By Hughie Southon
Nobody hopes more than us that West Ham make a sensational start to the season following the regular reports of problems and denials of them behind the scenes.
However, The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg has again pointed out that there are various issues and that David Moyes is likely to lose his job if we don’t get off to a decent start.
The final two pre-season games did not go well at all and it remains to be seen if coach Billy McKinlay’s prediction that we will be ready for the start of the season proves correct.
Those two games were against decent sides after earlier run outs and the signs weren’t great following wins in Australia against Perth and Spurs – playing their first friendly.
Whilst rumours abound we have been told by agents trying to negotiate player moves into the club that there is great caution among them to do so. Even a key source inside the club told us players don’t want to come.
Stories of unrest within the football village get around quickly among the players themselves and one agent explained that when such as Aaron Cresswell effectively goes on strike the problems could barely be clearer after his years of service to West Ham.
And we have been told that other players are far less than happy and there is a reluctance among several to agree new deals.
With Rice and Scamacca gone, Cress making his position clear and others not enjoying life at the defensive tactics and basic training methods there is cause for concern.
We would stress that many things are said within clubs by various people but it would be foolish to ignore the warnings coming out of West Ham right now.
These may be rumours but they have come from a variety of directions to CandH.
Unfortunately the signs are not good yet again. Moyes has an expertise which is not doubted and has made it work at WH. However, we have moved into a new era where fans expect a club to be ready for the start of the season yet we still haven’t signed a single player.
Rice, Lanzini, Scamacca, Vlassic & Masuaku have all left. Antonio and Cresswell want out. Apparently Bowen and Soucek are not renewing. 3 top coaches have left. Paqueta has appointed a new agent…
it all started around January 2021 when a back-up striker wasn’t signed. The results started tailing off and we dropped down from top 4 to 7th. Last year we lost 20 PL matches. We only play one way and that’s defend in depth and attack on the break and look to use set pieces with tall players to get goals. That’s not a club in progression. It’s the safety first mentality for surviving in PL dominating thoughts from the Manager and Chairman.
If the board don’t get out of this mentality they will miss another golden opportunity to progress as the full stadium expects them to do.
Having completed no signings while employing a Sporting Director, Technical Director, Head of Recruitment and a domineering Football Manager discussing targets is clearly not working. Then, once agreed, having to pass the Chairman’s demands for negotiating better value just applies a brake that other clubs don’t seem to suffer from.
Most fans recognise that the manager is a dominant force but unfortunately he is no longer relevant for tactically aware international, multi-millionaire players with big egos. That is why we are looking at over priced British players that have been discarded by teams we should be targeting as competitors. How can we possibly compete for top 4 with a top 4 team’s cast-offs? And when long term players like Cresswell and Antonio want out, 3 coaches leave and you can make no new signings, you just know something is not being managed well at board level and on field of play.
One simple solution here. SACK HIM
Think we can all see the decline in performance, it’s been obvious for two years, we start slow, substitutions are predictable, system doesn’t change, intensity is below the level of our opponents and teams have worked out how to beat us.
It seems Sullivan doesn’t watch the body language of the players or pay attention to performances, everyone can see we need a new direction and that despite good results previously under Moyes his limits have been found.
I hope also I am wrong and he has some kind of master stroke that sees us playing well, recent history isn’t indicating that though so we will probably waste the games before the international break before he is fired.
You said you’d lay off Moyes now, this is not laying off.
Using some source to attack him instead of yourselves is not positive.
Creswell wants to leave because he’s not good enough for the first team anymore and was second choice last season and will be more so this season. He also wants to play with his mate at Wolves, get a final payday and probably happy to be closer to his family (no idea on that though!).
If anything this article should be having a go at Creswell for being so unprofessional and holding the club to ransom.
Then there’s the mention that players are not happy with Moyes but no names and the evidence of how players seem on the pitch and after the cup with Moyes would suggest they are very happy, I would say those unhappy are the ones like Scammaca who clearly haven’t got the right attitude for a a fight, they want to be auto picked and for the team to be shaped around them (get out lol).
Moyes might not be everyone’s cup of tea and he does play some defensive stuff (frustratingly) but he’s won us a cup, has saved the club from relegation and taken all kinds of crap from media, from issues with signing players and his own from fans without making a fuss.
Let’s please get behind him and hopefully get back to the league position of 2/3 seasons ago.
In Europe again, let’s back the team and stop this poor treatment of the man to bring the first silverware I am old enough to remember!
It’s a report headed by the Guardian, I tell what I know. Sorry to upset you