BBC pundit slams David Moyes’ harsh criticism of key West Ham man
Micah Richards believes that David Moyes’ criticism of West Ham defender Craig Dawson was “harsh” following their defeat to Chelsea on Sunday [April 24].
Despite the Scot resting players ahead of Thursday’s [April 28] Europa League semi-final, the Irons nearly snatched a draw at Stamford Bridge, losing out to a late goal by Christian Pulisic.
Dawson was shown a straight red card after bringing down Romelu Lukaku inside the box much and Richards flew to his defence after Moyes claimed he should have done better.
He said on Match of the Day 2: “I think David Moyes is a little bit harsh in terms of when he said he could clear it with his left foot.
“Lukaku gets his strong arm out and pushes [him], it is so difficult.
“The mistake he made is that he should have just let go. When Lukaku gets you like that it’s borderline impossible to do something because he’s so strong.”
Bigger fish.
It was a silly challenge but that is what the Chelsea forward is best at. He is an absolute unit of a player and was battling it out with Dawson all game with the Hammers veteran getting the better of him for most of the game.
It was an awkward one for the former West Brom defender and whilst he shouldn’t have dragged Lukaku down, you can excuse him for the lapse in concentration, especially with the subsequent penalty being missed.
What was more devastating was conceding so late on, even after Lukasz Fabianski’s penalty save, when it looked as if West Ham were going to hang on to the point.
The boss faces a hugely difficult defensive selection headache for the rest of the Premier League games with the only fit senior centre-back now set for a one-game ban despite it being a straight red card with the challenge being deemed a professional foul.
The most important thing is that the 31-year-old is available for the Hammers’ crunch Europa League semi-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt; a game they simply have to win.
In other West Ham news, Gary Neville shares if the Hammers can deal with Declan Rice exit in a “mature” way.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Hammers plus more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.