Alex Crook has been speaking on TalkSport about David Moyes’ reluctance to start Gianluca Scamacca either alone to alongside Michail Antonio for West Ham.
It appeared to be gearing up to be an exciting season at the London Stadium for West Ham with the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Thilo Kehrer and Scamacca all arriving during the summer transfer window in a spending frenzy that saw the Hammers splash out over £160 million.
However, their big-money signing in Scamacca has thus far started just one league game with David Moyes preferring his tried and tested, yet now getting older, striker in Antonio, who himself, has not been hitting the same heights this season with just one league goal.
This has forced Crook into questioning Moyes’ inability to not start both Antonio and Scamacca, with the host thinking it may well end up being Moyes’ undoing.
(4:30) “I think you invite pressure as a manager when you’ve spent a lot of money on a striker, and both of those West Ham fans have articulated it, there seems a reluctance not only to use Scamacca in the Premier League, but a reluctance even when they’re losing to play Scamacca with Antonio. Is that natural cautiousness David Moyes’ undoing?
Who should be starting for West Ham?
Scamacca!
Antonio!
TIF Thoughts on Scamacca’s role at West Ham…
When the Italian international was brought in for £32 million over the summer, he won’t have likely signed up and agreed to just be second choice and play in the Europa Conference League, he will want to be starting and impressing in the Premier League.
Now, with every passing game that West Ham fail to win or even impress in, they’ve picked up just one win all season in the league, the questions will only increase when it comes to Moyes’s reluctance to deploy Scamacca from the start.
Or, as Crook mentioned even when the Hammers are losing, as they were again on Sunday away to Everton, Moyes decided to hook off Antonio and replace him with Scamacca, instead of going for the game, trying to rescue a point and playing with two out and out strikers, which won’t have made sense to many fans watching on.