Hammers’ Three points against Newcastle could be the first step on the ladder up and away from the relegation zone . Whilst expectations against Arsenal come Saturday will be realistic, the West Ham United team yesterday were just that – united, reading from the same hymn sheet, working as one – however you describe it, they played as a unit to score twice and keep a clean sheet at a very cold, hostile St James’ Park.
Lopetegui must now have a reprieve. How long that lasts is dependent upon the performances that follow. As fans, we are all invested in seeing more performances like that – nobody will begrudge J’Lo his success if it is forged out of gutsy, entertaining wins like that.
But Arsenal come to visit with a pretty decent record and again, West Ham will be the underdogs. Lose and the repercussions are not desperate thanks to yesterdays’ three points. However, looking at the report in caughtoffside.com today it would appear there is a very good chance that Leicester could appoint Hammers’ former ‘hero’ – Conference-League winning Manager David Moyes as their own new boss, before the two clubs meet on 3rd December at the King Power Stadium.
Their article:”West Ham hero could be offered Leicester City job” confirms Moyes is one of three shortlisted for the Foxes’ job.
What a fixture that would be were Moyes appointed! How each manager (head coach) would want to win that one! David Moyes would rise again to threaten Lopetegui’s own renaissance. Only in football.
For Moyes, the chance to stick it to the club who didn’t offer him an acceptable contract after his overseeing the first trophy win since 1980 would be huge. For Lopetegui to show ‘his’ resurgent West Ham of last night is here to stay – I’m itchy with anticipation already!
Astonishing … Don’t the owners of clubs watch football ? Moyes track record is awful and his so called brand of football is terrible . He has wasted multi millions of pounds on dud transfers or has purchased good players and then ruined them . Numerous centre forwards who had been doing well joined the West Ham strikers graveyard or were passed over as not good enough only to re emerge as top class strikers with their new clubs who got them for next to nothing after Moyes wrote them off .
The jury is still very much out on J Lo, like Moyes we had occasional good results, where our opponents didn’t take their chances and we were clinical.
It’s whether we can consistently win games doing that or better that will determine if we are to be successful, we were among the leading teams for running against Newcastle that’s a stat worth following too, can we maintain that physicality over a series of games or longer.
Moyes will do what he has always tried to do if they appoint him at Leicester, whether they have the quality to win enough games like that, creating moments and capitalising on them and whether Leicester fans will be happy with the boring style.
Until yesterday I saw nothing to make me think that Lopetegui would ever come good. But that performance at Newcastle was genuinely good, cohesion, energy, good on the eye, a deserved away win at a place where wins are not easily come by.
That performance proves that it can be done, we now need to see that it can be done more than once. I’m now looking for good performances that might result in wins, more of the same. It has opened me up to being convinced again.