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Athletico Easthamico 1:24 Thu Jan 23
West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

Toby Cudworth 22 Jan 2020. 90 minutes.

There's also one other thing that's become a certainty this season - West Ham's inability to put in a performance when they really need one.

After Bournemouth and Aston Villa's victories over Brighton and Watford respectively, David Moyes' Hammers really needed to show what they were made of - even though they were facing a tricky trip to high-flying ​Leicester - to create some separation between themselves and the relegation zone.

Brendan Rodgers' Foxes have been bloody superb this season and quite rightly were favourites heading into the game. But having gone through a (relatively) poor patch of late, losing four of their last six games, now was the time for Moyes to galvanise his side into putting in a rousing display.

But, as usual, that didn't happen.

Instead, Leicester were in absolute cruise control from minute one, dominating possession as they relentlessly pressed West Ham back towards their own penalty area.

Crisp passing, intelligent movement between the lines and players with the ability to drive forward and run with the ball - namely James Maddison, Ayoze Perez, Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy - caused a raft of problems for West Ham's defence, highlighting the same old deficiencies in their side.

We could sit here and pick the bones out of each individual ​West Ham performance, but instead we'll look at an overriding theme in this side.

Without Michail Antonio, they have no pace. Absolutely no pace, whatsoever.

The frustration is that this isn't new information, it's something that has been ingrained within the fabric of West Ham's squad for a number of years.

Now, the issue with having no pace is that, when you do get the ball back, you do absolutely nothing with it - because pace is a fundamental basic of being able to compete at the highest level.

To paint a quick picture for you, Leicester lined up with their usual 4-2-3-1 formation - with Perez and Barnes looking to drift infield in order to create pockets of space for full-backs Ricardo Pereira and Ben Chilwell. In doing so, they overloaded the wide areas, leaving Caglar Soyuncu and Jonny Evans to fend for themselves at the back, with the protection of Nampalys Mendy.

To counter, West Ham were operating in a shape that can best be described as 3-5-1-1; Manuel Lanzini playing off Sebastien Haller up top, with Robert Snodgrass, ​Mark Noble and Declan Rice operating as a central midfield three.

That's the pace-less Snodgrass, Noble and Rice in a midfield three, to repeat.

When West Ham got the ball back, eventually, they played it into the channel for Haller to attempt to hold it up or flick it on. They did that because, shock, they can't play it along the floor in the same manner as Leicester and not one of the aforementioned players is capable of running with the ball - again, Antonio aside - at any pace, let alone a brisk one.

Dinked little aerial balls down the line are a good idea in principle, but you need willing runners looking to get in behind. Too often, ​Lanzini, who once struck up a decent partnership with the (not so) dearly departed Marko Arnautovic in east London, was nowhere to be found and again looked a shadow of the player he was before his ACL injury in May 2018.

Poor Haller must be wondering what on earth he's done moving to West Ham.

So instead of putting up a fight throughout, West Ham put up more of a whimper. A short bright spell in the second half was inspired by substitute Antonio, who is by a mile the club's best player, but it was too little, too late - with a final ten-minute capitulation summing up West Ham's turgid season so far. analysis

The key takeaway from this game is painfully obvious, though. Investment is needed, quickly, in players who can inject a bit of life, a bit of spark and a bit of urgency into this West Ham side - otherwise the pedestrian football played at times will earn them a one-way ticket to the Championship.

Sniper 4:21 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

Trundle

That 3 on 2 break was pathetic. Antonio bursts forward, passes too soon and cross field, lanzini messes up control and the ball is back with Randolph ten seconds later.

SDKFZ 222 3:43 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

dax47988 12:13 Thu Jan 23

I totally agree.

I made this comment on the official West Ham face ache page a few months ago and received a right slagging, ... amongst other things that I know nothing about football! 😂

Razzle 12:50 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

Nothing haven't already said on this forum with the exception of Haller. To me its not poor Haller, but Haller is poor as he needs others around him.

threesixty 12:33 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

i cant get all excited about this result. No one really thought we would beat Leicester away. Ndidi was back for them as well and our best player seems only half fit (otherwise I'm sure he would start).

The best was a draw and the two goals at the end disguise the battle and control we had in alot of the second half.

As ever, West Ham's problem is and never has been beating the top teams in the country. The issue is ALWAYS not beating the teams around us. Teams that are not open, are gritty and dig in (because they are shit as well).

I dont give a fuck about the Leicester result.

I think we have to get results from brighton, burnley, newcastle etc.. But I also think that less than 40 points will keep us safe.

I'm hoping we dont f this up. But what it has shown me is that keeping MP for so long when it was clear he had no clue is going to haunt us this season.

BRANDED 12:29 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

Poor Haller must be wondering what on earth he's done moving to West Ham.

Poor West Ham fans are thinking the same fucking thing. Our choices of footy players have been shocking.

dax47988 12:13 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

PEDESTRIAN FOOTBALL

SJS 12:07 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

Lee Trundle wrote...

Yes, it was gut wrenching because as it unfolded you knew we would not be able to exploit the situation.

If we had Arnie, Payet (before the pies) or even Anderson on the pitch, we might have seen a shot....

Hammer and Pickle 12:07 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

This

"A short bright spell in the second half was inspired by substitute Antonio, who is by a mile the club's best player..."

And he's right.

We're not coming back from this one without a total overhaul.

Lee Trundle 12:04 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

There was a great passage of play that summed us up.

We broke on the counter, 3 of ours against 2 of theirs, and we get over the half way line and begin to get closer to their box, and 1 or 2 passes later and it's back to our GOALTENDER.

SJS 11:52 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

I mean, if everyone else can see we have no pace (and haven't for years, with the odd exception) surely the owners and manger know this and have plans to rectify?

Sniper 1:32 Thu Jan 23
Re: West Ham. Match analysis . By 90 minutes. (Nail on head)

If only we had a sprightly, quick, tricky young wide player who could Get the ball, run at players with pace, cause panic and pin back the opposition full back...