Richard Keys delivers strong verdict on West Ham and David Moyes

West Ham lost a golden opportunity to book a place in the top six after losing 3-1 against Brighton on Sunday (22 May) at the Amex Stadium.

Richard Keys wrote in his blog that he was gutted to see the Hammers throw away their chances to book a place in the Europa League.

Moyes said he was “angry with his players” after the game [BBC Sport]. They will have to settle for a place in the Europa Conference League.

West Ham

“I can’t pretend I wasn’t gutted for David Moyes. He knows his team threw away a Europe League place at Brighton. Watching the final this past week must’ve hurt everyone at West Ham, because they know they should’ve been in it. I thought it might be a motivator for them, but sadly the opposite was true,” wrote Keys.

Sums up their season

The Hammers needed a win from their final game. It started brightly for them when they took the lead through Michail Antonio’s blistering first-half strike.

What will frustrate the Hammers fans is that Manchester United lost 1-0 against Crystal Palace, and yet the Hammers couldn’t capitalise on it.

This has been their story in a nutshell. At times, they have shown tremendous quality, but in absence of a big squad, David Moyes’s side couldn’t just hit the gear when it mattered the most.

West Ham

It was a game they shouldn’t have lost. In fact, after a brilliant start to the season, they shouldn’t be in the position they are in, but Moyes was forced to prioritise Europa League over the Premier League.

The failure to sign players in the January transfer window has come back to haunt them, and now they have a big window ahead of them.

Moyes needs at least five to six quality players to make the club competitive. The likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur will bolster their squad, and the Hammers must compete with them.

In other West Ham news, Martin Samuel has responded to the latest West Ham London Stadium developments dubbing it the “deal of the century”.

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