If David Moyes was asked to pinpoint the moment he suspected this would not be the most straightforward of seasons for West Ham, he might well return to Stamford Bridge in September and the final minute of a lively London derby.
Not yet engulfed in the crisis that would go on to dominate the first half of the Hammers’ campaign, it looked as if Moyes’s men had turned a corner after their sluggish start. A first win of the season at Aston Villa had been followed by a well-earned point against Tottenham and, having undeservedly trailed at Chelsea, the Hammers looked to have stolen another, thanks to Maxwel Cornet’s late leveller.
Then came what remains, in a crowded field, one of the worst VAR decisions since the technology’s introduction, described as such on Twitter by West Ham captain Declan Rice in the immediate aftermath of the game.
There seemed little wrong with the goal in real time, but referee Andrew Madley ruled that Jarrod Bowen’s inability to put clear daylight between himself and the onrushing Edouard Mendy in the build-up, the winger instead grazing the goalkeeper like a steeplechasing horse flicking through the top of a fence, constituted a foul.
The metaphor of an obstacle not quite overcome became apt for Bowen’s season on a personal level last month, when he told candidly of his struggle to live up to the heights of last term in his desperation to win a place in England’s World Cup squad.
“You can put too much pressure on yourself and that’s what I did at the start of the season,” Bowen said. “I was playing with a little bit of fear and anxiousness. I don’t think I dealt with it very well but I will learn from that.”
Bowen was speaking after scoring twice in the crucial victory over Everton that might well have kept his manager in a job (as well as costing Frank Lampard his), and the Hammers have since progressed to the fifth round of the FA Cup and drawn at Newcastle with a performance Moyes called one of their best of the season.
Just as they are far from out of the woods, despite encouraging recent results — in fact, improvements at Everton and Wolves mean West Ham’s position is still one of similar peril — Bowen is not yet back to his very best.
Still, the winger’s gradual improvement since the winter break has been a key factor in the growing feeling that, ahead of Saturday’s game at the London Stadium, this is a team which is finally beginning to rediscover its identity.
Moyes has spoken repeatedly about the challenge of turning his counter-attacking specialists of previous years into a side more able to dominate and control matches, a shift never likely to suit Bowen, who has always been seen to best effect when exploiting space in behind, his brilliant double against Manchester City in the penultimate home game of last season the strongest case in point.
Successive meetings with ‘big six’ opposition (Spurs follow Chelsea next weekend), could prove fertile ground for a reversion to type.
Few managers would have sympathy with Chelsea counterpart Graham Potter for being backed to the tune of more than £300million last month, but having struggled for a formula after adding eight new faces to his own squad in the summer, Moyes will have an understanding of the juggling act now facing the Blues boss, like schoolteachers exchanging a knowing glance across a museum lobby as they try to keep tabs on all elements of a class trip.
The shift to a back-three, the settling on Vladimir Coufal and Emerson Palmieri as first-choice wing-backs, Lucas Paqueta’s redeployment and Bowen’s upturn are all signs that Moyes is beginning to work things out. A positive result tomorrow would be the clearest yet.
