Forum | Non-Football Related

Tuesday evening's hard fought, but ultimately unsuccessful, FA Cup 5th round cup tie against Manchester United unfortunately highlighted West Ham United's paucity of strikers, with Big Mich Antonio 'rested' and his 'replacement' Andriy Yarmolenko looking like a fish out of water as he tried to lead the line. The Ukraine international endured a torrid time before leaving the field with ligament injuries that could see him side lined for the rest of the season.

The Odubeko 'situation' has already received too much media attention as far as we are concerned, so we won't be adding our two penneth worth. The young man, and he is a very young man, just wasn't up to the task, perhaps the occasion or the location got to him, either way what is done etc.

It is fairly safe to say that the 'down to the bare bones expression, much used by ex-Hammers boss Harry Redknapp, is totally applicable to the forwards situation and is most definitely a case of NOT crying wolf! Of course, hind sight is a wonderful thing, so it is easy to blame David Moyes and the board for not recruiting during the last window.

Moyes wanted to keep his powder dry and target players he actually wanted, as opposed to 'options' offered to him via David Sullivan's cronies, sadly the gamble hasn't paid off, so what's to be done? Just as the board performed a U turn with regards to Moyes being appointed as the club's permanent manager, which was entirely the correct course of action, the need for another U turn has become paramount. This time it involves going back on the decision to NOT bring over priced over age players to the club, at least in the short term.

Needs must, and West Ham absolutely have to bring in an additional striker whether they originally wanted to or not, and to that purpose, step forward Diego Costa. The London Stadium would surely be rather low on Costa's 'ideal destination' list, but a deal until the end of the season would put him right in the shop window, because despite Hammers recent travails, the club is still being referred to as 'high flying' West Ham, with all the associated media attention that an 'elite' club receives.

There are 15 fixtures left for West Ham to negotiate a way in to European competition, having been knocked out the FA Cup last night, league position is only way it can happen, so how much would it cost to bring Diego Costa to West Ham, that is assuming he can be convinced to sign up with Moyes's ethos?

Even if the club were forced to pay £300,000 per week for 15 weeks, the cost would be £4.5 Million. It should be remembered that final Barclays Premier League positions are rewarded by an extra £2 Million per place above the drop zone, consequently an outlay of £4.5 Million in wages could be offset by the gaining of two extra places.

Although signing up a highly paid mercenary goes completely against every thing David Moyes stands for, in this instance he might just have to change his mind, at least until the season's end. - Ed
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The consequences of standing by one's convictions are that sometimes you have to pay the price, West Ham manager David Moyes decided to buck an old Hammers tradition of buying overpriced has beens just to keep people happy in the short term. This 'positive' way forward does however come with the caveat that in the short term, David Moyes has only one recognised striker who's services he can call upon, and of course that striker isn't actually a bona fide one, Michail Antonio is essentially a winger who David Moyes helped turn in to a front man feared by opposition defenders.

The Fix, at least until the end of the season was to bring in Jesse Lingard, which seems to have proved to be an inspired decision, unfortunately Lingard cannot play in tonight's crucial cup tie up at Old Trafford, nor in the game against Manchester United in a couple of weeks time either.

Despite putting a shift in, Antonio has only looked a shadow of his former 'blustering' self, as he gingerly tries to re-introduce his temperamental hamstrings back into the rigours of the Barclays Premier League. Moyes has a tough decision to make regarding Antonio, does he wrap him up in cotton wool in the hope that the affable striker can 'limp' through to the end of the season, or does he just risk him?

This evening's 5th FA Cup tie against Manchester is a dual edged sword, win the FA Cup and your team is in Europe, end of, no number crunching or fair play requirements, only winning the trophy, where as to qualify for europe via the Barclays Premier League is Marathon that could prove to be just a bit too much to ask for in what is a 'consolidation' season for David Moyes and West Ham.

Even if the Irons were to be successful in tonight's fixture, the club would still need to face some serious fellow contenders for the trophy, so does Moyes take a risk and go for it tonight? Or does he put a decent team out and just hope for the best?

Michail Antonio's hamstrings don't know if they are being used for a cup or league match, so it is in the lap of the gods as to how long 'Big Mich' will play for, or if he even plays at all. One element to consider is that if the Irons start with Yarmolenko they may as well throw in the towel, a starter he is NOT-more to come.! - Ed.