Flynn Downes of West Ham United during the FA Cup match between Derby County and West Ham United at Pride Park, Derby on Monday 30th January 2023. (Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
David Moyes has been discussing Flynn Downes and his slow integration into the West Ham United first team.
Moyes brought Downes, 24, to the London Stadium from Swansea City in the summer transfer window for around £14 million (Wales Online).
READ ALSO: PL manager says he tried to sign ‘outstanding’ West Ham 25-year-old in the summer
His lack of minutes this season has been hard to fathom, especially after seeing his exceptional display for the Hammers against Derby County in the FA Cup on Monday night.
Downes seems to have absolutely everything needed to be a truly top-class operator at the Premier League level, yet Moyes has given him just 853 minutes of action this season, with only 283 of those coming in the Premier League (Transfermarkt).
In my opinion, Downes makes us so much a better team when he plays. The ex-Swansea ace is an archetypal defensive midfielder. He is absolutely brilliant at breaking up play and quickly moving the ball on – something that enables us to get up the pitch so much faster in transition.
He is tenacious, and aggressive and has a really impressive engine on him. The midfielder is perfectly built for the modern game, but he’s far from a physical one-trick pony.
Downes is a very good passer of the football and possesses impressive technical ability.
The former Swansea City ace has energy in abundance and has all the attributes that West Ham is currently lacking in the middle of the park. Yet Moyes continues to show resistance to starting him regularly – certainly in the Premier League…
David Moyes shares baffling Flynn Downes verdict
The Scot was speaking to reporters this afternoon and responded when asked if Downes will be given more Premier League minutes during the second half of the season, as quoted by Football. London:
“I do. I think Flynn’s come on, he played really well against Liverpool and Manchester United in earlier Premier League games this season. I think the level of competition has been hard for Flynn. We’ve brought in Lucas Paqueta who is proving to be probably a deeper lying midfielder player then a 10 which we we brought Flynn Downes in to give us cover for Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice, Manuel Lanzini. So Flynn’s done well, I think he’s improving. I don’t know how many players I’ve brought in from the Championship but let me tell you, it is a lot over the years. People like Joleon Lescott, Leighton Baines, Tim Cahill, can go on and on. And quite often a lot of them don’t hit the ground running, a lot of them don’t come into the first team. Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka for example I think didn’t play for me for six months when I was at Everton. We brought them out the Championship and they went on to be England full internationals so sometimes they have to be patient, wait their time, wait for opportunities and hopefully Flynn comes under that category and goes on to be a top player.“
What I don’t understand here is why Moyes feels the need to talk about players from 15-20 years ago. The game has moved on and things are different now.
Young players are no longer fearless and it’s like the old adage if you’re good enough you’re old enough.
More to the point, every time Downes plays he excels. At no point has he looked out of place when playing for the West Ham first team? It’s like Moyes is determined to hold back the 24-year-old by sticking to a rulebook that was relevant 20 years ago.
I really feel like Moyes’s approach to football, and management of his players is still stuck in the early 2000s. Sometimes you’ve just got to throw these young players in and see what they’re made of. It’s not as if Downes is a teenager either – he’s 24!
David Moyes has got to take the handbrake off regarding Flynn Downes if we are to see the midfielder flourish in my opinion.
