Journalist: West Ham first team duo out v Gillingham
It’s going to be interesting to see what sort of team new West Ham United manager David Moyes puts out against Gillingham on Sunday.
He got exactly the sort of reaction he would’ve wanted in his first game back as Hammers boss in his team’s 4-0 victory over Bournemouth on Wednesday night.
However, it would be a surprise if the Scot didn’t mix things up in terms of his selection for the FA Cup clash.
Indeed, he may be forced to. That’s because Football London journalist Sam Inkersole revealed on his personal Twitter account on Sunday that left back Aaron Cresswell and captain Mark Noble are out of the Gills clash.
That’s a blow to Moyes, who doesn’t have a whole heap of options at either position. Still, the Irons should have enough to dismiss their League One opponents.
West Ham Zone’s View
Noble’s absence will likely be felt more than Cresswell’s. That’s because Moyes has a natural replacement for the former Ipswich Town man in Arthur Masuaku.
For Noble, however, there are less quality options lying in wait. Certainly, no West Ham fan will be excited to see hapless veteran Carlos Sanchez start in his place.
Perhaps Moyes will give youngster Conor Coventry a chance instead of the Colombian, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Still, it’s probably best for Noble to get some time off given his age. Unfortunately there aren’t great replacement options for him, but that’s a problem Moyes will have to try and solve.
In other West Ham news, the east London outfit are reported to have emerged as surprise contenders for a world class centre half.