You can’t fire once in a derby and play without commitment, Sky expert fails to understand West Ham’s performance against Tottenham

A boring performance, a 0:2 loss and a return to the relegation zone. West Ham didn’t manage Sunday’s game at Tottenham in terms of play and results and are third from bottom in the table. The fans are far from satisfied, as former Scotland international and Sky Sports expert Graeme Souness understands.

West Ham did not go into Sunday’s derby in an ideal frame of mind. He was unnerved by Saturday’s wins by rivals in the fight for salvation. Southampton robbed Chelsea 1-0, Bournemouth succeeded at Wolves 1-0 and Everton beat Leeds at home by the same ratio.

Still, the Hammers started actively and were the better side for the first ten minutes. But then they crawled back and left the creativity to their opponents, who didn’t use it until half time. In any case, it was a dull spectacle for the fans with seven defensive West Ham players in the line-up.

“Moyes left out Fornals, Lanzini and Benrahma. They are creative players and I would have started with them. I would have worn them out, they would have kicked off the battle,” former Liverpool midfielder and Scotland international Graeme Souness told Sky Sports.

Alongside strikers Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, Tomas Soucek also had more offensive instructions, but apart from a good start in which he created two chances, he didn’t get anything decent.

Tottenham also showed their team quality after the change of sides and won 2: 0 with goals from Emerson Royal and Heung Min Son. The visitors, on the other hand, showed why they have scored only ten goals in the last ten rounds, lacking shots and commitment.

“The fans are upset because they expect the players to hate their opponents and test their strength in the derby. But West Ham had one shot on target and that’s not how a proper team works,” continued Souness.

Yet West Ham have loved these types of games in the last two years. They have regularly outplayed the favourites, made them uncomfortable, and it is thanks to these points that they have qualified for the European Cups twice in a row.

They benefited from standard situations, Tomas Soucek was in the form of his life, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop were also great headers. This year, however, the Hammers’ aerial power has disappeared, and with Michail Antonio no longer doing as much on the spearhead either, one can’t be surprised at the 18th place finish.

“It’s up to the players. We talked about the fact that they were one of the best in standard. They don’t attack with the same aggression as they used to, that’s why they don’t score goals from corners and stuff like that,” Souness added.

Source: Sky Sports