No Left Turn For Moyes

Imagine the scenario, you are a top flight manager with over 1000 games under your belt, you have redeemed yourself from a particularly squalid period of time and moved on to re-establish yourself as a manager to be reckoned with, your team is doing unbelievably well when suddenly the wheels come off the wagon, big time!

You are an experienced manager and know these difficult periods are all part and parcel of the game, however now there is the constant scrutiny factor provided by mobile phones, social media and vociferous fan sites so your normal de facto mindset gets analysed out of all proportion.

So what can you do to change things? The obvious answer is to BUY more players, it is a time honoured course that has been exploited by the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City, the only problem being the vast finances required to make a big difference quickly need the facilitation of a sovereign state or a super rich Oligarch!

The only other course of action is to tough it out until things start to improve, the risk is that the momentum or inertia that you have generated during the 'happy times', might well get lost forever if too many bad results are encountered during the 'troubled' times.

David Moyes knows better than anybody what his team needs, he knows better than anybody who he wants, but he also knows better than anybody how difficult it is going to be to 'smooth' his team's progress through its next tranche of important games.

Moyes' dilemma is that he has several players who WILL return from injury within the next few weeks, namely Aaron Cresswell and Kurt Zouma who have unfortunately been joined by Ben Johnson on the 'scheduled to return' list. Moyes has previously stated on numerous occasions that he will ONLY bring in players who can make the squad better, so his problem is WHO can he bring in who will accept the fact that they will instantly get demoted from the starting line up the moment the injured player returns?

With Zouma set to return within the next 4-6 weeks, the need for a new centre back, while still being important, is NOT as crucial as the need for a left back! Hammers are well served at right back, with Vald the Impaler Coufal, Ben Johnson, Ryan Fredericks AND young Harrison Ashby, however the left back berth is a totally different story.

Apart from Aaron Cresswell, Moyes only has Ben Johnson as a makeshift left back or young Alese to choose from, Authur Masuaku is his ONLY other option, the problem with Authur is that he is definitely NOT a full back and NEVER has been!

So while the need for an additional striker will make all the headlines and even the club's need for an additional centre back will get major coverage, it is the club's need for a left back that is most paramount during the impending transfer window.

Even when Cressie returns from injury, the paucity of a back up for the superb deliverer of crosses and set pieces must surely be addressed, having only three wheels on their wagon could see Hammers end up being left back, with nowhere to turn. LN