Forum | Non-Football Related

Hammers fans who are normally notoriously 'robust' when it comes to dealing with the fall out of under performing managers were in no laughing mood Yesterday evening, despite their usual gallows humour they were finding it very hard to laugh.

Their journey back home was miserable and devoid of hope, only anger at Moyes for still being there and the Board for keeping him! Hammers were really poor and Toon really good, the visitors utilised the vastness of the ground completely to their advantage and played as if they were the home team who had just been given a new enlarged pitch!.

At 2-0 to Newcastle there was a break in play and Howe was furious at his players for their mistakes! Home fans will have been thinking "should have got him when he was available!" and so the club should have! West Ham players will admit that many of them had a 'howler' and that the defence that was still relatively unscathed thus far this season got a real battering.

It was a case of the Toon playing really well and Irons playing poorly, bereft of any real confidence. Coufal was made to sit on the bench and watch Kehrer have an absolute mare, he got more skinned than a Herring factory on a busy day and was culpable for one goal and a string of very poor decisions, constantly out of place and exposing gaps on the flanks that Newcastle fully exploited.

When Zouma scored before half time there was a small amount of hope of a comeback, those hopes were quickly extinguished as the Toon cut Hammers apart within THREE minutes of the restart. From then on oit was essentially game over. Moyes's men huffed and puffed bit to no avail.

Pushing for the game provided the visitors with even more opportunities to score, which they took with aplomb. Some would say the eventual 5-1 scoreline flattered the visitors, whereas others might suggest Hammers got what they deserved!

To many of the thousands leaving Stratford in the rain last night, the only person who DIDN'T get what they deserved is David Moyes, who of course deserves the SACK! Surely the Board must pull the trigger ahead of Saturday's crunch game at Craven Cottage? Get Mark Noble in and Craig Levine along with Stuart Pearce, keep Chicken Kiev and then watch the team take off, without such actions the club doesn't stand an earthly- Ed

West Ham: Fabianski; Kehrer, Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson; Soucek, Rice (c), Paqueta; Bowen, Antonio, Benrahma. Subs: Areola (GK), Cresswell, Coufal, Fornals, Lanzini, Downes, Cornet, Ings, Ogbonna
Newcastle: Pope; Trippier (c), Schar, Botman, Burn; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton; Murphy, Wilson, Saint-Maximin. Subs: Dubravka (GK), Lascelles, Gordon, Ritchie, Targett, Isak, Manquillo, Willock, Anderson.

When Al Pacino took on the role of Sonny Wortzik, a man who decides to rob a local Brooklyn bank to pay for his lover's operation but he is forced to take hostages after the heist does not go as planned, the part was seen as a very brave choice. Dog Day Afternoon was critically acclaimed but didn't do very well at the Box Office initially.

Based on a true story, Wortzik's actions were both brave but foolhardy and didn't end well! As West Ham approach their own 'Dog Day After TOON', manager David Moyes cannot in ANY WAY be accused of being reckless or foolhardy, however he can be accused of NOT being brave.

What does it take to make him take a risk? Sunday's offering at the Stratford Stadium was hardly inspiring, the team won in spite of Moyes and NOT because of him. The beleaguered manager has an incredible reluctance to use players he 'doesn't fancy' relying on his old cohort of 'trusted' past its instead.

Sunday's extremely narrow victory over bottom of the table Southampton illustrated just how detached Dino's thinking has become. The game was screaming out for Max Cornet and or Gianluca Scamacca to come on, however Moyes elected to use neither of them instead.

Any other team would have punished Hammers, fans were very lucky it was Southampton who were visitors, the victory was very narrow indeed! Tonight The newly minted and slightly arrogant Toon are the visitors and on the face of it will chew Moyes's team into little pieces unless he goes large, will he?

Unfortunately the Dino is NOT for turning and a heavy beating could be on the cards, the fans will still turn up in force, but the 'dredge' they are forced to watch could test the most determined of supporters. Results last night went above and beyond what could be hoped for, it is a pity that there will be little or no hope for tonight's fixture! - Ed