West Ham find themselves in a perilous position as they head into their match against Southampton on Sunday afternoon, and one pundit has suggested that manager, David Moyes, needs to give a chance to one of his players to come good.
Frank McAvennie knows a thing or two about finding the net for the Hammers, so his comments shouldn’t just be taken with a pinch of salt.
Frankly, Moyes needs all the help he can get right now because another reverse against the Saints could end up seeing the east Londoners bottom of the table by close of business on Sunday.
It’s not as if they don’t have the players to get them out of trouble, but there is clearly a disconnect between what Moyes wants to see on the pitch and what’s being provided by his charges.
McAvennie believes there’s only thing for it.
“I’d give (Gianluca) Scamacca a run,” he told West Ham Zone.
“I know people will say something, but I’d give him a run. Because he’s going to be there for a while. Unless we get relegated or we don’t play him and he wants to get away.
“I can see Scamacca and Paqueta. They had something going then they got injured. Paqueta sits a bit deeper and that’s where he wants to play, but Moyes wants to play him in the number ten position. They’ve got to sort it out.”
It’s not the worst shout in the world. Scamacca was good enough for the Hammers to pay a reported £35.5m for his services in the first instance, per Sky Sports, so there’s a player in there waiting to bang in the goals.
Perhaps the issue is not only one of form but of service. With a target man such as the Italian, he needs to be fed and have chances created, in much the same way as Sebastien Haller before him at the London Stadium, and only 11 starts per WhoScored isn’t going to help.
There’s still time for the Hammers to get out of trouble, but something’s got to give.