Rival Lines: "Moyes has been there and done it before," says Hugh & Claret

Rival Lines
Match Preview: West Ham United v AFCB
Blogger interview: Claret and Hugh
Twitter: @ClaretandH

I spoke with Hugh at Claret & Hugh over the Christmas week about West Ham United's form. Most of these questions were asked before West Ham's defeat to Leicester City, but then Manuel Pellegrii was sacked shortly afetr and I thought I'd better get back to Hugh for one more question.

CC: Do you agree with Ian Abrahams (West Ham fan & TalkSport broadcaster - The Moose) who has been saying Manuel Pellegrini is a manger can't doesn't inspire his players - and if so who would be best to inspire the Hammers?

C&H: It's always difficult to tell from a distance, but one has to bear in mind the man's calm approach not only to football but life itself. There was no problem last year when we were safe from the usual relegation worries by Christmas playing a brand of football for which we had been crying out for years. He lost key players in Hammer of the Year Fabianski at your place and word is he'll be back for the Bournemouth game. Antonio, has been colossal since his return, and the Chelsea and Saints wins were really all about him.. Non-inspirational Pellegrini? Jury still out on that, but I don't believe it to be the case.

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CC: What was West Ham's biggest transfer mistake of last summer - either in or out?

C&H: Absolutely no question about that one. Goalkeeper Roberto was entirely inept and responsible for conceding 14 goals in six PL games and another four against Oxford in the Carabao Cup. At Burnley he came to punch clear and planted in the back of his net. He's been a disaster and probably responsible for the shortage of confidence right through the squad until being replaced.

CC: Where will Bournemouth and West Ham finish this season - are there three worse teams?

C&H: I don't see either team going down and reckon the Hammers have enough quality to be much closer to or within the top 10. The aim was always top seven for us but without some tweaking in January that's a tough call. The Cherries are a tightly knit unit and Eddie Howe will sort the form out. I'd see us alongside each other.

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CC: No wins in your last five home games - what's been the main problems in the way you have been conceding goals?

C&H: Well of course we had a comedy goalkeeper between the sticks with Fabianski injured and although he had been replaced by the time Arsenal arrived, we were hurt by a team that looked very poor but had players who could hurt you which they did with three goals in ten minutes. Beyond the Spanish stopper we have been very weak at set pieces.

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CC: If you could shoes a Bournemouth player to buy in January, who would it be and why?

C&H: A striker is a top priority in the summer and the club is apparently looking everywhere. Callum Wilson has been regularly linked but not sure he's a £70 million player. I've always liked Josh King - he'd do for me. Quick over the ground, eye for goal. I like the bloke.

CC: Score prediction for WestHam v AFC Bournemouth?

C&H: Hmm... we owe you cos you did the double over us last time so I'm gonna be loyal and go for a 2-0 on the basis that Fab is back along with Lanzini. But Antonio is the man to inspire a win.

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The extra question
CC: What are your first thoughts of Pellegrini's sacking and the re-appointment of David Moyes at West Ham United?

C&H: I was a huge Pellegrini fan like most others when the appointment was made but the change unquestionably had to be made. He completely lost his way and the club needed to appoint someone quickly. There was no time for negotiations with employed managers and Moyes has been there and done it before. He knows the club and has a better squad than last time and I believe the right decision has been made. I think the first thing he will do is go three at the back which is where he started last time. I feel more confident now than I did ahead of Leicester City.

CC: I also wrote some answers for Claret & Hugh so do have a look on that website to see my thoughts ahead of the game. They should be up on the site at some point today.

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Chimes Newsletter - out today!
Cherry Chimes' January Newsletter brings you the best stories on the blog and the thoughts behind them from last month. It's out today, with special story - How can AFCB beat Man Utd and Chelsea and lose to lesser teams?

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Moyes has surprised everyone at West Ham

I was one of those who did not expect David Moyes to have an easy time of it when he decided to take the West Ham job. While he has had great success at Everton, his other appointments in the Premier League have been not been great and with his last job at Sunderland taking them down, it was a brave decision by Gould and Sullivan to turn to Moyes.

West Ham are only a point better off than the Cherries.

It's all gone pretty well though. David became West Ham's manager on 7 November when West Ham were 17th in the table on nine points, having just been beaten 1-4 by Liverpool at home. Now they are 15th and on 17 points having climbed above Bournemouth. Their away form has picked up and in their last game they had a 0-3 win over Stoke City. A notable player who has been inspired by Moyes' appointment is Arnautovic and while he has been hit and miss under Mark Hughes, he seems to be very intent on being a success at West Ham Utd.

Moyes is not viewed as a manager who plays exciting attacking football but he has a team at West Ham with some great talent. Lanzini is back from suspension, and there is also Javier Hernandez who has not really been on top form but is always a goal threat. The column inches on Michail Antionio have also diminished in recent months, but he will have ambitions on getting back into the England squad and has a habit of scoring important goals.

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The thing about West Ham is that you always feel you can get at them. Moyes may have to look at the defence this January. While they have brought in Pablo Zabaleta and Aaron Creswell is highly rated as a wing back, West Ham don't always inspire confidence at the back and yet the reemergence of Adrian in goal has been one of Moyes' best decisions. 

The experience Moyes has looks like it will push West Ham towards better safety, but for Bournemouth these are games that do offer a chance to pick up points, especially as it is a home match. Eddie Howe has to pick a side that can stop the Moyes' honeymoon and get AFCB turning good performances into points.

Then it will be a Happy Christmas! UTCIAD!

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We Are Wearside says, "I'm looking forward to the Championship"

Rival Lines

Match Preview 

Sunderland v AFCB

Blogger Interview: We Are Wearside

Twitter: @WeAreWearside

I needed to talk to a Sunderland blogger this week, knowing that they would be likely to speak about anything else as long as it was not about football. I needn't have feared as Gary at We Are Wearside was more than happy to open up about the season that the Black Hats have been through and it didn't take us long to see who might have been trying to fool the fans on Wearside, but has come up short. This is a story of a brilliant young keeper, a fabulous strike coming to the need of the game and a manager who made more than one mistake. Sunderland never gave out a vibe of being a club that thought they would not be involved in a relegation battle, and without an Allardyce to save them it's been pretty hard going for their faithful fans.

CC: Do Sunderland need to make yet another change in manager for next season or do you need some stability now with David Moyes?

WAW: One thing that David Moyes does not bring is stability. It's true that the annual sacking of our manager was growing tedious, but we've picked the worst one to back in the long term. Moyes has destroyed all the foundations built by Sam Allardyce towards the end of last season, alienated fans, brought in terrible footballers and is the most negative and dour man I've ever seen at Sunderland. The reputation of bringing stability, getting the best out of squads, doing well on a small budget are all untrue the bloke is a fraud. So definitely another change is required!

CC: You had a good win against AFCB back in November and Anichebe and Defoe, who got the goals that day, looked a good pairing, but why have the goals dried up?

WAW: I think Anichebe's injury was untimely, he really did make a big difference when introduced. We went on a decent run after that victory, winning three of four matches, but managed to make our squad worse during the January transfer window. Then we approached each match with the mentality 'let's not get beat', forgot how to score and now we are where we are.

CC: Did you think Sunderland had turned the corner in February when you had a massive 0-4 win against Crystal Palace?

WAW: It was out of the blue and it did feel like perhaps something had clicked. Turns out it was just a mysterious anomaly.

CC: Jordan Pickford has been a bright star for the Black Cats - would you categories him in the top five Premier League keepers - who is he behind?

WAW: I'm biased of course, but Pickford is more than capable of becoming as good as anyone. The only thing he lacks when compared to the likes of Hugo Lloris is experience - and a good defence. We've seen some excellent goal keepers at Sunderland such as Tommy Sorensen and Craig Gordon, but Pickford is the best goalkeeper I've seen on Wearside. He pulls off some tremendous saves, commands his box, has sublime distribution and despite how terrible Sunderland have played he has the self confidence and presence of mind to maintain excellent performances. He'll move on to something bigger and better in the summer and I'll be really pleased for him when he does.

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CC: Whabi Khazri has not played a lot of football this season, but is he one to watch in the future having seen how well he played against Watford?

WAW: I'm not sure there are many ones to watch for us this season and it's pretty much certain Khazri will leave in the summer. Only David Moyes will choose to leave his most creative player on the bench for six months. His first start against Watford and he did more in that time than the likes of Fabio Borini and Adnan Januzaj have done all season. Khazri was excellent last season when he first arrived too.

CC: Which have been the players that Sunderland have missed out on most this season because of injury and would you say the Black Cats have been unlucky n terms of injuries compared to last season?

WAW: We've really missed Jan Kirchhoff, he is a very talented football. Lee Cattermole and Victor Anichebe's lengthy lay offs have also had major impacts. I wouldn't say we've been unlucky though, injury crisis follows Moyes around like a dark shadow. I remember a Dutch fella from the Dutch national team describing his injury management as prehistoric.

CC: How much would you hope to get for Jermain Defoe and do you think it's fair he moves on at the end of the season?

WAW: We'll be getting nothing for Defoe as it's in his contract he can leave on a free when we go down. I really do hope a good club comes in and takes him back into the Premier League for a few years, doesn't deserve to be dragged down with us. Would fit in nicely at Bournemouth.

CC: You had a massive game against Middlesbrough mid-week, but did you see it just as a north east a bragging rights game?

WAW: Not at all, last night was another match of going through the motions. To give you an idea of just how miserable this season has been for Sunderland fans - we really can't even bring ourselves to care about matches anymore. I'd quite happily hand Bournemouth three points, if it means I don't have to drag myself to the Stadium of Light on Saturday!

CC: Sunderland have been in the bottom three all season so will it feel like a relief when this season just comes to an end?

WAW: Absolutely, to the extent I'm looking forward to the Championship! That is as long as Moyes leaves, I truly worry for the future of the club otherwise.

CC: What do you make of Borini's comments after the West Ham draw that togetherness has been a problem at Sunderland - are there many bad eggs in the squad and if so who?

WAW: Ironically I'd say Borini is probably one of them. I'm not sure if the squad is full of bad eggs as such, but it's clear that there is zero team spirit. Many of the players here this year were the same as last, where the team spirit was excellent under Allardyce, so it's just another cross to mark on the blame Moyes chart.

CC: How do you expect to line up against AFCB?

WAW: Pickford, Jones, O'Shea, Denayer, Manquillo, Rodwell, Cattermole, Ndong, Khazri, Anichebe, Defoe, an easy three points for the Cherries and perhaps confirmed relegation for us!

CC: Some good honest views from Gary and We Are Wearside. I am not sure how much the Sunderland board also need to look at themselves for the mess they have landed up in, after all they picked David Moyes. Their ability to pick a better fitting manager may not be anymore likely than me winning the lottery. But it's also about the players and some of them don't escape on We Are Wearside which has some interesting comments on Fabio Borini in the West Ham match report. When they get fed up of blaming each other though, it is the fans that will need to breath life back into their club. We Are Wearside is already puffing its cheeks!

Sunderland will be a fierce, wounded Black Cat

Who would want to be David Moyes at the moment? No wins all season and just two points from 10 games having inherited a Sunderland side with one aspiration to beat the drop. The honeymoon period just never arrived for Moyes and having been tarnished already with the unhappy months he had at Man Utd, you wonder if Moyes spiritual home is simply at Goodison. 

Well Sunderland will have some luck at some point and the Cherries don't want to be the side to gift them their first three points. The Black Cats have scored the fewest goals at seven and have let n the most goals at 20. The two points came against Southampton away and WBA at home. Sunderland have been mediocre to put it mildly, but we all know they have a goal scorer in Jermain Defoe. It appears that in defence though they will be missing John O'Shea another ex-AFCB player having limped off against Arsenal. 

Sunderland last year at Dean Court.

The player that I am half surprised that another club has not come in for is Duncan Watmore who again showed his direct attacking abilities last weekend, when he won a penalty for his side. The lad is showing more character than the rest of the Sunderland side put together. Steven Pienaar and Jack Rodwell are amongst their ranks and Adnan Januzaj made a sub appearance last match, which underlines that they do have some attacking quality from midfield, but it hasn't been seen often enough this season for them. 

Look out too for Billy Jones in the right back position as he comes forward well and you'll surely spot Ndong in midfield with his blonde barnet. He supplied the long ball to get Watmore in on goal against Arsenal. The player who seems to get on the ball for them the most though is Khazri who is their midfield engine.

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David Moyes said the scoreline was harsh on them against Arsenal and they kept the Gunners quiet for a long time in the first half. Having played Middlesbrough after they played Arsenal, I don't think Eddie Howe will be taking Sunderland lightly as it tends to stimulate teams in their next match.

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Eunan O'Kane can put his Everton days behind him

Eunan O'Kane was no doubt hoping that one day he would run out at Goodison as a fully-fledged first team player. His time on Merseyside during the David Moyes years was not all joyous though at the academy and he left in 2009 to join Torquay Utd before being spotted by the Cherries three years later. Eunan has not had too many opportunities in the Premier League but the Cup games have been something for him to look forward to and I'd not be surprised if he puts in a big performance against Everton this weekend. 

Can Eunan play well enough to take the team into the fifth round?

The talented Irish midfielder is a very intelligent player that has been unfortunate to find himself only making 16 appearances for the Cherries so far this season. Half of those appearances have also been as a sub and Eunan has not really had a strong run of games to get his form up. The Norwich away game was perhaps his most disappointing game and he has struggled to get back into the side since. His trademark is his dribbling runs and his scampering running style that usually end with a shot at goal. When he is playing well he can be a real handful for defences and he does like scoring on the big occasions.

To play against Everton is something that would surely mean a lot to Eunan. He was on the bench for the home game this season against the Toffees but he never got on the pitch. As long as Eddie picks a consistent FA Cup side though he will be involved in one of the biggest FA Cup games in AFCB's history and he can settle a fact or two by getting on the score sheet and telling Everton fans that he is a Premier League player now.

Along with Shaun MacDonald, Eunan O'Kane has reason to want more from this season than just a few Premier League appearances and the FA Cup gives these players a dream that can be realised. While Everton are a top team, they are not unbeatable and Eunan O'Kane among others can make a name for himself if he can find some more magic like he did against Wigan back in 2013.