Time for Moyes to use Bowen after West Ham’s latest defeat
West Ham United remain in the bottom three in the Premier League after another mediocre display saw them lose to Manchester City.
The Hammers are two points from safety after they lost 2-0 to the Citizens at the Etihad Stadium, with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne grabbing the goals.
West Ham fans made the trip north with little optimism, but even the die hard fans will have been disappointed with the tactics deployed.
David Moyes’ men sat back and attempted to absorb the pressure, and on a different night, it could have been 5-0.
Both Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus must have left their shooting boots at home, but West Ham never offered anything going forward.
In the modern era, teams have become obsessed with defensive football when they travel to the Etihad Stadium or Anfield. To an extent, it is easy to see why, but once it becomes 1-0, the game is practically over.
Moyes decided to play without a striker for the trip to Lancashire, but West Ham had nothing to work with because of that.
Any clearance…straight back to Manchester City!
Misplaced pass…straight back to City!
And so it continued.
Only Declan Rice came out of the game without any credit, with the midfielder trying to do everything himself in all honesty.
The England international intercepted several passes drove the ball forward, but he needed help, and in Jarrod Bowen, he has a team-mate with flair and skill.
Bowen made his debut in the final minutes of Wednesday’s game, but the contest was over, and it was more of a run out than anything else.
https://twitter.com/WestHam/status/1230237340779634695?s=20
The former Hull City man will have been watching with a pained expression during his time on the bench but West Ham struggling, it is time for Moyes to change his approach.
Sebastien Haller and Bowen both could have an influence on the starting XI and the Hammers need to try something different.
Bowen himself is up for the fight, but they face Liverpool on Monday.
He told the London Evening Standard: “There is a tough run of games, but the pressure is not on us at Anfield as no-one expects us to get anything from the game.
“So we can use that to our advantage before going into the final run when we play a lot of teams in the bottom half, and we expect to pick up points and get ourselves out of this position.”
Once again, West Ham will play with a defensive mindset, and no doubt fail to get out of their own half, but as Bowen says, they have nothing to lose. Yes, goal difference may come into it, but when was the last time 10 men behind the ball worked against the Reds?
Bowen could make a real difference in the final three months of the season, but Moyes promised the club’s fans he would win games upon his return.
Now is the time for boring and negative tactics to go, if they don’t, their position in the Premier League is under serious threat.
