West Ham’s show of attacking gusto serves up hope for David Moyes | Nick Ames

Dec 04, 2017

Manchester City juggernaut had to find an extra gear to overcome a West Ham side who, despite a 2-1 defeat, offered something for their manager to work with

An unkind reading would be that the fact West Ham United can take such heart from what was eventually an Alamo‑esque occasion speaks volumes for the position the club find themselves in. That would not be unfair, even if caveats do exist. If David Moyes could not conjure a result up here then the semblance of a platform, a hint of the resilience that has deserted his new charges for so long, would reflect well on everyone involved: he got that at the Etihad and, with a little more quality at either end, might even have left with rather more.

“We’re going to have to try and find a way to see if we can stop them and make it hard for them,” a characteristically phlegmatic Moyes had asserted before the teams emerged. At that point City’s Tunnel Club concept appeared particularly ghoulish: a safari package for those with deep pockets prepared to watch doe-eyed prey lining up before the grisliest of slaughters. Moyes knew what the rest of us did: he had probably not read the apocalyptic projections that City might trouble the Premier League’s record winning margin, and was presumably ignorant of odds favouring an 8-0 home win above a single-goal win for his side but he was certainly aware of West Ham’s absentee list and had, more to the point, seen both sides play this season.

Tags: David Moyes Football Manchester City Sport West Ham United