Match verdict by Hughie Southon
It’s just as well David Moyes explained a week ago that relegation is a thing of the past at West Ham otherwise, I may have been worried.
Even though we were as bad I can remember today according to the man at the top everything is cool, and we are gonna be in the mix for Europe at the end of the season.
May I remind Mr Moyes of another R word called reality. Despite recent results we have been entirely unconvincing and today two of the new signing Kehrer and Scamacca were among those who impressed the least.
Soucek was subbed, Benny scored a great goal and then went absent, Bowen certainly wasn’t at his best and Mikey looked lost for 45 minutes.
The Hammers were sloppy and slovenly and even unable to give us the usual second 45 minute we have become uscd to.
We were poor throughout and unless we manage to beat Leicester City in our next game we will have a World Cup period when our worries will be as familiar as they have been for years past.
Why we are so slow out of the blocks is becoming a seriously worrying problem and out ability today to build on a great goal made things even worse.
Kehrer’s mistake for one of the Palace goals was a shocker and for much of the time he looked what he is – a £1o million footballer.
Scamacca was never at the races and looked like a player worth a lot less whilst Moyes himself, unless someone corrects me, has played the same one up ultra-defensive system all season.
Teams now know exactly how to play against us and the manager needs to look at himself and his style. If things don’t improve and fast – as he continually claims will be the case – he could easily be facing the exit door.
Three defeats from the last four Premier League games just won’t do following the three from our four opening PL matches.
It’s the stuff to have him looking over his shoulder and so he should.
And whatever the board may or may not say they are surely thinking the same.
Irrespective of what any of us think or believe, history shows that manager’s of underperforming teams get sacked. The board can put out all the statements they want, but if we start with more losses than wins after the shame cup then Moyes will be sacked. Too much money riding on prem survival.
As for a replacement, I don’t know, but sacking a manager is reactive, so it’ll be whoever we can get at that point.
While the break may affect teams differently, and shake up the league somewhat, I believe our current tactical approach will be as ineffective then as it is now unfortunately. I hope I’m wrong.
A bad day at the office – Craig Dawson, who I love, made a cock-up – hold your hands up and move on! 😳
Soucek has been poor this year and is under strong pressure from Flynn Downes – time to make the decision and give Soucek a period on the bench! 🤔
Benrahma scored a cracker, but Moyes is right he was otherwise pretty anonymous – my objection would to bringing Lanzini on before Fornals, in my eyes Lanzini is a nothing player – harsh but fair! 🙄
A bad day, we were second best all over the field – we need to persevere with Scamacca and Paqueta, I feel they are both class players and you can’t have too much class! 😳
Lastly and importantly, Crystal Palace are a good team, play nice football and were better than us on the day – we on the other hand were not really in the game, have a few players out of form, and no discernible style of playing! 🙄
Tend to agree with Clive. Schoolboy errors cost us the game so can’t pin that on Moyes.
The clamour for Moyes to go is understandable but whi would come in ?.Certainly not Pochinetto as he is waiting for an established Champions league club. Tuchel is the same. So outers start naming who is out there, personally I can’t think of anyone!
Bielsa
Parker
Sampoli
Beale
Benitez
Dyche
Gerrard
Bosz
Frank
No idea which would be good or consider it, but to say there isn’t anyone is obviously not true. Brighton, Wolves and Villa have just gone and hired people. So we can too.
Just a thought but we had Haller at £45m, we’ve now got Scammacca for £35m and both are and were expected to play up front on their own. Bowen was provider last season but not doing it this.Benrahma unfortunately the only player with any idea how to provide a goal and is not Moyes favourite so spends more time on the bench than on the pitch. We bought a left back who’s not good enough to replace Cressie and Soucek gets selected for every game regardless of his performances. Regardless of my comments,I see a lot of talent in this team but the manager is killing it! Time to go DM.
Absolutely spot on 19 . Europe is covering over the gaping cracks . Moyes must go now .COYI
Fully agree Hugh.
When you have a manager who moans that he hasn’t got a strong enough squad and then moans that he had TOO MANY new players in the summer – that he only wanted four – you know he his grasping at straws.
Good teams do their business early in the window and get the players bedded in by early in the season. As usual, we were slow off the mark. But for Moyes to use this as an excuse for the team under-performing in this appalling way is absolute shameful.
Is Poch still available?
We went to Luton for the pre-season friendly. Nothing has improved since then. 11 headless chickens running around. No forward pass, goal-keeper taking ages to bring the roll forwards, defence sluggish, mid-field overwhelmed, forwards disorganised,and substitutions unimpactful. And, for that my family spends around £5,000 a year to follow these millionaires. There is recession starting and families are making a big sacrifice to support ‘their’ club. Yet, Moyes fails to accept that his tactics, organisation of team and lack of energy and huge number of sideways and backward passes are failing us on the field. One game lost is bad luck. But, when you see number of points picked up since January and number of goals scored it is relegation form. We need to be grateful to Moyes and Antonio for what they did to save us from relegation. But, they have been handsomely paid and cheered. We must make a change mid-Jan if results don’t improve in the time in between. Just look at football Newcastle, Fulham and Brighton are playing compared to our lot. It’s about time the ticket prices and salaries paid were adjusted to player ratings and league position achieved.
To continue to play out of form players in an ultra-defensive system when you have a great squad of flair players. Moyes won’t change he has been unsuccessful for 20 plus years, the board must act now ……
It’s a worry, not just one performance, even though it was woeful, but the whole set up. This six or seven defensive players out of ten, with one solo striker, has been found out. We are choking ourselves, unable to pass forward, and Scamacca will never fill that lone striker role, it’s not his game. Today, we made Palace look like Barcelona. Moyes’ mindset is defence. Creative players are rationed and swapped – he never puts them on together, he expects solo attacking performances? It never occurs to him to add to Benny in midfield, he just hooks him. Antonio and Scamacca? No chance. Play Soucek, leave the ball players on the bench – Moyes law. We are on the crest of a slump!!
A lot of us have been highlighting Moyes’s negativity, defensiveness, too stubborn for a long time now and we were basically told to shut it we were called armchair supporters etc etc.. We knew Moyes did not have the offensive approach to move this team to another level. His treatment of technical players like Benrahma and now Fornals and Lanzini and his business to certain underperforming players is terrible for squad morale. All I wanted was Moyes to change his approach and pick teams who are set up to win games. I would have been very happy if he did but unfortunately for the past 12 months nearly his apprach has cost us massive points. He now has to go and be replacing by an attack minded coach who will get the best out of this fabulous squad. I really hope that the owners are blinded by bearing average teams in Europe.
Here’s a team…
David James,
Anton Ferdinand
Thomas Repka
Glen Johnson
Nigel Winterburn
Michael Carrick
Trevor Sinclair
Joe Cole
Jermain Defoe
Les Ferdinand
Paolo Dicanio
This team (and the wider squad) equal to or slightly better than we have now, were actually tipped by Gerrard Houllier for CL football and Arsen Wenger even thought they might challenge for the title…
They were relegated in 2003 with arguably a more progressive manager than Moyes.
Time for a manger change NOW!
Hughie…..remember his job is safe!!
He can try all the systems in the world but he’s been told his job is safe.
We finished 7 in the best league of the footballing world last season and we scraped our way in to a European conference league, we play basically championship or league one opposition and think we are the bees knees but we are still playing like a championship side and that’s not a European championship!
Losing to these poor side, whether by a deflected shot or not after nearly $200 million we must….no we have to expect better from Moyes and this team. Sorry rant over (& my father is a Craptal Palace fan) 🤬
We were poor. No player played well. You’ve got to look at the players. Shocking passing, including the ball hammered at Kehrer by Dawson which led to their equaliser. Kehrer though has had one too many mistakes leading to goals since he’s come in though. Bowen and Souchek both in poor form this year. Benrahma scored a good goal but went missing afterwards and maybe shouldn’t have been playing in the first place since he was carrying an injury and was strapped up before the game. They were all poor, even Rice. Complete shambles. Worst game for years. At least it can only get better in the next game. Once Aguerd and Downes are starting the games I think we will improve.
Sadly Hugh, I am forced to agree with you. I have never been a Moyes fan, but I was really hoping that things were going to at least tick over nicely in the League, whilst we won through in Europe.
This cannot go on, there are good Managers out there, let’s start looking for one who is positive.
Could not agree more……….. Get rid of Dinosaur Dave now before it’s too late ……