Forum | Non-Football Related

Having just steered his team through the incredibly challenging Christmas and New Year fixtures, culminating in the playing of three games in six days that yielded five points, David Moyes and his West Ham medical team now have the 'luxury' of seven whole days to refresh the squad, attend to 'niggles' and generally recharge the batteries.

Players like Hammers captain Declan Rice played every minute of every game during the congested fixture list, and most definitely looked a little jaded by the final game against Everton. Rice along with the rest of the team will have enjoyed FOUR full days off before returning to training at Rush Green, during their time off the entire Rush Green training facility is being deep cleansed as a Covid-19 precaution, and as result of a certain player breaking the strict regulations in place and not adhering to the protocols that had been established.

These 'heaven sent' seven days will enable 'Mikey' Antonio to ease his dodgy Hammy's back in to life, as well as giving David Moyes time to work on integrating Ben Johnson in to the left wing back berth that is usually occupied by Authur Masuaku.

Moyes, who is usually 'poker faced' when mentioning injuries to his players, has a soft spot for 'king authur' and let the cat out of the bag during his post match 'presser' by saying "we have achieved these recent results without 'Mikey' Antonio and without Authur". By choosing to mention Masuaku just by his first name, Moyes very briefly let his guard down by assuming that the millions watching on TV would know exactly who he was referring to.

So you see, Moyes does have a heart after all, it's just that he very rarely shows it, seven days of work, rest and peace will have him raring to go for the next phase of what could turn out to be a very interesting, and possibly excitng Barclays Premier League. - Ed

It has taken him 11 years, but David Moyes finally buried one of his 'ghosts' by beating his former club Everton in a dour but gritty win at Goodison which proved even to the most negative of Hammers fans that he is starting to 'build' something special. Moyes' achievement is even more special given the severe restrictions he has had to work under, Covid-19, no money, big mouth owners, and an imbalanced disparate and desperate squad.

Having been deemed a failure during his ten month tenure as Sir Alex Ferguson's successor at Manchester United, with a success rate that was equal to or better than the next three managers that were appointed after he was dismissed, Moyes desperately sort solace abroad in Spain, unfortunately that didn't work out as his Scots accent proved to difficult for the players to understand, really!

Moyes' ill-fated European adventure was then followed by an equally disastrous spell with a Sunderland team that was doomed to relegation from the moment he took over, after that Moyes contented himself with a bit of punditry, but being a canny Scot was still being paid 'gardening leave' by Manchester United for all the times he was not employed by other clubs!

Eventually Moyes was paid for the five year duration of his original contract at Old Trafford, so in a way he got his own back, but his stock plummeted during those years until redemption came in the form of a relegation threatened West Ham team that was crying out for some 'Moyse Management' techniques. The rest they say is history, Moyes saved the club from relegation and was promptly rewarded with a P45 courtesy of a Board who were eyeing 'bigger' prospects, and we all know how that particular adventure ended at the hands of Moyes' successor, Manuel Pellegrini.

Pellegrini and his director of football Mario Husillos then oversaw a disjointed and incredibly expensive recruitment drive for exotic 'big club mentality players', and ended up with mental ones like Roberto Gago! Finally after spending every penny and a whole lot more Pellegrini and Husillos got given the 'tin tack' and the Board had to go cap in hand to Moyes and ask him to rescue the club for the 2nd time around.

Fortunately the club's hierarchy were able to eat enough 'umble pie' to entice the 57 year old Scot back to the London Stadium where he swiftly set about 're-training' the squad that he had available to him, many of which he would not have touched with a barge pole had he been in charge of recruitment.

The players that have come in since 'Moyes' second coming' have been nothing short of a revelation, and the players he has shipped out know the score between themselves and their manager. There has also been the added joy of Moyes' 'gagging order' placed on the owners and their sycophants, which has led to the club being viewed in a different light, professional believe it or not, a word NOT associated with West Ham since the arrival over ten years ago by Messrs Gold and Sullivan as well as Priti Patel's evil Sun column writing elder sister.

Given the right backing, Moyes could oversee a serious assault for a European qualification place, a situation that must have the co-owners deeply regretting their over indulgence of the 'Pellegrinophile', they saw, they aimed, they missed! Moyes has all the tools in his locker to turn West Ham in to the club it has threatened to be for years, having no crowds present has given Moyes the 'honeymoon' of being able to set his team up to grind out results, a learning curve that is nigh on impossible in front of a full house of fans 'baying' for a bit of "Toro Toro Toro" whilst completely forgetting the need for clean sheets and defence in depth.

Moyes has only just begun, so. long as he is left to his own devices and given some fiscal support, he CAN make the club in to a constant success instead of a 'YO YO outfit. Keep it coming Moysie! - ed

As David Moyes prepares his team to face the last of the Christmas/New Year fixtures he reflected on how things have gone so far this season, and how he hopes for a continuation of what has been a very bright start despite only picking up 3 points in the last four games recently.

Moyes admitted that managing the fitness of 'Mikey' (Antonio) with his serious hamstring issues, is proving to be very difficult for the medical team, far more difficult than had originally been envisaged and as such Antonio has to be handled with kid gloves in an attempt at ensuring the player's availability, albeit in a more limited role than in the past.

The grim fact is Big Mikey's massive thigh muscles, combined with his 'explosive' bursts of speed, place an enormous strain on his hamstrings as a matter of course and there is no way he could possibly play all the season's fixtures. Moyes said "With Mikey I have to walk the line between wanting him to play, but also trying to have him available for as many games as possible, because without him we do tend to flounder, and have muddled through games recently".

So, not so much optimism from Moyes, but his pragmatic observation is appreciated by fans who already understand that Manuel Pellegrini, and the Board's previous recruitment profligacy, has come back to haunt the club big time. What Moyes could have done with the mind boggling expenditure that was sanctioned is hard to estimate, but you can bet your house on the fact that he would have done far better, and let's face it, he could hardly have done any worse!

The match against Everton today is being broadcast on BT, followed by the tricky FA Cup tie against Stockport, a game which is also being televised by BT in the hope of a giant killing, the likes of which West Ham have been prime providers of in the past. Next up after that is the home tie against Burnley, this game will be televised by Amazon, so for Hammers next three games, fans will be spared the droning of Alan Smith and all the 'top team' sycophants that work for Sky TV, what a result!

Hammers are missing Authur Masuaku and Michail Antonio big time, their lack of availability and the consequences of their loss are plain for all to see, the fact that the team has 'soldiered on' is testament to the team spirit that Moyes has engendered among his players. West Ham's hierarchy will also be aware that the club is paying the price for an entirely unbalanced recruiting program under the previous management, with the obvious need to economise 'turbo charged' by the fiscal effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

With the right investment during this window the club could reach European qualification, maybe unlikely, but there is a financial reward for how high the club finishes irrespective of European qualification, and that extra money would help recoup some of the 'minor' investment and expenditure required to push the club up the Barclays Premier League table. - Ed

When it comes to supporting West Ham, it can be considered a somewhat tumultuous task and with an uneasy relationship between fans and the board acting as an interesting sub-plot off the pitch, such friction has a habit of affecting what happens on the playing field.

To the point where last season protests within The London Stadium had spilled onto the pitch itself and with captain Mark Noble going as far as to say, that such an act was not welcomed by those connected to the club, it meant supporting this legendary outfit was becoming somewhat toxic.

With such a maelstrom brewing, there was the potential for the club to be severely hampered and if the fans worked against the players in pre-Covid times, there is every chance the East London outfit could have been operating in the Championship. However, one man seemed to understand the job in hand and that was David Moyes, who in his first stint made sure the Hammers kept their heads when it mattered and more importantly, kept their Premier League status.

Which is why it was something of a surprise to see the former Manchester United and Everton boss not handed a new contract at the end of the 2017/18 season, a decision that would see his own efforts unrewarded. With former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini on the market and deemed as a sexier appointment, the club’s owners David Gold and David Sullivan, decided the Chilean would be the man to shoot West Ham up the table. A decision that was not universally accepted and although Pellegrini earned a 10th place finish in his first full season in charge, the 2018/19 season of the Premier League would be the only full campaign in which he would oversee West Ham.

Because with expectations then rising under the tutelage of the South American, the players failed to hit the same heights as the season before and with £155m spent in transfer fees, the large expenditure proved to be the manager’s eventual undoing. Pellegrini’s departure was announced back in December 2019 and who stepped back into the frame? None other than David Moyes, with the sole remit being to keep the club out of the choppy waters of the relegation zone once again.

A remit that was eventually met and with an 18-moth contract inked, Moyes will aim to make sure that the owners decide to extend his second stint, at what previously was the Olympic Stadium back in 2012. Something that was perhaps unlikely at the start of this current campaign and on the evidence of their first two outings of the season, they were viewed as a candidate for relegation when discussing early PL picks.

With such a tough set of fixtures being mapped out for West Ham, back-to-back defeats only suggested the worst and with the likes of Leicester, Tottenham, and Manchester City to follow after losses to Newcastle and Arsenal, it was difficult to know just where the points would be won. However, that difficult stretch saw Moyes’ men earn five points from the nine on offer and during this trio of league outings, there was definitely a sense that the West Ham squad had started to turn the corner after a difficult start. A start which now is nothing more than a distant memory and as we approach the end of the first half of the season, there is a question as to what West Ham can do at the end of it. Quite simply, do they now stick or twist?

Because, when you look at the calibre of talent that can be called upon, there is the makings of a highly impressive team and their current league standing, is not only just rewards for their efforts but also far too good to be sucked into a relegation scrap.
Which means with West Ham all but assured another stint in the top flight, do the board simply want to settle for that or do they want to try and land an extra pair of new faces when the January transfer window opens.

If the board do decide to show a little ambition, it could be the thrust that is needed and when you consider just how compact the top half of the Premier League table is at present, European qualification is certainly not outside the realm of possibility for David Moyes and West Ham. - Ed Jnr