YOU GET NOTHING FOR £100m IF YOU DON’T WORK HARD
West Ham must return to their traditional qualities
BEFORE West Ham faced Wolves, George Parris was paraded on the London Stadium pitch.
George played nearly 300 games for the club in the Eighties as a right back or in midfield. He may not have been the best player but he remains a cult hero among West Ham fans. He is someone who understood the level of performance these supporters demand from their players: effort, desire, determination to get stuck in.
In the 90 minutes that followed, none of those qualities were displayed by those wearing claret and blue, as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat.
It is a common theme this season. In their heir four Premier League games so far, West Ham have run 65.6 miles les per match. Only y Manchester United ( 65.1 miles) and Cardiff (62.5 miles) have covered less ground.
Not for the first time, the e team looked like ke 11 strangers. That hat is partly due to o the great deal of change ange in a short space of time.
Not only have there been nine arrivals but the players have had to adapt to the ideas of a new manager in Manuel Pellegrini. He wants his teams to defend on the edge of the 18- yard box to catch any runners offside, but it has left them vulnerable to clever movement from forwards. Contrast this with Bournemouth and Wolves — sides who West Ham fans would have expected their team to beat. Bournemouth are a model of consistency, fielding just one summer signing at the London Stadium. They have one of the fittest squads and the players have a great understanding with one another. While Wolves have also had a busy sum summer, Nuno Espirit Espirito Santo has had a year to implement me his ideas. H His team were w well-drilled and e everyone knew t their role. But the problems for West Ham run d deeper. Marko A Arnautovic is the star man but som sometimes when I watch him I wonder whether h he is playing for himself and not the team. How can Pellegrini motivate him to become the snarling forward who under David Moyes struck fear into defenders? After defeats by Liverpool and Bournemouth, there were doubts over whether Jack Wilshere and Mark Noble had the mobility to play together. Noble has not started the last two games and still West Ham’s midfield lacks balance.
Despite splashing out close to £100million, now more than ever the owners have to remain patient. I do think it will click for Pellegrini and he will benefit from having the international break to work with his squad.
But above all, the players must start to take some responsibility on the pitch. They deserved the chorus of boos as they left the field on Saturday.
The best way to win over the West Ham faithful is to work hard, chase lost causes and give their all. Do that and results will come.