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West Ham fans around the Globe hope, ney pray that new boys Bowen and Soucek will provide the extra bounce to inspire the beleagured Irons to safety. One of the most talked about issues, apart from the glaring defensive problems, is the form of the misfiring Sebastian Haller, he is undoubtedly an excellent finisher, but requires 5 star service in order to get his job done. It is as if Haller is so used to dining at the Ritz that he has forgotten how to push himself in to the front of the queue at Witherspoon's!

Hopefully 'Chicken Kiev' will be able to have a word in his shell like, with the aid of an interpreter of course due to Haller's impeccable English, someone, especially like Kevin Nolan needs to show a big strapping lad like Haller how to 'remind' centre backs who's the boss and also when and where to 'fall over'.

Haller is enigmatic in that you know somewhere within that stoic frame lurks a really good footballer, but it seems like he went in to hibernation the very first time the now sacked 'El Pel' dropped him from the team, he HAS to step up to the plate, there is no reason he shouldn't, perhaps he and Issa Diop need to do a bit of 'froggy' bonding in order to bring out the 'Beast' that is simmering away inside Haller.

The time has come for Haller to be a man, put himself about and act like the defender's nightmare that he should be, Manuel Pellegrini's insistance on not adapting his system to incorporate Haller's unique qualities was tantamount to managerial suicide, of course aided and abbetted by the appalling Roberto that is what eventuallly happened.

Haller went in to Hibernation, it is time for him to step out and prove that he is not a flop, or 'fiasco' when translated to French! - Ed

In the interest of 'proper' journalism, we should state chickens can't actually fly, this information being particularly pertinent to those educated in recent years who learn all their information and life skills from the Internet! Former club captain Kevin Nolan has returned after five years as an assistant first team coach, the 37 year old Geordie scored 31 goals in 157 appearances for the Irons between 2011 and 2015 before being released by mutual agreement. He then worked as a player manager at both Leyton Orient and Notts County.

Nolan's deal is initially just until the end of the season, as is the deal offered and accepted by 50 year old Paul Nevin. Nevin coached at Brighton, Fulham and Norwich before joining the Gareth Southgate's England coaching staff until June 2019.

"Both have a wealth of experience in the game," said manager David Moyes. "I'm sure they will make a very positive contribution between now and the end of the season. Kevin obviously knows the club very well having played here previously, while Paul's coaching pedigree is excellent. It has taken some time to finalise the coaching staff, but I wanted to make sure I brought in the right people to help us, and both Kevin and Paul are fantastic additions."

Ever the politically adroit, Moyes did neglect to mention that he 'initially' would have preferred Stuart Pearce to join him, however that move was vetoed by the Hammers hierarchy because 'Psycho' was deemed to have 'bit the hand that feedeth' by openly criticising the board while guesting on 'Talkshite' radio. Moyes also conveniently omitted mentioning that another ex-hammer, Joe Cole, was unable to reach 'suitable' terms with which to join the coaching staff.

'Captain Kev' has obviously been brought in to be the 'shouter', whereas Nevin will be the quiet methodical 'nice cop', given that the next two fixtures away to Manchester City and Liverpool are already perceived as write offs, the two new staff members will have to obviate the fall out from what will most likely be two negative results and pick the players up for the crucial matches that follow the City and Pool games.

David Moyes has been coaching with only Alan Irvine to assist him since he rejoined the club, so the addition of Nolan and Nevin will surely help with the work load, some attention to the art of defending wouldn't go amiss to start with.

We wish Kev and Paul all the best, they are going to need it! - Ed

Since his arrival at the London Stadium for the second time, David Moyes has had a chance to run the rule over the players available to him, from the first team to the youth set ups, and one glaringly obvious stance is that many do not measure up to his standards.

Several youth players have been sent out on loan, earmarked for the future, but several 'high profile' youngsters have been 'let go' or moved on for little or no money in order to create space for new arrivals.

Prolific U 23 goal scorer Anthony Scully was allowed to loin Lincoln City, Martin Samuelsen signed for Hull City, Joe Powell to Burton Albion and Dan Potts signed for Luton Town. Four young players that there were high hopes for, alas it was not to be for them and others like Sead Haksabanovic. Were they just not good enough or does Moyes demand more than just potential?

The reality is that the once famous academy has been starved of funds for a long while, partly due to David Sullivan's 'obsession' regarding the paltry settlements clubs are due as compensation when a club 'steals in' and grabs one of their assets that they have nurtured for years!

The thing is the same rule applies for everyone, so for every Hammers youngster lost there tends to be a quid pro quo, Declan Rice and Nathan Holland are prime examples of 'snapping up' other club's youth players, from Chelsea and from Everton in their cases.

Moyes' underlying plan seems to be to start at the beginning and try to get a balanced squad operating on all levels, rather than the 'flair' that his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini nurtured. West Ham United may be the 18th biggest club in the World, but the club's inability to generate income by wheeling and dealing it's youth players is one of the reasons the squad is so imbalanced.

Most other clubs, including the so called 'elite' clubs, manage to sell at least one player a season at a vast profit, the funds from which they then use for other player acquisitions, Hammers haven't ever done that in recent memory, it is a vital element of the way a modern football club should be run. The club has squandered huge amounts of money in the past on has beens or the perpetually injured looking for a final pay day, until that ethos changes West Ham United will not move forward, the danger is how far backwards the club slides before a radical rethink? - Ed