Just when things were progressing swimmingly for the Hammers, a reminder of how fragile their precarious early progress is has arrived in the form of one Andrew Carroll being lined up for a potential return to the first team. A lot has happened since Carroll picked up his obligatory three to four month injury as the precursor to his and West Ham's season, is it going to be another Ground Hog Day?
The lows and highs of Premier League football cannot be better illustrated than by looking at the fortunes of West Ham United over the last couple of weeks, from crisis club to slayers of Red Devils and fillers of Toffee laden mouths!
Winston Reid and James Collins at their zenith as defenders were a formidable duo for West Ham, however Reid sustained an unfortunate injury towards the end of last season that followed on from what had increasingly become a regular series of injuries involving a lengthy lay off and recovery period.
By the final whistle of West Ham United's thumping victory over struggling Manchester United, it had been just a tad under thirteen days since the Manuel Pellegrini inspired Hammers renaissance began following the International break, Four games, three victories and one draw, scoring fourteen and conceding only two is in stark contrast to the woeful previous four games.
West Ham United: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Balbuena, Diop, Masuaku, Rice, Obiang, Noble (c), Yarmolenko, Felipe Anderson, Arnautovic Subs: Adrian (GK), Fredericks, Ogbonna, Snodgrass, Diangana, Antonio, Lucas
Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Smalling, Shaw, Matic, Fellaini, McTominay, Pogba, Martial, Lukaku. Subs: Grant, Bailly, Mata, Rashford, Fred, Herrera, Darmian.
Carlos Sanchez, signed from Fiorentina on transfer deadline day, has sustained what is rumoured to be a cruciate injury which will keep the 32 year old out of action for possibly the remainder of the season, this news quickly following that of new starlet Xande Silva sustaining a class 2 hamstring injury has put a bit of a dampener on the positive energy generated by recent results.
Having endured a 'horror' start to the season West Ham quickly became labled a club in crisis, leading to newly appointed manager Manuel Pellegrini's inclusion near the top of the list of 'The first Premier League manager to be sacked', second only to Jose Mourinho. Fast forward six games from the beginning of the season and the situation, while still not making perfect reading, is far far better than it was.
West Ham: Adrian, Cresswell, Ogbonna, Fredericks, Sanchez, Obiang, Diop, Diangana, Snodgrass, Perez, Antonio. Subs: Fabianski, Balbuena, Yarmolenko, Rice, Masuaku, Coventry, Powell.
Macclesfield: Ohara, Fitzpatrick, Lowe, Kellerher, Grimes, Marsh, Smith, Napa, Maycock, Pearson, Whitaker. Subs: Simpson, Hodgkiss, Wilson, Blisset, Welch-Hayes, Vincenti, Arthur.
Manuel Pellegrini won the League Cup twice in three seasons at Manchester City in 2014 and 2016 and wants to help West Ham win the Cup that has for ever eluded them. Always the bridesmaid never the bride best descibes Hammers fortunes or lack of them as is the case in the League/Milk/Carabao Cup, Runners up in 1966, 1981 and semi finalists on two other occasions when the semi's were two legged, but always falling short. The 'Cara' cup represents one of the best chances for the club to gain honours and is a competition the Hammers Boss does not take lightly.
Hammers fans have known all about Declan Rice and his massive potential for ages, but now the news media scrum have suddenly opened their eyes to the potential that was clearly there to see for some considerable time.