Well, two weeks of wishing the international break was over and ninety minutes later wishing you were still in it – welcome to West Ham, David Moyes.
His first experience in the hot seat will hopefully have given him a bigger scope of the current predicament we are in than just needing to run more.
I was under no illusions that Watford was a “banker” or that “we should be beating these teams” as the league shows, we now need to fight to get anything from games.
Thatās what I wanted to see, a bit of fight.
We have all seen enough defeats over the years and all we want to see is a team that gives their all.
It seemed from early on that this game had one outcome as soon as Watford went ahead. Watford created space and always looked to use pace when in possession. West Ham on the other hand were masters of the sideways pass, it just kills the threat of Lanzini who dropped so deep to get the ball.
When we did have a go, forty minutes into the game, we looked good. Sadly, this was yet again a fleeting moment in the game and the second half we were out thought, outplayed and out muscled until the inevitable second a killer goal went in – we simply had no answer.
Worryingly, this is largely the side to get us out of trouble. Carroll looks hell bent on hitting anything that moves and played into Watford’s trap with his over enthusiasm, which transforms into stupidity. Yes the referee didnāt help him out much, but he didn’t help himself.
The bookings change his mindset and he loses the impact his manager wants. The midfield were again over ran, Obiang seems to have lost the ability to pass, Noble seems to be the biggest casualty of the apparent lack of intensity to training and for all his running and Kouyate just seems lost.
As for the defense, well today now means we have conceded more than anyone else in the league. Every error is being punished, every foul puts us under more pressure.
Were there positives?
Arthur coming on I guess is one, I wasnāt convinced he was a defender last season and he looks better going forward.
I also didnāt think that Arnie was having a bad game before he went off. He put the ball into some decent areas and they just needed finishing. I still donāt think we have used him properly, but I donāt think we can with the squad we have compared to his role at Stoke.
So where do we go from here?
Moyes has until Friday to solve the next piece of the jigsaw. The thought of Vardy running at that defense looks a frightening prospect. For me the midfield needs addressing. Cut out the chasing shadows, protect the fragile back four and support the attack. Work as a unit and please develop a more forward-thinking pass!
COYI!
By Stu Cole
@StuCole6