David Moyes’ reluctance to lay his cards on the table over Mikey Antonio’s involvement on Monday night is no surprise.
It’s the way he works and nobody can fault him thus far – indeed a lockdown on team news, injuries and the like, were the subjects of his first moves after his arrival.
It was how he initially put his fingerprints on the club and it’s clear to most he has since become the central figure at the club.
However, whether to play the No 30 or not is now a question which – with Lingard and Benrahma available – exercise our minds
My bet is that Antonio will play and hopefully show that the link he was forming with the Manchester United loanee against Villa is a big sign of things to come.
However, it is now more than apparent that the hammies are going to remain an ongoing problem and that makes the issue of Lingard becoming a permanent summer signing crucial.
We will need both him and a more traditional striker as well as Mikey to make the sort of impact the manager is looking for in the middle and long term.
I hope Antonio is on the bench, the players who played well and won against Sheffield Utd deserve to keep their spots. Besides imho it’s harder to defend against than the 451 we look more of a threat with 3 4 3 formation with false 9’s it confuses defences and offers greater flexibility.
West Ham need a strker? I think you’re the only person to come up with this conclusion, take it to the board ASAP!
Lanzini needs to be benched for either Antonio,Benrahma or Fornals
Hope he makes the bench as that will show a level of wellness but surely he can’t suddenly be match fit? Also, what about keeping a winning team (unless tactics dictate). I hope we keep a back 3/5 to combat Son and Kane, and a mobile front 3 to make it harder for their two big centre backs. That ensures controlled build up play, as there is nobody up top to tempt the long ball up.
Given Antonio’s fragility his role in future is likely to be impact sub and a rethink on squad additions/changes in the Summer.
Antonio has limited shelf life due to his hammies and his age. He is unlikely to play more than 20 games a season. So, 2 or 3 strikers will be needed if we qualify for Europe. That cannot realistically be achieved in 1 window. And that’s not the only position where we have limited resources. Left back is another. I want us to do well but I fear the worst if it comes too soon