What We Learned about West Ham United During the Re-Start

It was always going to be a mad dash to the finish of the Premier League campaign for West Ham United.

After two straight losses, West Ham surprisingly kicked on and turned the entire season around in completing the season double over Chelsea with a 3-2 win. From there it was onwards and upwards in the table all the way to that heady 16th place finish.

Here is what we learned about the Hammers along the way

Michail Antonio was David Moyes’ Marko Arnautovic Part 2

Much in the same way Moyes converted winger Marko Arnautovic into a threatening centre forward during his first stint at the club, he did the same with Michail Antonio.  He responded by literally carrying the team on his back to safety. He caught fire and scored 8 times in the final 9 games, including that magical four-goal performance vs Norwich.

There are still plenty of concerns about Antonio moving forward—his age, his injury history, and his streakiness. But for this stretch of games, we saw his full potential on the pitch unlocked.

Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice are a Pairing to Build Around

With Antonio leading the way, a case can be made that the other player that did the most to will West Ham to safety was Tomas Soucek, now a permanent Hammer after he did his part in securing EPL safety for the Irons.

Soucek did the box to box work that actually made Rice play better and in some ways made Rice’s job easier. It also allowed Mark Noble to move further forward and that suited his game well in this shortened stint too.

For his own part, Soucek got into the box and got his head on the end of balls that went into the back of the net. He covered tons of ground from box to box and he was a settling presence in midfield. Together, Soucek and Rice are the midfield duo that this club should build around moving forward.

Fabianski is Showing his Age

Last year’s Hammer of The Year Łukasz Fabiański has started to show his age, both during the restart and during this season overall. His error on the final day perhaps kept Villa safe and prevented the Hammers from winning the match themselves.

These types of errors have been uncharacteristic of his time at West Ham, but at age 35 his decline could be severe. The case can be made this entire season, and the reign of former manager Manuel Pellegrini, both took a turn towards disaster last September when he suffered the hip injury that kept him out four months.

The club needs to begin thinking now about a replacement. Nathan Trott or otherwise. Anyone not named Roberto, please.

Mark Noble Still Has Something to Give

Even after passing the 500 game mark for West Ham with many pundits and supporters saying his legs have gone- Mr West Ham showed at least in a short sample, in a different role, he is still a major factor for the club.

Going into the restart knowing there were just eight games, did anybody really feels good about a starting XI without the Captain? He leads by example and by his voice. And now in a side full with more than a few mercenaries, he still has the ability to get everyone on board playing the West Ham Way. Declan Rice is coming on strong in the leadership department, but he’s learning everything in that book from Noble.

Sebastian Haller Remains a Mystery

The record signing striker wasn’t even available for the first half of the restart. And once he was healthy, his role was limited to sub minutes and he failed to score a goal.  He effectively lost his place to Antonio.

But quickly, let me ask West Ham fans—what type of player does the club have in Haller?  Does anybody know? During a recent chat with fellow Green Street Hammers contributors,  I likened Haller to a quarterback in American Football that has changed offensive coordinators and play-callers during the same season.

Manuel Pellegrini spent the board’s money to buy him, then refused to play him (along with many others by the way) in a role in which he was best suited to succeed. Along comes David Moyes mid-season and he realizes that aside in a relegation battle shipping goals left and right can’t play two Strikers when there is a need to fill up the midfield or play three at the back.

It is simply too early to know if Haller can be an effective Premier League Striker for West Ham. But with injury-prone Antonio in the fold, Haller is going to be needed sooner or later to play and to contribute. If the club sold him, they would immediately be looking around for the exact type of player again. There are greater needs elsewhere.

He’s Not fancy, But David Moyes was Effective

There are plenty of stats rolling around social media about David Moyes and Manuel Pellegrini having just about equal win-loss records and team stats this season. However, there is a big difference.

Pellegrini earned those stats with the players he wanted and the team he created going into year two of his project. Moyes managed to earn his stats whilst picking up Pellegrini’s pieces and making the preverbal chicken salad out of it.

This club is crying out for stability. And although I want the ambitions to be higher, first things first.  After being in a relegation battle three out of the last four seasons, the club needs to build to mid-table consistency first, then it can go from there.

Moyes needs to be a part of that if for no other reason he is pragmatic and saved this board’s bacon from relegation twice now.  He’s saying the right things about recruitment, let’s see how it plays out.