Hammers boss David Moyes simply must solve massive Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma issue to get West Ham firing again.
West Ham have seriously struggled to find any kind of consistent form since the November international break.
On the whole performances since that momentum killing break have been well below the standards West Ham set themselves last season and earlier this term.
Moyes has admitted that much himself.
They say it is a sign of a good team to get result when you are not playing well.
So it could be spun as a positive then that the Hammers managed to scrape three positive results last week despite below par displays.
Declan Rice pulled them out of the mire to see off non-league Kidderminster in the FA Cup before a narrow win over Watford and last gasp draw at Leicester.
Some key West Ham players just aren’t at the races right now and haven’t been for some time.
The likes of Michail Antonio, Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek and a host of others are struggling.
One bright spark for West Ham over the winter period was Manuel Lanzini. The Argentine has been crucial in a number of games and fought his way back into the starting XI in place of Said Benrahma, who has been another flattering to deceive.
But West Ham have a massive issue when it comes to Lanzini and Benrahma that is maddening for fans and undoubtedly Moyes too.
Because more often than not when Benrahma starts he offers little in recent months. Then Lanzini comes on and makes a big impact.
As a result Lanzini earns a starting berth – as it should be – only for the little jewel to then also struggle to make a difference.
David Moyes simply must solve massive Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma issue to get West Ham firing
The last two games have been a microcosm of this issue. Benrahma was poor against Watford and was the only player substituted with Lanzini replacing him.
West Ham’s talented ball player made all the difference as he played through the lines and ended up creating the opening for Jarrod Bowen to score the only goal of the game.
Lanzini then earned a start against Leicester. But he had very little impact and was substituted after 79 minutes for Benrahma.
The Algerian had a superb cameo and very much impressed, driving at Leicester and putting the hosts under pressure. That pressure eventually told with Benrahma winning the corner which led to West Ham’s last gasp equaliser.
The Lanzini and Benrahma merry-go-round leaves Moyes with a constant dilemma.
Lanzini and Benrahma are both clearly talented players but they must start making a consistent impact when they start matches.
That was the big difference having Jesse Lingard last season. He made an impact in games as a starter and carried a threat throughout.
Benrahma can learn a lot from Bowen. He too often only shone for spells in matches but has worked really hard on his game to take it to another level.
It is clear Moyes simply must solve the massive Lanzini and Benrahma issue to get West Ham firing again for the run-in.
One answer could be fitting them both in to the same side. With Soucek so out of sorts and Pablo Fornals struggling for his best form too, it could well work for the Hammers.
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