David Moyes can grab much-needed West Ham United v Olympiacos if he axes Tomas Soucek
David Moyes has some crucial West Ham United decisions to make ahead of their crucial Europa League clash against Olympiacos, none more so than the under-performing Tomas Soucek.
The Hammers are currently on a dreadful run of one win in their last six games in all competitions and five Premier League games without a win after Saturday’s disastrous 3-2 defeat to Brentford after going 2-1 at half-time.
West Ham host Olympiacos at the London Stadium on Thursday evening (9 November) looking to avenge the reverse fixture in Greece – a 2-1 defeat which ended their English-record 17-game unbeaten run in Europe.
A lack of defensive solidity is evident in the West Ham defence, as they have conceded 11 goals during this poor run of form, seeing them slip to 11th in the Premier League despite a very good start which saw them take 10 points from their opening four games.
In the seven games since, the Hammers have taken just four points, losing five, while a defeat in Europe last time out which has also contributed to the increased pressure on Moyes.
If the Irons are to have any chance of securing their place in the knockout rounds they’ve simply got to win at all costs against the Greek giants and that may force Moyes into key changes, especially axing the woeful Soucek.
A number of Moyes’ most crucial and reliable performers are all under-performing in recent matches, Michail Antonio, Nayef Aguerd, and Vladimir Coufal to name a few but none have seen their form take a massive nosedive as much as Soucek and his last start for the Hammers certainly highlighted his worrying decline and waning influence in a West Ham United shirt.
The Czech international was completely taken apart by Brentford at the weekend, and could yet fall victim once again if Moyes fails to axe him against the Greek giants.
In his 90 minutes on the pitch, Soucek barely touched the ball with just 47 touches in midfield, failed to register a single key pass, won 0% of his six ground duels, 0% of his six aerial duels which is a huge surprise given his height and qualities in the air, made a silly error leading to a goal, lost possession of the ball nine times and was dribbled past twice [SofaScore] in another hapless showing.
The Hammers have some big aspirations for this season following their Europa Conference League success in June but they look a far cry from matching those heights right now if Moyes continues to back the likes of Soucek who aren’t even worthy of putting on the shirt right now.
If the West Ham United boss wants to save his job at the London Stadium, he’s got to stop being a rewarder of under-performance and inconsistency. It is severely affecting his position as manager.
In other West Ham news, Simon Jordan has reacted to the latest David Moyes news.