Toney turns up heat on Moyes before injury as Brentford sink West Ham
Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium
DAte published Sat 31 Dec 2022 01.25 GMT

It would be a huge mistake for West Ham to assume that they are in anything other than a relegation battle. Too good to go down? That phrase should send a shudder down the spine of anyone with a passing knowledge of this club's history and, given that they spent almost £160m on refining their squad last summer, it would not be a surprise if West Ham come to the conclusion that whatever magic they had under David Moyes has disappeared for good.

The sense of an ending is drawing closer. There is talent in this squad, attacking players who can make a difference on their day, but the decline feels irreversible at the moment. Something has to give. Nothing Moyes tries is coming off and, for all that West Ham's board have a history of sticking by their managers during tough times, any analysis of this ailing team's latest indefensible performance will expose a multitude of failings: a softness at the back, confusion in midfield, no end product and, in Gianluca Scamacca and Michail Antonio, strikers who are taking it in turns to deliver nothing of note.

Brentford, who are up to ninth after decorating a professional display with easy goals from Ivan Toney and Josh Dasilva, were comfortable. Functioning properly, a Moyes team is tough, uncompromising and full of energy. Yet West Ham possess none of those qualities and, while they offered some promising flashes before going behind, Moyes was pushing the bounds of credibility when he claimed that they had been the better team. In truth the result was never in doubt once Toney, who would depart on a stretcher after suffering a potentially serious knee injury in added time, had prodded Brentford into an early lead.

Admittedly Thomas Frank did not like how his side played before they were ahead. Brentford were under pressure early on, escaping when Declan Rice curled against a post and Craig Dawson headed wide, and they were poor in possession before Dasilva, embarrassing Aaron Cresswell with a sharp turn of pace, made it 2-0 just before the interval. "We were okay without being fantastic," Frank acknowledged. "Sometimes it is also about taking your moments."

In that context Moyes is entitled to point out that West Ham, who lie a point above the bottom three, are not making enough of their openings. Jarrod Bowen saw a couple of shots deflected over at 0-0 and Emerson Palmieri, otherwise ineffective at left wing-back, was denied an equaliser by a fine save from David Raya. On the whole, though, it was clear to see why West Ham have scored only 13 goals in their first 17 games.

Perhaps, as Moyes says, their luck will turn. By the same token West Ham's wretched league form is not an isolated blip. Reaching the last four of the Europa League last season papered over the cracks and it is probably no consolation for Moyes that he saw this coming. He sensed that the project was growing stale. He even admitted as much in public, detailing how some of his regulars were on borrowed time, and he spent the subsequent months trying to freshen up his team with a series of expensive imports.

But while money was spent, West Ham's identity is gone. Scamacca offered a few dainty flicks but rarely ruffled Brentford's back three. Lucas Paqueta, West Ham's record signing, looked lost.

At least there was a new approach here. Moyes's selection was a curious mix of fight and flair. There was a shift away from his 4-2-3-1 system, a move to a back five, a rare start for Angelo Ogbonna at the back. For a while it worked. Vladimir Coufal chugged up and down the right flank. Saïd Benrahma darted into dangerous positions but never produced a final ball. Dawson, battling away at right centre-back, crunched into Bryan Mbeumo.

Brentford were under pressure. Moyes had gone for the crowd-pleasing choice of dropping Tomas Soucek, who lacks care in possession, and pulling Paqueta into a deeper midfield role. It was a bold choice – despite his faults Soucek has been a crucial figure in the past three years – and Moyes suggested that he intends to persist with Paqueta alongside Rice, presumably in the hope that doing so will make West Ham less reliant on counterattacks.

Yet the experiment did not work here. After 18 minutes Brentford won a throw. Mathias Jensen hurled it in, Ethan Pinnock won the first header and Christian Norgaard shot on goal. West Ham froze. Only Lukasz Fabianski responded, diving to his right to save Norgaard's shot, but Toney was in the right place to convert the rebound.

It was all so easy. West Ham had picked a back five and yet they had been undone by a long throw. Even worse, they failed to learn their lesson. Paqueta misplaced a simple pass, a throw reached Toney and he had space to hook a pass over the top for Dasilva to expose Cresswell's lack of pace and slip a composed finish past Fabianski.

That was pretty much that. West Ham had a penalty overturned after a VAR check at the start of the second half but there was no onslaught, even when Antonio was sent on to partner Scamacca. Brentford easily managed the game and West Ham fizzled out. There were boos when Soucek replaced Paqueta but the home sections emptied out long before full time. Those who stayed until the bitter end really shouldn't have bothered.

Daily Mail: MATCH FACTS
West Ham (3-4-2-1): Fabianski 6; Dawson 6, Ogbonna 5.5, Cresswell 5; Coufal 5, Paqueta 5.5 (Soucek 82), Rice 6, Emerson 5.5 (Antonio 67, 6); Bowen 5.5, Benrahma 5.5; Scamacca 5.5
Subs (not used): Areola, Johnson, Fornals, Lanzini, Downes, Kehrer, Aguerd
Booked: Coufal
Manager: David Moyes 5
Brentford (3-5-2): Raya 6; Jorgensen 6.5, Pinnock 6.5, Mee 6.5; Roerslev 6.5, Jensen 6.5 (Janelt 59, 6), Norgaard 6.5, Dasilva 7.5 (Ghoddos 67, 6), Henry 6.5; Toney 8 (Jansson 90), Mbeumo 7 (Wissa 58, 6)
Subs (not used): Cox, Canos, Jansson, Lewis-Potter, Damsgaard, Trevitt
Scorers: Toney (18), Dasilva (43)
Manager: Thomas Frank 7
Referee: Darren England 6
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