West Ham, Chelsea and Manchester City are the only three Premier League teams who have currently fulfilled all of their scheduled fixtures. The Hammers had their original clash with Norwich City postponed but this was hastily, much to the annoyance of West Ham boss David Moyes, rearranged for last Wednesday.
David Moyes said: “We did not agree with why we had to play Norwich when we did. We missed one game and not by our doing and we were made to go again at this point in the season. We had a busy Christmas period like everybody else, like Leeds, but Leeds have two games to play and were not asked to play midweek but we were. I cannot understand it and it only tells me that the people making those decisions do not understand what recovery means, what it means to play games on a regular basis and the people putting the games are getting that wrong for sure.”
West Ham might have lost for the first time since Boxing Day as they were beaten 3-2 by Marcelo Bielsa’s side at the London Stadium but after three Premier League wins in a row prior to the Leeds clash, Moyes’ team have moved into the top four above London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham. The north London clubs have two and four games in hand, respectively, on the Hammers but Moyes is hopeful that points on the board, a fixture pile-up and the pressure of playing catch-up may see West Ham handed an advantage in the race for a top-four finish.
David Moyes said: “I hope so. Because we’ve had difficulties at our club, injuries and COVID, and we’ve had to continue playing. I wasn’t pleased with where the [Norwich] fixture was put in. We’ve tried to be available for every game. The protocols at the club are so good. The club work to make sure everybody does the right things, we are on at the players all the time about their behaviour and making sure they stay safe. So we would hope that it [fixture congestion] might make it difficult for those other clubs as it goes along. But we could easily fall into a batch of Covid and it could be us. I don’t think we’re over it yet but I think we’re all hoping we might just be coming out of the end of the worst of it”
The scheduling of the Norwich City clash might have angered Moyes but going into the business end of the season with points on the board and pressure on their rivals to perform could be key for the Hammers.
