View: Flynn Downes was anonymous for West Ham United v Manchester United, David Moyes needs to take him off
David Moyes bizarrely named Flynn Downes in an attacking midfield position for West Ham on Sunday afternoon, and the 23-year-old struggled to make an impact.
West Ham enjoyed a few chances at Old Trafford, but the Hammers found themselves being slowly pinned back and starved of the ball in midfield.
Moyes’ lineup included a midfield trio of Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Downes, although the latter was deployed further forward in a No.10 position.
It was a strange decision from the Scot, and one that didn’t pay off in the first half. Downes was unable to pick up the ball and link up the midfield to attack and as a result he suffered a fairly anonymous first half v Manchester United.
Downes did somewhat contribute defensively against United and perhaps that was Moyes’ intention, but United’s trio of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes largely got the better of the Hammers, and United eventually went ahead through Marcus Rashford.
With West Ham chasing an equaliser, Moyes needs to make a change.
Moyes needs to swallow his pride and tweak the gameplan. United are vulnerable and have made a fair share of their own mistakes in the first half.
They’re there for the taking and Moyes needs to get that across to his players with a positive substitution. Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini are both on the Hammers bench and offer far more creativity than Downes in that attacking midfield position.
Fornals in particular is also much better in possession and can drop deeper to make West Ham’s midfield a bit more resilient and sturdy.
For much of the first half, Gianluca Scamacca was starved of service and is crying out for a creative midfielder to thread the ball in behind United’s defence.
While Downes has been very impressive in recent matches, Sunday’s clash didn’t suit him at all and Fornals and Lanzini are much better suited.