David Moyes completely ignored a Bayer Leverkusen tip-off from a German football expert and West Ham paid the price.
Hindsight is a wonderful thing, especially when it comes to football.
And had West Ham held on for another few minutes against Bayer Leverkusen many would be hailing a tactical masterclass from David Moyes.
As it is the Hammers went ultra defensive at the BayArena only to lose 2-0 to the German invincibles.
To pour salt in the wound, Lucas Paqueta and Emerson Palmieri will miss the second leg at West Ham next week.
Moyes’ side have a mountain to climb now.
It is one his valiant West Ham side must look to conquer without their Brazilian-born duo and possibly Jarrod Bowen too.
Konstantinos Mavropanos may even be added to the casualty list after he was withdrawn in the second half.
Moyes approach divides opinion but what’s new?
The manager’s tactics in the Europa League quarter-final first leg have divided opinion.
Many feel his low block, ultra-defensive setup was the only option.
Others feel it was the antithesis of brave and simply cowardly tactics which showed zero intent to win the game.
The likes of Azerbajani side Qarabag and Freiburg have scored six goals past Xabi Alonso’s side in three games recently.
But West Ham did not look like scoring in a month of Sundays besides Mohammed Kudus’ tame effort in the first half.
West Ham were run into the ground by the time Leverkusen got their late goals. Both were the result of tired legs and minds.
As debate rages over Moyes’ tactics there is one huge source of frustration for Hammers fans.
That sound advice from a great source simply did not register with the Scot.
Moyes ignored a Bayer Leverkusen tip-off from a German football expert and West Ham paid the price.
Hammers boss ignored tip-off and paid the price
Analyst Kevin Hatchard is a man with extensive knowledge of European and specifically German football.
He is a Sky Sports, talkSPORT and ESPN regular.
Hammers News spoke to Hatchard ahead of the tie.
And he directly warned Moyes not to employ the exact tactics he ended up using.
Hatchard made the tie 60-40 in Bayer’s favour but believed West Ham could burst their bubble if they did not sit deep and invite pressure.
He accepted that West Ham would have to play on the counter attack. But Moyes’ extreme tactics – partly due to Leverkusen’s excellence – served to prove Hatchard spot on.
“I think West Ham’s best chance will be on the counter-attack, as that’s where Bowen, Kudus etc can do damage,” Hatchard told Hammers News last weekend.
“The fear is that I expect West Ham to sit deep for long spells and let Bayer have the ball, and generally when teams do that, Bayer break them down.”
And so it proved.
What’s real bravery?
Whatever way you dress it up West Ham deserved little from the game as there was only one team interested in playing football.
Perhaps Moyes should have been more adventurous as West Ham have proved a much better side when playing on the front foot.
Now the tie looks extremely difficult for his side to turnaround.
But it’s not impossible. If he scraps the all out defence and goes for broke at home and West Ham get a slice of luck and a decent official who knows what might happen.
The manager must open his mind and ears to others with an in-depth knowledge of his opponents in future.