Richard Keys reveals ‘real soft spot’ for West Ham United after David Moyes thrashed 5-0 at Fulham
Richard Keys says he “can’t pretend” he didn’t feel sorry for David Moyes after West Ham were thrashed 5-0 at Craven Cottage this weekend.
The beIN Sports anchor reacted to the heavy defeat in his blog on 11 December with sympathy as he revealed has a “real soft spot” for the Irons under the Scot.
He praised Fulham boss Marco Silva for the job he’s done in West London, especially having worked back from his sacking by Everton, but Keys tempered his pleasure at the Portuguese getting a big win as he didn’t want to see Moyes on the other end of it.
Keys wrote of the Cottagers: “Losing [Aleksandar] Mitrovic could’ve been a terminal blow to Fulham’s chances of staying in the PL, but they haven’t missed him. They’re banging goals in from everywhere now – as West Ham found out Sunday.
“As pleased as I was for Silva, I can’t pretend that I didn’t feel for David Moyes and his team. I’ve had a real soft spot for the Hammers since Moyes took over there.”
Jekyll and Hyde
It continues to be virtually impossible to predict what Moyes’ side will produce in any given match, apart from the fact that the previous result will probably have no bearing on the next one.
The Hammers were affected by illness in camp according to David Ornstein in The Athletic (10 December) but even so it was a miserable return from the trip across the capital.
Questions over Moyes future forever seem to be one bad result away and such a heavy loss won’t have done anything to prevent that.
Knowing the West Ham manager he will likely conjure up an answer against Freiburg to keep the wolves from the door, just as he did following a flat draw with Crystal Palace when he took his team to Tottenham and came away with a win.
However, the maddening inconsistency, not to mention the style of play that too often leaves a lot to be desired, likely isn’t going to produce a strong case to extend his contract at the London Stadium.
That he has got this close to the expiry of his contract in the summer suggests that decision has already essentially been made, and the up-and-down nature of the season is probably not going to be anything like the emphatic statement he would require to change that.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are predicted to be sick at missing a major transfer opportunity.