The first ten games of a season are normally a good indicator of a team's chances. Overall it's been positive for the Irons, with notable wins against Newcastle, Leicester and Leeds. Progress in the Europa League has been very satisfactory, with a pair of 2-0 wins so far, while the spirit in the squad was shown by the second string winning 1-0 at Old Trafford in the Carabao Cup. On the downside the Irons have only won one in five of their last league matches and succumbed to late goals against Man United and Brentford, though were a little unlucky in both games, particularly with Noble's last minute penalty saved by De Gea.
Hopefully there is more to come from the new signings, though encouragingly we have four solid centre backs who can be rotated in Zouma, Ogbonna, Dawson and Diop, and it's still not clear which is the best pairing. We've yet to see the potential of Vlasic who is still bedding in, though Kral looks like he could be a useful substitute for Rice and Soucek. The form of Soucek has been worrying but will surely return. While Areola in goal looks like he has bags of potential.
What's been more evident than ever is that the side is hugely reliant on Antonio and we have to keep him fit. Bowen is a willing stopgap, but not really a striker. At least Antonio didn't travel with Jamaica during the international break.
Everton away will present another big test. Are we going to be among the best of the rest in mid-table or can WHU really challenge for the top six? It's been a long time since the Hammers had two good seasons in a row, and still competing in all competitions, it's looking reasonably optimistic so far if Moyes' men can overcome the recent blip in results.
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