Now that the A&E departments near Hammers supporters homes have recovered from the influx of potential heart attack victims they had to deal with, we can look back at an 'eventful' London Derby between the Irons and newly promoted Fulham FC.
It is one thing to be the 'plucky underdog' and play well against 'top teams' by digging in with a game plan, it is another thing entirely when playing against 'lesser' opposition who adopt the same 'siege' mentality, such games require a plan B, or sometimes even a plan C.
Hammers laboured to break down a stubborn and obdurate Fulham team who's league position does not really do them justice, managed by former Hammer of the Year Scott Parker the visitors possess a squad that contains some superb players, none more so than their keeper Alphonse Areola who is on loan from French Champions PSG.
Areola pulled of a string of remarkable saves,on another day Hammers could have run out 6-1 winners, not only did the keeper play out of his skin, but the post and the bar also contributed to keep the score down, first Haller hit the bar, followed by Cresswell's superb free kick that Areola tipped on to the bar.
David Moyes has done his best to get all 'touchy feely' with record £45 Million signing Sebastien Haller, and indeed his perseverance seems to have paid off a little because the towering Ivory Coast International did actually run about with far more vigour, he even began 'bullying' the opposition's defenders, and about time!
Haller is off to play his first games for his new International team and will be hopeful of doing well in a team that has some really useful players, unfortunately when he returns from his International duties Haller willmore than likely be confronted with his nemesis, Big Mich Antonio!
If fully fit, Antonio is so much more dynamic and such a hand full for the opposition to contend with that he will always be selected ahead of his French counterpart, after all David Moyes did not sign Sebastien Haller, but he does have a reputation for 'turning players around', Authur Masuaku, Aaron Cresswell and of course Michail Antnio have all benefitted from Moyes' intervention.
Just how long Moyes will afford Haller is up for debate, Moyes obviously 'sees' something in the player, but as yet has not been able to unlock his full potential, and before it is mentioned, NO, changing the blossoming and successful system that he has put in place just to accommodate Haller would be foolhardy and detrimental to the team's ambitions of finishing in the top half of the table, maybe even knocking at the door of the Europa League qualification spots.
They say a Leopard cannot changed it's spots, well Haller is no Leopard, and while he may resemble a giraffe, he CAN change his spots, IF he puts an effort in, if he doesn't we reckon he will be long gone by the end of the January transfer window.
One negative from what was an enthralling, but equally terrifying match was the injury sustained by Angelo Ogbonna which had been inflicted on him by Fulham striker Alexander Mitrovic who himself sustained a hamstring in the process, the pair had been engaged in a long running battle during the game, and it was Mitrovic's injured hamstring that prevented him from his penalty taking role, and we all know what was the result of his absence was don't we? 'Look the other way Man' tried to bamboozle an old salt like Fabianski with a 'penanka' that the Hammers keeper gratefully scooped out of the air as if he was playing football in the back garden with his youngest son.
We refer back to the 'seminal' 3-3 draw attained against Tottenham as the turning point, Hammers teams of old would have crumbled, but the resilient Moyes 2.0 version didn't, the never say die performance on that day at White Hart Lane was a turning point, it set the bench mark for future games and the squad have not looked back since, and it showed by the lateness of the eventual winner, this team that David Moyes is building doesn't know when it is beaten.
Long may it continue- Ed
