Tomas Soucek has all but confirmed what many of us already suspected: West Ham’s players have stopped adhering to David Moyes’ instructions.
Speaking to the club website following the 5-0 loss to Chelsea, the Czech midfielder said: “I have to say we really deserved it because we did not do what we were told,” he admitted. “We did some good individual things but not as a team. Going forward and backward, we did many things wrong, and we got punished for that. On the other hand, we could have scored a few goals, but we conceded a lot of easy goals.
“As a team, we need to have great spirit and be compact all the time. If someone goes pressing, someone else should cover, and the opposite cannot work like that, and we got punished for that today.”
It’s stating the obvious to suggest the players did not do as they were told, that was apparent to all who watched the capitulation at Stamford Bridge. What is more concerning is their obvious lack of effort which indicated their reluctance to run for their manager.
West Ham have conceded a staggering 70 Premier League goals this season, and the Hammers’ form in 2024 places us in the bottom three. Clearly, Moyes’ methods have failed spectacularly, and his players seem to have lost complete and utter faith in his tactics, if not in the man himself.
Whilst Soucek likely intended to defend his manager, by admitting that the team failed to follow instructions, he has inadvertently revealed an uncomfortable truth.