wood, Vydra Subs: Peacock-Farrell (GK), Norris (GK), Gudmundsson, Barnes, Stephens, Rodriguez, Peters, Bardsley, Dunne
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Cresswell (c), Souček, Fornals, Lanzini, Benrahma, Lingard, Antonio Subs: Randolph (GK), Trott (GK), Fredericks, Johnson, Alves, Balbuena, Coventry, Bowen, Odubeko

Ahead of what has become an increasingly important fixture against Burnley at Turf Moor this evening, Hammers coach David Moyes has been exercising his injuries poker face. He has already miss led certain sections of the media with his ambiguous comments as to the fitness of Mikey Antonio, Aaron Cresswell, Authur Masuaku and finally Declan Rice!

The only 'concrete' bit of information regarding player availability is that 'Les' Dawson has served his one match ban, and will be in the squad, other than that you will need to have played poker with David Moyes in order to ascertain if he is telling porkies, or if he is just unable to confirm or deny who will play as he has to wait on late fitness tests for the plethora of players already mentioned.

Hammers lack of strength has obviously emerged to haunt the club, so there is no point in banging on about it as we are where we are and nothing is going to change the situation. Moyes has ducked, dived and shuffled his pack admirably, but he is down to the bare 'harry's' and has no room for manoeuvre.

Hammers unlikely push for Europe could finally be derailed this evening, but it won't be for a lack of trying, perhaps the footballing gods are the only option for Moyes....therefore let us pray! - Ed