There was a bitter irony for West Ham United fans bemoaning the club’s frustrating FA Cup exit yesterday.
Moyes believes West Ham outcast now has ‘big role to play’ – report
Some West Ham fans had started to allow themselves to dream that this could be their year.
After more than four decades without a major trophy, the Hammers – having their best season for 35 of those 41 years – were in a great position to attack the FA Cup with everything they had.
Toothless Hammers crash out of FA Cup to a Man United side that were there for the taking
When it came to the crunch, though, poor transfer planning and squad depth meant they didn’t have very much at all.
Toothless in attack due to the absence of Michail Antonio, West Ham showed a complete lack of ambition at Old Trafford. And David Moyes’s side were knocked out 1-0 after extra-time despite an admirable defensive display.
On reflection West Ham fans were understandably gutted as Man United were very much there for the taking.
While West Ham fans nursed feelings of regret yesterday, Moyes may have experienced similar feelings over Sebastien Haller.
The striker was hastily sold to Ajax for £20m last month – £25m less than the record £45m West Ham paid Eintracht Frankfurt for him 18 months before.
West Ham lose their only senior striker for the biggest game of the season
Moyes was widely expected to sign a replacement. After all no Premier League club would really try and operate with one senior striker on their books, would they?
Especially one that has been plagued by injuries throughout his career and managed more than 25 games in a season just once.
And especially given Moyes wanted to sign a striker in the summer, six months BEFORE Haller was sold.
Well West Ham did not pay the asking price for Moyes’s striker targets. And the Scot flat out refused to sign other forwards being suggested to him ‘just to appease people’.
Of course it took just a week after the window closed for West Ham’s long-suffering fans to be proved right.
Bitter irony as Haller heroics start to grate after brace to take Ajax into Dutch cup semis
Antonio injured and out of their biggest game of the season. His supposed back-up Andriy Yarmolenko injured too.
Meanwhile in Holland, Haller scored a brace as Ajax beat PSV 2-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Dutch cup.
Even those West Ham fans who – with good reason – disregard Dutch football as completely inferior to the English game, were winded by the irony.
Here was their high-flying team – in their biggest game of the season, playing on national TV in front of millions – parking the bus and desperately hoping for a set piece smash and grab, like a plucky League Two side that had landed a plum cup draw.
The Dutch league may not be much cop. And Haller just wasn’t working out with West Ham at Premier League level.
But the wisdom of allowing him to leave without signing a replacement was brought sharply into focus by his Ajax heroics the very next day.
Moyes will have over £60m to spend in summer as part of West Ham plan
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