West Ham United fans didn’t really want David Moyes as the club’s new manager. Early disappointing performances against Watford and Everton did little to improve things.

Yet in the three other games since Moyes took charge of The Irons, improvements have been very visible.

Against Leicester City last month, West Ham’s players showed great desire and determination. Their hard work was rewarded as they managed to come from a goal behind to draw the game. That encounter also showed that Moyes seems to be able to get more effort from striker Andy Carroll.

While they lost last weekend to Premier League leaders Manchester City, they still impressed with their endeavour and defensive discipline. Many an English top flight side has watched on as Pep Guardiola’s City steamrollered over them, yet The Hammers didn’t lie down and accept the inevitable. In fact they took the lead and only a late David Silva strike gave the Citizen’s their victory.

In that loss to Man City, Adrian replaced Joe Hart in West Ham’s goal as Hart couldn’t play against his parent club. The Spaniard played a blinder and the defence seemed to be more confident with last season’s number one playing behind them in goal.

I personally thought his man of the match display meant he deserved to keep the gloves for the team’s game against champions Chelsea for today’s fixture. I wasn’t sure if Moyes would have the bottle to keep the high profile Hart out of the starting line-up, but fair play to the Scot he did omit Joe from the side.

I believe that is a crucial decision. The players in the squad need to know that no one is bigger than the team, that good performances will be rewarded and that the Hammers boss will make difficult decisions that will benefit the team as a whole.

In today’s encounter West Ham once again showed a disciplined attitude and that was key in them securing a famous victory at the London Stadium, Moyes’ first win as the Irons gaffer.

£24m summer signing Marko Arnautovic finished with a nice strike after just six minutes and from then on the Hammers looked decent and saw out the win in the derby game. They didn’t get overawed by the occasion and they didn’t allow Chelsea to get into any meaningful stride. 

The manager and his management team deserves praise for the way they’ve managed to get the back three and the midfield playing as a well worked unit. The attitude of the players has improved and that’s seen an improvement in results. They also seem to be fitter under Moyes.

Today, wingbacks Pablo Zabaleta and Arthur Masuaku had terrific games as they charged forward and tracked back diligently.

Today’s performance reminded me of a vintage Everton display from Davie Moyes time at Goodison. That’s the level that the fans will want to see on a weekly basis.

The first task for the new Irons boss was always to make his side hard to beat and get points on the table. That’s seems to be happening at the moment.

It’s funny but ever since the fifty-four year old took over at the London Stadium he’s continually made a point of praising the home support. He knows they’ve been very sceptical about his appointment but it looks like he’s slowly winning them over.

Again today he praised the home fans:

“The supporters showed they know West Ham are on their way back and they’re showing that the players are putting in the effort.”

Now Moyes needs to get more from his players in the matches against those teams that are in a similar position to themselves. It’s sometimes easier to play a better game against the bigger sides. The ones that really count are the ones against teams who are also desperate to stay clear of the relegation zone.

The Irons will also need to start to get points away from home.

Things have improved in recent weeks and that’s very encouraging for the team, their manager and the club’s support but they need to keep improving to make all that effort worthwhile.

Next up is another big home game against Arsenal but it’s the trip to Stoke after that that could be the real acid test in how much progress has been made since Moyes arrival.

Posted on December 9th, 2017 by scott
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