Hammers 'destroyed' fellow claret & blue wearers Aston Villa on what was David Moyes' 999th games as a manager, although the final score line rather flatters the Irons, it was still a comprehensive clinical victory over what was ten men for the bulk of the 2nd half at Villa Park, we'll get to the 'ten men' later!
Villa: Martinez, Cash, Hause, Konsa, Targett, Nakamba, McGinn (c), J.Ramsey, Buendia, Bailey, Watkins Subs: Steer (GK), Mings, Tuanzebe, Young, El Ghazi, Chukwuemeka, Archer, Davis, A.Ramsey
West Ham: Fabiański, Johnson, Zouma, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Rice (c), Souček, Bowen, Benrahma, Fornals, Antonio Subs: Subs: Areola (GK), Coufal, Dawson, Diop, Lanzini, Masuaku, Noble, Vlašić, Yarmolenko
When asked to appraise his team's current form David Moyes said: “It makes me feel really good because I’ve always said I want to be the best and the hardest team to play against – when teams don’t enjoy playing me. When I was brought up at Celtic, it was always about winning, first and foremost. Then it was about winning with style, and then when you get a good style, they wanted lots of goals. So I feel like my whole background has been in that. “But when you don’t always have the best players and not always the best, maybe way of playing, then I have to find a way of winning.
David Moyes has transformed West Ham in just under two years, from relegated threatened battlers to a team with genuine top six aspirations and with an eye on the top four! Chasing success on FOUR different fronts requires a lot of careful man management, a feat that Moyes is coping with rather well at the moment.
It is Haloween after all, so why not consider scary nightmares? A recurring nightmare for West Ham's bean counters must be Sebastien Haller, even though it is NOT actually the accountants money, to be a good one they have to think of their client's money as their own. So the distinct possibility of Newcastle managing to tempt Ajax manager Erik Ten Hag to become their manager, could be a double edged sword with a bit of jeopardy thrown in for good measure!
Hammers have been drawn away against Tottingham for the quarter finals of the Carabou Cup, as was expected it was always going to be them or Liverpool! It is what it is, so bring it on. For the first time in a long long while fans looked to the match ups dreading 'top' opposition, currently IT IS West Ham that was the feared number to be drawn out of the pot!
Quarter-final draw in full
Tottingham v West Ham-Arsenal v Sunderland-Brentford v Chelsea-Liverpool v Leicester City. Games to be played on December the 20th STA.
With things going so swimmingly for West Ham at the moment, there will surely be many Hammers fans revelling in their team's success while gloating at their London rivals lack of it. News of impending large scale investment has not gone down well with fans at Tottingham and at Arsenal to a lesser extent.
The one element that had always been in the North London clubs favour has been Hammers lack of resources, whenever the 'Noisy neighbours from the East End stuck their heads above the parapet, they were quickly knocked back down by the spending power of their competitors.
Although the victory was only in what some people refer to as the 'useless cup', Hammers defeat of the previously unbeatable holders Manchester City has had a massive global effect. It could well be co-incidence, but the buzz about West Ham cannot be dismissed as a 'one hit wonder', with every success the club has been regaining the huge amount of 'neutral' fans the club once had, only this time round the 'love' comes from fans and pundits alike!
Rarely do the sporting planets align as much as they have done for West Ham United recently, from turning the Toxic Bowl Stadium that was not fit for purpose into a glorious experience, to creating a team that is resolute and mostly pleasing on the eye.
The old adage that there is no I' in the word team is totally exemplified by the David Moyes' players on the pitch, IRRESPECTIVE of which team he selects they perform as a team whoever takes to the pitch, with possibly one exception, give their all and run their hearts out for their manager and their fans.