Blind Hammer reflects on the performance against Manchester United.
The way and manner in which West Ham responded to safety was the main interest from this game. For the first time this season the players could take the pitch without negative pressure and underlying fear. It may seem odd that a performance which resulted in no shots on target that I can recall, nor one that produce any heroics from de Gea, can nevertheless provide satisfaction from our standpoint.
Most importantly whilst Man United dominated some periods of possession, at no time did they provoke a desperate West Ham response. Adrian had to make some fine saves but generally Manchester United could not be described as profligate, their chances coming largely from distance.
When you are a Blind Supporter attending a game you have to pick up signals from a variety of inputs. For me an immediate point of satisfaction was that Manchester united were caught offside in the first 10 minutes. A team of earlier Moyes vintage would have sat so deep that catching any top six team opponents offside was a remote possibility. West Ham have been vulnerable to the press all season but tonight they responded with presses of their own, including a memorable passage of play in the second half when they managed to encamp Man United in their own half.
Again a Blind Commentator gets an odd perspective sometimes. It was incredible the extent to which man United tried to continually construct play through Pogba linking up with Sanchez. Paul Pogba had so many touches of the ball and received the ball so frequently it, to a Blind listener sounded as if he was dominating the game. It seems that it is only a matter of time before Sanchez would run rampant. In reality Pogba’s ability to shape the game, for all his possession and touches was largely nullified by his constant shepherding by Kouyate. It took me a while to catch up but eventually I had much reduced anxiety as to the oceans of possession Pogba received, finally realising that he was doing precious little with it.
Too much of the mainstream media will focus on the lethargic limitations of Manchester United compared to their neighbours City. Mourinho’s constant whining that without even more massive investment they will not match City is probably true but does little to recognise the skills of opponents. The amounts invested in this squad are staggering compared to that invested in the players West Ham fielded. Luckily our nemesis, Lukaku was not fit but his young replacement, Lingard, recently starred for England. The fact is that United can invest staggering sums in one player such as Sanchez, and Pogba, which will exceed the entire spend for a window that West Ham can mount for their complete squad. All across the United team there were players who would walk into the West Ham squad and feature prominently. Even bit part players for Manchester united, such as Fellini, are touted as possible future West Ham regulars.
In this context the fact that West Ham could not only compete but make United look lethargic is of massive credit to them. This was a performance characterised by control as well as effort. It was, to be fair to Moyes, a triumph of tactics and planning rather than of luck, effort and desperate last ditch defending. It was a whole world away from the humiliation of the defeat against city. On the night possibly only Masuaku disappointed, Moyes correctly pulling him off to allow the introduction of Carroll.
Above all it proved that a point can be won against even a mega rich club boasting levels of wealth and investment at giddying levels that does not necessarily simply rely on frenetic effort.
It needed only one piece of genius from one of our attacking threats to transform an encouraging night into a brilliant one.
Moyes has only limited time to plan similar control against his old pals Everton at the weekend. However, more of the same please.
COYI
David Griffith