How West Ham United is stepping up to join the big boys
Once notoriously flaky under pressure, they are now a ‘team unafraid of the hardest work’
The Czech energy billionaire Daniel Kretínsky was among those present on Sunday to watch West Ham take on Liverpool, said Henry Winter in The Times. What he saw “was a perfect advertisement for the club he is considering investing in”: not only was there a great atmosphere at the London Stadium, but the afternoon was capped by a thrilling 3-2 victory, which took David Moyes’s team to third in the Premier League, three points behind leaders Chelsea.
West Ham were undoubtedly assisted by Liverpool’s goalkeeper, Alisson, who endured an uncharacteristically torrid afternoon, said Martin Samuel in the Daily Mail. They also benefited from one or two questionable refereeing decisions. But, overall, “the better team won on the day”: West Ham were simply more resilient and determined than their opponents. Once notoriously flaky under pressure, they are now a “team unafraid of the hardest work”.
Since becoming their manager in 2017, Moyes has turned West Ham into a side of “discernibly Moyesian virtues”, said Jonathan Wilson in The Guardian. Superbly well organised, they frustrate opponents by “sitting deep and absorbing pressure”. Yet when opportunities arise, they are adept at deploying the “surging counter-attack”.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
They also “make the most of what they have” – a prime example being set pieces. While some top sides are rather snooty about set plays – seeing them as “an adjunct to the real business of holding possession” – West Ham have doggedly focused on this area: they’re now the Premier League’s foremost dead-ball exponents. Last season, they scored 16 goals from set plays – the most of any team – and the value of the strategy was again clear on Sunday, two of their goals being scored that way.
This match marks a new development in Moyes’s team, said Jeremy Wilson in The Daily Telegraph. Last season, they finished only two places off Champions League qualification – but largely as a result of their “relentless consistency against those clubs around and below them”. Sunday’s win over Liverpool, by contrast, “was a victory against one of the best teams in the world”, one that arrived in east London hoping to set a new club record of 26 undefeated matches in all competitions.
The big question is whether West Ham are contenders for more than just a Champions League place, said BBC Sport. Leicester’s title win in 2015-16 showed remarkable things can happen when “everything comes together” at a club. West Ham have much in common with that Leicester team: an “astute manager” with a knack for getting the most out of his players; and a group of players who are “clearly fighting for each other in every game”. What a “closely fought and unpredictable title battle” this is shaping up to be.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Voters know Biden and Trump all too well'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the Gaza war tearing US university campuses apart?
Today's Big Question Protests at Columbia University, other institutions, pit free speech against student safety
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
DOJ settles with Nassar victims for $138M
Speed Read The settlement includes 139 sexual abuse victims of the former USA Gymnastics doctor
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
The England kit: a furore over the flag
Why everyone's talking about Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
By The Week UK Published
-
Bobby Charlton: England's old-fashioned sporting hero
Obituary Not only was Sir Bobby one of the country's greatest-ever footballers he was lauded for his demeanour on and off the pitch
By The Week UK Published
-
Coco Gauff: a tennis prodigy comes of age with US Open win
American 19-year-old battled back from a set down to claim first grand slam title
By The Week Staff Published
-
Adam and Simon Yates become the first twins to top a Tour de France stage
feature Good news stories from the past seven days
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Ashes: can England mount a glorious comeback?
feature ‘Herculean’ task follows ugly scenes at controversial second test
By The Week Staff Published
-
Football, F1, golf, boxing: are the Saudis taking over?
Talking Point Huge salaries are drawing players to Saudi as kingdom seeks ‘reputational gains’
By The Week Staff Published
-
2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup: fixtures, groups and UK TV coverage
feature Tournament in Australia and New Zealand will be broadcast live on the BBC and ITV
By Mike Starling Last updated
-
‘Genuine visionary’: is Pep Guardiola the greatest of all time?
feature Spaniard has now won two trebles following Man City’s Champions League triumph
By The Week Staff Published