Having put in two very good performances against Freiburg and Wolves, West Ham approached the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Liverpool at Anfield with some confidence.
But all that confidence was removed instantly when the starting XI was announced, with David Moyes making a number of changes to his starting XI. Clearly he has one eye on Saturday's Premier League clash against Manchester United. The performance that followed complimented the line-up. Poor, weak and no up to standard. It was no wonder we were thrashed 5-1.
And it raises the question: has David Moyes' squad management been good enough this season? The likes of Ben Johnson, Thilo Kehrer and Pablo Fornals were all regular starters this season but have mostly been given sporadic appearances from the bench in 23/24. Johnson, for example, made only his third appearance of the campaign against Liverpool, and he was played out of position. How is he expected to put in a top quality performance against Liverpool at Anfield with so few minutes under his belt?
So this week, James and Will debate the above in detail. Will refutes James' claims that Moyes' squad management, and inability to build a squad with strong depth, is costing us in games when first-team players need to be rested. Will, instead, believes it's just a case of the fringe players not being good enough anymore. What do you think?
This will be our last full episode of 2023, so we want to take this opportunity to thank everyone for supporting the podcast throughout 2023. It has been a historic year for the club AND the pod, so thank you to all of our subscribers - new and old - for making it so.
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! See you all in 2024!
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