The David Moyes and Lukasz Fabianski press conferences this afternoon may well have angered some West Ham fans.
West Ham take on Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League tomorrow night, and David Moyes and Lukasz Fabianski faced the media for their press conferences.
The Hammers lost 2-0 to Leverkusen in the first-leg out in Germany last week, and in fairness they were on another level to us.
However, anything can happen in the second-leg, and West Ham have already been handed a monumental boost with Jarrod Bowen having been pictured back in training.
That said, it’s still be claimed that Moyes could be missing up to seven first-team players for the clash with the Bundesliga side.
Whatever happens, we just need the players who start the game to be right up for it and to pose Leverkusen some problems early doors.
However, the Hammers fans have been brought back down to earth after the latest round of press conferences it seems…
Negative David Moyes and Lukasz Fabianski press conferences
Firstly, I totally appreciate the fact that Moyes and the Hammers goalkeeper would not be openly giving their game-plan away to Leverkusen.
However, it’s clear to see from their comments that we’ll be setting up one way against Leverkusen.
On a night where we need to score two goals at an absolute minimum, both the gaffer and Fab highlighted how patience will be crucial at the London Stadium.
First up, Fabianski responded when asked how he and his teammates will approach the game tomorrow night, as quoted by WHUFC.com:
“The game-plan has to be smart – we can’t go crazy from the first whistle against a really good team like Leverkusen. I think you have to control the tempo of the game and then choose the right moments to attack. We don’t have to rush anything – we have to stay patient and take our opportunities.”
Moyes then echoed the same sentiment as the 38-year-old goalkeeper:
“We went to Leverkusen and got to the 83rd minute before they scored their first goal. It might take us that long – we have to be patient, and play until the end.”
Whilst I definitely don’t expect us to approach the game in a cavalier manner, I do think that we need to take the game to Leverkusen from the first whistle.
I don’t think we should approach the clash with a gung-ho mindset, but I feel like we need to unsettle them a bit.
The worst thing we can do is sit back and allow them to get a foothold in the game. They are that good that if they gain any kind of momentum, they’ll tear us apart.
I may well be proved wrong, but I think the worse thing West Ham can do in the Europa League quarter-final second-leg clash with Bayer Leverkusen is to sit back and wait for something good to happen.
The players need to show a big response and give the home fans something to shout about from the very first whistle.
A patient and passive approach to the game is not what’s needed in my opinion – quite the opposite in fact.
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