As the West Ham fans were left reeling after the Arsenal game at the weekend, attentions were soon focussed on the overall failings within the Hammersâ world with yet another U Turn to contend withâŠor was it merely just another lie from the board? With the Director of Football role now defunct and Moyes likely to be named manager for the next 100 years, many fans were left wondering whether or not they should renew their season tickets.
Of course there will be a fair percentage of fans who will renew regardless. The passage of time tends to heal most wounds but the cancer has taken hold so much that many would feel the body of iron has wilted from the inside-out and nothing can be done to repair what has been broken for some time.
Of course in the cold light of day, there are many elements that have failed over the last two seasons, however the club owners must take their share of the blame, just as the team and management must do also. But one has to question why any fan would want to watch West Ham right nowâŠwhat are they actually a fan of?
Well apart from the obvious, the team and manager have not performed well enough to keep the crowds entertained, no matter how much support they receive or beg for. The players have been gorging themselves on Premier League standing for too long and have gotten fat on its amplitudes, but when a very real risk was imposed upon them, they failed to brush it aside with conviction.
Last season, many would look at the 11th position league finish and consider it to be an average season, however what many would tend to forget is that for most of the games it was a challenge to find a positive spin. Fans were told that the summer would change everything and new signings would push the team onto a dreamy paradise, not ever seen before as a West Ham fan! It was a poor season which has been followed with anotherâŠeven worse this time and the trend does not look good for the loyal support that have been stretched to breaking point.
For a few weeks, club captain; Mark Noble has been urging on the fans to keep the faith and support the team, claiming that in the summer there will be mass changes in the Hammersâ kingdomâŠbut will that really happen and which element should be addressed first and foremost?
Most fans would tend to be unified now in condemnation of David Moyesâ negative posturing, especially when there was ample opportunity to capitalise on opponentsâ frailties. Of course there are only so many game plans the coaching staff can run through before the match, but it is up to the players to execute them. The plans have been flawed from the very beginning and many of the players have been frozen in a warp field or left out in the cold as they would not suit Moyesâ master strokes.
It seems incredible to most fans who can see where the rectifications should be made, that Moyes is unable to recognise the same and the players have not been able to build upon momentum. The biggest flaw in the plan has been to engage players in activities in which they simply arenât good enough to execute and to persist with them in tantamount to insanity.
This begs the question; which players should be cut from the ranks in the summer and where does the team need to be reinforced? Certainly central midfield is a big problem and has been for the last two seasons. Kouyate has been the weak link for too long and Moyes does not feel confident in any of the squad players that should be ready to take his place
The defence requires a mass overhaul tooâŠwhether Collins will be asked to say on, whether Ogbonna will remain and will Reid return to good form when he recovers from his injuries. The goalkeeping situation is torrid enough to make grown men choke on their cornflakes and lose control of their bladder function anytime an opponentâs player gets anywhere near the West Ham penalty area. However it is the creativity in the squad that really needs to be moulded that would fashion worthwhile advances towards the opponents goal. Many of the players have not performed anywhere near where they shouldâŠand if they are to be retained, then a nuts and bolts review must be completed and made right for the next season.
The fans have reached their breaking point now after two years of abject displays and being ripped away from the club home in pursuit of the ownerâs wet dreams. The club have become portly and the players riddled with gout. There is only one course of action nowâŠfor the fans to rise up and be counted. To force feed their five a day and keep hammering on the cholesterol doors. The players need to be allowed to play more freely and with greater attacking intentâŠand the club need to change Moyes for a manager who would see goal scoring as a priority and not forsake all else merely to defend a goalâŠbadly or at the very bestâŠaverage!