Archive for November 14, 2023
Moyes silences doubters again
(From The Telegraph) Even into the ninth minute of the seven added on, David Moyes continued to rock from side to side, bellowing instructions. Like a spinning instructor at a trendy west London gym, his screams were aimed at no one and everyone all at once.
The Sunday afternoon had started perfectly. West Ham capitalised from a mistake by Nottingham Forest’s Nicolas Dominguez who hit one of their player with an attempted pass which was picked up by Lucas Paqueta. West Ham’s no. 10 took possession and finished into the corner from 18 yards. It looked simple; it was not. That is Paqueta’s beauty.
But two Nottingham goals either side of the break meant that West Ham were trailing at home, and with a lot of opportunities squandered, the fear to lose another home game following the defeat to Everton two weeks ago was there.
Finally, proceedings ended with West Ham ahead, and Moyes cut through the air with a fist. On to the pitch he strode with purpose – Moyes does nothing without it – embracing each of his players warmly. Another hard-earned victory. Another win as much about industry as it was desire. Another crisis averted. Ahead, behind and, finally, ahead again. Phew.
The Moyes/West Ham supporter dynamic is intriguing. For almost four years now, he has brought relative success to the London Stadium. A pair of top-seven finishes. The Europa Conference League title. What can more reasonably be expected?
And, yet, Moyes is only ever a defeat or two from a “must-win” fixture. Winless in four Premier League games, that hum had returned for the umpteenth time. The half-time jeers (it was 1-1 at that point) suggested a support base ready to froth.
“I think I did, yes,” Moyes said when asked if he needed this win. Then he rightly offered up the fact that West Ham have both a Carabao Cup quarter-final pre-Christmas and guaranteed European football come the new year. “It’s very difficult to isolate any one competition,” he continued. “Or you just say, ‘We only play one competition’. But we actually are active in three competitions. There’s a good chance, if you’re in three competitions, that you might not win all the games. We try to be competitive in them all, if we can.”
Tomas Soucek’s late header won it, Jarrod Bowen having earlier risen to nod West Ham level. Both met second-half James Ward-Prowse corners. “World-class,” is how Moyes described the deliveries, while declaring himself “thrilled” with both the opening and the finale.
EXTRA TIME 
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