GB Olympic medalist Kriss Akabusi slams West Ham United board and manager David Moyes for failed defensive tactics
West Ham would escape relegation even without a manager in place as long as they get rid of David Moyes, according to Kriss Akabusi.
The former athlete is a big Irons fan but is thoroughly unimpressed by the Scot’s defensive tactics and has heavily criticised the coach, as well as the board for accepting the current low standards.
The 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday (19 February) has left the Hammers inside the relegation zone and just two points off the bottom of the table, prompting a report from The Times a day later that Moyes will be sacked if he loses to Nottingham Forest next week.
Posting on his personal Twitter account on Monday the former GB Olympic medalist wrote: “West Ham will not lose v Forest, we will scrape a draw with our 8 man defence.
“Under that criteria its good enough for the board even though we could be bottom of the EPL by week ending.
“We don’t need a new manager, with Moyes gone & handbrake off we escape relegation, period.”
Inevitable?
There looked to be some green shoots of recovery in recent weeks, with a run of games unbeaten and a pair of creditable draws after going behind at Newcastle and against Chelsea.
But despite some feeling that West Ham could take advantage of Spurs’ own difficulties to record a hugely-important win, there was nothing of the sort at the weekend.
The point against Chelsea was shown to be much less of an achievement by bottom side Southampton’s win at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, which, coupled with Everton’s victory over Leeds on the same day, has really dropped Moyes in it.
Clearly, plenty has to change at the London Stadium because the performances have been a shadow of what they were last season or the season before.
Moyes himself was fairly dismissive of the pressure earlier in the season but even he is now starting to sound like a beaten manager, and if the man tasked with improving things appears to be at a loss to explain the failings it is a worry.
Injuries have certainly not helped him, and clearly the new arrivals have destabilised the unit he had previously, but those aren’t excuses in themselves for this campaign’s record.
Managerial changes have proven to be a mixed bag this season in the Premier League, with the beleaguered Graham Potter at Chelsea already facing calls to be sacked, while his conquerer Ruben Selles is the third man in charge of the Saints after the disastrous Nathan Jones reign.
Leeds’ struggles to find a successor Jesse Marsch have seen them thrown into more disarray than when he was there, while Sean Dyche’s arrival at Everton has had the opposite effect since replacing Frank Lampard.
The former Burnley boss may have been the answer but now he is off the table either Moyes is going to need to find a solution fast or the board will may do it for him.