3 Things We Learned From Manchester United vs West Ham United

Manchester United were looking to build on their recent improvement in form, while West Ham were looking to distance themselves from the relegation zone as they met at Old Trafford which ended in a 3-1 scoreline, thanks to goals from Welbeck, Januzaj and Ashley Young. Here are the three things we learned from the game.

United better, but still nothing special

 

Manchester United are struggling, and there is no doubt about that. They may have claimed a 3-1 win over the Hammers today, but they still lack the qualities of a world class team. They may have lifted themselves up to 7th place, but a win for Tottenham tomorrow would see them back in 8th, and behind another struggling Premier League giant. David Moyes’ men looked a little brighter, more confidence on the ball and greater conviction when going forward, but they still look a long way off pace setters Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City, and there will be no quick fix for their current problems.

West Ham are relegation candidates

Sam Allardyce may have avoided relegation more times than Wigan Athletic, but there is always an ending to the story, as the Latics have shown last season. Mediocrity can only get you so far, and West Ham are severely lacking any real talent, as ‘big Sam’ has built his side to play ‘route 1’ football, with his centre-backs acting more as sweepers than anything, and his strikers big and strong, but lack any real footballing ability.

There is also the matter of the large amount of English players at West Ham, sure it’s the English Premier League, but lets be honest here, other than Frank Lampard, Daniel Sturridge, Jordan Henderson and on occasion Wayne Rooney, no other English players are terribly good and would fail to stand out in any other league. Teams that last in the Premier League rely on foreign talent, while West Ham have very little, and their negative style will see them take the plunge in May.

 

Ravel Morrison must leave West Ham for the good of his career

Many people brand him as England’s most talented midfielder since Frank Lampard, and they may have a point. With Morrison you don’t get tantalising displays that win his side games, and he is not the type of player to run a whole game like Andrea Pirlo or Xavi Hernandez, but you do get the occasional spark of brilliance. Today he looked like West Ham’s only genuine attacking threat, and got very little support as Sam Allardyce ordered his men to sit back and to launch the ball forward to Modibo Maiga. If Morrison is to progress into the player many are expecting him to become, he must leave before he becomes another wasted talent at a small English club that doesn’t want to play football.