Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
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The night has only just started in Abidjan.
EPL
How David Moyes Transformed A Relegation West Ham United Into A Top 4 Team Contender Within A Year
West Ham were in the relegation zone at this stage last season but are battling for a top-four finish this term – so what’s changed?
The Hammers currently sit in fifth, two points behind Chelsea but with a game in hand. That’s quite a turnaround: David Moyes’ side languished in 18th spot at the same stage last season.
There’s a sense of growing internal optimism and expectation. Speaking after the 2-0 win over Leeds, Moyes said: “I’m not going to say we’re going to finish in [the top four], but why can we not hang in there and see what we can do?”
West Ham
The trajectory of the Hammers’ improvement has also been steady throughout the campaign and they have resided in the top half of the table since matchday eight – finally breaking into the top four late last month.
Drilling down to the team’s success since Moyes returned to the club in 2019, the graphic below clearly reveals a broader development.
Lockdown spark
West Ham have improved more than any other club over the past two seasons since Project Restart – scoring more goals and shipping far fewer at the other end.
As the interactive chart below reveals, much of that improvement derives from a spike in home form – despite playing in an empty London Stadium.
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No angst between owners and fans
By Sky Sports’ Gary Neville:
“The atmosphere at West Ham sometimes in that stadium can be pretty unpleasant for the West Ham players if they are losing.
“The idea that they go there knowing that they are not going to have to face that – they have got a really good team as well, and I like the team – but I definitely think they also thrive through the fact there is not what would be that angst between the owners and the fans, that element of what would be tension that exists sometimes and that allows the players to thrive.
“They have got a good spine, good players around that spine as well. There are a couple of players who are thriving, I think, because they have been allowed to play with freedom and the ability they have got. Now you hope that lives beyond what would be the fans returning to the stadium.”
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What area has improved most?
The graphic below charts the average number of goals scored and conceded over a rolling five-game period and reveals the Hammers have clearly improved at both ends of the pitch this season – despite a midseason wobble.
For the first time in recent years, the Hammers have recorded superior average goal difference for almost the entire campaign – having also matched their most prolific scoring streak from January 2018 in October last year.
Expected goals data emphasises this dominance and reiterates how their current success has not been borne from luck but by consistently creating clearer chances and conceding fewer than their opponents this term.
Reverting to a back four
Moyes deployed a five-man defence in nine of the Hammers’ opening 10 league fixtures this season, but abruptly reverted to a back four in the 2-1 defeat with Manchester United in early December – and has rarely looked back.
West Ham 1-3 Manchester United LIVE! | Evening Standard
Last season’s favoured 4-2-3-1 appears to be the default system again, with Aaron Cresswell moving back into his familiar left-back role after starting the season on the left of a three.
So has the system changed since last term?
West Ham’s average positions appear finely balanced and symmetrical, suggesting a clear structure and approach. The wingers frequently drop infield, while the full-backs and sitting midfielders play key roles.
To that end, little has changed in the actual set-up since last season – but Moyes has implemented a clear progressive tweak by pushing the attacking midfielder further upfield to support the striker.
Need for speed in possession
In terms of West Ham’s recent evolution, speed and energy stands out most – epitomised by a raft of new recruits in Vladimir Coufal, Jarrod Bowen, Said Benrahma and Jesse Lingard.
Indeed, advanced Opta data reveals West Ham travel upfield faster than any other Premier League team in possession this term – in addition to recording a league-topping increase in this metric compared with last season.
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Savvy transfers, at last
Arguably, Tomas Soucek was this season’s bargain signing at just £15m from Slavia Prague after a six-month loan spell at the London Stadium, and he joins the aforementioned recent signings of Coufal, Bowen, Benrahma and Lingard – in addition to on-loan centre-back Craig Dawson from Watford.
If you scroll through the Hammers’ previous transfer dealings below, it becomes clear the club appears to have finally mastered the transfer market – while also eking out bargain talent from foreign leagues and the Championship.
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Manchester United assessing potential Erik ten Hag replacements 👀 Mark Ogden shares details with SportsFila.
The fact that Southgate is on that list tells how serious you should take it
No manager on earth could do anything with Manchester United until Someone takes responsibility for the club and has a viable plan for the future.
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Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his INEOS group, the club’s new partial owners, are exploring options to assume the role. According to Team Talk, the Red Devils are considering the 41-year-old as a candidate for the manager position.
After achieving success as a player with Barcelona, Inter, and Paris Saint-Germain, winning numerous titles, the two-time Champions League winner transitioned to coaching at the senior level.
Flop Antony and Gabriella Cavallin/ getty Images
ESPN loves ManUtd. As much they say that they hate talking about ManUtd they can’t stop talking about ManUtd 😅😅. They have spend 15 mins speaking on rumours – Hypocrites.
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It’s not Ten Hag fault when players like rashford do not put in all the effort after signing a new contract. Also ten hag had to deal with incredible amount of injuries which ESPN deliberately overlooks. So getting another manager isn’t going to solve anything.
It’s so funny how the English media fails to realize that the structure & the players is the problem at united…..but they trying to sack ETH who is an elite manger under a proper management structure 💯
The best manager that seems to be being overlooked shouod be n1 on the list for bayern utd liverpool is someone inzaghi. Hes done great things with Lazio and inter. Loads of experience and has got to european finals and won domestic leagues.
Manchester City 3-1 win over United in Manchester Derby.
It is very different getting an underdog /dark horse to perform vs going to an environment where the spotlight in on you everyday from day 1. The same thing happened at Bayern with a couple of their coaches…
Afcon 2024 victory is well deserved for Ivory Coast they left no stone unturned and they dominated throughout. If there is a one person who deserved to win the AFCON it was Sebastian Haller. In 2022, he was diagnosed with cancer but he recovered and he returned to play football in 2023 only to bottle the Bundesliga title on the final matchday to Bayern but here we are in 2024 where he scored the winner in the AFCON final to win Cote d’Ivoire AFCON title so congratulations🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🏆
Brazil Antony fulfill his potential at Manchester United?
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
But Ivory Coast won fair and square. They played better. Congratulations champs.
What Adingra did in the African Cup of Nation was phenomenal. Nigerians will remember him as a nighmare forever. The boy has a great future ahead of him.
Why Biased Ten Hag Cannot Discipline Rashford Like Sancho
Haller beats cancer, then comes to the AFCON and scores the most important goal in the final, the winning goal what a beautiful story for that man and Ivory coast, congratulations to them👏👏
Congratulations to Ivory Coast from cameroonian👏👏👏you organized and won the most beautiful AFCON in story, unbelievable achievment when we look how things went for you.
One of the best tournaments I’ve seen.
Almost every team demonstrated that they were not afraid of their opponent and played above expectations.
Congratulations to Côte d’Ivoire who never gave up and believed and implemented their progress towards goal as much as possible until the last second in this tournament. Kudos to Nigeria for high yield and quality.
Thank you for making the spectators so emotional and congratulations and best wishes to the Ivory Coast and the Ivorian people.
FT: Nigeria 1-2 Ivory Coast
Afcon 2023 is over. What a remarkable end to a tournament dripping in drama.
Thanks for your company.
The night has only just started in Abidjan.
Congratulations to Ivory Coast for winning the Africa Cup🏆! The team showed strength and desire to win and to not give up until the end. And the fans were absolutely amazing
P.s Haller deserved it the most, since he suffered a lot.
The story of Côte d’Ivoire’s victory in the African Nations is one of the most beautiful stories in the history of football. We sympathized with this team’s version a lot and we will tell it to our children in the future 🧡
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‘He’s very coachable, he wants to learn, to improve every day’ |SportsFila can feel the meaning of a ‘coachable player that wants to improve every day’. Because ETH has to deal with players that are not like this at all.
remember at Ajax TH once said “a process takes time, but by throwing in young players in big games that process gets accelerated”. Always stuck with me considering he let Mainoo debut against Everton (after the 10 point deduction at an intense Goodison Park) and then straight into the Galatasaray away game in the CL. H
He also has done the same with Garnacho last year and this year. Then he did the same with Pellistri against Bayern Munich who in my opinion did well enough to deserve another chance. I think it’s a way for him to see how they respond to the pressure and intensity. He’s not afraid to play the youngsters ONLY if he considers them good and fearless enough.
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He made De Ligt Ajax captain at 18 years old because he saw leadership qualities. He has his own methods, but I’m convinced he knows exactly what he’s doing regarding the future of United. United fans need to remember 75% of this current squad won’t be part of the future so maybe allow him a bit more time to show what he’s trying to build.
Varane and Sancho could leave Utd/ getty Images/
ETH is a highly resillient manager to go through all the crisis and egos, poor performances, players personal issues and ownership drama and come out on the other side with these kind of performances. He brought in the right striker young full of potential and work ethic. Young players are starring in the squad WE ARE ON THE WAY.
Jadon Sancho Will REGRET His Behaviour At Man United
All the instability across the club that he’s gone through and still kept us in the Top 8. Now he’s finally seeing the other side of the drawn-out “club sale, no-sale”, multiple injuries, media controversies, spoiled players, and all the other nonsense, we see the team moving into sixth position. The man deserves all the praise in the world for being so resilient.
It’s interesting hearing ten hag speaking on rashford because he mentions a lot of qualities which he possesses, however they are all physical and technical, the one thing he didn’t speak positively about was his mentality and for me this is what has always separated Rashford from the very best.
In football and sport as a whole mentality is the one thing you need more than anything, it’s what separates the good from the great and I don’t know if rashford has that real hunger and desire in him to be great. The kind of desire where you’re willing to get hurt to score a goal.
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