By Gonzo
It’s difficult to observe West Ham at the moment without making the comparison of rats deserting a sinking ship.
Craig Dawson had been looking to leave the London Stadium for legitimate ‘family reasons’, and personally I have no complaints with him putting family ahead of football. If that were an isolated incident then it would be a case of ‘nothing to see here’.
However it’s not an isolated incident, as can be seen by Michail Antonio & Vladimir Coufal’s stated disaffection, Gianluca Scamacca’s rumoured desire to leave, and consistent damning comments from Vlasic, Ekwah, Kral & Perkins. The suggested desire of players to leave West Ham has started to become a trend, rather than an exception to the rule.
The most recent rumour is that FC Lorient have made a bid to sign Hammers keeper Alphonse Areola during the negotiations for Terem Moffi. My first instinct upon hearing the story was to believe it. Why would Areola wish to stay at West Ham?
With Hugo Loris in decidedly dodgy form there is a real opportunity to claim the French goalkeeping gloves from the Spurs stopper. It’s clear there is no pathway into the first team at West Ham for Areola, despite him performing admirably when given the chance. The former PSG player has been at the club for 18 months and is back-up goalkeeper to 37 year old Lucas Fabianski irrespective of form.
Personally I wouldn’t blame Areola for wanting to leave. There appears to be no chance of him playing premier League football for The Irons, regardless of how well he performs in European competition, and I’d suggest the same applies to the talented Flynn Downes. I can’t actually think of a believable set of circumstances (barring mass injuries) where they’d be able to break into the team.
We are now witnessing talented youngsters departing on a regular basis, and players on the periphery of the team becoming disenchanted by lack of fair and equal opportunity.
I’d suggest that if it’s impossible to break into David Moyes’s team when the incumbents are performing poorly, then they’ll not break in at all. And the players know it.
Would you blame him tge way he has been treated. I had to laugh the other day when Bowen praised Moyes for staying calm. Basically he was thanking him for not dropping him and staying loyal to him. Moyes should have dropped him and given other players in the squad a chance. This has hugely affected the squad. Moyes has managed the squad poorly and as a result players want out.
+ Issa Diop
Wasn’t sad to see him go, too many mistakes in him
Succinctly put Gonzo it’s not just the young players now, criminal as that is, but seniors as you say not getting fair and equal opportunity. A real waste and the road to ruin.
I cannot agree more. So many youngsters waisted since the manager has no courage to play them.
Although I agree, to become a Moyes favourite is tricky – but I have to say something about “talented youngsters”. Forever seeing on social media posts – didnt get a chance, Moyes doesnt play them. But tell me ONE player that left in Moyes reign that’s come good? Everone screamed at Diangana – cant get a game – Ngakia – Hardly seen.
Perkins – have to wait and see – but that to me stank of greedy agent and going against club policy. I can’t think of one youth player we let go that we’re kicking ourselves over
Oxford
Unfortunately the people who matter most do not see these things and continue to back a manager nobody really wants at the club any longer. I actually cannot think of one thing he is currently doing well, results are terrible, performances even we manage our first league win in 3 months are terrible, transfers (the RB Leipsig Model) more bull from Moyes, poor man and team management in terms of giving players their chance, playing them in the right positions, putting the right players on the pitch in a formation that suits them (NOT HIM). I could going on and on…How Fornals is not deemed good enough to start nearly all games is just hard to believe, he is performing better than Rice, Benrahma and Bowen and has done so consistently, In my opinion he is the real leader of the team. Moyes has never played Fornals, Paqueta, Benrahma in the same team, why because no matter how poorly Bowen is playing, its Bowen + either Benny or Pablo. Terrible terrible man management of the squad and has affected the squad in a completely negative way. There as so many more examples of this.