Moyes blames regulars, so what next

By Hughie Southon

REUTERS/Craig Brough

David Moyes is claiming his regulars are letting him down …so why is he using them?

He isn’t naming names but it’s pretty apparent to anyone with a pair of eyes that Tomas Soucek has gone so far backwards he is almost out of sight as the player saw here a couple of seasons back.

There are excuses for Vladi Coufal following a two month lay-off through injury but one wonders whether Soucek’s problems revolve around any issues he may have with the manager which saw plenty of stories written in the summer.

They were claiming he would not receive a new deal and that he was unhappy at comments the manager had made about his abilities but with neither Declan Rice or Jarrod Bowen anywhere the level we would expected or have seen, there may be more to it than that.

Maybe Mark Noble is being missed in the dressing room influence, maybe the new players aren’t of the quality required but how will we know if, for example, the likes of Downes – who had such an outstanding Conference game – aren’t used.

Bowen is simply not himself at all and Moyes has spoken in the past of maybe Antonio and Scamacca playing – is hasn’t been tried.

However, the reality is that ultimately it has to be the manager’s job to get it right as in any walk of life and if it doesn’t come together – which of course it might – he will take and accept any consequences which come his way.

Don’t expect them for a while, should that be the case however, as Gold and Sullivan are very reluctant sackers.