Worn-out West Ham players return to “hoof it” footballBy Simon Leyland
Worn-out West Ham players concede another goal against Crystal Palace
It was plainly obvious that West Ham looked drained during the last half an hour against Liverpool. So much so, you would have expected more changes for this game.
Instead, the lads were pushed again, reminiscent of last season when the same 11 were eventually burnt out. This season, we have the back-ups but for some strange reason they are not being used.
Worse, is that over a full season, there has been scant evidence that Moyes has even tried to play a passing game.
Instead, it’s the same old panic hoof in the hope Antonio or Bowen would pick it up. Every Premier League manager knows this tactic and has developed a counter for it. Did West Ham win any second phase ball? No, as the manager explained. Exactly !
Once your main tactic is blocked, then what? That’s down to the style of play that has been coached. I am not going to talk about Moyes, because we will be here all day!
But I find it amazing that we have our first team coach Mark Warburton who has obviously studied in detail all the different set ups and ways to play, but we have never seen any evidence of that knowledge or application.
We only seem to play Low block football which can be exciting when you have a set of world class forwards, which West Ham patently don`t.
The next two games are against City away and United at home, where you have that sinking feeling of the Irons going into the semi-final of the Europa Conference on the back of four defeats, confidence shot to bits and burnt- out players with no idea how to get themselves out except to run harder!
They are either not coached to position themselves to support and receive, or understand what the “correct” pass means.
West Ham enjoyed a little bounce recently but this result lays clear the limitations of their approach, tactics, coaching and team selection.
And finally I should also point out that the penalty given was so soft that I hear that Andrex will put it on their packaging next week.
Exactly the same as last season, where we dropped off like a brick as the same dozen were exhausted yet flogged mercilessly. So we should be seeing lots of change and in-match rotation, but we don’t. Kehrer, Lanzini, Johnson, Downes, Cornet, Ogbonna, Fornals, all the U21’s, either seldom used or not used. So now the first dozen are knackered. Now we not only lose but top players get injured. How big is the Zouma injury? How deep are we in it? Two more home games and we need a minimum of 3 points. Nowhere near guaranteed yet Moyes won’t/can’t change.
The penalty discussion just masks the major problem which is Moyes. We got battered yesterday and Palace deserved to win the game full stop. Moyes’s ability to mis manage the best squad of players we have possibly ever had is frightening. I keep saying after spending 150m on the summer to think our only goal treat was a tired Soucek is just a terrible reflection on Moyes. If the club had actually anything about them they would sack him now before this gets any worse.