Forum | General Discussion

You wouldn't know it given some of the media coverage of the Barclays Premier League, but West Ham United are currently London's top team! Yes really, legitimately the top team in London, no issues regarding games in hands that London rivals might have, no nothing, just pure and simple the top of the pile in town.

Heading in to tomorrow's London derby against Fulham at Craven Cottage, Hammers occupy 5th spot in the League, the only fly in the ointment being the fact that recently vanquished Villa, and Everton DO have games in hand which, if won, would see them leapfrog the Irons up the table.

To be be genuinely ahead of Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham at this stage of the season is no mean feat, David Moyes, his back room staff and the players have 'shocked' the established order by daring to play and win with a freedom that, whisper it gently, is as close to the legendary 'West Ham Way' as is possible in modern day football.

Currently when West Ham perform well, there are certain sections of the media who will just not give the team the credit it deserves, instead referring to the opposition as 'having a bad day at the office', such lack of praise probably fuels what is already a burning desire to succeed and put certain 'mouths' in place.

One way of looking at things though, is that Moyes and company are more than happy to be looked down on by 'elite' clubs and their 'gorged on success' fans, just as long as he keeps winning, and that job continues tomorrow against Scotty Parker's Fulham who will be desperate for the points, as their position in the league is perilous with Sheffield United and other teams around them threatening a revival.

Hopes were dashed and dreams of Europe were brought down to earth with a bump following the team's abject surrender to Liverpool last Sunday, so all thoughts will now be on progressing in a similar way to the last game, NOT the one before which was a salient lesson in getting ahead of yourself.

Fulham will definitely be no push overs, as they have players like lookman who will be desperate to make amends for his 'lame' penalty against the Irons at the London Stadium, which effectively lost Fulham the points on offer. If Moyes can keep his players focused there is the possibility of moving as high as fourth in the table if other results go in the club's favour.

It's a long, long way the club has travelled since this time last year, and who knows how far the journey will go? At least enjoy it while it is happening, it's such a pity the fans cannot be at the 'taxpayer's folly' to witness the team in full flight, because despite the Stadium's obvious flaws, the place would be 'rocking' right now if fans were permitted to attend, and WHEN they do, perhaps they will appreciate Moyes and his team's achievements a little more than they did before the dreadful Covid-19 pandemic.- Ed

If they have their hands on hearts, most Hammers fans will admit they were surprised and fearful of the team David Moyes selected to take to the pitch against 'high flying' Aston Villa at Villa Park yesterday evening. Moyes, still smarting from the lesson dished out by Liverpool on Sunday, set his stall out, and the players performed exactly as he had instructed them, his 'spoiler' tactics against the preening ballerina, Jack Grealish, were a joy to behold. Bringing in full back Ryan Fredericks to help double up on the player Moyes himself dubbed 'one of the best players in the Barclays Premier League' was a masterstroke, Fredericks may lack technical ability but he does have pace to burn, an attribute he used to good effect throughout his time on the pitch.

Praise to Fredericks indeed, but the player who got under Grealish's skin, and in to the midfielder's head was Vlad 'the impaler' Coufal. He marked Grealish out of the game so effectively that the mobile head band was forced to try and operate on the opposite side of the pitch to avoid Coufal's 'close attention'. Nothing summed up the situation more than when Grealish tried to 'front up' Coufal following an energetic tackle by the Hammers defender, 'Vlad' just gave him an 'Ogbonna' stare and that was it, 'Jackie' turned to the Ref as if to say "look, that nasty thug just pushed me over", and the Ref, credit to him, just looked back as if to say "it's a man's game son, try playing like one!".

The annoying thing about Grealish is that he IS a brilliant football player who has massive potential for England, he just has to cut out all the crap, the screeching when tackled etc. Anyway, enough oh the hair banded one, what about Lingard? We hate to say "told you so", but we did, it was clearly obvious that Moyes's lack of signing a traditional forward meant that he was going to do one of his now famous conversions, and that is what he did by giving Jesse Lingard a starting berth, a unique decision bearing in mind the player's previous lack of game time, but it paid off handsomely.

Almost from the get go, Lingard linked up brilliantly with Said Benrahma and Big Mich Antonio, to a detached observer they looked as if they had been playing together for years! Their combined link up play was almost telepathic at times, as they ran Villa ragged, particularly in the 2nd half.

Villa did hit the outside of the post in the first half, and if that had gone in the outcome might have been different, but 'Tommy' Soucek ensured the Irons were first on the score sheet with one of his trademark runs from midfield, then Lingard opened his Hammers account with a deftly struck low shot. Villa did strike back via a pass from 'Jackie', but he did have to change the side of the pitch that he was on in order to provide it.

Some might say that Fabianski should have saved the effort that put Villa back in the game, however it was Villa's keeper who was the real 'villain', if Fabianski's goal conceded was soft, then Matinez's was super silk, he should have stopped Lingard's first goal but was beaten by the pace, he most definitely should have stopped Lingard's 2nd which he somehow let slip under his body, and all this from a 'top' keeper who had previously kept TEN clean sheets this season.

Hammer's defence was imperious, although 'Les' wasn't quite his usual reliable self, he gave the ball away on several occasions which is not like him, apart form that everyone to a man put a shift in, and essentially Villa were out thought, and out fought, the perfect remedy for 'Sunday Blues'! -Ed

Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Luiz, McGinn, El Ghazi, Barkley, Grealish, Watkins. Subs: Heaton, Traore, Trezeguet, Nakamba, Engels, Sanson, El Mohamady, Davis, Ramsey.
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Fredericks, Rice, Souček, Lingard, Benrahma, Antonio. Subs: Martin, Johnson, Diop, Balbuena, Fornals, Bowen, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Odubeko.

Any sympathy being felt for Hammers manager David Moyes should be tempered by the fact that he does receive a salary most fans can only dream of, he is also in a situation that has given him the chance to completely rebuild and re-invent himself as a Barclays Premier League manager of some distinction.

That said Moyes has operated with one hand behind his back when it comes to receiving financial backing from the board, however if viewed pragmatically things aren't quite as bad as they first seem. David Moyes has gone to great lengths to ensure that everyone knows that it is HE who is in charge of transfer targets, NOT David Sullivan.

Now anyone who has had any business dealings with David Sullivan, directly or indirectly, as has this writer, will confirm that 'Sully' is a control freak, which is nothing new for a self-made man. It must pain him considerably not to be seen in charge at the helm of the club, after all 'why did he become a football club owner in the first place?' he might argue.

Make no mistake, unless you are a de facto government or a dodgy regime trying to 'sportswash' other less than pleasant aspects of your country, owning a Barclays Premier League club is much more a 'vanity project' than a means of making money. Despite opinions to the contrary, Sullivan's 'investment' in West Ham would have yielded a far greater profit had it been channelled in to the property or stock market, but like other owners he takes a particular pleasure in arriving to take his VIP seat at the Stadium he presides over, in his case the London Stadium.

The main bone of contention regarding Sullivan is the move from the 'beloved Boleyn' to the London Stadium, had that not occurred how would fans be viewing Sullivan now? The answer is most likely with the same disdain as they have now, club owners are never popular and will rarely ever be, remember the Cairns family and how they milked the club dry for year after year, over seeing a policy of sell, sell, sell when it came to the Academy production line of talent, they sold of a whole generation of English talent including, Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard Jnr, Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe and a bunch of others who went on to do really well for other clubs.

So in a way David Moyes is stuck between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, because he needs to be at West Ham to cement his return to the elite managers of the League, so he has to put up with having no money to do it, much the same as it was for him at Everton.

Given time, and even just a little 'positive' funding, Moyes has the ability to work miracles, but then the Devil doesn't like the "M' word does he? - Ed