5 Comments

Irons heartbeat starts to tick – let’s start judging tomorrow

. (Photo by Arfa Griffiths/West Ham United FC via Getty Images)

Sometimes we tend to take too little into consideration and allow ourselves to believe we know as much as the manager and backroom team.

Our judgement is affected by personal prejudices and mindsets which, were we in full possession of the facts, might make a large difference to our thinking.

The Newcastle game set up some serious barriers to our thinking after a lifeless performance had us all believing this was going to be a season of despair.

In reality, two players – probably the most important in the team – Declan and Tomas Soucek looked way off the pace and understandably so.

Did I not know better I would wonder whether Dec had not been affected by COVID whilst Tomas had been in quarantine and not training for eight days.

Declan had been injured and despite playing for England – which did us no favours – had perhaps his worst game in the claret and blue since his early days in the first team.

With both now fully fit we are seeing a midfield duo which is the heartbeat of a team growing in all areas.

Tomas now is more than happy to get forward into goal scoring positions knowing his back is covered by the best defensive midfielder in the country.

Beyond that we are seeing competition growing in all areas of the pitch with Andriy Yarmolenko doing his best to push Bowen- which is a pretty impossible job, Pablo Fornals arriving as a top assist maker and hugely industrious player and of course ARTHUR …say no more.

This weekend we go to Leicester City and will presumably be playing a formation which will see something well over £100 million worth of Hammers talent on the bench!

When has the club ever been in such a position and despite much criticism that we have bought players at prices they aren’t worth that may be another presumption.

Tomorrow will give us a better opportunity to judge when presumably the likes of Anderson, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Haller take on a PL team in the Carabao Cup after shining against  League One outfits Charlton and Hull.

At this moment – and we are all aware of previous inconsistencies – West Ham are a team on the rise and one which for all the moans has been in goodish shape since the last season re-started.

And whether people are fans are not full credit for that goes to the manager and a backroom team including Kev Nolan and Stuart Pearce which looks to have been well and truly on the case over the last few weeks!

 

 

 

About Hugh5outhon1895

Hugh Southon is a lifelong Iron and the founding editor of ClaretandHugh. He is a national newspaper journalist of many years experience and was Bobby Moore's 'ghost' writer during the great man's lifetime. He describes ClaretandHugh as "the Hammers daily newspaper!" Follow on Twitter @hughsouthon

5 comments on “Irons heartbeat starts to tick – let’s start judging tomorrow

  1. Hugh the problem with your reconfigured minsdet that “the manager knows best” and your probably correct theory that both players were indeed unfit leaves us with the bleedin obvious and mind bogglingky annoying question of course which is why on earth bloody well players these two if theyre unfit when you have a fit and in form Cullen, Noble & Fornals who could all have done a job in the centre. So thanks for your theory but all its done is raise even more questions about the manager’s strategy for that game??!!

  2. We are looking OK but obviously short of defensive cover – especially with Ryan out. We need to play some talented youngsters in some games for now. Agree entirely about Fornals, just wish he could be calmer when in front of goal himself.

  3. Kev Noble or Mark Nolan?
    Or is it a management plan to morph them into one?

  4. Well said Hugh, despite the unmentionables we have been in good form playing good football post lockdown and it was very much worth noting a crucial factor in our off the pace opener against Newcastle.
    It will be another test and learning experience tomorrow night against an in-form Everton side. Although we need more additions to the squad, the dark cloud that surrounds this club has departed for a while and the manager & team have given us something to smile about again.
    I feel that Moyes has assembled a good backroom team which I believe we are seeing the results of that on the pitch. Long may it continue… COYI

Comments are closed.