Exclusive: McAvennie surprised Noble started in West Ham loss v Man Utd
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie was surprised Mark Noble started for West Ham in their 1-0 defeat away at Manchester United on Sunday.
Noble, 33, has recently extended his contract at the London Stadium for an extra year and was handed just his fourth Premier League start of the season at Old Trafford.
However, things didn’t go to plan for the Hammers, who yet again lost to a big-six team without really laying a finger on them.
McAvennie was taken aback by David Moyes’ refusal to play more attacking against Man United, claiming that performances versus them and Liverpool this season have been two blotches on what has otherwise been a stellar season for the Irons.
“I was surprised Noble started,” McAvennie told West Ham Zone.
“If I’ve got any criticism about David Moyes, it’s that they didn’t have a go at Liverpool and Manchester United because they were there for the taking. They didn’t do it, they were too defensive.
“It’s not about criticism but that’s something I’m going to criticise them for.
“I think they showed them too much respect. You saw how they played against Manchester City. It’s as if against Man City they thought, ‘we’re going to get beaten anyway so let’s have a go’.
“But I think against Liverpool and Man United they thought, ‘let’s keep it 0-0 and we’ll hit them on the counter’.
“I think the fans would have preferred to have been beaten by two or three to Man United if they had a go.”
Moyes sprung several surprises in his starting line-up ahead of the match against Man United but it’s not the first time this season the Scot has lined up more defensively against a top team.
Unfortunately for Noble, he’s the one who seems to get drafted into games like this and that is perhaps why the club has won just two of eight matches he’s started in all competitions this season. And those two wins were against Stockport and Doncaster in the FA Cup.
McAvennie makes a valid point about the Man City game. West Ham seemed way more up for the fight against Pep Guardiola’s side and were unfortunate to lose to the runaway Premier League leaders.
But in matches against Liverpool and Man United, we’ve been let down as fans and we expect more in what tough matches we have left to play this season.
In other West Ham news, our panel of Super Fans want to see Pablo Fornals return to the starting line-up against Arsenal.