Nayef Aguerd needs to be dropped – Three things learned in West Ham United v Everton
West Ham suffered their third consecutive defeat on Sunday (29 October) after suffering a 1-0 loss at the London Stadium against Everton.
The Hammers had plenty of the ball, but Sean Dyche’s well-drilled Toffees answered all their questions, while a Dominic Calvert-Lewin strike early in the second half was all the attacking Everton needed to do.
Slipping down to ninth at full-time, their early-season form has well and truly vanished with consecutive losses to Aston Villa, Olympiacos in the Europa League and now Everton.
Here’s what West Ham Zone learned from the Irons’ defeat.
Nayef Aguerd needs to be dropped
Aguerd has faced a lot of criticism from West Ham fans, and it has been relatively justifiable. He performed excellently last season, so a drop in form can be forgiven.
However, a string of weak displays has only one answer – the bench.
The Hammers have plenty of options, with summer signing Konstantinos Mavropanos earning just one minute of Premier League football this season. Moyes needs to utilise his squad depth and give the Greek international a chance otherwise he may become frustrated by featuring solely in the Europa League.
Thilo Kehrer, despite some recent shaky form, has not started in the league this season either, so Moyes has plenty of options that many clubs around them don’t have. Aguerd knows the script, but he should have to fight for his place back in the starting lineup.
West Ham need a striker
Michail Antonio may as well have sat on the sidelines against Everton after offering basically nothing in this defeat.
Moyes, mercifully, recognised his diasterclass and hauled him off for Said Benrahma in the 57th minute. The Jamaican international couldn’t even make an hour before Moyes called it a day, and his striker options were thin at best.
The Scotsman could only offer an ageing and minute-hungry Danny Ings from the bench as an out-and-out striker, while Benrhama, Maxwell Cornet and Pablo Fornals aren’t exactly world-beaters.
The midfield recruitment was very strong this summer, but failing to secure a forward is now costing the Hammers. James Ward-Prowse and Mohammed Kudus can only do so much and have been excellent until this point, but it was clear after this game that the club has failed them in not getting a better striker.
David Moyes will be under pressure
While a genuine chance of getting sacked isn’t likely after this defeat, Moyes will now have a few more critics after such a dour performance.
The Scotsman has more than enough credit at the club to avoid a departure now even with the hierarchy’s seeming on-off relationship with him, but three defeats will always be cause for concern.
The Hammers’ early season form was possibly more of a good run of form rather than being indicative of a massive turnaround. Performances were going to level, but the nature of these losses will have fans worried.
Aston Villa could have been forgiven, but Olympiacos and Everton are teams West Ham need to be beating if they want a shot at qualifying for Europe again this season. With Arsenal in the League Cup and Brentford away in the league coming next, Moyes may yet again find himself in hot water.
In other West Ham news, a journalist has claimed that a “really big choice” is on the cards for a Hammers transfer.