Moyes let down by West Ham’s lack of quality throughout
David Moyes’ life at West Ham didn’t get off to the best of starts. But it wasn’t really the Scotsman’s fault.
If David Moyes had visions of getting his life at West Ham off to a winning start, they were misguided. The Hammers were shown to off quality compared to a decent Watford side. But the match could have ended up a different story.
The fact remains that for large parts of the game Hammers just weren’t good enough. They played too narrow and despite trying to make life hard for Watford they were not intense enough in the areas that mattered. As you’ll see below Watford were allowed too many shots, and the Hammers were not good enough to capitalize on their own chances.
The Numbers don’t lie
If you haven’t come across expected goals as a statistic, it’s not too complicated. Statisticians work out how many goals are scored per attempt from different types of attempts from certain areas, and assign each attempt an xG value. This is added up to work out how many goals each team should have scored. However, West Ham have defied this statistic this time round. Despite having fewer chances, they should have scored more.
xG map for Watford - West Ham. Once or twice every season, Heurelho Gomes turns into the best goalkeeper on the planet for a match. pic.twitter.com/jTpcLAgvp0
— Caley Graphics (@Caley_graphics) November 19, 2017
Kouayte should have scored two, one in the first half when his tame, placed shot was pushed away and again in the second hen he blazed over after a neat cutback. Arnautovic also had a golden double opportunity when we were 1-0 down. However Gomes made a neat double save, but he should have scored. Lanzini also had one cleared off the line late on, which is just indicative of the way things are going right now.
At the other end our goals were systematic of more issues at the back. The first a bobbling ball should have been cleared a few times but wasn’t, and the second was poor from Reid. When given the chance to find a teammate, or get the ball wide and clear, with a simple defensive header he did neither. Instead he found a Watford midfielder in space on halfway.
Next: 4 Things Moyes must change at West Ham
All in all, despite an increased workrate, the Hammers were still not good enough. They lacked composure and team cohesion. Moyes has improved the side, but if the players don’t make the right decisions at key times there’s nothing he can do. This now rests with the men on the pitch.