Daily WHUFC News - 8th January 2018

Hammers held at Shrewsbury in FA Cup
WHUFC.com

Shrewsbury Town 0 – 0 West Ham United
Emirates FA Cup third round

West Ham United and Shrewsbury Town battled out a 0-0 draw at Montgomery Waters Meadow as neither side were able to settle Sunday's Emirates FA Cup third round tie at the first attempt. Shrewsbury, flying high in League One, gave a good account of themselves as the Hammers were unable to get going and show the two-division gulf between the sides. Home goalkeeper Dean Henderson was untroubled throughout while former Shrews keeper Joe Hart had to make the game's two outstanding saves – down low to his left in quick succession from Mat Sadler and Alex Rodman – before the break. The result is the teams will have to replay at London Stadium to decide who will progress to the competiton's last-32.

David Moyes was without several senior members of his squad through injury, but was still with the likes of Hart, Winston Reid, Andre Ayew and Chicharito as he selected as strong a side he had available to him. One of his younger players, Josh Cullen, came straight into the starting XI following his return from a loan at Bolton and his delivery almost led to a goal on nine minute, but Cheikhou Kouyate couldn't get enough on the header. Shrewsbury settled well and Jon Nolan fired a 25-yard free-kick into the Hammers wall nine minutes later. With 26 minutes on the clock Shaun Whalley whipped a free-kick in from the left and Norwich loanee Ben Godfrey touched towards goal, but Hart got down to save at his feet. Hart was back at the club where it all began for him, and he was called into action twice in quick succession ten minutes before the break.

First, he had to dive low to his left with a strong hand to deny Sadler after the Shrews defender, who had earlier sustained a cut to his head, burst through and shot for goal. Then, second later, he had to repeat the trick to keep out a low drive from Rodman. The League One Shrews had enjoyed the better of the opening period, showing that they weren't overawed by the occasion and West Ham were unable to impose themselves on the contest. The start of the second period followed a similar pattern, although Shrewsbury were not able to make the same headway against the Hammers defence. It was a similar story at the other end as the Shrews backline showed why only Manchester City and Wigan Athletic have conceded fewer goals in the top four divisions this term. Ten minutes from time Pedro Obiang dragged a left-footed shot wide of the far post from 20 yards, while at the other end Nolan leant back and fired over when picked out in a good position by a low cross from the left. Neither side could find that moment of quality in front of goal and they will have to do it all again at London Stadium.

Shrewsbury Town: Henderson, Bolton, Sadler, Nsiala, Beckles, Whalley (Gnahoua 87), Nolan, Godfrey, Ogogo, Rodman (Lowe 76), C. Morris (Payne 82)
Subs: MacGillivrary, Dodds, John-Lewis, B.Morris

West Ham United: Hart, Burke, Rice, Reid (Quina 86), Ogbonna, Masuaku, Cullen, Obiang, Kouyate, Ayew, Chicharito (Martinez 71)
Subs: Adrian, Neufville, Makasi, Haksabanovic, Samuelsen

Referee: Paul Tierney
Attendance: 9,535

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Hammers held by Gillingham Ladies
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Ladies began 2018 with a well-earned point after a goalless draw with Gillingham Ladies. A difficult match for Karen Ray's side was mainly fought in midfield as both teams looked to take the advantage. The best effort of the first half fell to the away team as a free-kick just went wide. Chloe Burr tested Gillingham's shot-stopper on a number of occasions while Andria Georgiou's own free-kick also came close to opening the scoring. But the game ended without a goal despite a push from West Ham in the final few moments. The first half of a close contest at Rush Green was lacking in quality chances, with both sides battling in midfield for long periods of the opening 45 minutes. The away side got the first of the game as Gillingham earned a corner in the tenth minute, while Burr saw an effort fly over the bar after Amy Cooper played an excellent ball across the field. The winger also attempted a speculative volley from the edge of the area and Amber Stobbs continued to put pressure on the Gillingham defence from a false nine position. But the best effort of the first half was for Gillingham. Jack Wheeler's side saw a free-kick from 25 yards skim the far post. The second period started with a similar effort for the Irons as Georgiou had a decent free-kick that went wide of the woodwork. The midfielder also forced as save from the Gilingham goalkeeper while Burr also saw a shot from 10 yards tipped away for a corner. The introduction of Molly Peters up front brought some speed to the Hammers front line, with West Ham enjoying the best chances and the Gills defending sternly. But, despite some terrific pressure from the home side in the closing exchanges, the game ended goalless, leaving both sides with a share of the points.

West Ham United XI: Staunton; Mackie, Wheeler, Austin, Auguste; Chong (Wealthall 89'), Georgiou, Cooper ©; Burr (Perters 64'), Stobbs, R Kmita
Subs not used: Mabey, M Kmita

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Moyes: We're fortunate it's a replay
WHUFC.com

David Moyes offered no excuses for his team's display as they were held by League One Shrewsbury Town in the Emirates FA Cup third round on Sunday. The Hammers were unable to break down a side two divisions below them and they were reliant on two fine first half saves from Joe Hart to keep them in the hunt.
The teams will now have to replay at London Stadium for the right to progress to round four and Moyes says the Hammers will need to be much better if they are to gain the result they want. "We're fortunate that we've taken the tie to a replay," the boss admitted. "Shrewsbury were better than us today so I'm pleased to still be in the FA Cup. "We had hardly any attempts at all, maybe one or two, but very few. In the first half, Joe Hart made a couple of very good saves, and I don't think anyone should be surprised by Shrewsbury because they are doing very well in their league. "They have a bit of momentum so it was always going to be a tough game and not many Premier League teams are winning their games that easily. They are difficult to win. "The biggest disappointment for me was that we didn't show enough steel, because when you come to these places you have to show that you can battle and compete physically. I don't think we did that at all.
"It's a mentality thing too, wherever you're playing you have to recognise and respect whatever you're up against it's going to be tough, whether that's Tottenham or Shrewsbury. "In the first half especially we didn't compete at all."

Moyes also had a late injury concern over Winston Reid, who hobbled off with five minutes remaining, and his best player on the day, Josh Cullen, also took a nasty blow to the mouth. He added: "Josh was probably our best player today. Considering he's only just come back and we're getting to know him, he did well. "He had two teeth knocked out and he's gone straight to A&E to see if they can save them. Reidy just felt his groin kicking one at the end and we certainly don't need to add to it [the injury list]."

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Hart: We got out of jail a bit
WHUFC.com

Joe Hart admitted West Ham United were lucky to be in the hat for the Emirates FA Cup fourth round after being held to a goalless draw at his former club Shrewsbury Town. The goalkeeper was arguably the Hammers' best player at Montgomery Waters Meadow, marking his return home with a clean sheet and a number of smart pieces of work between the sticks – despite being blinded by a low sun before being handed a baseball cap by a generous member of the Claret and Blue Army. Hart, who started for the first time since the Premier League defeat at Everton in late November, said West Ham will need to be much-improved if they are to see off the impressive Shrews at London Stadium in the replay, which will be played a week on Tuesday. "We were terrible today and there is a feeling in the dressing room that we got out of jail a bit," said Hart. "Shrewsbury were really good, they've been in a good run of form and it's a tough place to come. "We didn't play well. We've had three games in a week, which is a lot of football for some of the lads, but there were some big opportunities for the likes of myself to get some game-time. We didn't necessarily take them, but we're still in the cup and we'll see what happens in the replay. "We can't blame fatigue, but there was some terrible football played and we lost a lot of battles. It was a really tough cup tie and I think nil-nil is almost a fair result."

Hart was handed the captain's armband by manager David Moyes on his return to the club he represented 58 times as a teenager, before being handed a baseball cap by a quick-thinking West Ham fan. "It was a nice touch to captain the side. This is my home town and it's where I'm from. I went to school here, I've got lots of friends and family here and this club is the one who gave me my opportunity in football. "It was very, very special and a nice moment to play here again, but during the game naturally I wanted to win. It's over now, so to see a lot of familiar faces was very nice. "I'm very grateful to the fans. We have a cap in the kit van, but Aaron Cresswell's hair was so bad that he took it after the last game! He was rocking the Umbro cap so we didn't have one available, but someone in the West Ham end very kindly lent me their hat, because I was blinded by the sun. I'd have taken any sort of hat or sunglasses as I couldn't see a thing. "They could see I was massively impeded so they got my attention and someone threw me their hat, so I'm grateful for that."

Hart will almost certainly start the replay, with Adrian currently holding the No1 position in the Premier League, and the England international is hoping to stake another claim to regain his position at the top of the goalkeeping pecking order when the Shrews visit east London on 16 January. "I face a battle to re-establish myself. We've had some good results recently and I've not been playing, so I've got to use days like this to try and stake my claim. "The replay is going to be another tough game and hopefully we'll have a few more bodies back as we had a lot of injuries and people who couldn't make the trip, so hopefully we'll have a stronger squad and advance to the next round."

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Shrewsbury Town 0-0 West Ham United
By Caroline Chapman
BBC Sport

Goalkeeper Joe Hart described West Ham's performance as "terrible" as League One Shrewsbury Town held them to a goalless draw to force an FA Cup third-round replay. The hosts, who are second in League One, dominated for large parts of the game but were unable to find the winner, while West Ham could only register two shots on target. When Shrewsbury-born Hart was asked after the game if his side had got out of jail, he replied: "100%. We were terrible today and Shrewsbury were really good."

Ben Godfrey almost poked home from Shaun Whalley's free-kick in the first half, before Mat Sadler saw his chance saved by Hart. The Hammers, who made four changes from Thursday's Premier League draw with Tottenham, looked lethargic in their third match in six days and only threatened through half-chances from Andre Ayew. "It's a tough place to come. We didn't play well. We had three games in a week and there were opportunities for the lads, including myself," added Hart."I can't blame fatigue. There was some terrible football played today and we lost a lot of battles."

The result means the Shrews will now travel to London Stadium later this month for the replay, with the hope of reaching the fourth round of the competition for only the second time in 14 seasons. West Ham, meanwhile, will be hoping to avoid being knocked out in the third round for the sixth time in eight years.
Hart was recalled to the first team and made captain for his return to his boyhood town and the club where he started his career. He got a warm reception as he walked out on to the pitch at Montgomery Waters Meadow and said after the game: "This is where I grew up, my home town. It gave me my opportunity in football. It's very special."

The England international made strong saves to deny Godfrey and Sadler from close range, while West Ham's defence was able to scupper a late attack from captain Abu Ogogo in stoppage time. Shrewsbury, two points off leaders Wigan in the third tier, boast an enviable defensive record with only four goals conceded at home this season. But, in truth, West Ham offered little to trouble their back line. The visitors had only four touches in the opposition's penalty area and their only chances came from Ayew - his low, tame effort in the first half coming before a flicked header after the break.

It was a memorable, if painful, domestic debut for 21-year-old West Ham midfielder Josh Cullen, who lost his front tooth after receiving a high boot to the face from Ogogo. Cullen's tooth was retrieved from the pitch by the Hammers physio and the Republic of Ireland U21 international was able to continue playing - but only after being made to change his shorts on the side of the pitch as they were covered in blood. Shrewsbury defender Sadler also needed extensive treatment after a clash of heads with Ayew. The 32-year-old needed two trips off the field to deal with the bleeding and ended up with a bandage around his head for the second half.

'Mixed feelings' for Shrewsbury - what they said
Shrewsbury Town manager Paul Hurst: "The players are a little bit deflated almost. "To their credit, they did extremely well but if we'd had just that little bit of quality and we may have got through. So it's mixed feelings really. "But we have a replay to look forward to. We know it will be tough. They will be at home, more comfortable in their own stadium."

West Ham manager David Moyes: "I don't think we showed any quality and the biggest disappointment is I didn't think we showed enough steel. "When you come to places like this you have to show yourself physically, that you can battle and compete. I didn't think we did that at all and that was the worst thing about it."Obviously if you compare Wembley and Thursday night, it's a big change. But it's a mentality thing. You've got to go and show that wherever you are, you've got to respect whatever players you're against and recognise it's going to be tough."

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Disappointed we didn't win!
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 7th January 2018
By: Staff Writer

Shrewsbury defender Mat Sadler believes his team can still knock West Ham out of the FA Cup following today's goalless draw at New Meadow.

The League One side were the more likely of the two teams to score this afternoon but had to settle for a second bite of the cherry having been held to a draw by a West Ham side featuring several youngsters.

And Sadler - who required lengthy treatment during the second half - firmly believes that his team can upset the apple cart when the two teams meet again in the replay, the date for which will be confirmed soon.

"It's a game we're disappointed we didn't win in the end," he told the BBC. "We've had a couple of good chances and limited them to very few.

"We've now got the opportunity to go to the Olympic Stadium and go again - and I see no reason why we can't win there. I see no reason to think it won't be a similar game when we go there, so we'll look forward to that."

West Ham managed just four shots at goal during the game compared to Shrewsbury's nine, three of which were on traget (compared to West Ham's two). The hosts enjoyed 56 per cent of possession, with West Ham some way behind with 44 per cent.

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Cullen off to hospital
KUMB.com
Filed: Sunday, 7th January 2018
By: Staff Writer

Josh Cullen has been taken to hospital after losing a tooth during this afternoon's goalless draw at Shrewsbury. The Southend-born midfielder parted company with one of his molars midway through the second half after having it kicked out following a challenge by Town's Abu Ogogo. As you can see from the footage above Cullen's departing tooth was clearly visible on TV cameras, but was soon collected by the medical team as he received treatment on the field. The closest hospital to the ground is the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, some three miles away. West Ham will face a replay against the League One side next week as a result of today's stalemate.

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Spurs 1 - 1 West Ham (And Other Ramblings)
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 5th January 2018
By: HeadHammerShark


"And your God is only a catapult, waiting for the right time to let you go
Into the unknown, just to watch you hold your breath
Yeah, and you surrender your fortress"
- The War on Drugs, "Arms Like Boulders"


Dreams aren't supposed to look like this. Stalwart defending, cheering brief moments of possession, holding midfielders channeling Bobby Charlton, and all the while clinging grimly to a point as though it were a life float chucked overboard into a tumultuous, stormy sea. But there you go – welcome to the new normal in the Premier League, where those who have orchestrated two decades of inequity are finally seeing the fruits of their labour being beamed into billions of homes all round the world. Here you go Asia and America, it's the best league in the world! Except we made these two teams play 48 hours ago so please don't ask for entertainment – that wouldn't be fair.

Niche reference alert. More ahead too.

Of course, there was plenty of entertainment on display last night if you dream in claret and blue and didn't mind getting behind the sofa for large swathes of the action. Missing Cresswell, Antonio and crucially, Arnautovic, we were reduced to an extended exercise of attack versus defence anchored around a supreme performance from our back three, with only a brief pause for respite as Pedro Obiang scored the best goal that Wembley will see this season.

Perhaps in an alternate reality we would have lost this game by bucketloads. Maybe Harry Kane would have converted one of those myriad half chances into a goal with some typical opportunistic brilliance and, forced to chase the game, we would have been picked apart at will by a counterattacking Spurs team. But, even allowing for Andre Ayew, alternate dimensions don't exist and thus we only have to concern ourselves with this one, and here we defended resolutely and with no little courage to grind out another draw. Another point. Another inch on a road to safety that none of us can believe we are actually travelling once again.

In the end, games such as this will fade from the memory and become little more than footnotes in yet another lost season of turgid struggle. But right here and now, in the middle of a relegation battle that sees nine teams within five points of each other, this point looks like a precious jewel. Add to that the satisfaction of slamming the brakes on another Spurs season, and leaving Wembley undefeated for a second time this season, it's hard to argue that this wasn't a pretty good night all round.

***

"All this talk of getting old
It's getting me down"
- The Verve, "The Drugs Don't Work"


Now that the dust has settled on a Christmas league programme that required us to play four games in thirteen days, it is possible to look back and assess how well we have fared over a crucial, but heavily demanding period of the season. All things considered, a return of a win, a loss and two draws is reasonable, even if the swings in fortune during that run were fairly sizeable. While we may bemoan Andre Ayew going full Diana Ross and Bobby Madley's self importance, we are also indebted to Asmir Begovic's sudden bouts of vertigo and Andy Carroll suddenly discovering he had a functioning right foot. It could have been better, it could have been worse. 123 years of history summed up in that one sentence.

How many shots have we had Zaba?

Given the compressed nature of the schedule, one might have expected David Moyes to ring the changes in order to keep his team fresh, but the reality is that he simply doesn't have the personnel available to do that effectively. The bench for this match featured £35m of strikers who don't fit our style of play, four kids without a league appearance between them, a travelling acrobat, a badger, a life size cut out of Keita Balde, and of course Joe Hart, taking up a massive part of our weekly wage budget because he is the best keeper David Sullivan has ever worked with.

So, Moyes rotated where he could - in central defence and up front - and then said a couple of Hail Mary's for the rest. Below is a table from today's Telegraph which gives an interesting breakdown of the number of changes made by each team over Christmas, and how many injuries they each suffered. We lead the latter category, naturally, and if we do it for a 50th consecutive year in 2019 we get to keep Jack Wilshere as a prize.

Each team has their own approach, but our low rotation policy in theory should have ensured some consistency of performance. In reality, things didn't pan out that way and it is instructive to see that Newcastle did so well having rotated heavily. Their ability to mix and match with lots of average players of roughly the same ability served them in good stead, whereas Moyes has neither the depth in numbers or talent to do that. At the top end of our squad – Lanzini, Arnautovic – we have much better players than our rivals, but most of the team are not at that level, and furthermore, ours is the second oldest squad in the division.

Evidently, that lack of mobility and athleticism really shows up when we play lots of games in quick succession like this. Given all of that, a five point return will suffice for now, primarily as it gives us some breathing space over West Brom and Swansea, and helped draw struggling teams like Southampton and Stoke back into the scrap. That said, this period was mainly about surviving intact to take on our vital January fixtures.

Many of you may disagree, but the rightful casualty of all of this will probably will be our FA Cup run. The brutal reality is that none of the players who played in these two matches should appear on Sunday, because the risk of injury is so much greater when players are fatigued. Unfortunately, because of the aforementioned shallow squad depth we don't have the quality of reserves to call upon to realistically challenge an upwardly mobile lower league side like Shrewsbury. That's an embarrassing admission for any Premier League team to make, but as we discovered at Nottingham Forest a few years ago, the gap between Premier League Under 23 teams and good lower league sides is pretty big.

So, if I was Moyes, I would be apologising to those fans travelling on Sunday, forcing the club to subsidise their travel or tickets or buying them a fucking burger or something to prove they aren't all soul sucking vampires, and then acceding to the wishes of those who have been demanding game time for the untried likes of Martinez, Quina, Haksabanovic and Makasi. I understand those who make the argument that for a club like us, the only thing we have is the chance of a cup victory, and indeed I agree with it. But there is an underlying reality to our situation which also has to be considered, which is that we have a far higher chance of being relegated – about 25% on present bookmaker odds – than we do of winning the cup.

Take it, I'm going to win the FA Cup!

Therefore, when people say that they would happily accept relegation if we were to win a trophy, they are operating in a fantasy world. That would be like me saying I would happily accept my house being repossessed if I took my mortgage money and sunk it into lottery tickets and won. What this ignores is the far more likely option that I lose the house and don't win the lottery. None of which is to say that I want us to lose on Sunday, but if we win we will only face this dilemma again in the next round when our match would take place just before a five day spell when we face a home game with Palace and a trip to Brighton. Picking up Premier League points from those games is more important to the club than a fourth round cup game. I know plenty will disagree, but maybe check in with a Wigan fan before you make up your mind fully. In summary, I think Moyes' priority this weekend is to preserve a team to get some points at Huddersfield, and our righteous anger about that should be directed at the idiots who assembled this ageing squad and thought it could survive a season as unrelentingly demanding as this one, which has been compressed to give England a longer preparation period for the World Cup.

***

"I sing the song because I love the man
I know that some of you don't understand"
- Neil Young, "The Needle and the Damage Done"


On which note, it seems only fitting to actually look at what happened here in more detail, because whatever the situation, this is a fine result and one that few teams will match this season. Unlike Slaven Bilic, who regularly troubled Spurs by pressing them in their own high intensity style, and frequently found them wanting in the middle of the park, Moyes instead chose to retreat into a defensive shell and invite them on.

Where the likes of Stoke and Southampton were torn apart on their recent trips to Wembley, we were instead beautifully compact and hard to break down. We dropped so deep we were almost subterranean, forcing Spurs to play in front of us, and shorn of the ability to hit us on the counter attack and with no space for Christian Eriksen, the hosts looked thoroughly uninspired. The cost of this approach was that we almost entirely gave up on attacking, and we were noticeably abysmal when in possession, with Javier Hernandez the poster boy for receiving the ball and then doing nothing other than trying to win free kicks with it. The Mexican was so bad here I thought I was at a seance and Mike Newell had turned up to haunt me.

On the other hand, our back three were masterful, with Angelo Ogbonna outstanding again, and Declan Rice turning in the kind of mature, composed performances that we assumed we were getting when we spent £8m on Jose Fonte this time last year. I have been agnostic on the youngster up until now, but he has turned my head firmly with this display. It is incredibly rare to see teenagers looking this assured at this level. Alongside him Pablo Zabaleta and Arthur Masuaku did just enough to keep things on an even keel, even if the former was heavily indebted to some excellent cover work by Cheikhou Kouyate to manage the dynamite Heung Min Son. Winston Reid did not get injured.

Everything about this picture is brilliant

Reading between the lines after the game, it seems that Moyes wanted the team to be more offensive but with no way of getting up the pitch this kind of performance was perhaps inevitable. The value of an Antonio or Sakho type player was never more evident than this game, as every clearance was returned back with interest, and Spurs must have been sorely tempted to play rush goalie, so unthreatening were we. After an hour Moyes gave up on Hernandez proving the broken clock theory correct and stuck on Andre Ayew, who did more jogging on than the Mexican managed all day. After just six minutes on the pitch, the Ghanaian pushed Spurs back with some good running, and the ball was eventually recycled back to Pedro Obiang some thirty yards from goal. Perhaps thinking that it was a bit embarrassing that we hadn't had a shot all day, the Spaniard advanced without any pressure on the ball from Spurs - to be fair, why would you - and smacked a thunderous, brilliant, joyful, rising drive into the top corner and had West Ham fans of a certain age yelling about traction engines. A moment to remind us to dream.

Kouyate really should have doubled the lead not long after, when Obiang picked him out unmarked at the back post but the Senegal captain stooped for the header with all the enthusiasm of Anne Boleyn kneeling for the executioners axe and put it wide. It was to prove costly, as Spurs would snatch a point with just five minutes remaining when Son, their best player by a distance, smashed home a stunning long range effort of his own. I can't help but like Son and frequently have to try and forget that at the same time we were signing Andy Carroll for £15m he was joining Bayer Leverkusen for €10m. Sigh.

Even allowing for bias it's hard not to say that Spurs deserved something from this game, but to have got as close as we did made it a tough pill to swallow, even if we'd have all taken a point - Allardyce style - before the game. There was even a doubt about the validity of the Spurs goal as Aurier looked to have fouled Lanzini in the build up, but Moyes was unconvinced after the game so I won't die on that particular hill. The Caley Graphics shot map above tells some, but not all, of the story as that Spurs xG was more a product of having loads of half chances rather than a few very good ones. This was death by a thousand blocked shots. By contrast, we actually created the two best chances of the game for Kouyate and later for Ayew. It might seem counter intuitive, but if you were to ask Pochettino if he wanted to replay this game and swap chances with us, he might actually take it as you'd imagine Kane and Alli would do better with those chances than we did.

Helpfully, Mike Dean also didn't award penalties to Spurs for a couple of shouts in the second half. Both involved Dele Alli and therefore immediately demand greater scrutiny given his propensity for falling over like he's in an episode of Miranda. The first was a challenge with Reid that I don't think could ever have been given, and the second involved Adrian clattering him when he'd headed over after an offside Kane had flicked on. That was a better shout, but I'm not yet ready to live in a world where players are going to be punished for punching Dele Alli in the head. After the game Tim Sherwood said he thought both were penalties, thus confirming that Dean was correct not to award them.

***

"And all the politicians making crazy sounds
And everybody putting everybody else down"
- The Velvet Underground, "Heroin"


Long after the game had finished, pundits were still debating the recent trend of lower rung Premier League teams "parking the bus" when faced with the Top Six. Leaving aside for a moment that the greatest exponent of this is at Old Trafford, the best summary I've found was this article by Jonathan Wilson in the Guardian. Wilson correctly identifies that teams like us have been willing to cede possession at historic rates, with the sole aim of keeping games tight and then striking on the break. Part of this stems from watching Leicester do it brilliantly for an entire season, and win the league, although it must be said that we have none of their pace. Watching Hernandez try and outpace Sanchez after intercepting a misplaced pass on the halfway line here was like watching the tortoise and the hare if the tortoise gave up halfway through and started sulking. Oh, for some of these players who can play game after game at such high intensity and mysteriously never get injured.

Hernandez races away from the Spurs defence

Amid the indignation contained in that article from the likes of Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville is a failure from them to properly address exactly why this has happened. When money is so integral to the game, and shared so unevenly around the sport, it is hardly surprising that it has an effect far beyond the company accounts. Because the English game does not properly fund lower league football, it means that the cost of dropping out of the Premier League is disproportionately severe and thus even ludicrously well funded but appallingly run teams like West Ham will turn in embarrassingly defensive shows like this in order to preserve that status.

Doubling the problems for relegation threatened teams is the fact that those at the top have revenue streams they cannot access. Champions League teams take home prize money, or more accurately UEFA subsidies, each year that push them ever further from the rest of the pack, and subsequently have commercial opportunities that the rest can only dream of. With that inequality has come a growing acceptance from everyone else that trying to live with these teams is a bit of a waste of time, and we are now at a stage where the cup competitions can't compete with the primacy of the league, as I've outlined above, and teams like us dream of finishing sixth.

Suddenly, the likes of Carragher and Neville are upset by this, because they want their armchair fans to be entertained. It is telling however, that neither of them ever left the sweet embrace of such privilege during their playing careers, preferring to remain where they had every advantage and never had to pick and choose which competitions to attack, or had to contend with their team mates being tapped up like Virgil Van Dijk.

Yet, including Spurs in this is a little unfair, as they have made their way into that elite tier by actually buying and developing players. Spending £100m on Romelu Lukaku isn't a difficult thing to do. Growing Harry Kane or spotting Dele Alli actually is. That said, they have commercial revenue streams that the likes of Burnley will never have, and still joined their new peers in demanding a greater share of the league television money last month. It didn't take long for them to get their snout firmly into the trough.

Every year that passes without any attempt to address these discrepancies is a further dagger into the heart of the league as a competitive entity. The likes of Carragher and Neville can't complain about negative small teams unless they also support some or all the possible solutions. So let's hear them advocating for greater revenue sharing, or salary caps, or luxury taxes, or squad size restrictions, or limits on loans, or a draft of young players left off those restricted squads, or liquidating Chelsea or any other suggestion that would make the game fairer, and by extension more entertaining.

Sadly, that will never happen and such egalitarian notions will remain the sole preserve of the dreamers on the second page of the Match of the Day league table. It just feels a bit of a pisstake to hoover up all of the money in the game, steal all the best players from small clubs, swipe up the best managers and then call us names while they're doing it. To Huddersfield, Swansea, Bournemouth and, sadly, unbelievably, West Ham, I say...carry on.

Once more for luck? Oh, go on then

Please note that the opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, nor should be attributed to, KUMB.com.

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David Moyes accuses West Ham of lacking fight in Shrewsbury FA Cup tie
By PA Sport
Last Updated: 07/01/18 6:54pm
SSN

Furious West Ham boss David Moyes accused his players of lacking fight after they escaped from Shrewsbury with an FA Cup replay on Sunday. The Hammers needed Joe Hart to keep them in the competition after his saves from Mat Sadler and Shaun Whalley secured a goalless third-round draw in Shropshire. The Sky Bet League One hosts were the better side throughout even though Moyes made just four changes from Thursday's 1-1 draw at Tottenham in the Premier League.
And the Scot was upset with the Hammers' commitment at New Meadow. "I don't think we showed any quality and the biggest disappointment is I didn't think we showed enough steel," he said. "When you come to places like this, you have to show yourself physically, that you can battle and compete. "I didn't think we did that at all and that was the worst thing about it. Sometimes it's not easy. The conditions - the sun - didn't make it easy for the players to see things around them but that didn't stop the fact that we didn't compete on a lot of occasions. "Obviously if you compare Wembley and Thursday night, it's a big change. But it's a mentality thing. "You've got to go and show that wherever you are, you've got to respect whatever players you're against and recognise it's going to be tough. For the first half especially, we didn't compete at all."

The Hammers were fortunate to hang on after Jon Nolan shot over with four minutes left on the clock while the Hammers created nothing. The hosts were in charge for long spells and Moyes reserved praise for Hart, who started his career at boyhood club Shrewsbury and was recalled to the Hammers team after being on the bench for the last four games "Joe's been great. A couple of times people have asked me the question but he's been very good," he added. "He's been number one everywhere he's been but he's got somebody here in Adrian who's playing well. Joe will play a lot in the Premier League between now and the end of the season."

Shrewsbury are second in League One and boss Paul Hurst felt the Hammers were there for the taking. "I've seen us do better but we haven't come up against individuals as good as today," he said. "It sounds silly but we've had tougher games and that's why I thought the game was there to be won. "Wigan, Blackburn - we've got them to come in the next league fixture - and different types of games. "I don't mean that as being disrespectful to West Ham but I really felt the game was there to be won. "It's easier said than done, you score every chance when you're on the touchline, but nerves play a part. "We wanted to make it uncomfortable. The danger is you have all the hype and build-up but then fall flat on your face. That didn't happen."

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West Ham's Declan Rice recalls 'deflating' Chelsea release
Last Updated: 07/01/18 3:44pm
SSN

West Ham defender Declan Rice admits he was left devastated when he was released by Chelsea as a 14-year-old. Rice, 18, has broken into West Ham's first team this season under David Moyes - four years after his time at Chelsea was brought to an abrupt end. He says he has recovered from the initial shock and suggested his former Chelsea academy team-mates might even envy his current success at the London Stadium. "I was released by Chelsea at 14 years old," he said. "I remember it, a Tuesday night. On the Wednesday I was training with Fulham, five minutes from my house, and then on the Thursday I was training with West Ham. "After one session at both clubs they both wanted me. There was interest from other clubs as well but I made the switch to West Ham. "I had to change house, change school, so it was a massive decision - and it's paid off "When Chelsea let me go it was really deflating. For me, as a youngster, it's all I ever knew - living 10 minutes from the training ground, going to loads of the games. "It's one of those where you've just got to pick yourself up and go again. "I think some of the boys at Chelsea might be thinking 'wow! Look at Dec doing well for West Ham'."

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Bury were more trouble than West Ham says Shrewsbury boss after FA Cup stalemate leaves David Moyes fuming
League One's bottom side are tougher claims Paul Hurst — and Hammers chief admits "I don't think we showed any quality"
The Mirror
ByJames Nursey
18:31, 7 JAN 2018

Paul Hurst reckons third-tier whipping boys Bury gave Shrewsbury a harder game than Premier League West Ham . Hurst's promotion-chasing League One side remain in the FA Cup after a goalless draw at home to the Hammers, whose midfielder Josh Cullen had two teeth knocked out — and the impressive Shrews were by far the better team. They have only lost three times this term in the league, including a 1-0 at bottom club Bury, who are currently five points adrift and 11 away from safety. Hurst said: "It sounds silly, but we've had tougher games. Bury, Wigan, Blackburn were harder and different types of games "I don't mean that being disrespectful to West Ham, but I really felt the game was there to be won. "It's easier said than done. You score every chance when you're on the touchline, but nerves play a part. "We can't be too disappointed, I'm sure the chairman will be happy. He spoke about a replay a little while ago and has got his wish. My fear was that we wouldn't overly test them out."

West Ham keeper Joe Hart was forced into three good first-half saves as Shrewsbury, his hometown team and first pro club, piled on the pressure. Relieved boss David Moyes admitted: "Shrewsbury were better than us, so I'm pleased to be still in the Cup. I don't think we showed any quality. And the biggest disappointment is I don't think we showed enough steel. "When you come to places like this you have to show yourself physically, that you can battle and compete. "I didn't think we did that at all and that for me was the worst thing about it. We didn't compete on a lot of occasions. "I don't think we had any attempts at all - maybe one or two, but very few. "But Shrewsbury are doing really well in their league and they have a bit of momentum. So it was always going to be a tough game."
Youngster Cullen has been taken to hospital after being caught in the face by a high boot. The Scot added: "Young Josh had had two teeth knocked out. We've sent him to A&E to see if they can save them."

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