David Moyes treading a fine line at West Ham United as Declan Rice comments raise questions
It is a well-known fact that a manager never lasts long once he loses the dressing room, and Declan Rice’s post-match comments on Sunday (19 February) suggest David Moyes is treading a fine line at West Ham United.
The Hammers fell to their 13th defeat from just 23 games this season after their lacklustre display against Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The 2-0 scoreline might not be altogether damaging, but the performance highlighted a side lacking confidence, creativity and trust in their manager’s tactics.
After the match, in which the Hammers had just one shot on target, Rice admitted the likes of Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio were far too isolated due to the flat back-five they were playing – in an interview that resembled that of Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford, mere days before Jesse Marsch was sacked.
As quoted by The Mirror, the Hammers captain said: “When you play with five at the back and the three, like we set up today, maybe our strikers felt a bit isolated when we got the ball up to them — they didn’t really have enough around them, not enough support.”
After failing to lay a glove on Spurs all game long and following these questions raised by Rice, it feels like an element of panic is starting to emerge at the East London club.
Granted, three of their relegation rivals picked up victories in the 3pm kickoffs on Saturday (19 February) to leave West Ham United cemented in the Premier League relegation zone, but considering there are still 15 games of the season remaining, it was alarming to hear such words from Rice.
Maybe the comments were misdirected in the heat of battle, but there was an element of truth to them.
The Hammers offered little to no threat in the final third against their Champions League-chasing opponents, with Antonio pretty much anonymous all game long until he was substituted for Danny Ings.
A change in plan is clearly needed for Moyes to steer the club clear of the relation zone, but more importantly, to keep the players on his side. This weekend’s crunch clash against Nottingham Forest is yet another pivotal game in the Scottish manager’s reign at the London Stadium.