WEST HAM aren’t just blowing bubbles — they’re blowing teams away in the Premier League thanks to a system that’s got them flying high.
It may have taken them a while to get it right but David Moyes and his men are thriving following a return to a 5-4-1 formation.
West Ham ran riot away at Leicester on Sunday as they eased to a 3-0 victoryCredit: Getty Images – Getty
They have now had two clean sheets in a row after just one in their previous 20 Premier League matches.
And in those last couple of games they have had 31 per cent and 37 per cent possession — but scored seven goals.
With the 5-4-1 set-up — which Moyes used in his first spell — they have got pace to get forward to support Michail Antonio really quickly.
That’s what they did against Wolves last week.
They sat back and just countered really well to grab a 4-0 win — and they did exactly the same on Sunday as they won 3-0 at Leicester.
They defended with 6½ and attacked with 3½, with Tomas Soucek doing a bit of both.
They had a back five with Declan Rice sitting and Soucek occasionally getting forward.
But it was mainly Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen supporting Antonio, who was magnificent playing against three central defenders.
When West Ham are playing a team where they are expected to dominate possession, things will have to change, with them probably switching to a 3-4-3 — but the same personnel can be used.
But their next three matches are Tottenham away, Manchester City at home and Liverpool at Anfield — and 5-4-1 could work well for those games.
They played 4-2-3-1 at home for their first game, losing 2-0 to Newcastle, and changed to the 5-4-1 system at Arsenal — and it seems to have worked really well for them.
There is a certain irony that they have found this winning formula when Moyes is having to self-isolate.
Fans might ask why it has taken so long to put their faith in the system again.
But that is football — it is just maybe after they got beaten by Newcastle, they went to Arsenal wanting to be defensively sound and still a real threat on the counter-attack.
It worked so well, they have stuck with it and it looks like they are on to a winner.
West Ham clinch £4m transfer for Vladimir Coufal as they sign Slavia Prague right-back on three-year deal
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
