On the balance of play, West Ham United deserved no more than a point against Newcastle United last Saturday. Not even David Moyes in his post-match interview could put up much of an argument that his side should have taken all three points as an expression of reluctant resignation washed over the Scot\u2019s face.<\/p>\n
That same expression was on many of the West Ham players\u2019 faces at full time. The Hammers really needed a win against a relegation-threatened opponent to give their top four hopes a shot in the arm. As it is now, they are four points off the Champions League qualification plans and are losing ground fast.<\/p>\n
This season presented West Ham with a golden opportunity to pull up a seat at the top table of the European game. Liverpool and Manchester City might be well clear as title frontrunners, but the inconsistent form of Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur has left the door open into the top four.<\/p>\n
West Ham looked well-placed to walk through that door for much of the first half of the season. However, they have suffered a dramatic dip in form over the winter period, winning just five of their last 15 league fixtures. Recent draws to Leicester City and Newcastle United, as well as a home defeat to Leeds United, have seen the Hammers drop valuable points.<\/p>\n
Moyes\u2019 team look tired, not just physically, but mentally too. West Ham lack the squad depth of their top four rivals and that is now manifesting itself in the underwhelming performances being produced on the pitch. With this current squad, it\u2019s possible the Hammers have gone as far as they can.<\/p>\n
“The work rate is there, 100%,\u201d Moyes attempted to reason after the home draw against Newcastle. \u201cThere\u2019s no questioning anybody [in that regard]. If anyone questioned any of our players on their effort or commitment, I\u2019d back the players up 100%. But what we\u2019re lacking at the moment is being more creative on the ball, being correct on the ball, even doing the correct things defensively.\u201d<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t need to be this way. January presented West Ham with the chance to add squad depth. There was speculation that the London Stadium outfit would add at least one new attacker to their ranks to ease the burden on Michail Antonio. Reports at the time claimed large offers were placed for Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha. The money was seemingly there for West Ham to make some serious moves.<\/p>\n
And yet the January transfer window came and went without a single new signing being made. Phillips and Raphinha stayed at Leeds. Antonio remains the Hammers\u2019 largely unsupported number nine. Moyes still has the same squad that he started the season with and West Ham are now paying for not giving him more to work with.<\/p>\n
To finish in the top four, West Ham needed everything to go in their favour. They needed Manchester United and Tottenham\u2019s early-season poor form to continue and for Arsenal to fall just short in their development under Mikel Arteta. They needed a clean bill of health for the majority of the season and the rub of the green in some key moments.<\/p>\n
Now, it\u2019s become apparent they also needed mid-season additions. West Ham\u2019s strongest XI is capable of challenging for Champions League qualification, but strongest XIs rarely decide anything in football. Instead, contests, like the one to finish in the top four, are decided by the strength of a team\u2019s weakest link and West Ham\u2019s weakest link is still weaker than that of the teams around them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On the balance of play, West Ham United deserved no more than a point against Newcastle United last Saturday. Not even David Moyes in his post-match interview could put up much of an argument that his side should have taken all three points as an expression of reluctant resignation washed over the Scot\u2019s face.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272,76],"class_list":["post-48665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome","tag-premier-league"],"yoast_head":"\n