Reinforcements needed now – Three things we learned from West Ham loss v Newcastle
West Ham lost 2-0 to Newcastle in a disappointing start to the season at the London Stadium.
Callum Wilson opened the scoring for the visitors, turning Jeff Hendrick’s flicked header past Fabianski. Hendrick added a second in the 87th minute to hand Newcastle a victory that they didn’t have to work very hard for.
David Moyes’ side start their season with a defeat and without a goal for the fourth year in a row, ahead of a tricky run of fixtures, with the Hammers due to play Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool in their next six games.
The Hammers need to massively improve if they are to take anything from their upcoming games, and based on their opener it looks like it could be another relegation fight at the London Stadium this year.
Here are three things we learned from West Ham’s opening game…
1.) Defensive reinforcements required
Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna didn’t cover themselves in glory on Saturday night, struggling to deal with the physical threat of Andy Carroll all evening. Both central defenders also failed to fulfil the most basic of defending duties, with neither following Jeff Hendrick as he was free to flick the ball on to the equally unmarked Callum Wilson, who gave the Magpies the lead. It now seems imperative that West Ham sign some defenders. It would be surprising if West Ham don’t up their bid for Burnley defender James Tarkowski in the coming days, based purely on the Newcastle game. If the Hammers don’t make any more additions then it could spell another season of discontent.
2.) Antonio the talisman
Michail Antonio picked up where he left off last season, proving to be one of the few bright sparks the Hammers have at their disposal. He caused problems for the Magpies all night, and while he never looked like scoring himself, you get the feeling that if West Ham were to score, he’d be involved. The best bit of business West Ham have done this window, for which there is little competition, is undoubtedly keeping the services of Antonio. He notched eight goals following project restart, and while he couldn’t add to that tally tonight, it won’t be long before he does. He will be West Hams’ talisman this season, and will be key in the Hammers fight for survival.
3.) Last season’s problems have not been solved
The Hammers’ inactivity in the transfer market has given Hammers fans no reason to believe that their team will be be able to improve on last seasons’ 16th placed finish. While Newcastle’s new signings ran the game, and had clearly improved the Magpies, the same West Ham team as last season played like last season’s West Ham. They were second best all night, and the second Newcastle’s first goal went in, the West Ham heads went down. The motivation isn’t there. West Ham urgently need some new blood in that squad, to come and raise spirits and actually improve the team, much like Callum Wilson has for their opponents.
In other West Ham news, David Moyes praises West Ham mainstay for Grady Diangana outburst.