As expected David Moyes lived up to his defensive and cautious reputation by deciding that a £22 million signing aimed at helping save our season started his West Ham life on the bench tonight.
However, apparently Arthur Masuaku is good enough to start although Pablo Fornals will play no part having been left out of the squad.
So what we are left with is a team that’s failed time and again – with the exception of Tomas Soucek – one that is left looking either for a miracle or maybe four red cards or so for City.
An in explaining his team selection decision to Sky the Scot declared that in his experience players from the Championship take time to settle.
We don’t have the time for that sort of thinking – we need players who can make a difference now and Jarrod Bowen is the one most likely to do that.
Disappointing didn’t begin to cover it as he said: “From my experience of the boys I’ve bought from the Championship, it takes them a little time to settle.
Obviously there is a clamour from everybody to put your new players in, but I want to give them a chance to settle in.
“What I’ve seen of him, I’ve been really impressed. He’s look sharp, he’s looked quick, he’s obviously match-fit and ready to go and maybe if it was a different game I’d look at it differently, but I’ve given boys from the Championship a bit of time to settle into the speed and tempo of the Premier League, as I think that’s very important.”
Thus his team is: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku, Rice, Noble (c), Soucek, Snodgrass, Antonio. Subs: Randolph (GK), Zabaleta, Balbuena, Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Bowen, Haller
Very depressing. Saving them for the surprise upset of LVP?
What a load of rubbish. Why did the board give
Moyes the job. He is scared to play football. What a disappointment.
Mans a joke
Dead rubber let’s look at how we are going to line up for winnable games ⚽️☹️
What is fornals crime exactly ?
Definitely starting to fear for Fornals. He’d just started to find his feet in the Premiership before Moyes arrived. i’m starting to believe the conspiracy theories about his absence being related to additional fees due based on appearances.
Ridiculous.Going to defend for 90 minutes then.The only teams that get anything from teams like city are those that are brave enough to give it a go.Bowen and Haller will come on when its 2 or 3 nil.So predictable I give up.
How’s Bowen going to get settled into the speed and tempo of the Premier league unless he plays in it. He can’t get it on the training ground. This is damage limitation with no sign of any ambition to get anything from the game.
Nobody gives us a chance anyway so why not, at least, give the new boy a bit of match time with his new team mates. At least we’d get something that way.
Flabbergasted!
I want Moyes and Nolan out of our club now, I was due to travel to game and I am delighted I did not but feel so sorry for the fans that have travelled to see the team he has picked. He has no respect for the club, get him out of our club now. A complete and utter clueless defensive manager who should be sacked in the morning. I have to say those people who supported his appointment should take a good look at themselves. We are heading for relegation not because of the players but the manager. Nolan is no better in my opinion, a loyal clueless coach.
Mom tbh a load of crap, Moyes is just not good enough. Could really write a lot more but it would get censored & not posted but I’m Fxxking seething at the negativity in the line up.
Just watched first half, Masuaku! You just cant make it up, and as for Moyes, words fail me
Just watched the first half. We are going down. Not a hope.
The last 10yrs have been hard to live with but the appointment of this Muppet moyes is the straw that has finally broken me his Team selection just baffles me we are in a dire situation but he chooses to try and sit back and defend against city? we have not been able to defend against lower quality sides? so how he expects us to defend against quality i dont know personally i would rather see us give it a go and lose by 2 or 3 but just sit and do nothing sad to say i dont think i can take anymore of this under the present owners and management i have supported this club since birth 59 yrs but just cannot take anymore of this RUBBISH
Utterly pathetic!
We will not get anywhere near a result from either of the 2 games with negative clueless tactics we seem to be playing to.
They say to set a team up and play to your strengths well watching this crap week in week out i’m finding it very hard to see any strengths.
Recent weeks we have seen teams like Shuff United and the Palace take the game to City and almost come away with results so why on earth cant we?
Pathetic!!
Moyes is so cautious, he doesn’t understand that our best players need to be on the pitch and playing to have an effect!
Bowen looked lively when he came on, but spent most of his time defending?
Moyes was probably comfortable with a narrow defeat from the start. He’ll probably take the same against Liverpool, but if he’s got a different game plan for Arsenal and Chelsea (and he’ll need one), why didn’t he trial it against City?
Why is Masauku still playing he has proved tine & again he cannot defend, surelyBowen should be put in ASAP he has two weeks to settle in Moyes does not know what he is doing at this rate he will not be here past this season
Moyes is the worst manager in the league by a country mile, what a lucky man to be getting paid for a job he isn’t good enough to do………………………….
We are a total embarrassment to Football and deserve to be relegated, us as fans are being cheated, appointing Moyes again was an utter disgrace.
Get him out before we go down.
This was Zabaletta’s testimonial by the looks of it! Very cowardly tactics & team selection! I’d rather we’d had a proper go at them even if it ended up 4 or 5-2!
Well played Moyes. Keep Haller, Anderson, Lanzini rested. We are going to need them in the obviously winnable games.
not much chance of winning away to city. Defensive best way to go for Moyes. goal difference could be decisive at the end of season. Go out like Pellegrini trying to all out attack and you just lose five or six nil.
To be quite honest we started the season with a manager that’s tactics were attack, attack, attack , and now we have a manager that’s tactics seem to be contain, contain ,contain!!! It’s not boding well either way for our team?? Players who were bought in to attack sidelined ??? Players brought in to defend can’t defend to save their lives (Masuaku) ? Now I’m not a expert or have any coaching badges but like many other people on this website I can see what’s wrong which begs me the question people are taking a lot of money called managers and coaches and surely they must see what us the supporter’s can see ? Or can they ? So why the hell can’t they get things right or is it that confusing ? Because at the moment the team seem to be stuck in the middle of a road like rabbits in headlights and relegation is looming???
OMG can’t believe it WTF is Dave doing?????I thought you came BACK to prove a point????? Go to Man City and as a team turn up JUST to help them out with their training session FFS What is going on and can you David tell us all WTF you and Snograss were chatting about ……… What’s a nice place to eat after the game ???? Why wasn’t Noble there in on it ??? Why didn’t we take it to them???? We’ve had a winter break from football lmfao We looked so slow and after 15 20 minutes blowing out of back sides and had the rest of the night to go ……. Dave WE got Liverpool on Monday ?? SO what’s your game play on this one then ????? WEST HAM ARE BRAKING HEART SOMEONE PLEASE HELP US PLEASE XXX
As expected, except finally getting out of your half and then passing straight to the opposition is just inept. 50k a week and I give it straight back really isn’t cricket
Moyes did the right thing, I remember the game earlier in the season City are not that good defensively and their midfield make nasty fouls to stop any good movement as high up the pitch as possible. Moyes did not want to expose some of our important players to bad injuries when we are going to need them in more important games. It looks like we have lost Fredericks for a while as it is, I remember them making some really horrible fouls in the previous game and refs don’t seem to punish them hardly, what is the good of a free kick in the centre circle having given their defence time to get set.
Giving Bowen 11 mins of play WTF