It was as if two separate teams played for West Ham United on Sunday, one in the first half, another subbing in for the second. And this is what makes some of their fans so frustrated under the management of David Moyes.
There were loud boos at half-time at the London Stadium on Sunday, with the score 2-0 to Burnley, who began the day bottom of the Premier League, courtesy of an early rocket-shot from David Datro Fofana and a stoppage-time Konstantinos Mavropanos own goal. There was schadenfreude from the away enclosure who chorused, “How s*** must you be? We’re winning away.”
When it finished 2-2, after a much-improved second half from West Ham, there was still a smattering of boos from the home crowd.
Similar to their 1-0 away loss against Germany’s Freiburg in the first leg of a Europa League last-16 tie less than 72 hours earlier, it was a cagey performance from Moyes’ side. They kept turning over possession and were uninspiring in attack. West Ham failed to register a shot on target in the first half — the second time that has happened in their last three home Premier League matches after also drawing a blank last month when Arsenal were the visitors.
Moyes, a manager who seldom makes changes at half-time, brought on Michail Antonio and Edson Alvarez this time for James Ward-Prowse and Kalvin Phillips, both of whom failed to impress England manager Gareth Southgate, who names a squad on Thursday for friendlies next week against Brazil and Belgium as the summer’s European Championship looms.
The changes markedly improved West Ham’s performance. Boos turned to cheers, with the team being more direct, playing with intensity and aggression which were absent before the interval. Lucas Paqueta halved Burnley’s lead seconds after the restart and the playmaker benefited most from the double substitution.
In the first half, as the average position chart below shows, West Ham’s formation stemmed from Ward-Prowse (No 7) playing on the left, Paqueta (10) in a deeper role and the midfield partnership of Phillips (11) and Tomas Soucek (28) not in sync.
It was a cautious setup which gave Burnley encouragement. Fofana’s opener was their first goal in 326 minutes of football, excluding added time, since a 3-1 loss against Liverpool on February 10. But the introductions of Antonio and Alvarez culminated in the game being a tale of two halves.
Antonio’s pace unsettled Burnley’s defence, while Alvarez brought defensive discipline to the midfield. He also made two important blocks. The 4-2-3-1 formation saw Antonio (No 9) furthest forward, with the attacking trio of Mohammed Kudus (14), Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen (20) behind, and Alvarez (19) and Soucek anchoring the midfield. There was a clear structure to it — unlike in the first half.
Mavropanos, Paqueta and Kudus had chances to equalise. Vladimir Coufal also came close when his deflected cross cannoned off the crossbar. A late siege from West Ham saw Burnley switch to a back five but another substitute, Danny Ings, levelled in added time.
“I had to make changes. I had to try to do something,” said Moyes. “And obviously we were 2-0 down, so it could have been any one of many who came off, but I just felt we had to get more attacking players on; the others have been getting me goals — the likes of Mo, Jarrod, Paqueta. I wanted to try to keep as many of the goalscorers on the pitch and we gambled a bit in the second half. It just about paid off.
“(Alphonse) Areola made a save at the end when we were pushing more people forward. We had a go, (and) got back in the game, which from 2-0 down is a good result, but probably overall a disappointing result.”
West Ham stay seventh, four points behind sixth-placed Manchester United but now one point above Brighton, who beat Nottingham Forest on Sunday. There was a subdued atmosphere post-match once Moyes vented his frustration to the team. The solace from the latter stages was Ings’ impactful introduction on 82 minutes.
It meant West Ham had five attacking players on the field and, within three minutes of his substitution, the former England striker had a goal ruled out when Antonio was adjudged offside after a lengthy VAR check. Ings eventually scored a minute into stoppage time — his first league goal in 379 days (since the 2-2 draw against Forest last February) — then almost won it in the final seconds with a shot that struck the bar.
David Moyes gives his thoughts on today's match 🗣️
— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 10, 2024
“I had a feeling we needed to get him on. It was the sort of game we’ve always wanted Danny for. We had so much pressure (on Burnley), he’s a technically gifted finisher — has been all his career,” said Moyes.
“The only problem is Danny’s not scored many goals for us, but today he’s shown what we can do if we can get the balls in and around the box. He got us the finishes and that’s what we hoped we would be getting from Danny, where we could use Danny when we’re on top. Hit the bar, had one chalked off and scored another, so it was a good 15-20 minutes for Danny.”
It is a second-half performance that has given Moyes food for thought.
He may struggle to justify starting Ward-Prowse and Phillips again in Thursday’s decider against Freiburg, given their recent struggles. Soucek’s midfield partnership with either one is less effective than when he plays alongside Alvarez. Antonio’s presence up front showed why he merits an inclusion in the starting XI, with Bowen returning to his favoured right flank.
| Position | Team | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 28 | 46 | 64 | |
2 | 28 | 39 | 64 | |
3 | 28 | 35 | 63 | |
4 | 28 | 18 | 55 | |
5 | 27 | 20 | 53 | |
6 | 28 | 0 | 47 | |
7 | 28 | -4 | 43 | |
8 | 28 | 6 | 42 | |
9 | 28 | -2 | 41 | |
10 | 27 | 12 | 40 | |
11 | 26 | 1 | 36 | |
12 | 28 | -4 | 35 | |
13 | 27 | -12 | 32 | |
14 | 28 | -15 | 29 | |
15 | 28 | -12 | 26 | |
16 | 28 | -10 | 25* | |
17 | 28 | -16 | 24 | |
18 | 27 | -17 | 21 | |
19 | 28 | -35 | 14 | |
20 | 28 | -50 | 14 | |
*Deducted six points |
This is an important week for Moyes. West Ham reaching the quarter-finals of a European competition for three seasons running under him will be a strong sales pitch when the board review his future at the end of the season.
Failure to do so, and more disjointed first-half performances like this one will only lead to further conjecture over who should be at the helm.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)