‘Moyes-ball’ is all too much for Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou as West Ham boss sticks two fingers up to his critics with comeback win
- Tottenham 1-2 West Ham: Ward-Prowse and Bowen claim memorable win
- Spurs threw away another lead as they suffered a fourth defeat in five matches
- It will do Arsenal no harm at all to have Arteta out of sight at Villa Park – It’s All Kicking Off
Men behind the ball. Stay in the contest. Counter when you can. Nick a goal.
These are the staples of ‘Moyes-ball’. It had broken Brighton and Chelsea this season, and Tottenham were the latest victims on Thursday night.
For David Moyes, this was justification for how he sets his side up against the Premier League’s more expansive teams.
Two fingers up to the critics who say he has no Plan B.
We know how Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou believes football should be played, but Moyes had the antidote here, using Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus as his countering chiefs.
David Moyes celebrates after West Ham came back from a goal down to beat Tottenham
West Ham secured a memorable 2-1 victory over Tottenham in the Premier League on Thursday
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It was not the prettiest approach. You only needed to scroll through social media at half-time to see what the majority of West Ham fans thought about it. The visitors had passed the ball 92 times, amounting to 23 per cent possession.
It was a long half indeed for West Ham supporters.
Michail Antonio revealed on his BBC podcast this week that Bowen has not fallen in love with his new position of striker, mainly because he has less of the ball. It was interesting to see him back on the right wing here, with Kudus starting up front instead.
When Kudus was signed for £38million from Ajax, there was one clip in particular from last season over which West Ham’s analysts swooned.
It showed him picking up possession in his own half and beating five Vitesse Arnhem players, creating a counter-attack all on his own.
Nobody completed more dribbles in the Dutch league last season and West Ham wanted a slice of that for themselves.
Jarrod Bowen equalised early in the second half as David Moyes’ side were much improved
James Ward-Prowse fired home the winner for the Hammers after his first effort hit the post
Yet we only saw glimpses of Kudus’s knack for sprinting in the first half, as he and Bowen swapped positions.
They combined in the 52nd minute, when Kudus’s long-range attempt on goal fell to Bowen for the equaliser. James Ward-Prowse scored their second.
When a counter-attacking approach does not work, few other styles can inspire such fury from fans, who feel they have wasted 90 minutes of their lives.
When it works, the manager is well within his rights to feel smug, and Moyes’s smile at full time said it all.
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