West Ham are passive everywhere we go under David Moyes according to a damning new statistic that has emerged.
The chant West Ham are massive everywhere we go has been belted out with pride over the last couple of seasons.
But a dismal start to the new campaign had dampened the mood around the London Stadium somewhat.
West Ham look to have turned the corner of late, stringing together four wins and a draw in all competitions.
There has been much frustration among supporters, though, with the approach and performance levels. And some of the results have been far from convincing.
West Ham all too often start slow in games and are sitting off teams. And many fans want to see the Hammers – who were reinforced with eight top quality signings to the tune of £170m in the summer – play more on the front foot and press the opposition.
And those who have raised concerns over the lack of pressing this season are certainly not wrong.
West Ham will always be massive everywhere we go.
But West Ham are passive everywhere we go under David Moyes according to a damning new statistic.
According to The Other 14 – which provides data on the Premier League teams outside the so-called “top six” – West Ham rank bottom for pressing.
Leeds United are top of the pressing charts with 1,440 pressures applied at an average of 160 per game.
But West Ham are way off that figure with the lowest pressing stats.
The Hammers have applied just 1,112 pressures which equates to an average of 111.2 per game.
Two struggling sides, Wolves and Nottingham Forest, are even applying more pressure than West Ham.
In mitigation Moyes has admitted he still does not know his best team, so perhaps West Ham will put more pressure on the opposition and play more on the front foot when he does.
But West Ham fans will point to the fact that the team’s form fell off a cliff around this time last year and for 10 months – until the win over Wolves recently – the Hammers had a points per game ratio among the bottom three in the league over their previous 34 matches.
West Ham’s players are definitely not pressuring the opposition with the same intensity as they were during the first 18 months after Moyes’ return to the club.
This is an evolving team, though, so perhaps more patience is needed.
That certainly tallies with these statistics from The Other 14.
Perhaps that will have to change if West Ham are to maintain their status from the previous two seasons as challengers for a top six spot or go even better in the future.
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