West Ham 0-3 Southampton
SOU: Charlie Austin 40’, Dusan Tadic 62’, James Ward-Prowse 90+2’
For years, West Ham reasoned they had to be in the Premier League when they moved to what is now called the London Stadium. Staying in it thereafter, it was assumed, was the easy part.
Yet a comprehensive home defeat to Southampton leaves them marooned in the relegation zone. One point from safety with 32 games remaining, their situation is far from irretrievable. But nor is it what was expected when they threatened to break into the top four last season and recruited a further 12 players in the summer and the manner of their slide is alarming.
They are a club with high aims and a lowly reality, one with a surfeit of attack-minded players and distinct defensive difficulties. They looked shambolic as they were dissected.
“Simply not good enough,” said manager Slaven Bilic, diagnosing a chronic lack of confidence.
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Charlie Austin, Dusan Tadic and James Ward-Prowse scored but, as West Ham’s admirably honest captain Mark Noble admitted: “It could have been six.”
The statistics are damning enough already. West Ham have been breached 11 times in three matches. They have the division’s leakiest rearguard. They are managed by a high-class centre-back, in Bilic, but it scarcely shows.
Southampton are under the auspices of Claude Puel, a lower-profile figure with less charisma, but they recorded a fourth straight win. While West Ham continue to regress, Southampton have made swift progress after a slow start.
While Bilic is searching for his strongest side, Puel was more clinical in his decision-making. He dropped the relentless runner Shane Long and picked the finisher, Austin. He was both predator and, more surprisingly, creator. His fifth goal in four games came when Ryan Bertrand supplied a low cutback and the striker guided his shot in.
It felt a goal with added meaning. West Ham were interested in Austin last summer, five months before Southampton signed him from QPR. They pulled out because of medical concerns, with co-owner David Sullivan making the extraordinary suggestion that Austin had no ligaments in his right knee.
While he scored with his left foot, perhaps it should still be classed as a medical marvel.
Austin showed similar precision in setting up Southampton’s second goal. He steered a pass through a chaotic defence for Tadic to stroll past Adrian. Cheikhou Kouyate was the initial culprit, dispossessed all too easily by Steven Davis, before Alvaro Arbeloa played Tadic onside.
The Spaniard was a league debutant, a symptom of problems in both full-back positions. He and Havard Nordtveit were outmanoeuvred or out of position time and again. Goalkeeper Adrian bailed them out with fine saves from Tadic, Nathan Redmond and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg but was powerless when, after more good work from Davis, Ward-Prowse scored an injury-time third.
West Ham grew more frantic in their quest for a first. Bilic rang the changes. His side showed urgency, but insufficient incision.
They came closest when Virgil van Dijk was required to clear Simone Zaza’s effort off the line but the Italian is yet to open his Hammers account. Currently on loan, he could yet become their £24 million (Dh114.3m)club record buy, but looks dramatically overpriced.
Zaza’s methods entailed going to ground. He claimed a penalty for a clumsy challenge by Cedric Soares and was cautioned for diving when Oriol Romeu almost made contact with him.
Supposedly a sign of West Ham’s ambition, Zaza instead is an example of their underachievement.
Newcomers are yet to gel. Thus far, they have not proved an upgrade. Instead, West Ham lost their winning habit and their propensity to intimidate opponents at Upton Park.
Their plush new home was emptying long before a fifth defeat in six games was ratified by Ward-Prowse’s goal, meaning the Hammers were hammered.
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