Sunday 19 November 2017

What can we expect from the "Moyes' Method"

The departure of Slaven Bilic was a sad moment for many fans as he offered a clear connection with our past and understood the West Ham way. However, after two seasons that offered much hope, things fell apart and in the end it seemed a mercy to bring things to an end. We wish him well in his next adventure.

So today we get to experience the Moyes' "magic". Undoubtedly a good organiser, firm disciplinarian and with an ability to get more out of his teams than the sum of their parts, he is in many ways the right person to sort out our undoubtedly talented but underperforming squad. However, his preferred style could hardly be considered anything like the West Ham way such that from a strategic perspective this may be a step backwards towards a fancy version of Big Sam.

Currently stuck in the relegation zone and on a downward slide, perhaps this more pugnacious style of football is what we need and, in reality, maybe Moyes is what we most need right now. Today's game will tell a lot about how well the players are responding to his physically demanding methods but will also provide an interesting insight into what he makes of the squad. The absence of Chicharito is a disappointment as it would have been fascinating to see how he will use Carroll, Sakho, Chicharito and maybe even Martinez as an attacking resource.

At the back, the starting XI will tell a lot about what he thinks of the relative merits of our centre backs and also the Cresswell vs Masuaku face off. In midfield, Moyes likes an sensible head (Noble) but will be attracted to the mobility of Obiang and Kouyate. Marko Arnautovic will be wondering where he fits in the grand scheme of things having become the figurehead for the failed season to date and especially after Moyes' adverse  midweek comments. Young Declan Rice will surely be hoping that he can continue his ascent as Moyes has been a good developer of younger talent in the past.

For these reasons, there seems little point in trying to predict a starting XI but we can expect a tighter formation and a lot more metres covered than under Bilic. Moyes himself is under a lot of scrutiny after his mixed experiences since leaving Everton for what most recognise was a poisoned chalice at Old Trafford and then at Sunderland. He did OK in Spain but this is perhaps the first chance since Everton to work with a team that is better than it's billing. We should probably expect a conservative approach, a dull game and a tight scoreline - and probably not just for this game alone!!!

COYI.

3 comments:

  1. How can you say his style is not the w ham way when in charge at everton he was very attacking and never forget he brought through some superb youngsters most notably one WAYNE ROONEY so I wouldn't knock moys to much coyi

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wait until pre-season if he is still there
    the players will not know what hit them.

    ReplyDelete

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