West Ham 0 Brentford 2: Toney and DaSilva strikes leave David Moyes on brink with Hammers in deep relegation trouble
AFTER plenty of words, the time for action is fast approaching.
David Moyes smiled away claims he was on the brink of the sack this week, suggesting they were “wide of the mark” and that his relationship with the board was rock solid.
Skipper Declan Rice then took to last night’s programme notes in an attempt to rally the troops with a line that read: “There is no way we’re down and out”.
Well, after a fifth Premier League defeat on the spin and yet more choruses of boos from a London Stadium crowd who are losing faith, and their rag, that is certainly debatable.
If results go against them this weekend, the Hammers could even be bottom of the table at the turn of the year – a sobering wake-up call if there ever was one.
Ivan Toney rubbed salt into the wounds, celebrating his 18th minute opener by laughing deliriously and producing a mickey-taking ‘Irons’ crossed-arm gesture.
He may not be smiling should the FA decide to ban him for those betting breach charges, but he is responding in the best way possible – a fourth goal in three Prem outings.
The Bees striker – who was carried off in the dying moments with a nasty-looking knee injury – then notched an assist just before the break for Josh Dasilva, a goal that prompted large sections of the east London crowd to leave their seats for good.
Moyes has his excuses ready for this shocking start to a campaign that promised so much. The large summer overhaul of almost £170m. Injuries to several of those new-boys.
But the results and performances have been damning. 11 league defeats in their opening 17 games, averaging less than a goal a game. Just three victories at home all campaign.
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It has not just been this season, amassing only 11 wins in 36 Prem games in the whole of 2022, with European success papering over the cracks for some time.
Those cracks are getting wider and wider. Make no mistake, Moyes is clinging to his job right now.
Moyes’ initial job when he arrived for his second stint in charge in 2019 was to avoid the drop. Successive Euro spot finishes in the past two years showed progress.
Now, it feels like they are back to square one, with little sign of fighting back.
After a promising first half display away at Arsenal on Boxing Day, Moyes decided to shake things up. Five at the back. Thilo Kehrer and Michail Antonio benched.
Gianluca Scamacca returned to lead the line after recovering from injury.
It appeared to have done the trick, briefly. Declan Rice smacked the post from 27 yards early on before Craig Dawson’s nodded header grazed David Raya’s post.
Brentford were more than happy to soak up the pressure before hitting the hosts with one of their throw-in routines. Zanka’s flick-on, Christian Norgaard’s saved shot and Toney prodding home with the rebound.
West Ham continued to create without seriously threatening Raya’s clean sheet, and Scamacca and Lucas Paqueta were struggling to produce something out of nothing.
Then, out of nothing, Brentford had a second. Another throw-in not dealt with. Toney’s flick over the top, Dasilva shrugged off Aaron Cresswell far too easily before finding the corner.
Moyes stood motionless on the sidelines with a glare of a man fearing the worst.
Early second half inspiration was needed to win back the crowd, and they almost had it as Ben Mee bundled Jarrod Bowen over for a penalty only for VAR to deem it outside the box.
And with that, any remaining belief evaporated. Brentford – now up to ninth – cruised. Had they really wanted to, they could have added a third and fourth. It was as if they felt sorry for them.
At one point, a home fan approached the press box and yelled: “How do you spell ‘sacked’, then?”
Moyes can deny it all he likes, but Europa League semi-finalists West Ham really are in a relegation battle, and his job really is hanging by a thread.