Richard Keys drops ‘failed to get the memo’ verdict on West Ham in Crystal Palace draw
Richard Keys said West Ham and Crystal Palace “missed the memo” with their 1-1 Premier League draw on Sunday (3 December).
There were 24 goals scored across five top-flight matches on a bumper Sunday, with Manchester City drawing 3-3 with Tottenham, Liverpool beating Fulham 4-3, Chelsea overcoming Brighton 3-2 and Aston Villa drawing 2-2 at Bournemouth.
The Hammers had led at half-time against Palace at the London Stadium through Mohammed Kudus but were pegged by Odsonne Eduoard in a match that never really ignited.
beinSPORT presenter Keys alluded to as much when writing in his weekly blog on Monday (4 December).
“What a wonderful day of football Sunday gave us,” he wrote. “Only West Ham and Palace failed to get the memo! The rest went at it with a fervour that did the best league in the world justice.”
No need to stick the knife in…
Keys has not been the only one to point out that the Hammers and Palace failed to get the pulses racing in a fixture that will not live long in anyone’s memory at the London Stadium on Sunday.
In the United Kingdom, the fixture was selected by Sky Sports as the live game to be shown at 2pm, a decision that drew a fair bit of derision considering all the drama that was happening in the Premier League elsewhere.
People on social media were quick to criticise the decision to have the game as the live match, but it is hardly like anyone could have foreseen just how much drama would unfold. If anything the real issue is that the other matches are not allowed to be televised at the same time.
So, yes, okay there were better games elsewhere on Sunday but that does not mean it was a mistake or wrong to select the Hammers as the live fixture. Hindsight is absolutely 20/20 with these things, and ultimately David Moyes’ men took a point that is the thing that matters most.
In other West Ham news, Stephen Warnock has doubled down on a David Moyes sack verdict.