OPINION
David Moyes has to be seen to be tough but if he is too harsh with his punishment for Arthur Masuaku, he’s only hurting himself.
Masuaku received a red card during the Hammers 2-0 defeat to Wigan on Saturday for an incident with Nick Powell, however it was later revealed that the 24-year-old spat at the Latics attacker.
Spitting carries a mandatory six game suspension and would see Masuaku unavailable to play for West Ham until mid March.
Moyes who already has the mother of all selection headaches, as Marko Arnautovic, Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll, Michail Antonio, Jose Fonte and Diafra Sakho are all ruled out with injury, can’t be dealing with Masuaku’s absence too.
The 24-year-old would be a major loss, not just because he regular features having made 25 appearances this season, but because of his versatility.
Masuaku can not only feature on the left-side of midfield like he did in Saturday’s game but is more than capable of playing as a left-back with that arguably being his best position.
This versatility is even more crucial to Moyes during a time where he is scrapping a team together due to the amount of injuries he is having to deal with.
Following the defeat to Wigan, the Scottish manager confirmed to Sky Sports that the club would be punishing Masuaku on top of the action that the FA is expected to take as his actions were unacceptable.
“Ultimately, Arthur, what he’s done, was despicable,” Moyes said.
“He will deserve everything he gets and he will get something off us as well, it’s unacceptable, totally unacceptable.
“I just asked him, did he spit and he said, ‘Yes’.
“You can’t do that anywhere, we’ll deal with it appropriately.”
West Ham will most likely fine the player, taking back some of the £25,000-a-week, according to the Daily Star,that they pay him.
However, Moyes previously revealed in 2013 in a book called ‘The Manager’, that he didn’t believe fining players was the best solution.
“I personally do not believe in fining people if I can help it,” explained Moyes, as quoted by the Daily Mail.
“I have had to do it, but I am not a great believer in taking money away from people, it is not usually the best solution to indiscipline.
“I would rather just remove the players from the environment – I think in its own way that is a bigger punishment.”
While Masuaku can’t be seen just to walk back into the team as it sends the wrong message to the rest of the squad, Moyes can’t afford to exclude him.
West Ham will still have several injury concerns in March and will need him on that pitch as they could be in real danger of being relegated.
The Hammers are only four points clear of the drop, and the result against Wigan showed that their weaken makeshift team can’t beat League One opposition let along fellow Premier League teams.
This is why even though Masuaku’s actions should see him excluded, with the relegation dogfight the way it is, Moyes would be shooting himself in the foot not to welcome him back to the fold quickly.