WEST HAM UNITED
MOYES’ RENAISSANCE HAS BEEN STARTLING, SHIFTING THE IRONS TO EURO CONTENDERS
THE PLAN
Continue snapping at the heels of the Super League teams, hold off the Saudi money and fashion another European run. All using one striker, apparently. The renaissance under manager David Moyes has been startling, with West Ham shifting from perennial relegation candidates to European semi- finalists
and achieving the almost impossible task of making supporters forget how bad the London Stadium truly is. The immediate task is to get the transfer policy back to the consistency that brought the arrivals of Tomas Soucek, Jarrod Bowen and Vladimir Coufal, and away from the profligacy of buying Said Benrahma and Nikola Vlasic. With the squad verging on the elderly, the time for a rebuild is due as all efforts again go into keeping Declan Rice, now captain after Mark Noble’s retirement.
LESSON FROM LAST YEAR
Footballers get tired. The not- all- thatunintentional side effect of the Europa League is that it generally prevents Champions League wannabes from getting a second run at the prize. The Hammers were the latest to find this, despite unusually competing on four fronts, and matters worsened to such an extent that Moyes started larruping balls at an unsuspecting lad on the Eintracht Frankfurt touchline. The small squad performed miracles in keeping things competitive for a large part of the campaign, but faltered, exhausted at the last, and not helped by the selfinflicted wound of steadfastly refusing to sign a backup for Michail Antonio. Turns out that ‘ vibes’ aren’t as effective an understudy for the Jamaican as Sebastien Haller, who bagged 34 goals in 43 appearances for Ajax last season.
THE MOOD
Like a gang of kids who’ve snuck into a theme park – last season was the first time the Irons scored in every top- flight home game since 1926- 27. It’s been glorious, but there is a distinct worry about how long this can all last before things start going south. Older West Ham fans are natural pessimists, used to zeroing in the bottom half of the table, after all.
ONE TO WATCH
Nayef Aguerd has arrived from Rennes as a ready- made replacement for longserving centre- back Angelo Ogbonna. At 6ft 2in and quick, the 26- year- old Moroccan also adds some long, raking diagonal passes that Bowen will be salivating over. Just three clean sheets in last season’s final 17 league games shows that he’s got his work cut out.
MOST LIKELY TO...
Terrorise your back four on his own, hold up a cardboard cut- out of himself when he scores, get booked for being fouled and crash a Lamborghini into your garden shed while dressed as a snowman. Big Antonio, the Premier League’s most chaotic footballer, and the man with the most publicly analysed hamstrings in the East End.
LEAST LIKELY TO...
Use the phrase “dead cat bounce”. Kurt Zouma, what were you doing?
FFT VERDICT 9TH
Moyes’ men wilted as they advanced in Europe last term, and may well go far again this time. Can they handle it?