West Ham: Moyes’ Call On ‘Disrespectful’ Star Proved Wrong
West Ham United were outclassed by Newcastle United on Wednesday night, with the Toon's 5-1 win at the London Stadium serving as a stark reminder that the Hammers simply aren't too good to be relegated this season.
There is no doubt that the margin of victory was elevated due to horrific mistakes by Nayef Aguerd and Lukasz Fabianski but the overall performance from West Ham was far from good enough, with the strikers in David Moyes' system continuing to struggle.
After Danny Ings' anonymous display against former side Southampton, completing just seven passes, the Scottish manager opted to start Michail Antonio but the Jamaica international endured a similarly disappointing night.
How did Antonio play against Newcastle?
As per Sofascore, the 33-year-old forward would earn a 6.5/10 rating, despite barely being involved in the game at the London Stadium.
During his 63 minutes on the pitch, the former Nottingham Forest man would manage just 26 touches of the ball, which was fewer than Fabianski, who had 31.
Antonio didn't contribute anything on the rare occasions that he was involved, as he completed just three passes from 11 attempted, leaving him with a shocking success rate of only 27%.
His average in the Premier League this season has not been good, as it stands at 8.5 passes per game with a success rate of 53.5%, but this was a new level of mediocrity against Newcastle.
It seems clear that whoever plays up front in Moyes' 4-2-3-1 system is left completely isolated and cannot contribute effectively to the build-up, which is perhaps exactly why summer flop Gianluca Scamacca was brought to the London Stadium in 2022.
Antonio has been a great servant to West Ham and has his place in the record books after becoming their record Premier League goalscorer but after a return of no shots on target and no key passes it seems clear that he won't be the man to keep the Hammers up this term.
Unfortunately, it seems as if Moyes still has faith in the experienced forward, as, despite interest from other Premier League sides, and his comments against the Scottish manager's tactics in January, which were deemed "disrespectful" by Frank McAvennie, he remained at the London Stadium.
Antonio said: "You can see over the last few games, we've conceded more goals on counter-attacks than we ever had in the last two years. We're open, way more expansive.
"Teams are countering us the way we would have countered them before. It's a transition. We're trying to transition to become a bigger team and, I've got to be honest, it ain't working."
Antonio's comments may be accurate but to speak out against a manager's tactics in a public light is not something that should have been tolerated by Moyes. Therefore, after another shocking display against Newcastle, his decision to keep him in January is now backfiring.