David Moyes simply has no defence for taking off footballing terrorist Michail Anionio after 70 minutes this afternoon.
It was decision which ranks right up there with the worst of Manuel Pellegrini’s and boy they were legion.
Antonio caused massive problems to the Brighton defence all the time he was on the pitch – to remove him, despite the guy, looking tired was madness.
That two goals went into our net within 10 minutes of the fella leaving the pitch speaks volumes for me.
Many will argue fitness and risk but there’s no certainty he will be involved against Manchester City given the manager’s likely defensive mindset for the game.
But yesterday his mere presence on the pitch for the last 20 minutes would have created issues in the minds of the Brighton defenders. His presence alone creates that.
As a result of his absence there was no out ball for us , there was no one to hold it up because to be honest Haller looks worse and worse with every successive game .
It was a bit like a boxer leading comfortably on points over seven rounds and then deciding to stay on the ropes and defend for the last three in the hope of hanging onto the lead he has built up.
Moyes madness!
Yes, it was clear Antonio was tired but he should not have been subbed. I’m pretty well convinced the decision to sub him was central in us losing two points.
Some seem to be saying he WAS injured-he is most of the time after all! I agree that if he was totally out on his feet it makes sense to get him off. There should be somebody who is capable of closing the game down as well as a player who has been running for 75 minutes. If taking off one player is that much of an issue it’s a reflection of a very thin squad rather than an error by the manager.
And if he’d got injured in that last 20 minutes and been out for the rest of the season? Why can’t we get through the last 20 minutes of any game, when 2 goals in front without the help of 1 injury prone player? Are we that poor that we cannot win a game without Antonio?
Beginning to dislike some opinions on here.. especially those who seem to always to be right! Antonio has just come back from injury What would you have been saying if Antonio stayed on and got injured and out for a while.. Moyes madness why didnt he take it off!!! We are in dire straits.. not Moyes fault.. time to stop moaning and get behind the manager..
You are entirely allowed to disagree and dislike. I still believe that with M City ahead – a game I’m sure he will miss – his presence even at half pace or less for the last 20 mins would have been a big worry to Brighton who were hopping about whenever he was near.Psychological thing Steve
Fans saying ” he should have stayed on, we would have won it if he’d stayed on, he was the only one they were scared of”, seem to be saying that without him we cannot see out 20 minutes against an equally poor side when 2 goals in front. Well if that’s the case, what chance survival if he’d stayed on and got injured? After all, he is our only chance of survival, isn’t he? Whichever minute he had gotten the injury would have been 5 minutes after he should have gone off, then it would have been ” All Moyes fault, should have brought him off earlier, we were 2 goals in front and coasting”. The man can’t win. Why are we so reliant on 1 injury prone player?
Those three points were too important to risk throwing away . It was a megga six pointer .
Yes Antonio was tired but his shear presence on the pitch was a huge worry and threat for Brighton . Remove the threat and that’s what happens . Moyes made a enormous mistake .
But having said all that it wasn’t the only reason we threw away yet another lead and All three points.( two ) ; Ogbonna & Diop we’re not doing enough and Haller is proving to be a big earning Lazy and expensive sighning . Moyes’s mistake is even more highlited because we are now in the relegation places with games coming up away to Man City & Liverpool away . We could very well find ourselves stuck in 18th and well adrift of 17th in very short order . Relegation has been made even more likely ., unless the new sighnings can bring something to the dressing room .
It’s not Moyes mistake Kevin. There are eleven players on the pitch and if one of them doesn’t do their job properly it opens a door for the opposition. When 3 or 4 of them fail to do their jobs properly this is what happens. The players let themselves, Moyes, the fans and the club down. He did his part, we were 3-1 up and cruising. Ultimately it is the players that cost us the win yesterday through individual errors. If I was Moyes I would be fuming 😤. I bet he is fuming but he can’t go publicly slating his players who are already shot of confidence can he, especially when he knows that he hasn’t got many other options to turn to.
I would hate to be in Moyes position but he has to get this group of players to do enough to keep up in this league and then he can get rid of the deadwood in the summer. Whether we stay up or do down, a major overhaul of this squad is needed.
Come on Hugh, if we are going to criticise we have to be consistent and fair. We all know that Antonio is a player who constantly plays at his max and thus cannot last 90 mins at present due to his recent injuries. So you play his for 60-70 mins and you tell him to terrorise the opposition. He does that and he side are 3-1 up at home to Brighton who have won one in nine. Job done so you take him off, pat him on the back and then expect the 11 professional players left on the pitch to see the game out. Masuaku’s roll in the second goal was nothing short of shocking. He should play/clear that ball down the line but instead attempts a pass inside and across the box. That was schoolboy and an inexcusable error. The indecision between Oggy and Diop is also inexcusable. The first Brighton goal is an error from Fab but he is also fouled by Murray, very clever from Murray but a foul. The third goal also had several defensive errors and I can’t understand why VAR overturned it. There was not enough evidence to say that the on field decision was wrong, it was so close that Oliver’s decision should have been respected.
I don’t agree with the arguments on here and if we all put our rationale heads on rather than get emotional, Moyes has done the right thing to protect a lead and grind out a win. This was one of the those days where you work hard, get a lead and then grind it out to full time with blood and guts. It needs good leadership to step up, take control and get the job done. Those 11 players on the pitch from 70-90 mins have not done that, simple and they have to take responsibility.
I too worry about the stats off the game and it’s worrying that Brighton had more possession than us but bearing in mind the situation we are both in surely we knew they would come at us for the part 20 mins and probably have most of the ball so you have to be prepared to grind it out and win the game at all costs.
Let’s not forget that we scored 3. You do that at home to Brighton then you have to win the game because you have done the hard work up until that point.
I should have added – and Kevin did it for me – however tired he’s a big worry to oppositions by merely being on the pitch
Don’t need Antonio for the next two games anyway, should have played him for 90 minutes…
I think we really miss anderson and suprised no one has mentioned this.For me he is our most creative player and also our quickest in getting in behind defences i.e hi goal against bournmouth.
Antonio looked knackered when he walked off but get to 80 mins first. He nearly scored a 4th only minutes before.
As soon as that substitution was made with Masuaku the emphasis was given to Brighton.
The loss of that 2 points is going to be the difference at the end of the season. It would have given the club a huge intake of oxygen too.
Mismanagement from Moyes
Hammers most influential player is Antonio, but to play him exhausted will result in long term injury when we need him in ALL matches against opponents in the relegation battle.
Better substitution decisions today would have prohibited Brighton’s dominance after Antonio went off.
West Ham have lost 19 pts from winning positions. Two players who are PERPETUALLY to blame for these reversals!
Masuaku who fails to mark his allocated opponents & whose hopeless defensive play has cost us 1 & often 2 goals every game he plays in ( even as a sub) & / or his ridiculous mistakes lead directly to our opponents’ goals.
Noble does NOT have the fitness to play two consecutive halves effectively. Also, he fails to mark his allocated opponent, can’t tackle; has no pace; frequently slows the tempo of our play with pivotal turns to play side ways & backward passes & offers rare glimpses of creativity.
Pellegrini earlier in the season subbed Noble routinely early second half in many games because he chases the ball around to no avail leaving Rice over exposed in front of our back 4 / 5. Against both Liverpool & Brighton today he made no meaningful contributions in the second halves, but allowed his opponents the space to take a couple of touches in front of our back 4 / 5, then face our goal unimpeded to pass through or shoot.
Agree others’ mistakes were poor today & against Liverpool, but if Masuaku & Noble had defended their respective opponents, these mistakes could have been avoided at their source!
If Moyes continues to play Masuaku & Noble relegation is unavoidable because we are playing with Noble as a passenger after half time & Masuaku is the worst defender in the current PL.
If Moyes & his analysts studied the videos of West ham matches this season; they would recognise (what most fans who have played the game readily identify) these two are responsible for most of our defeats!
Also, it is long overdue that Moyes remedied Hammers’ season long failures to retain the ball from Hammers’ throw ins & to defend opposition corners effectively.
Soucek did well; he can replace Noble with immediate effect.
Antonio must be played wide on right NOT the left, because we must use our most influential player in his most effective position. Bowen to play alongside Haller (who cannot play as a lone striker) except against top 4 teams where Bowen can play behind Haller in the 10 role.
Masuaku must NEVER be selected again, NOT even as sub because he is always a calamity!
You are 100% spot on in everything you write here. I wish Moyes would read this.
Hugh, I suggest you put this post up as a separate blog/post on your front page. Masuaku must not play again, he costs us points every single time he enters the field. He has singlehandedly brought us into the relegation zone.
Completely agree, Masuaku is a liability not a clue in his thinking or actions the team get shakey when he comes on, he adds nothing but calamity!!!
Just another poor let’s find a scapegoat article. Anyone who was at the game would have seen Antonio go down after a bad tackle. He stayed down for some time and received treatment for which the game was paused. You could Antonio having a discussion with the medical staff on the pitch. He walked off the pitch as they have to and came back on but he wasn’t fully on it. You could see the knock had affected him. Next you see Moyes talking to medical staff and then readying the substitution. Antonio was taken off not long after that. Antonio is the type, that runs himself to death. Players that come back from injury are also more susceptible to getting another injury. He was taken off to protect himself from getting another injury. Good management from Moyes. We need Antonio to stay fit for the rest of the season. This is a poor article being used as a stick to beat the manager with by those who didn’t want him as manager in the first place. The draw was down to a poor punch out by Fabianski leading to a freak own goal, and poor defending at set pieces like it has been all season. Nothing to do with Moyes.
Why are we the only team in the premier league that has a squad of players that look shattered. Its beyond me and I get why he took Antonio off. 3 – 1 up and we should see out the game and it made sense to rest him. But Moyes tactically looks inept. He is not getting the best put of the players and hes not the right man to be in charge. So much of Weat Ham needs to be questioned. Top to bottom. It’s not good enough
After all the euphoria of the transfer window this the day after? The first half we had Glen Murray and his merry men on the run 2 nil ? That’s where the story ended? Some people were taking their seats and could not believe Brighton had pulled a goal back with in a couple of minutes at the start of the second half? But we fought back to 3-1 Murray doing his best to foul Antonio and rally his merry men then our midfield ran out of steam, and Antonio went down then off injured but quick to come back only to be hooked off by Moyes? Murray had no one to annoy or worry about and rallied his team to hound Diop and Ogbonna , by then our midfield had gone into obscurity the opposition then had smelt blood and our middle two centre backs folded and Brighton scored 2 easy goals 3-3 we just hung it out for the draw!!! Murray on what 30 grand a week and his merry men on the Same wage took apart players in our side on at least 50 grand a week the bottom earner? They should all give there this week’s wages to charity for taking money under false pretences?? Blame this or that, with Moyes tactics or VAR but in the end the players ( highly paid players) have to look at one another and accept there to blame for us tonight being in the bottom three tonight??
We need to do what other teams do, attack the oppositions engine, in Brighton’s case Murray, he needs to be clipped and harried when he gets the ball lots of teams do it they unsettle the dangermen …
Might I add, not a fan of Murray, but at this moment is the type of player we could have done with yesterday? And in a relegation fight is the blood and thunder that only Antonio provides?? Haller would be best suited to playing a knock on ball to another forward, rather than a force up front???
no matter what we say about the subs, look at the stats from the game. we were beaten in all of them, AT HOME! they had 58% of possession. made more passes , with a better passing average. more shots on goal, more corners and we had to help them by scoring 2 of their goals.
never said it before but here goes…..GOING DOWN
Agree 100%…
We’ll be 6 to 9 points adrift after the next two games with not enough fire power to stay up… Come on, we’re talking about Brighton here, at home!!!
Awful, awful mismanagement of our club by 3 useless directors!!! YES 100% we are going down!
Think he was to take off Antonio, but for Masuaku? No. his first touch was to give the ball away which led to a goal for Brighton. That said 3 sloppy goals we gave them!!!
This is simply a matter of opinion. You may be correct in your’s – & you might be wrong. I can see both sides. Both are equally valid. Moyse was trying to do the right thing. You should not criticize him too strongly. The man takes the ultimate responsibility. The fact remains; our other players found it impossible to hang on to what they had – what does this say about them ? At some point, Moses has to trust them !
We were 3-1 up. He went off. 2 goals in 9 mins and lucky not to lose – says it all fr me mate
I agree with 99% of the article. Moyes was responsible today, but the defending was no improvement on Pellegrini. Teams must love playing against us, Murray definitely does, and punished us again.
Moyes – Why Moyes – I asked it a few weeks ago and still can not fathom why! Not all his fault but why is persevering with players that aren’t good enough!
Losing Antonio was key to West Ham stopping playing, it was a stick or twist decision which failed as we had to win today. Don’t expect anything from Man City or Liverpool,games. Surely Ajete or somebody else could have replaced Haller as well when Antonio had to go off!
Like Hugh I cannot believe Haller, we have no “out ball”, he doesn’t even look like an athlete, he has little close control, and his lay offs quite often were hospital passes – I’m at a loss, and really thought Moyes had given up on him and was subbing him, not Antonio. Watching Moyes trying to clap Haller to motivate him to run is insulting to everybody who would love the chance to run through a wall for the cause. Our Midfield must hate playing with him as however hard they try he just offers them no target.
£45 million you have to be kidding!!! He even had support today all around him, he wasn’t isolated just something massive missing! I’d far rather Murray who was a menace, looking for the ball, won fouls, held the ball up and of course scored.
It was right to take off Antonio, it was just a matter of few minutes before he would have been injured again from one of his massive runs or tackles/stretches.
The mistake that kills me is choosing Masuaku to see the match out. Masuaku is the worst player in the team (which is an achievement in it self) when it comes to defensive work and understanding. Both their last two goals started with big mistakes from Masuaku. BIG ones. Look it up. Anyone else from the bench would have done better in seeing out the match. I have begged time and time again, please let me never see Masuaku in a defensive role in our club. But to little help… I knew we were in trouble when he came on. It took one minute before I gave away the ball in a dangerous position, which led to 3-2. A hilarious joke!!
I can see a few opinions but he should of stayed on to win us this game cos look at the next 2 games we needed the points today ,simple as . Haller is looking useless and needs to work a lot harder not seeing enough from him at all and his work rate needs to improve . However the team should also know how to manage a game when 2 up ffs.
Diop should have rated a 2. Brain dead.
Fredericks was a 3, brain dead.
Noble was a 2. Legs dead.
The rest played with heart and we need 9 more Antonio’s.
Lanzini should have taken off Noble, who contributed nothing but effort. Fournals for Snoddy. No-one can replace antonio, certainly not the third brain dead player
He has just recovered, he was knackered,
It just shows that we have no depth in the squad & that isn’t Moyes fault!
I think we all know who’s fault it is!
If we cannot last 20 mins whilst 3-1 up without Antonio then we are in a lot of trouble. Rice alongside Ogbonna would prob make us better at the back but then we lose our in midfield. Yes we have Soucek but it’s the one playing alongside him that’s the problem. He will end up doing the work of two just like rice has all season. I would give Cardoso a try in the next couple of games. Can’t do any worse than Diop and Balbuena have lately.
So the Masuaku, Diop, Ogbonna, and Fabianski mistakes weren’t to blame then!?
How can you blame the manager, the players have got to take responsibility.
Masuaku as a professional footballer should be good enough to take charge and make a decisive clearance in the first Instance.
Diop and Ogbonna as professional footballers should communicate and one should take charge and clear the ball.
Don’t blame to manager fella, it’s poor. The players in that squad should be good enough to see the game out.
YEP POINTED OUT IN ANOTHER BLOG
Moyes is a terrible manager.
Probably the worst in the league, we needed a fresh approach new ideas and they gave us moyes !!!!!
We are going down unless a miracle happens and the new signing does a Tevez……..
Do not take Antonio off in a must win game when you have no other forward to replace him, we had to beat Brighton and Moyes failed again.
As for the back 2 our best centre half is Rice play him in a 3 and watch what happens but no Moyes if he does go for a 3 plays Cresswell!!!!!!! In there ( a player that shouldn’t even playing as a left back)
Diabolical player. So relieved to see him dropped after recent performances, gutted to see him on the touchline waiting to come on… hoped it was going to be for Haller. Told the bloke next to me we could still lose the game when it was Antonio he was swapped for. He took off Snodgrass at the same time, another mystery, he would have bought some experience when it started going tits up.
To be fair, Moyes changed things when we took the 2 goal lead again. Fredericks was dropping deep to make a back 3 and Snodgrass had to come back and fill in at right back… not sure they have ever practised it on the training pitch coz it was a car crash.
You wouldn’t have said this if he’d pulled his hamstring in the last ten minutes at that time we were so comfortable
no cos he would have pulled a hamstring and we would have neen 3-1 up
Exactly the point that some people on here fail to see. This was the game to win and if he missed the next few games so be it. A terrible decision.
I love Antonio, a lot of respect for the Man. We are not a team who should rely on one player. A good performance from many players. Pressure of failure got the better of us today. Players will no doubt be kicking themselves for the way this match has ended. I’m expecting a much better response in the next few games. COYI!
are you really?????????🤔
Subbing Antonio wasn’t the problem,it was bringing Lanzini on. At this point of season we cant afford to be giving match after match to find some form he’s had plenty opportunity now. I think he lost his bottle.
cant fault moyes on the starting line up but the game changed on the subs from both sides despite our clown defensive moment. Moyes has a habit of getting it wrong on the subs tbh.
Even though we look like a team working much harder now, there is that depressing sinking feeling that fate is conspiring and this is ‘our time to go’, in the flavour of terry brown.
Yes I agree, beginning to look grim. Results wise, we are now aligned to Norwich and not looking like getting one win, let alone string together 2-3-4 consecutive wins. Sorry but I got a bad feeling for the rest of this season.
Thank you, great article and this decision coupled with the decision to leave Noble on the pitch, cost us the game. This is not the first time his decisions have cost us.
Perhaps if we had got another physical CM in we wouldn’t have been left with lightweights on our bench, it was obvious up to four of the starting eleven would be struggling badly by 70-75 mins.
Nothing to do with diop or ogbonna then!!! Or the fact we can’t defend! Come on!
Oh do give it a rest. Antonio was injured.
Gotta disagree with you Hugh, we need Antonio for the rest of the season, not out for another 6 weeks. Keeping him on would have been a much derided decision if Antonio would have pulled up. No-one is Mystic Meg, Moyes did the right thing, however he should have bought Ajeti on instead of the, once again ineffective Lanzini, as he would have at least kept the Brighton defence busier than Lanzini did. As it was they could build from the back with ease. Terrible result in the current circumstances
Great summary hugh, as they say best form of defence is attack and this is why. The second you lose your threat is the second you become vunerable an thats what happened today. Bug mistake.
I can’t believe we are a one man team but that is what it looks like from today’s performance, Moyers needs to sort it out now or we are going down.
But leaving him on when he was visibly tiring would’ve risked (yet) another muscle injury. I agree with Moyes’ decision, as we should’ve neen home and hosed inside 70 mins.
we were – that’s my point
Sorry Hugh, I’m a long time fan of this blog, but this post is utter nonsense. Sitting on the side Antonio was playing 2nd half he was obviously not going to last 90 minutes. Moyes took him off to save his legs and prevent an injury to our most important player.
Don’t blame this decision on Ogbonna & Diop having a meltdown, that’s what cost us the match.
Totally agree. Antonio can barely last 2 games in a row yet we need him for rest of the season. He needs to be managed. If we are a ‘one man’s team reliant on a very injury prone player we have no chance.
I agree. Antonio was exhausted and considering he is injury prone would be a risk to play him for 90. The whole team were playing on fumes in the last 20 minutes, we were lucky to get a draw. The team definitely need a rest.
Clueless comment, Antonio is our main threat in a must win game when noble and snodgrass legs only last 60 mins.
The last person you take off is Antonio even if he misses the next 2 matches we had to beat Brighton.
Agree completely if Antonio had got injured due to fatigue people would be up in arms. The truth is we need the rest of the team or subs to step up when one player goes off. In American football, they say next man up the onus is on the next player up to fill or exceed the void left. Not rocket science but that mentality has to be installed on the training ground, despite results I am confident Moyes with support from the team will get it right, although it is a race against time COYI !!!
Agree with your assessment. This is management failures..he don’t know what he is doing,
I sure when he was at sunderland they went down. He don’t know how to see out games.
Dead right. The loss of 2 points sit squarely on Moyes’ shoulders. Clear as daylight.
For a match we were winning comfortably, the manager totally messed it up just with Antonio’s replacement with Masuaku.
And worst of all, just like Pelligrini, he refuses to admit it. Blames fatigue … really ?
Now no amount of training can correct bad decision-making. That gets get done by candid admission. Come on Moyes !!!!!!