West Ham Utd 2-3 Southampton (26/12/21)

[stu1]

And your point is?

Isn’t it pretty obvious.

I’ve just explained it.

[jastons]

I think the Moyes Out comments were tongue in cheek. His style of football is dull though.

The style of football under Moyes for the past 18 months has been some of the best I've ever seen from West Ham.

[paulhs1]

The style of football under Moyes for the past 18 months has been some of the best I've ever seen from West Ham.

And nearly every single football pundit on TV and radio agrees with you.

[westham,eggyandchips]

Losing Oggy was huge, losing Zouma and Creswell, along with Coufal's loss in form, has been a disaster.

Pretty much summed up.

Anyone that thinks Dawson, Diop and Arthur will "do a job" are wrong. All 3 are lower end PL/Championship level. But they are all we have so I guess we'll have to get on with it and hope things will improve. Personally, I doubt it will.

We're still massive though.

[e-20]

Concerns me that I can’t see anything that is going to turn this slump that’s been on the cards for a while around. Players who have been at the heart of our greater than the sum form are clearly knackered. The confidence that raised as both team and individual form now shot as others who have taken advantage of that leadership now look more average, while players coming in are clearly not of sufficient quality as we all knew they weren’t. They can do a job in a side full of confidence, effort and zip but look like rabbits when that’s lost leading overall to a sum less than the whole now. And of course those injuries won’t recover to help matters any time soon. Totally and desperately reliant on the window now to retrieve matters I fear but is there a Lingard out there who can instantly effect matters and can Moyes conservatism take early advantage of any likely imports?

[bonzosbeard]

I like to think we have enough points in bag to be more than safe.

The next few weeks will be interesting how it plays out. We could struggle for a while but I'm going for Moyes to turn it around. We actually might have to play it tight. Miserly with attack. Just for a bit. Let's see. Could be fun.

[stu1]

I like to think we have enough points in bag to be more than safe.

We are 1000/1 to get relegated on sky bet, worth a couple pound if you are in any doubt.

[paulhs1]

I like to think we have enough points in bag to be more than safe.

The next few weeks will be interesting how it plays out. We could struggle for a while but I'm going for Moyes to turn it around. We actually might have to play it tight. Miserly with attack. Just for a bit. Let's see. Could be fun.

This post should be in the positivity thread.

I think we'll finish top 8 this season and hopefully have a good run in the EL and FA cup.

The team can turn it around.

[BigFatSam]

Squad issues have well and truly come to fruition. Need about 4/5 players to have a chance at competing in top 8. Never want to go to a Boxing Day home game again, was utterly horrible, really depressing day all round.

[Southminster Hammer]

We are in a bad run of form granted, but I think our game management is letting us down as well as other things. Past 2 games, conceded quickly after scoring, we had plenty of time left to get the winner, make sure the team is set up right and defensively sound, make it difficult for the opposition to break us down etc.

[Ironing Board]

So much pessimism. Have to think that playing Watford and Leeds will help us turn our form around!

[stu1]

So much pessimism. Have to think that playing Watford and Leeds will help us turn our form around!

The thought of King and Dennis against our current defence does not fill me with confidence.

We need to hope our attacking players turn up, as their defence is probably worse than ours.

[Ironing Board]

The thought of King and Dennis against our current defence does not fill me with confidence.

We need to hope our attacking players turn up, as their defence is probably worse than ours.

People on here kept saying King was crap when I suggested we sign him!

[Bonzos4Lagers]

This post should be in the positivity thread.

I think we'll finish top 8 this season and hopefully have a good run in the EL and FA cup.

The team can turn it around.

I have a suspicion that we hit our early season targets and are paying the price: top 4 in the League, through to the Europa in March, still in the League until this week, FA Cup to follow. In other words, we were alive in 4 competitions and lost focus because that's exactly what we wanted to achieve. Complacency: I see a drop in intensity and work rate (Antonio, Benrahma, Soucek, arguably Fornals) in addition to the injuries (Oggy, Cresswell, Zouma, previously Coufal.) The poor results worsen the situation until we're at the point now where international duties, COVID, lack of focus (Masuaku, Diop) and drifting away from what got us here (sheer hard word work) is costing us games. Rice and Bowen have kept the bar high; no blame on Fabianski or Lanzini (although he's showing up for games.) Yarmo does not make us better.

We need to press reset in a hurry. We've achieved nothing so far this season, but we still have a good platform to have a really good second half of the season.
COYI!

[pablo jaye]

This game (and the past month) have had an air of inevitability about them - a perfect storm of injuries, lack of confidence and poor form.

The coaches need to do something with Arthur, whose performance yesterday epitomised two of those. The poor chap seems to be low on confidence - whereas the last 18 months have seen the team passing quickly, moving off the ball and getting things going, he does seem to take one touch too many, not be sure about what he is going to do with the ball and as a consequence everything breaks down. There is a player there, if his decision making can be brushed up a bit.

[chalks]

Biggest offender today .......

Moyes.

I bet you masturbate after every post

[funky chicken]

So much pessimism. Have to think that playing Watford and Leeds will help us turn our form around!

I thought the same when we played Burnley and Southampton too.

[ironilunga]

I thought the same when we played Burnley and Southampton too.

We can’t win them all. Our squad is not as good or as big as those ahead of us.

He is on a hiding to nothing is Moyes. If we had beaten Wolves and Soton but lost to Liverpool and Chelsea he’d be getting grief for not knowing how to play the big boys…like he did last season.

6th in the league - happy days!

[funky chicken]

We can’t win them all. Our squad is not as good or as big as those ahead of us.

He is on a hiding to nothing is Moyes. If we had beaten Wolves and Soton but lost to Liverpool and Chelsea he’d be getting grief for not knowing how to play the big boys…like he did last season.

6th in the league - happy days!

Oh for sure. I was just making the point we shouldn’t just assume just because we are playing certain teams we are guaranteed to go on and start picking up wins.

If I was offered to be in 6th place at the start of the season I’d absolutely take it. Considering the money and the resources teams above us have, even finishing one place lower in 7th this season wouldn’t be a failure.

[The Sherriff]

Frustrating and disappointing, though kinda inevitable given our squad constraints.

As good as Rice is, he annoyed me yesterday …. Needlessly instructing us to kick the ball out when we were attacking. Ended up surrendering 60yards with the resulting passage of play eventually leading to a goal. Saints were time wasting as soon they as they got their first.

Another poor and confusing refereeing performance. Dawson makes first contact well outside the box with the ball nowhere within playing distance … unless the laws have changed, the first infringement is a foul right?

Every team gets injuries, we shouldn’t be in a position where we are so dependent on a 32yr old LB and 33yr CB though. Feels like our squad has been stretched since Moyes returned. Weve massively over achieved and now the players are now running on empty. Unfortunately we simply don’t have the options or alternatives to rest players or change a game from the bench.

On a poor run and it’s not going to get any easier …… plus we’re one of the few teams yet to be really impacted by COVID omissions. Games now feel like a slog where as before I felt we were confident.