Michail Antonio has had his problems over the past few months and West Ham boss David Moyes clearly wasn’t happy with him last night against Southampton.
The 31-year-old’s overall performance wasn’t great once again, despite the fact that he scored our equaliser.
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Antonio is the Hammers’ number nine now. He wanted that shirt in the summer but with it comes added pressure.
Micky is the only centre-forward who Moyes has at his disposal, so it was no surprise when he was selected to start for West Ham against Southampton in the FA Cup last night.
Antonio has looked incredibly jaded since the turn of the year. His excursions with Jamaica certainly haven’t helped but the fact that he is the only striker option at Moyes’s disposal is undoubtedly the main reason for his recent exhaustion.
The former Nottingham Forest man has found it really hard to get a consistent run of form going. Perhaps he’s not doing what Moyes is asking of him though…
Moyes spotted screaming at Antonio during West Ham defeat to Southampton
It has been noticeable over recent weeks and months how the 31-year-old Hammers forward has been drifting out wide.
As a result, we don’t have a focal point inside the penalty box.
If Antonio wants to be regarded as our number nine, then he has to work on his positioning, movement and the pattern of the runs that he makes.
And Moyes was seen barking orders at Antonio from the touchline during the Southampton vs West Ham clash last night:
Antonio scored a proper poacher’s goal for West Ham against Southampton last night.
So it’s clear to see that he is capable of being an old-school number nine.
After we equalised though, he began making pointless runs out wide once again. And Moyes obviously wasn’t happy with that.
Hopefully Antonio sits down and remembers what made him so successful last season and during the first few months of this campaign.
The powerful 31-year-old still has a lot to offer West Ham. It just seems as though he is drifting away from the player who was so effective for the Hammers up until the end of last year.
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