The witticism on Saturday was that, for once, West Ham were not booed off at the London Stadium. Their unloved ground looked still more cavernous and soulless as the Hammers subsided to an eighth home defeat of the season. Come Sunday and, for a few minutes before Chelsea launched a comeback against Aston Villa, they slipped into the drop zone.
West Ham’s seeming participation in ‘Project Sabotage’, the attempt to either end the season or call off relegation, felt self-serving. Now their interests would be served by producing the sort of form they have rarely demonstrated in a sorry season. They have taken a mere five points since New Year’s Day.
David Moyes executed a successful salvage job after a mid-season arrival two years ago. Now their position feels more precarious. “I always felt it would be tight but it wouldn't go down to the last game,” said the manager. “We have been here and done it before. We have winnable games.”
But perhaps not immediately. While West Ham have a habit of rousing themselves against better opponents, games against Tottenham on Tuesday and Chelsea next week threaten to leave them in the bottom three.
After two of the Premier League’s most avoidable relegations, in 2003 and 2011, they threaten to add another. A capacity to produce teams less than the sum of their talented or expensive parts feels West Ham-esque. As the Olympic Stadium shows, the gulf between ambition and reality is greater there than anywhere else. None of the stragglers are spending so much funding underachievement.
Their wage bill in 2018-19 amounted to £136 million (Dh620m) and while their annual rent at the London Stadium would halve to £1.25 million if they went down, they can ill-afford failure.
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Everton v Liverpool ratings
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Jordan Pickford – 6, Everton’s England goalkeeper was only really stretched in injury time at the end of the game, when he tipped over Fabinio’s free kick. PA -
Seamus Coleman - 8, Fine tackle to thwart Joe Gomez at the start of the second half, and coped admirably with the threat of Sadio Mane. AFP -
Mason Holgate - 7, At the heart of the Everton rearguard, and he snubbed out the threat of Liverpool’s forward line well. AP -
Michael Keane - 6, Only really noticeable when he was booked for upending Mane when the Reds forward was on the charge in the first half. AFP -
Lucas Digne - 7, Unlucky to be cautioned for what seemed a neat slide tackle on Mane after the break. EPA -
Anthony Gordon – 6, Not exactly the dream first Premier League start for the 19 year old Liverpudlian, but he did little wrong before being subbed on the hour. PA -
Andre Gomes – 7, It was his excellence that created the chance that eventually led to chances for Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tom Davies. AP -
Tom Davies - 7, Had the chance to steal it for the home side, but saw his shot deflect off Gomes onto the post. EPA -
Alex Iwobi – 5, Little chance to express himself going forward. Could do with introducing himself to Richarlison, who ignored him when he was well placed in favour of shooting himself. AFP -
Richarlison – 6, A threat up front, but his reckless late foul on Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain might have cost his side. EPA -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 8, Clever flick brought a fine save from Alisson, and he was industrious throughout. He would have received a rousing ovation had there been a crowd present when he was subbed right before the end. AP -
Gylfi Sigurdsson (sub) - 6, Given 30 minutes, but it didn’t prove enough time for him to make a difference. AFP -
Moise Kean – (sub) NA, just managed to sneak an appearance fee before the final whistle blew. Getty -
Alisson Becker – 7, A mere spectator for 80 minutes, then did everything asked of him to keep out Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison in quick succession – while the post also helped him out. AP -
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 6, Did his best to forge openings, but his imprecision on some crosses and through balls suggested rustiness. EPA -
Joel Matip - 7, Totally unflustered as he works his way back from injury – only to succumb to a new one in the second half. AP -
Virgil van Dijk – 7, Might have been bored by what he was watching for much of it, so little did he have to do, until a late surge by the hosts. PA -
James Milner - 5, Filling in for Andy Robertson at left back, he was booked in the 20th minute for a foul on Richarlison, and exited injured before half time. PA -
Jordan Henderson – 7, Liverpool had 70 per cent of the possession, and it felt like Henderson had most of that, but he struggled to pick a way through the organised ranks of Everton defences. EPA -
Fabinho - 7, Made a loose start, but could have been the hero at the end as his injury-time free-kick brought a fingertip save from Pickford. AFP -
Naby Keita - 7, At the time he was replaced in the second half, the midfielder had arguably been Liverpool’s brightest spark. Fashioned a chance for himself early in the second phase. PA -
Takumi Minamino - 4, Big boots to fill standing in for Mohamed Salah, and the Japanese forward looked overawed by it. Subbed at half time by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. AP -
Roberto Firmino – 5, The Brazilian forward was anonymous, which is perhaps forgivable given the surreal circumstances. EPA -
Sadio Mane – 7, Well shackled by Coleman, and someway short of his best, but it always felt as though he was a threat. AP -
Joe Gomez - (sub) 8, Only the understudy to the understudy, but he played a key role after replacing Milner before half time. First as an attacking weapon down the left flank, and then with an important touch to knock Davies’ shot onto the post. PA -
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain - (sub) 7, Introduced at half time, and left it late for his major impact – a run that was unceremoniously ended by Richarlison in a dangerous position. EPA -
Georginio Wijnaldum - (sub) 6, On for Naby Keita, without quite enough time to make an impression -
Divock Origi - (sub) 5, He became the fourth substitute used by Jurgen Klopp, when he came on for Firmino. Only moment of note was when he was booked -
Dejan Lovren, - (sub) 4, Had the unusual honour of becoming Liverpool’s fifth sub. In a competitive game. Which was weird. Had just enough time to give Reds’ fans jitters. AP
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It feels a familiar pattern. There was something quintessentially West Ham about the way they managed to sustain injuries to a pivotal trio – Sebastien Haller, Angelo Ogbonna and Robert Snodgrass – in the week before the restart.
Only the defender could return on Tuesday and if he does not, Declan Rice will have to continue at the back. “He could be our best centre half and best midfielder,” said Moyes. “He gives us something in midfield but we know he is defensively sound. He has improved so much.”
It makes Rice a rarity at a club where too many have declined. Yet aspiration was apparent in the way West Ham accumulated expensive flair players. The need for pragmatism is evident in the way Moyes often prefers more workmanlike individuals.
Manuel Lanzini and Andriy Yarmolenko, who had been out for six months, were only substitutes for Saturday’s defeat to Wolves. Felipe Anderson started but was abject. The £40 million man, a former club record signing, has a solitary goal all season. He symbolises the laxness and lack of direction that became ingrained at the end of Manuel Pellegrini’s reign.
Moyes’ downbeat pragmatism may have been necessitated – seven of his last 10 games have been against top-half teams, as are the next two – and the signing of Tomas Soucek added ballast but West Ham have been trapped between two worlds: neither quite solid enough nor sufficiently potent. They seemed to play for a 0-0 draw against Wolves and then had no answer to Adama Traore.
They only mustered two shots on target. “That was one of the problems,” Moyes said. “Wolves made it really difficult to get through.”
But toughness is a theme. As Moyes noted, Tottenham have key players fit who would have missed this match were it played in March whereas West Ham have lost Haller. Now their status is endangered. “We have every intention of staying in the Premier League,” Moyes said, but they need more than good intentions.
