Forum | Non-Football Related

Last season West Ham went on a relegation threatening run of poor results that ultimately ended in the sacking of Slaven Billic, David Moyes arrived and started to 'put things right', part of the process involved moving Marko Arnoutovic from the wing to a central role and playing Authur Mauaku as an out and out wing back. Aaron Cresswell was employed as part of a back three which meant Masuaku was given licence to roam down the wing, every thing went well until he managed to get himself sent off for spitting at an opponent which also earned him a six match ban.

During Masuaku's enforced absence the team's form suffered badly and fans waited anxiously for his return, yes really! Once back in the fold Masuaku picked up from where he left off and put in some stirring performances which eventually helped lift the club to a safe thirteenth place. So what has gone wrong and why has he suddenly become the fan's scapegoat? He really has come in for a huge amount of criticism, not all of it entirely justified, Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini has elected to play Masuaku as a full back who is still required to get forward, unfortunatley he is not able to properly combine both roles and therefore gets exposed on a regular basis, relying on Issa Diop to cover him.

Sadly it seems that Masuaku has gone from 'King' to pauper in a short space of time and looks a shadow of his former self, there are alarming similarities with those of Hérita Ilunga back in the day, and that didn't end well did it? Is Aaron Cresswell a better option? He has been injured but will hopefully use the International break in order to up his fitness and may well end up replacing Masuaku who might benefit from being taken out of the firing line for a while.

In the end neither Masuaku nor Cresswell might be used for much past this season, as Pellegrini can be quite ruthless and won't countenance failure in such a prominent position, they will both be looking over their shoulders, and so they should! - Ed

Who would have thought it? Nearly a quarter of the way in to the season and despite stumping up the best part of £100 Million and signing a World Class manager in Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham United's co-owners David Gold and David Sullivan have been conspicuous by their absence in the media. So rare have there been any comments from the two Davids that rumours persist as to whether the elderly duo have in fact been abducted by Aliens, it would seem the only logical way of explaining their silence. They have neither criticised when things were awful nor gloated when things took a turn for the bettter, they have not sought 'the love of the fans' nor to take any credit for the club's movement in the right direction, instead they are content to bask in the glory of knowing that they actually got something right, in fact something exceptional!

This season is like no other for West Ham, the broken promises, poor form and general malaise surrounding the club has been cast aside, even having such a poor start in a way has focused how superb the recent progress has been. Very few fans thought the team would acquire the points they have during the month of September with many fearing no points at all. At the helm Manuel Pellegrini looked a little brow beaten and jaded as he tried to gel all his new recruits, with some questioning whether his time in China had blunted his skill set.

The Co-Owners are now being rewarded for having kept the faith, and for having kept their mouth's shut! It must be empowering to see part of their plan finally bare fruition, not that they can rest on their laurels as there is still much to be done with regards the London Stadium. The atmosphere on Saturday was electric, as has been for many other games particularly those under the lights, fans will forgive dodgy sight lines and the odd faff about draught beer, realistically they could sell draught milk and no one would mind so long as the team keeps on performing to the highest level with endevour, that's just about all people want, the rest is just window dressing.

How long will the Aliens keep hold of Sully and Gold and where are they now? Well remember El Pel went on a 'little visit' to Chile and then suddenly 'popped up' back at Rush Green with no fanfare or pre-announcement, as though he had never been away? We think he has dropped of the pair with revolutionaries whose ransom note has been'delayed' due to a technicality, apparently it is scheduled for delivery by Mark McKay just after the January transfer window closes.

The future is bright the Chairmen are quiet! - Ed