West Ham a club unsure of it’s direction.
Its difficult to watch a respected hard working manager like David Moyes toil at West Ham. With points of views from all sides concerning West Hams current predicament, I am left asking what predicament?
The team currently sits 8th and for now they have comfortably sailed away from the relegation scrap they were flirting with last season. And after the Europa Conference League triumph last year it’s hard to picture just why there is so much noise surrounding the team and Moyes in the first place.
Look a little more astutely though and I believe the answer to such discontent amongst supporters is much simpler than it appears to be.
For all the statistics and all the analysis of West Ham this season, the problem to me is quite clear and the problem is progress. From what I can see and decipher, fans of West Ham have become fed up.
And it’s as simple as that. Fed up with being left behind, fed up with the apparent turgid football they are seeing week upon week now.
Yes David Moyes has weathered storms far greater, yet it would seem managers of his like are running out of time in the modern game. The days of sitting deep and putting players behind the ball seem to be withering away in the top flight in England.
And fans are beginning to grow restless. Tired of paying high prices and receiving dogged, pragmatic football in return. I am by no means suggesting Moyes should leave, I am suggesting though reasons for the argument.
Its not unreasonable for a West Ham fan to ask, what’s the direction? Especially after winning a European trophy, many were expecting progress on and off the field. 8th West Ham may be yet the football truly has been tepid at best.
With teams like Brighton, Wolves, Brentford, Bournemouth and even lowly Burnley attempting to play a more aggressive, expansive type of game. There’s a danger that West Ham are being left behind.
To the Hammers fans they would expect from that group that they would be head and shoulders or at least on par when it comes to footballing philosophy. The table CAN lie though, West Ham maybe 8th yet it’s easy to imagine many of those games that were wins and draws could have been swapped for losses.
A 6–0 demolition by the gunners exposed just how fragile things are right now for West Ham. It wasn’t the scoreline, it was the nature of it. Players stood still watching as Arsenal ran rampant, Moyes tactics of sitting deep and hitting teams on the counter nullified by arsenals superiority on the ball.
There’s the issue I believe. Fans are tired of being put thorough an emotional wringer every week. Having to rely on moments and snippets of magic. It’s difficult to watch.
And the recent 2–0 defeat to Nottingham Forest felt like a fresh hammer blow to an already frail structure. West Ham passive and almost disinterested were miserable.
Yes players have been injured or absent due to international concerns. Yet other teams in worse strife have coped better and still managed to implement an attractive brand of football. Even before injuries to key players such as Paqueta and Antonio, the team still flattered to deceive.
With skilled progressive players such as Kudus, Paqueta, Ward -Prowse, a change of style would seem logical to accommodate their talents. And with a manager as experienced as Moyes it wouldn’t be too much to ask from fans for a little more bang for their buck.
With teams who apparently should be seated below them adopting more modern approaches to their football, West Ham fans in my opinion have a right to ask the question. Just what are we? What is the direction? What is the ambition? And is Moyes the right man for the job?
I cannot give all the answers. Opinions I can. It would seem the club has ambition when ambition presents itself. The Conference League success only attainable after being dumped from the Europa league. Opportunism at it’s finest and well taken at that.
It would seem the hierarchy at West Ham are happy as long as relegation isn’t a factor. For a club of West Hams stature though, avoiding relegation should never really be a point of conversation from the start.
The conversation should begin around progression and forward thinking. How to move the club forward in a direction fitting of the team they have and the club they are. Smaller teams with apparently lesser players and lesser budgets are able to get a better tune and play a more fan friendly type of game than them. And this will be and is an issue, a glaring one.
The Premier League now surrounds itself with thinking managers and coaches. With innovative tweaks and tactics pushing the game further. West Ham seem to be stuck in the mud. Unsure of what they want to be and nervous about changing a structure they’ve had for years now.
Yes David Moyes has put out many fires at the club, saving them from relegation and winning them their first European trophy. Yet have they improved? Yes, I would say so. In terms of avoiding scrappy bottom end of the table battles then yes they have improved. Yet the nature of the football and the ire from fans tells a much different story here.
A story that cannot be validated with statistics and XGs. But more on what the eyes can see. And all the eyes can see right now is that this team is not very good at all.
Moyes may have saved the club before and won them a trophy. Yet what does that matter when there really is nothing to be excited about. Either Moyes has to adapt, which right now seems far far away from reality as most managers as we know are insanely stubborn. Or I’m afraid there really is only one way this is going to go.
It’s easy to imagine a scenario where Moyes stays and it’s also easy to imagine one where he doesn’t. Either way, there are risks in both. Get rid of Moyes and sack a manager who has proven his mettle when the going gets tough to get results. Or go with the new, get in someone who is progressive and proactive and either sink or sail.
The 4–2 win over Brentford on Monday seemed to quell the surge of negativity surrounding the team for now. I suspect though that this won’t be the last word said on the subject in the remaining months of the season.
It’s easy for us mere fans to suggest and scrutinise. But when it comes down to those decisions, where the wrong one could lead to disaster it’s up to those at the top to make the tough calls. In terms of what they should do, it’s difficult to come up with a suggestion. Any decision has risks attached in this game, even forward thinking ones. For a club of West Hams stature I just hope they make the right one, regardless of what that decision is.
