West Ham now have another striker option with Jarrod Bowen in the ranks, but David Moyes should stick with the club-record signing against Manchester City for a few good reasons.
Not playing Haller isn’t going to solve anything
West Ham signed Sebastien Haller to be their marquee striker and knock-in an immense amount of goals for the club on their quest to take the club to European football. Haller is now needed to fuel the club’s push away from relegation and is completely wasted if he isn’t playing.
We’ve all seen his remarkable numbers with Frankfurt a season ago, and we all know why he isn’t banging in goals for West Ham. The team set up is different, the personnel is different, and the tactics are different. With Michail Antonio fit, Felipe Anderson fit, and Robert Snodgrass in form, the 4-4-2 attacking players pick themselves, and it suits Haller.
Give him the service he needs – let Antonio run the channels, let Anderson and Snodgrass create from out wide. The formation and team can pick themselves in this instance, creating an efficient and hard to breakdown team that give Haller what he needs.
Abandoning the club-record signing striker because he isn’t scoring is not going to solve a thing. Get Haller service and capable player around him, watch his confidence and attitude grow with a goal or two.
No Jarrod Bowen? Probably a good move…
The players picked above exclude new signee, Jarrod Bowen. The news coming off of David Moyes’ quote regarding Bowen has the Twitter world abuzz after Moyes hinted at easing Bowen into the Premier League. In reality, Moyes may be making a smart move when it comes to preserving Bowen’s confidence.
"“I have had lots of boys from the Championship in the past and I think it’s important that you put them in at the right time, the right moments, and we will just take our time and see when it’s right for Jarrod. Obviously, he is a talent. We need goals, he can do that. I am also very aware that we don’t need to put pressure on him too quickly.”"
He came from a league he was arguably too good for in the Championship. With Manchester City and Liverpool as West Ham’s next two opponents, it could be wise to use Bowen as a sub, take the pressure off of him in these two matches everyone has the Hammers chalked up to lose, and wade him into the pace of play.
Bowen will be a lights out addition to the Hammers’ goalscoring core, that isn’t a doubt, but maybe Moyes is right to pick Southampton as the match he enters the starting XI for the Hammers in. It’s going to be unpopular, but the pressure Bowen will have on him to be the Messiah for the Hammers isn’t fair and this tactic could prove solid.