Following the 0-0 draw at Craven Cottage, all of the media attention has been focused on Tomas Soucek's ludicrous red card, awarded in stoppage time, by 'Mike Pearl & Dean' in keeping with his profligate ability to dish out red cards. As a result of his 'Specsaver Moment' of the highest order, Hammers lamentable performance against Barclays Premier League strugglers Fulham went generally unnoticed.
Mike Dean likes to make his presence felt during Barclays Premier League matches that he officiates, and today's 'clash' between Fulham and West Ham was no exception. In the last minute of extra time he was persuaded to check the VAR monitor to see if Tomas Soucek's alleged 'assault against Alexander Mitrovic could be substantiated, and astonishingly he thought there was a case for a straight red card for an elbow in to the Fulham striker's face.
Fulham: Areola, Tete, Andersen, Tosin, Robinson, Reed, Lemina, Loftus-Cheek, Decordova-Reid, Lookman, Cavaleiro. Subs: Rodak, Hector, Mitrovic, Ream, Bryan, Onomah, Maja, Anguissa, Aina.
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Bowen, Lingard, Benrahma, Antonio. Subs: Martin, Balbuena, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Noble, Fornals, Diop, Fredericks, Johnson.
Jesse Lingard's 'whirlwind' love affair with West Ham has sparked a plethora of comments regarding his future once his loan deal expires, true he did score a brace on his debut, quite an achievement for a player who had not started a Barclays Premier league game for over a year.
You wouldn't know it given some of the media coverage of the Barclays Premier League, but West Ham United are currently London's top team! Yes really, legitimately the top team in London, no issues regarding games in hands that London rivals might have, no nothing, just pure and simple the top of the pile in town.
If they have their hands on hearts, most Hammers fans will admit they were surprised and fearful of the team David Moyes selected to take to the pitch against 'high flying' Aston Villa at Villa Park yesterday evening. Moyes, still smarting from the lesson dished out by Liverpool on Sunday, set his stall out, and the players performed exactly as he had instructed them, his 'spoiler' tactics against the preening ballerina, Jack Grealish, were a joy to behold.
Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Luiz, McGinn, El Ghazi, Barkley, Grealish, Watkins. Subs: Heaton, Traore, Trezeguet, Nakamba, Engels, Sanson, El Mohamady, Davis, Ramsey.
West Ham: Fabiański, Coufal, Dawson, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Fredericks, Rice, Souček, Lingard, Benrahma, Antonio. Subs: Martin, Johnson, Diop, Balbuena, Fornals, Bowen, Yarmolenko, Lanzini, Odubeko.
Any sympathy being felt for Hammers manager David Moyes should be tempered by the fact that he does receive a salary most fans can only dream of, he is also in a situation that has given him the chance to completely rebuild and re-invent himself as a Barclays Premier League manager of some distinction.
The irony of West Ham United's 'poor' January transfer window is that the club top the Barclays Premier League spenders list for the window that closed at 11pm last night. The conversion of a loan to a permanent deal for Said Benrahma from Brentford meant that the Irons have topped what has been an extraordinarily low spend.
Hammers on off pursuit of Bournemouth striker Joshua King seems to have gone on for ages, but any hopes of a last minute transfer deadline day deal to bring the Norwegian to the London Stadium seem to have been dashed by David Moyes, despite the Hammers manager being a big fan of the 29 year old.
Pre-Covid Hammers had shown great interest in king, however Bournemouth priced a move out of the market by their valuation of the player's worth, in fact it is not that long ago that they turned down a £20 Million plus offer from Manchester United for his services.