West Ham boss David Moyes may well have revealed more than he intended to, with his team selection for the must win Premier League game against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
By selecting his most established and trusted players for the crucial game which would decide his immediate future, he inadvertently ditched the recruitment policy of the last 12 months.
The Hammers boss had spoken frequently of the need to change and ‘break things’ at West Ham so as he could evolve the oldest team in the Premier League. He has been drip-feeding some of his new signings into the starting line-up this season whilst pleading for caution as he struggled to integrate them into the club structure.
If we’re totally honest Moyes has struggled to get new signings up to speed for English football. He often discusses how foreign players need long periods of adjustment but he seems to be a lone voice on the issue. Nobody else appears to struggle in the way he does and it was odd to hear him mention it again following the thrashing to Newcastle (who don’t seem to have a problem incorporating their new signings).
Lucas Paqueta: Does he suit Moyes
In the interests of fairness it’s important to note that neither Gianluca Scamacca or Lucas Paqueta were available for selection for Fulham. However Moyes did omit Maxwel Cornet, Thilo Kehrer, Alphonse Areola, Nayef Aguerd, Emerson and Flynn Downes from the team.
Ultimately Moyes was vindicated, but it does not reflect well on £200m of recruitment and West Ham’s rebuilding plan.
A admission of failure to buy new players that don’t get injured maybe. Nothing new for us though. Failure of the medical department or whoever does Medicals maybe. Scammaca Paquetta Emerson cornet aguerd. Have any of the new signings not been injured this season?