A huge West Ham myth was debunked over the weekend and it shows how much work needs to be done this summer.
David Moyes has spent over £250m over the last four transfer windows at West Ham.
The bulk of those arrivals came last summer with £170m splashed on nine new arrivals.
‘What a window’ was the proclamation from West Ham’s media team as they posted a picture of the signings once deadline day had passed.
Headed up by record £51m signing Lucas Paqueta, it is fair to say the vast majority of West Ham fans shared the sentiment.
New-look squad was hailed West Ham’s best ever by some
The board had backed the manager and it wasn’t long before Moyes’ new-look squad was being declared West Ham’s best of the Premier League era.
That has not showed on the pitch enough this season with the Hammers having been embroiled in a relegation battle.
Hammers supporters urged David Moyes to rest most of the players who will start Thursday night’s big European semi-final second leg when they played Brentford on Sunday.
And the Scot did just that making nine changes as West Ham were comfortably beaten 2-0.
It meant the game set the stage for some of West Ham’s lesser used stars to show what they can do.
But a huge West Ham myth was debunked over the weekend and it shows how much work needs to be done this summer.
Huge West Ham myth debunked over the weekend and it shows how much work needs to be done this summer
What we saw against Brentford – if it wasn’t obvious already – is that this is nowhere near the best squad West Ham have had in the Premier League era.
West Ham’s first choice XI have found it hard enough to get results this season. So a second string featuring so many changes was always going to struggle.
And it is not easy for a team to be thrown together like that for the first time.
That being said West Ham fans – and undoubtedly Moyes too – would have hoped to have seen a bit more from some of the players getting their chance.
It was a tepid game that resembled a pre-season friendly at times.
And the likes of Maxwel Cornet, Pablo Fornals, Ben Johnson, Flynn Downes and Nayef Aguerd were particularly poor.
Stage was set for some to show they can challenge, but they fluffed their lines
West Ham’s two best players were their old hands Lukasz Fabianski and Angelo Ogbonna.
The worrying thing was the experienced duo also looked to be the ones most up for the match despite having nothing to prove.
It shows just how much work West Ham have to do this summer to actually make the squad good enough.
Moyes has said himself he prefers working with a smaller squad. If that is to be the case – especially if West Ham don’t have Europa League football – then the emphasis has to be on quality from the bench.
West Ham’s second string did not disgrace themselves at Brentford by any means.
But they did little to suggest they have what it takes to truly challenge for a starting spot anytime soon.
Moyes has said he only sees tinkering and one or two additions this summer. On this evidence West Ham need a lot more than that to get this squad truly competitive again.