Tuesday, December 19th. League Cup Quarter-Final. Crystal Palace vs West Ham. Selhurst Park.
David Moyes rested his first team. Completely. Adrian in goal, a back four of squad players, Obiang and Kouyaté in midfield, Sakho Diafra, not our Mamadou up front with Ashley Fletcher.
The calculation was transparent: the League Cup was not West Ham's priority. The Premier League was the bread and butter, and Moyes was saving his best players for the weekend. I didn't blame him. In his position, I would have done the same.
But their decision made ours more significant, not less. Because I was also playing my academy kids, and if both sides were fielding young squads, the contest became a pure test of development pathways. West Ham's academy against ours. Their system against our system. The answer would be on the pitch for everyone to see.
