West Ham is recovering from Saturday’s defeat at Wolverhampton. After a long series of great performances, Molineux came to disappointment and sobriety. David Moyes’ charges lacked a spark, they played poorly, they were harmless, and the London media deservedly did not spare them. Tomáš Souček also caught it.
The unflattering word “poor” dominates in the response to the 0: 1 defeat, which was shot by the Mexican sniper Raúl Jiménez after the magnificent collaboration with the tiny speedfoot Daniel Podenc.
Hammers, both the fans and the media, call the Hammers’ performance miserable or even miserable, and there is not much left of the euphoria that flooded East London after the victory over Liverpool and the move to third place in the table.
Self-confidence is extremely fragile in a changeable and balanced Premier League, so while midfielder Pablo Fornals said words about a brave dream of attacking a championship title before the national team break, the Hammers fell hard on the ground as they fell from the heights.
“We are not yet at the level of meeting the highest standards every match of the season,” manager David Moyes openly describes a certain loss of faith after Saturday’s fiasco.
He was disappointed by almost all the biggest props. From this time the clueless leader Declan Rice to the invisible shooter Mikhail Antonio, the easily playable left back Aaron Creswell to the soon-to-be-replaced Fornals.
Of course, no ode goes to Souček, who played a complete 90 minutes, but fell into the gray average.
Evening Standard even kicked him in the headline with Antonio, but this time the London newspaper was far from praising him. He described the performances of both footballers as “sniff”.
“Souček was only in the role of a passenger. The advance is usually the driving force of West Ham, but this time it didn’t work out at all,” the evening newspaper said.
Football.London evaluates the Czech national team similarly. “Like Rice, he fought the Wolves backup in vain. The game missed him a lot,” the website added. Souček received a below-average mark of five in both media.
The fan blog Claret and Hugh did not smell that Moyes had given Souček a little more defensive tasks again. “He should change his mind and let the Czechs move forward. Playing the shield just above the stoppers just doesn’t suit him very well,” he mentions.
Tomáš Souček and Raúl Jiménez before the match. | Photo: Reuters
The defeat after a bloodless performance and the end of the winning streak is a challenge for the Hammers, comments agree. How they will react to it in the next duels will to some extent reflect their real ambitions in this year’s Premier League.
After Thursday’s European League duel at Rapid Vienna, West Ham will face three league matches in a single week: outside Manchester City and at home Brighton and Chelsea.
At the same time, speculation about how the Hammers will behave in the transfer market in the winter is gaining momentum. Especially after the arrival of the Czech billionaire Daniel Křetínský into the ownership structures of the club.
Moyes was reluctant to comment on any investments.
“I believe we will spend wisely and efficiently. This club spent a few years back on the player’s fortune and it didn’t work. Especially not going crazy and doing something we regret,” the Scottish manager said before the match against the Wolves.
In the first phase, he would prefer to improve the background before spending on the transfer market. “There are things that come to mind that are more important to me. New seats in the stadium, an effort for more visitors. Maybe new equipment in the training center,” he said.
Moyes also expressed the belief that the owners of the club would listen to his opinion.
“Of course I won’t tell them what to do, on the other hand, I think I’m getting to the stage where they can listen to my opinion and my thoughts. I’m sure they will,” Moyes said.
He praised the short five-minute meeting with Křetínský. “It was nice, I know he’s a football lover. From what I’ve understood, he looks like he’s going to want to do the right thing,” added the Hammer Coach.
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