Derby County take on West Ham United at Pride Park in the FA Cup 4th round. It's the first meeting between the two sides for 2011. We spoke with Sam, a West Ham United supporter to get the low down on The Hammers.
Why are West Ham struggling this season?
I can honestly be here all night trying to explain! But in a nutshell? It mainly boils down to manager David Moyes persisting to play the same side, which include severely out of form players, week in week out! Teams have basically sussed us out before we’ve even kicked off - with no PLAN B; it’s a devastating combination. Late substitutions, going to defensive and a reluctance to alter his tactics even when losing.
European football hasn’t helped! Teams outside of the Top 4 with smaller squads, do tend to struggle with the congested fixture list. We seemed to struggle last season in the league after playing our Thursday night games.
In defence of Moyes, we have also been unlucky. I personally think losing of the likes Mark Noble, Stuart Pearce and Moyes no.2 Alan Irvine have played a big part in the spiral, losing their presence in the changing room.
On the outside looking in, I’m surprised David Moyes is still in a job, Are you? How much pressure is Moyes on?
Yes and no! Look, we’ve had two fantastic seasons under Moyes. He took us from relegation candidates to back-to-back top 7 and European football. He deserved time to turn this around. Unfortunately, where do you draw the line? I personally think that was crossed before the World Cup.
Yes, Moyes is under pressure! When you spend £160 million in the summer - expectations are obviously higher. If you speak to most West Ham fans; it’s not the losing that’s turning us against him - it’s the way, we lose. Our attack is slow, can sometimes look like were running in treacle.
We beat a very poor Everton side last Saturday, but I didn’t see anything special from us. I think we finished the game with 32% possession at home and that’s good enough to be honest. it’s Just granted Moyes an extra week.
Are the Hammers taking the FA Cup seriously this season?
I’d say so! No disrespect to Derby but well be seeing this as a big chance to progress to the next round. We need a morale boost this season, so a cup run could help ease the pain of our league form.
Do you expect much of the first team to feature in the match? & Who should we be on the lookout for?
Moyes will pick a relatively strong side on Monday night! He can’t afford to lose, as it would probably result in him getting the sack.
If I had to guess formation: 4-2-3-1
Likely Moyes Line up: Areola, Johnson, Ogbonna, Aguerd, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Paqueta, Fornals, Bowen & Antonio.
Bowen bagged two last Saturday, so I am hoping that kickstarts his season. He’s not been himself this season, but we all know his quality. If he’s on his game Monday night, hell cause you all sorts of problems.
Rice is another who can grab the game by the scruff of the neck.
Strengths? (I sadly found it hard to find strengths this season)
· Aerial duels
· Defending set pieces
· Counter attacks
· Creating long shot opportunities
Weaknesses?
· Finishing scoring chances
· Defending counter attacks
· Overly cautious
· In affective crossing.
Thoughts on Derby?
Playing very well in the league, I think your undefeated in the last 6 and well on course for promotion back to The Championship. You’re a big team, bigger than Nottingham Forest ;-) so I think you’ll be back in the Premier League one day.
How do you think the game will go?
It will be a hard game for us! Pride Park should be rocking under the lights. It has the making of a proper cup tie. We certainly won’t be underestimating you.
I think we’ll nick it 1-2! It’ll be a tight game and you have the potential to cause us a few problems. You’ll be rightly confident after your 5 wins in a row, but I think we have the quality to get the job done.
Good luck with your season!
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