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Moyes silences doubters again
(From The Telegraph) Even into the ninth minute of the seven added on, David Moyes continued to rock from side to side, bellowing instructions. Like a spinning instructor at a trendy west London gym, his screams were aimed at no one and everyone all at once.
The Sunday afternoon had started perfectly. West Ham capitalised from a mistake by Nottingham Forest’s Nicolas Dominguez who hit one of their player with an attempted pass which was picked up by Lucas Paqueta. West Ham’s no. 10 took possession and finished into the corner from 18 yards. It looked simple; it was not. That is Paqueta’s beauty.
But two Nottingham goals either side of the break meant that West Ham were trailing at home, and with a lot of opportunities squandered, the fear to lose another home game following the defeat to Everton two weeks ago was there.
Finally, proceedings ended with West Ham ahead, and Moyes cut through the air with a fist. On to the pitch he strode with purpose – Moyes does nothing without it – embracing each of his players warmly. Another hard-earned victory. Another win as much about industry as it was desire. Another crisis averted. Ahead, behind and, finally, ahead again. Phew.
The Moyes/West Ham supporter dynamic is intriguing. For almost four years now, he has brought relative success to the London Stadium. A pair of top-seven finishes. The Europa Conference League title. What can more reasonably be expected?
And, yet, Moyes is only ever a defeat or two from a “must-win” fixture. Winless in four Premier League games, that hum had returned for the umpteenth time. The half-time jeers (it was 1-1 at that point) suggested a support base ready to froth.
“I think I did, yes,” Moyes said when asked if he needed this win. Then he rightly offered up the fact that West Ham have both a Carabao Cup quarter-final pre-Christmas and guaranteed European football come the new year. “It’s very difficult to isolate any one competition,” he continued. “Or you just say, ‘We only play one competition’. But we actually are active in three competitions. There’s a good chance, if you’re in three competitions, that you might not win all the games. We try to be competitive in them all, if we can.”
Tomas Soucek’s late header won it, Jarrod Bowen having earlier risen to nod West Ham level. Both met second-half James Ward-Prowse corners. “World-class,” is how Moyes described the deliveries, while declaring himself “thrilled” with both the opening and the finale.
Misery continued – Moyes out?
We have been massive lately (in the Prague final back in May and at the start of this season), but that’s merely history now and the presence shows that “we’re still West Ham”. Therefore it’s no surprise that a memorable 3-1 win in the League Cup over Arsenal is followed by an other league defeat away against Brentford.
And it didn’t take long until the “Moyes out brigade” is out again though the Hammers are still 11th in the PL table. It is due to the unexpected good start in to this Premier League season that West Ham has enough points (14) on board to avoid being dragged too near to the relegation places by gaining only one point out of 12 in the last four matches of the Premier League. And it’s also a blessing for West Ham that so far other teams like Sheffield Utd., Burnley, Bournemouth and Luton are still on just 6 and 4 points respectively. But Everton which is ranked 16th, has got 11 points now, and if the Hammers were losing out in their next home game against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, a drop in the table maybe could not be avoided anymore.
In midweek it’s Europe League time again, and the opponents are Olympiakos, the team which ended the formidable unbeaten run of our massive Hammers two weeks ago by beating them after 17 consecutive European games in which the Hammers had remained without defeat. With a win West Ham would secure their progress from the group stage!
Let’s look back to the English Football League Cup aka Carabao Cup named after an energy drink since 2017. One week ago, that was a “big scalp” for West Ham, being the first English team to beat Arsenal this season. (The Hammers weren’t the first victorious opponent of the Gunners as they had already lost in the Champions League at Lens!)
With this 3-1 win, the Irons inflicted defeat to Declan Rice on his return to the London Stadium and are in in the quarter final of the EFL Cup now. However, they have been drawn against Liverpool away which could mean that their cup run is going to end before Christmas. The game will be played on 20 December. In the unexpected case of progressing to the semifinal this would be the first time to reach this stage of the League Cup since 2011!
Though if West Ham was to lose again in the next two games, the “Moyes out!” brigade would get louder and louder! Crescendo forte, fortissimo!
And unfortunately it’s true that the performance on display this past weekend again raised questions over whether David Moyes is the manager who can get the absolute best out of a squad currently filled with great talent. Now with West Ham conceding far too many goals in the last games, it is more than understandable that Moyes is under scrutiny again. However, I think that he will not be sacked before the end of the season, especially when the Hammers should reach the next round of the Europa League which could be possible as soon as Thursday.
Come on you Irons!
Bobby Charlton Dies
Sir Bobby Charlton, England World Cup winner in 1966 and Man Utd legend, died aged 86.
Charlton won 106 caps for England and scored 49 international goals – records for his country at the time.
Widely considered as one of the greatest players of all time, the attacking midfielder who spent much of his career at Manchester United died surrounded by his family.
EXTRA TIME 
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