David Moyes insists Graeme Souness was WRONG for Declan Rice claims
David Moyes says Graeme Souness was WRONG to suggest West Ham skipper Declan Rice may be better in defence… as the Hammers boss praises his midfield star’s display in their draw with Chelsea
- David Moyes has defended West Ham captain Declan Rice after Saturday’s draw
- Moyes rejected accusations made by Graeme Souness in his Daily Mail column
- The Hammers boss labelled Rice as a ‘top midfield player’ for his performances
David Moyes was polite about it, but ultimately, West Ham’s manager wanted to let Graeme Souness know that he was wrong.
Wrong to say Declan Rice is not a central midfielder in his column in Saturday’s Daily Mail. Wrong to say he might be a better central defender. Wrong to say he does not create enough to be considered an elite man in the middle.
‘Graeme Souness is a good judge,’ Moyes said after yesterday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea. ‘If you’re talking about top midfielders, Graeme Souness is as good as anybody, certainly from me watching.
‘But I think Declan Rice is a top midfield player and he has been showing that week in, week out. Today, he did a great job for us because he wasn’t well.’
This may not have been Rice’s best day but then, as Moyes says, he was playing with a virus. The same virus which meant Aaron Cresswell did not make the West Ham squad at all.
David Moyes has defended West Ham captain Declan Rice in response to Graeme Souness’ recent comments in his Daily Mail column
Rice demonstrated his defensive qualities in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea at the London Stadium
Rice (left) was labelled as a ‘top midfield player’ by his West Ham boss but was outclassed in Saturday’s draw by Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez (right)
Souness used his column to argue the best midfielders have three attributes – they can create, they can score and they can defend. According to our columnist, Rice is a master in only one of those categories.
Rice displayed his defensive expertise here, stomping out Chelsea attacks in spite of his illness.
But up against Enzo Fernandez, it was Chelsea’s £105million man who showed more of his creative side in this draw. His assist for Joao Felix was a peach of a ball in behind West Ham’s back line.
Fernandez is the current British transfer record while Rice is tipped to take over as the future one, and it is his defending that he is known for.
When Lucas Paqueta had to be substituted for West Ham, who hope it isn’t a recurrence of a previous shoulder injury, Moyes’ side lost a great deal of creativity from midfield.
Moyes rejected claims made by Souness that Rice is only a defensive midfielder
Rice wasn’t at his best in Saturday’s London derby but was playing with an illness
Rice tried to chip in, but as Souness says, that isn’t his forte. Tomas Soucek tried to help, too, but his greatest contribution was a diving save to stop Conor Gallagher’s shot, which Chelsea felt should have resulted in a late penalty.
The discussion surrounding Rice’s position will continue. But as far as Moyes is concerned, it’s a dead debate – he’s a central midfielder.
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