Gary Neville backs West Ham boss David Moyes over Kurt Zouma incident
Gary Neville believes David Moyes did the right thing by playing Kurt Zouma but says West Ham should’ve taken the decision out of his hands.
Zouma started against Watford in midweek and was named in the starting lineup against Leicester, only to withdraw before kick-off after complaining of illness.
The news was met with scepticism from fans and media because of the controversy surrounding his inclusion currently, and Neville told his Sky Sports podcast that he believes Moyes has handled it well but should never have been made to handle it by the club.
“Kurt Zouma made a terrible mistake and the reality of it is that David Moyes was left in a difficult predicament whereby what does he do?” he said.
“I think he’s got it just about right. Some people will say he’s got it wrong, some people will say he’s got it right, I think it’s very difficult for a manager.
“The club have to set the tone. If it’s my football club, I’m taking that away from the manager completely. I’m taking that incident away from the manager, I’m protecting the manager.
“Because he has to stand up and do the press conferences, but the club on what I would call ‘off-pitch disciplinary matters’ have to be the ones that protect the honour of the club and the discipline within the club.
“My view is David Moyes will deal with on-pitch matters when it regards to discipline, and the club should deal with off-pitch disciplinary matters. Along with the manager obviously, but the club with an incident like this have to stand up and really be strong.”
Fair point
Moyes was really put in a no-win position by Zouma’s actions but the club didn’t really help him in that respect.
If he didn’t play him and West Ham had lost the game, then all eyes would’ve been on their failure to secure a result and potentially missing out on the top four.
Neville is right that the hierarchy of the club should have taken ownership of the decision and taken Zouma out of the firing line themselves.
While they tried to show trust in Moyes and let him make the decision, it’s ultimately turned into a PR disaster and the player has had the attention on him magnified even further.
Moyes hasn’t done anything wrong other than prioritising the results of the football team he is in charge of. Any criticism should be directed at the board and the player himself.
In other West Ham news, Jamie Carragher drops West Ham top four prediction after 2-2 draw v Leicester