Michail Antonio anonymous again for West Ham United v Everton, David Moyes must bin him or face sack
David Moyes’ stubbornness on Michail Antonio could ultimately cost him his job at West Ham United and it’s time he makes the difficult decision after yet another stinker against Everton.
The Hammers suffered their third successive defeat in all competitions after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s piece of individual brilliance gave the Toffees a stunning 1-0 victory at the London Stadium.
West Ham stay ninth in the table but have now won just one of their past six Premier League games as their strong start to the season continues to fade dramatically.
And a considerable factor in that drop in performance and form is their issues in front of goal and much of that is certainly down to the form of their struggling Jamaican star Antonio.
West Ham United have now fallen foul to two completely transformed strikers in Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Calvert-Lewin in a matter of days.
While both players have given their teams a whole new dimension with some completely transformed attacking influence, Antonio has undergone a rapid and worrying decline and it doesn’t seem like ending anytime soon.
The Jamaican international’s impressive start to the season has taken a dramatic nosedive with yet another blank now his seventh Premier League game without scoring since the Brighton win in August and it’s now just two goals in his last eleven in all competitions [SofaScore].
Against Aston Villa last weekend, as per SofaScore, throughout his 89 minutes on the pitch, Antonio barely touched the ball with just 28 touches, completed just over 50% of his passes, registered just one shot on target, won four of his 12 total duels, lost possession of the ball 14 times and committed three fouls.
It was even worse against Everton on Sunday as he was largely anonymous again [SofaScore], barely touching the ball with just 22 touches, completing just 54% of his passes, recording zero shots on target, zero key passes and lost possession eight times.
While he did record an impressive seven duels won and won 100% of his dribbles, it’s his influence in front of goal that he will always be judged on by the West Ham United faithful, but the 33-year-old is failing considerably.
Goals win games and while Bowen has proven a shining light in that regard, relying on the Englishman’s goals really isn’t sustainable. And if the Hammers aren’t winning games, Moyes’ job will certainly be on the line.
A striker has got to be a high priority in January but whether Moyes will be around to undertake such a change in the squad then remains incredibly uncertain.
It’s time he finally bins Antonio from the starting XI or faces an unfortunate sack from the club board.
In other West Ham news, a Lucas Paqueta recall update has emerged amid the allegations aimed at him.