Often when a new manager arrives at a football club he has already made certain decisions regarding which players he 'fancies', this tried and trusted technique is designed to ensure that there are no nasty surprises, however the downside is that unknown talent can end up going by the by.
If as a viewer you were able to watch the Liverpool v West Ham game with sub titles instead of commentary, then you would have witnessed a spirited but eventually fruitless display by a battling Hammers side against 'the best team in the world'. Unfortunately SKY having a Liverpool stalwart as well as a Manchester United crony heavily involved in the 'match day experience' ensured any enjoyment Hammers fans had was kept to a minimum.
Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Van Dijk, Gomez, Fabinho, Keita, Wijnaldum, Mane, Salah, Firmino. Subs: Adrian, Lovren, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Minamino, Lallana, Origi, Matip.
West Ham: Fabianski, Cresswell, Ngakia, Diop, Ogbonna, Noble, Rice, Soucek, Snodgrass, Anderson, Antonio. Subs: Randolph, Balbuena, Zabaleta, Lanzini, Bowen, Fornals, Haller.
David Moyes is an experienced Premier League football manager, however his lengthy 'sabatical' from the game has ensured that he has become locked in a time capsule with regards to tactics and recruitment. Hammers rolling over for Manchester City might have been part of Moyes' master plan, the problem is that no one knows waht that plan is! The players clearly don't, the massively expensive bench for the Citeh game must have looked at each other and thought what the hell are we doing? They wil also have been thinking what on earth is their 'manager' up to?
When West Ham signed Pablo Fornals, it was seen as a bit of a coup to grab the Spanish international destined for great things, he wasn't even in the Hammers squad that laid down and rolled over for Manchester City during the 2-0 defeat at the Etihad!
In addition to £24 Million midfielder Fornals, David 'I win games' Moyes also elected to omit £45 Million Sebastien Haller, fit gain £42 Million Felipe Anderson and £24 Million new arrival Jarrod Bowen. Bowen got the last few minutes when the game was already beyond rescuing, neither Haller nor Anderson even made the pitch.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Laporte, Mendy, Rodrigo, David Silva, De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, Jesus, Aguero. Subs: Bravo, Stones, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Cancelo, Foden.
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku, Snodgrass, Noble, Rice, Soucek, Antonio. Subs: Randolph, Balbuena, Zabaleta, Anderson, Lanzini, Bowen, Haller.
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"No player is bigger than the club" is a hackneyed expression used to cover the sale of a club's most valuable asset, to either balance the books or to reinvest in new players. So the regularity of comments attributed to Manuel Pellegrini's replacement, David Moyes, with regards to the possible sale of Declan Rice has been of some concern to West Ham United fans.
Andriy Yarmolenko is one of West Ham United's highest paid players, but with the exception of some brief glimpses has never really shone for the club, untimely injuries have limited the player to only 24 appearances for the Irons since his £17.5 Million transfer from Borussia Dortmund two years ago.
West Ham United's decision to agree to the rescheduling of the game against Manchester City that had to be postponed by storm Ciarra during the so called winter break has had many fans outraged by the club's apparent acquiescence to the 'powers that be' by allowing the game to be played on the Wednesday the 19th of February, a clear 72 Hours before either team should have been officially playing according to the original remit from the FA, the Premier League and F.I.F.A.
In what is not a surprising development, West Ham United's away fixture against last year's Barclays Premier League Champions Manchester City has been postponed due to storm Ciara. A Manchester City spokesperson said: "Due to extreme and escalating weather conditions and in the interests of supporter and staff safety, today's match has been postponed. Further information regarding the rescheduling of today's match will be published in due course."