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Moyes last stand
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After a crushing defeat last Sunday to a Villa team in the form of their lives. Then a dismal, lacklustre performance with a much changed side resulting in yet another defeat to Olympiacos. Moyes & his team go into Sunday's game with an Everton side mourning the loss of their Chairman and looking to put on a display.
Anything other than 3 points will see Moyes with his back on the ropes. The question is whether Moyes will be Moyesand stick with his tactics & favourable. Or will he twist? A defeat here and poor results against Arsenal & a Brentford team who seem to have turned the corner will surely put Moyes on thin ice. If not through it.
Moyes needs to look at his squad. There are players there who should not be anywhere near the bench let alone starting. There are players there who need to be given a chance.
Is this Moyes last stand? Will Moyes face his Waterloo? He's in the bunker. Will he pull the trigger?
All change
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Moyes the conundrum that the board cannot find an answer to but they will have to come January.
His contracts up in the summer many say it should of been this summer but Sullivan decided as he won the trophy i am not going to pay this man off let him see out his contract then we shall see.
It IMO was the wrong decision as we were on the up and a very appealing project for a progressive manager who could sort out the few problems we had in the squad.
Now forward to next summer i think you will find we will not of won a trophy domestic or European and will not of qualified for Europe the following season.
Nostradamus i am not but with the way Moyes continues to manage the squad and the way he gets us to play i honestly do not see any other future than i have just mentioned.
All that happens who then would be prepared to take us on as a project? we would not look as attractive and the better players will start to push for moves away and back to square one we go.
Does anyone believe the board have a plan? are we looking for Moyes replacement now? i do not think we are and ever will be its the Ant and Grasshopper fable if you ask me.
So who would you like to have as our next manager and who do you really think we will get?
Cunn'Ings' Plan Failed Badly!
Was it complacency or sheer blindness that led David Moyes to select Danny Ings as a starter against Olympiacos? Whatever the reasoning for the 'cunning' plan was, it failed miserably! Why on earth Moyes didn't hook the out of sorts Ings at half time is beyond most fans comprehension.
Having missed two clear cut chances and being ridiculously off the pace it is a wonder Moyes waited until near the bitter end to replace Ings with someone who could actually run! Villa must be laughing their heads off that Hammers actually PAID good money for Ings, instead of them paying West Ham to take him off their hands.
Possibly the worst signing the club has ever made, at least in recent years. Mind you, the rest of the starting line up hardly covered themselves in glory, as the wholesale changes made by Moyes were exposed cruelly by the home side. Angelo Ogbonna virtually guaranteed that he will NOT be offered another contract with the Irons because he was dreadful, an own goal to compound the awful error he made in the last round against Freiburg has surely sealed his fate, time and again we was left for dust by the Greek forwards who appeared to have the complete run of the pitch in the 1st half and most of the 2nd half.
Only when Moyes brought on the 'heavy guns' did Hammers look like getting anything at, but it was too late for Paqueta, Antonio and Bowen to really influence the game with the home side being 2-0 up and the crowd urging them on. A superb Pacman strike, a glorious volley gave Hammers a sniff, but the home side were well schooled in the dark arts of time wasting and saw the game out with a series of feigned injuries and other 'stuff'.
On the balance of it, Olympiacos fully deserved their victory and West Ham did too little too late, was it over confidence? Was Moyes trying to put 'Uncle Ingy' into the shop window to see if anyone is stupid enough to sign him? We will probably never know, but tonight was a shambles and the whole team knows it, so do the Management and staff.
It was a poor way to end a record breaking run in Europe, this Sunday's game will be key to showing how much 'get go' Hammers really have, 'Moysie' needs to take a deep breath and blame himself as much as his players because of his dreadfully cock eyed team selection for what could have been a confidence restoring performance, instead it bodes badly for the weekend when the visitors will be 'cranked up' to put on a real display in honour of Bill Kenwright. - Ed

Live Olympiacos v West Ham Line Ups
Olympiacos:Paschalakis, Rodinei, Porozo, Retsos, Ortega, Alexandropoulous, Camara, Hezze, Podence, El Kaabi, Fortounis. (C) Subs: Tzolakis (GK), Papadoudis (GK), Scarpa, El-Arabi, Vrousai, Quini, Masouras, João Carvalho, Pep Biel, Jovetić, Solbakken
West Ham: Areola, Kehrer, Mavropanos, Ogbonna (C), Emerson, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Benrahma, Kudus, Fornals, Ings. Subs: Anang (GK), Cresswell, Johnson, Zouma, Aguerd, Alvarez, Cornet, Paqueta, Bowen, Antonio, Mubama

Moyes Saddened But Focused
As he prepares to take his team into the anticipated Olympiacos cauldron, David Moyes took time to pay homage to Bill Kenwright.
"It’s incredibly sad news about Bill Kenwright. He was a wonderful man.
He gave me a big opportunity in my career. He took me when I was a young manager in a lower league and gave me a job in the Premier League. He was brilliantly supportive. I couldn’t have had a better Chairman as a young coach.
When I look at modern football nowadays and how difficult it is for many young managers to make their way, Bill Kenwright was great to work with. We had great times over eleven years with him and we had some successful moments.
He’ll be sadly missed and his whole family know how I feel. I’m really disappointed that Bill has left us".
Ironically Hammers play Everton this Sunday in London in what will be an emotionally charged game, fans will be asked to 'respect' Kenwright with 2 minutes applause to celebrate the 77 year old's achievements in the game and in the entertainment industry where he was well respected.
Some Everton fans will have feelings of deep regret as to the way they treated Kenwright in the latter years of his tenure at the club he dearly loved. He was just unable to bring his dreams to fruition during his lifetime. That said it is to be hoped that Hammers show respect but then take to the field wanting to 'show' that Kenwright's decision to give David Moyes his big break in top flight management was the correct one and that they achieve the result that the home fans want, but with a nod to Bill's past.
It will be a difficult game because ALL the Everton players will want to show their respect with a dominant performance! Of course ahead of Sunday's fixture their is the Europa League game in Greece to deal with, a positive result in Athens tonight would mean Moyes and his staff will be able to concentrate on righting the club's faltering domestic campaign ahead of the next International useless break! - Ed
NB: Apparently things were relatively quiet in Athens last night ahead of the game, but the bulk of Hammers fans travelling to the capital will be arriving this afternoon, hopefully on their best behaviour!

Plan B Might Become Moyes' Plan A
Playing Olympiacos just a few days after getting 'Tempurad' by Villa can be seen as a chance of a quick redemption, or as a further drain on what looked like a 'leggy' 1st team, or a chance for David Moyes to implement a plan 'B' that might form part of his future plan 'A'!
Unfortunately Emerson is banned for the next domestic home game against Everton on Sunday, so he will definitely feature against the Greek giants (literally). Dino, or Stan the Man Mavropanos, whichever moniker you like to give him will surely start given his Greeky descendancy.
Up front the extremely leggy and off the boil Mikey Antonio must be 'rested' and replaced by either Divin Mubama or Mo Kudus, Ings is so slow that he might as well be on another planet! Olympiacos are a very decent team, especially at home although they were beaten at home in their last Europa league tie. Their crowd could be described as boisterous to be kind or down right intimidating to be more honest, although their intimidation is usually reserved for domestic local derbies.
Moyes will try to rest Zouma given the defender's propensity to pick up knee injuries around this part of the season, meaning Aguerd will probably start in front of Fabianski and alongside Stan the man, with Emerson to his left and Kehrer to his right.
The rest of the team virtually picks itself, so the starting line up will probably be: Fabianski, Kehrer, Aguerd, Mavropanos, Emerson, Alvarez, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Pacqueta, Bowen, Kudus. Moyes might elect to use Benrahma, Fornals or even Divin Mubama as starters, but he s not known for taking too many risks, especially as this fixture could put the 'group to bed' as far as Hammers are concerned.
An early evening kick off (17:45 BST) might mean a few fans missing the start of the game on their way back from work, those lucky enough to be in attendance at the actual game should be aware of the local Police forces lack of tolerance to public drunkenness and extremely archaic views on class C drug consumption with massive fines and possible jail sentences for what some in the UK might consider to be 'just a little bit of puff'.
So a word of advice given by our old Greek correspondent Pavlos Skouvis "If it's brown you can flush it down, if it's green it doesn't need to be seen, it can be smelled from a mile away by the very well trained sniffer dogs they have at Athens airport"
Moyes will have to 'balance his act' knowing Hammers slide down the Premier League table urgently needs to be addressed on Sunday against his old team, no one said it was going to be easy competing in Europe and domestically, but it is the club's THIRD year in Europe on the spin and a lot of the unseen logistical work is a well oiled machine nowadays, something that needs to be lauded and applauded.
Even a draw on Thursday would be a good result, it is to be hoped that Hammers faltering domestic campaign will be given a much needed fillip on the night, and heaven knows, maybe Moysie will let some fresh blood on the pitch, and NOT from head injuries! - Ed

Pacman!! Jekyll or Hyde??
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OK, with Halloween fast approaching it got me thinking about the frustration I feel over Paqueta in general. This has definitely come on this season, as he has been a much bigger figure in the side.
I know I dug him out about his play acting. Of which we never saw any yesterday against the Villa. Maybe somebody has had a word? But the showboating is just as bad now.
Maybe it's a Brazilian culture thing? Maybe he believes his own hype now, since City came in for him. All I see now is him doing more attention seeking with his on field antics.
Now I'm not digging him out just because of his ridiculous holding onto the ball, looking for the fancy dan pass, that lead to Villas penalty. I've seen this more regularly now in games, it really boils my piss. He won't take the simple option, he's looking to be fouled, but more often than not, loses the ball. A scholar of the Jack Grealish school of how to win fouls he sure aint.
There is no doubt he is one heck of a player, he wins us games with his unlocking of defence splitting passes. He is one of the first names on the teamsheet and how he was not given the Captains armband is beyond me. I mean Zouma, come on don't get me started.
Paqueta works his socks off every game. We love to see that as Irons fans, he is an amazing talent. But please leave all the other shit at home. Know when and when not turn on the Ole's please Paqueta!! Jeckyll and Hyde it sure is at the moment.
Live Villa v West Ham Line Ups
Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Luiz, McGinn (c), Diaby, Watkins, Zaniolo. Subs: Olsen, Carlos, Tielemans, Traore, Chambers, Lenglet, Bailey, Dendoncker, Kellyman.
West Ham: Areola, Coufal, Zouma (c), Aguerd, Emerson, Alvarez, Ward-Prowse, Soucek, Bowen, Antonio, Paqueta. Subs: Fabianski, Fornals, Kudus, Mavropanos, Ings, Ogbonna, Benrahma, Kehrer, Mubama.

Darrenharry
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What on earth has happen to D H ???
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