David Moyes makes ‘disappointed’ player admission after West Ham United win v Nottingham Forest
David Moyes says James Ward-Prowse should be “disappointed” that his West Ham United team-mates have not taken more advantage of his deliveries.
Ward-Prowse assisted two more goals in United’s 3-2 Premier League win over Nottingham Forest at London Stadium on Sunday (12 November).
The 29-year-old has now set up nine goals in 16 games for West Ham, but Moyes believes that figure could be higher based on what he saw against Forest.
“Let’s be fair, he is world class at his deliveries, and if I was him I’d be disappointed the other boys haven’t scored more from his deliveries,” Moyes said, via the Daily Mail [12 November].
Asked about Ward-Prowse’s latest England snub, Moyes added: “I’m quite pleased because he’s going to get a wee bit of rest this week. With the amount of games we’ve had in this period between international breaks, we’ve just had game after game.
“James helps in a big way. I think he’ll always be thought about by Gareth Southgate but Gareth’s got so many quality players he can choose from. James is sitting there waiting if he has any injury problems.”
Quality player
After a superb start to life at West Ham upon joining from Southampton, Ward-Prowse’s form dropped somewhat as he recently went six games without a goal involvement.
However, after setting up Lucas Paqueta’s winner in the 1-0 win over Olympiacos on Thursday (9 November) with an unbelievable assist, he followed that up with two more assists versus Forest.
Only two others – Kieran Trippier (six) and Pedro Neto (seven) – have assisted more Premier League goals this season than Ward-Prowse’s five.
That figure is actually higher than the midfielder’s expected assists rate of 3.1 [FBref], so Moyes’ comments are not reflected in the statistics.
But it is obvious what point Moyes is trying to make, in that there is still even more to come from Ward-Prowse.
While he may not be wanted by England, he is already a fan favourite at West Ham. Long may that continue.
In other West Ham news, a Sky Sports pundit has laughed off speculation linking a high-profile player with a switch to London Stadium.