Forum | Non-Football Related

In what will be seen as a very positive sign, West Ham United striker Michail Antonio has been pictured taking part in a supervised light session at the club's Rush Green training ground. While it is great news that Antonio will not be out of action for the 4-6 weeks as originally feared, his rehabilitation will mean that at best he starts from the bench against Liverpool this Saturday, the ex-winger is seen as such a valuable asset to the club that there is no point in risking more damage to his hamstrings if avoidable.

It would be easy to blame the medical team for Antonio's woes, but a quick glance at the size of the thighs his hamstrings have to cope with at full pelt, shows that if he uses his 'explosive' energy to propel himself down the touch line too frequently, that something has to give!

There is no like for like replacement for 'Big Mich' at the club, in fact we doubt that there is another like for like replacement for Michail Antonio in the entire Barclays Premier League, his all action style of play means he will always be prone to injury and as such there is need for a plan 'B' to be available.

Sebastien Haller is NOT a like for like replacement for Antonio, but he is the only senior striker at the club, the only other option being Andrily Yarmolenko, who unfortunately resembles a cart horse as he tries to get his 'frame' moving, once he is up and running he is fine, but his initial launch leaves much to be desired.

If Haller can be moved in to the middle of the pitch and be provided with adequate service from the flanks, he might finally prove why he was worth £45 Million in the first place. David Moyes is proving himself to be a bit 'Jeddi' when it comes to team selection and formations, and he doesn't need to do too much to facilitate Haller's talents bearing in mind the ability and speed of the other players around him.

So to encapsulate, Big Mich Antonio's injury is not as bad as first thought, but with so much of the season to be completed, wrapping him up in 'cotton wool' seems a prudent course of action, and speaking of 'courses of action', it's about time Haller used his impressive physical frame to start 'bullying' defenders, if he picks up a few yellow cards so what?

Someone needs to sit with the towering French striker and show him a Video of Andy Carroll, on one of the few occasions when he was actually fit, saying 'hello' to the defenders with his first action in the game, it may not be cricket, but Haller is here to play football! - Ed

It has taken him a long while, but West Ham manager David Moyes is finally starting to reach the managerial summit he achieved while manager of Everton, The Toffees consistently finished between fifth and eighth in the league under Moyes, and at the time of his departure, he was the longest-serving current manager in the league behind Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger, at 11 years and 3 months.

He succeeded Ferguson as manager of Manchester United in June 2013, but with the club in seventh place in the league in April 2014 and unable to qualify for European competition, he was sacked after 10 months in the job. The stats look damning, however, the managers who have followed him have all failed to hit the heights achieved when Alex Ferguson was at the helm. Louis van Gaal, Moyes' replacement, achieved a win ratio of 52.43% and was given nearly two seasons in the job, Moyes achieved a ratio of 52.94% and wasn't even given a full season!

Looking for something different, Moyes spent an ill advised season at Real Sociadad, where the language proved to be an issue, most spaniards speak or at least understand english quite well, particularly footballers, the problem was that they could not understand what the Scot was saying because of what they saw as his 'thick' Scottish accent. He got given his marching orders and then returned to take over relegation certainties Sunderland, he left when their relegation was confirmed and then went in to 'Alan Curbishley land' for quite a while, things weren't too bad for the 57 year old though, because having been handed a five year deal by United he was entitled to 'gardening leave' payments for the entirety of the contract, with the exception of when he was gainfully employed.

Fast forward to Moyes replacing the very popular Slaven Billic following a grim season that looked to all intents and purposes as if relegation was a formality, Moyes restructured the team, gave Masuaku freedom to play and converted a winger in to a striker, sounds familiar? It should be, because he is using the same template now as when he first arrived on a temporary basis until that season's end, his reward for keeping the club up was a hefty bonus believed to be in the region of £1 Million, but he was then unceremoniously canned in favour of Manuel Pellegrini.

The Chilean 'mastermind' was seen as the man to take the team to the next level instead of the dour Scot, The 'Pellegrinophile' was indulged to a ludicrous level in the transfer market, having funding placed at his disposal that David Moyes could only have dreamt about. Of course it all went 'tits up' and Moyes was brought back yet again to rescue the club from almost certain relegation, he did so with aplomb and was consequently offered a new contract to stay on as manager for a full season.

Having had their fingers savagely burned by Pellegrini, the Board were initially reluctant to see Moyes as anything other than a short term solution, but Moyes insisted on not only being given a full year's contract, but also the guarantee of a second season should certain criteria be met.

Starting the new season from scratch' has given Moyes the opportunity to stamp his own brand of authority and style of play on the team, his achievements so far this season have been nothing short of miraculous given the paltry transfer budget he was given and the intimidating early run of fixtures which threatened to see the club rooted to the Barclays Premier League basement.

Of course it is early doors yet, but Moyes seems to be in a 'happy' place at the moment and his team along with his coaching staff are buying in to his vision, long may it last, it's been along time but Moyes' road to redemption may well finally have a happy ending. - Ed