Forum | General Discussion

Life as a West Ham fan has been pretty miserable for some time now, with the side plodding along in the Premier League. The raucous atmosphere of Upton Park has gone, the fans have turned on the board and we don’t have the finances to compete with most mid-table teams in the Premier League – never mind the top six.

However, whilst the anger towards the owners won’t disappear, there are finally reasons for positivity on the pitch, with things finally coming together under David Moyes.

Rodgers on West Ham: “The focus is on West Ham, it was a great win [vs Man City] but we have to move on quickly. I’m confident the longer David Moyes is there, the more they will grow”

The 57-year-old’s return as boss of the Hammers was understandably underwhelming to the majority of the support. The Scotsman hasn’t done much in management since leaving Everton for Manchester United seven years ago and whilst he kept West Ham up in 2018, the football was uninspiring. Therefore, many saw this as an unambitious appointment for a club that supposedly has hopes of breaking into the top ten and then pushing on. The fact that the Londoners are still 4/1 in the latest football betting odds to get a top-half finish shows the scale of the task facing the team to do that this season and demonstrates how the club has drifted in recent years. Yet, the 3-4-3 formation that Moyes has settled on gives reason for optimism moving forward. Firstly, and most importantly, it seems to have eased any major concerns that the team had defensively. That extra body at the back has made the Hammers tough to beat and that defensive unit is superbly protected by the physical Tomas Soucek and the outstanding Declan Rice. Another way this formation change has helped is by getting the most out of Michail Antonio, who has quite simply been unplayable at times this season. His performances in the 4-0 thrashing of Wolves at the London Stadium and the dominant 3-0 success at Leicester highlighted exactly what he is all about.

The 30-year-old has pace, power and is a willing worker – exactly what you want from a lone striker and he also scores goals. Plus, his ability to bring others into play means Jarrod Bowen is excelling and even Pablo Fornals is starting to come good. Of course, that’s not to say the Hammers squad is complete and a failure to invest sufficiently this summer means there is a lack of depth in key areas. And, that may cost the team further down the line as injuries play a part and the fixtures pile up. But, for now, the team looks as though it has a plan. They are well organised, playing for the badge and showing the sort of togetherness that the fans demand. As well as that, each win is just going to bring more confidence. Given the negative mood that has engulfed the club for some time now, Moyes and the players deserve huge credit for what they’ve done. Even though it’s important to not get too carried away, the early season form suggests that this campaign may not be full of the doom and gloom that many had feared would come.

The move to sign centre back Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen hasn’t come off, it is the latest in a long line of unsuccessful attempts to bring in reinforcements ahead of the transfer window closing this evening. David Moyes does still have other options available, therefore it is extremely unlikely that he will attempt to bring Watford’s Craig Dawson to the club, bringing Swansea’s Joe Rodon to the London Stadium is an option that the manager prefers.

Signing Dawson would send out all the wrong type of message, he is a decent centre back at Championship level, but far removed from everything David Moyes wants to achieve at West Ham with his 'young and hungry' template. Rodon, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish, the 22 year old made 21 Championship appearances for Swansea last season. In those games, he averaged one tackle, 1.6 interceptions and 5.4 clearances. The four-capped Wales international also won an average of 3.5 aerial duals per match.

Rodon is the real deal and would represent a major upgrade to the West Ham United squad, with the transfer window between Premier League and Championship clubs not closing until October 16th, there is still plenty of time remaining to do a deal. Swansea, quite rightly do not want to lose one of their star players, but money talks, especially during the fiscal meltdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Rodon won't come cheap, quality never does, however if Swansea are determined to hang on to their man and play hard ball, Moyes might just feel that he doesn't want to get involved in another 'Jamers Tarkowski' situation. It will not have escaped the Hammers' manager's radar that since being reintroduced to the team, Fabian Bulbuena has been in imperious form playing along side Angelo Ogbonna.

With Issa Diop available soon having had to self-isolate, and promising youngster Ajibola Alese desperate to step up to the plate, maybe the need for an additional centre back is not as intense as it once seemed, having already strengthened the right back situation, a back up left back and possibly an additional midfielder might be all the club needs to progress.

When clubs know that there is a real need for a player, they will exploit the potential purchasers budget to the nth degree because they know they can, it may not be a popular idea, but perhaps Moyes is better off keeping his powder dry rather than bringing in 'dead weight', just because there is a transfer kitty, albeit a tiny one, it doesn't mean you have to spend it no matter what. If deals go well, then fine, but if the 'hoops' that have to be jumped through prove too difficult, then wait and live to fight another day. - Ed