David Moyes admits he is relieved with James Ward-Prowse’s surprise England snub with the West Ham midfielder set for period of rest after key role in win over Nottingham Forest
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David Moyes admitted he is relieved James Ward-Prowse has been overlooked for England as West Ham continued to reap the benefits of his poor deliveries in their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest.
The midfielder took center stage, tapping Jarrod Bowen and Tomas Soucek into the corners as West Ham ended a three-match losing streak in the Premier League.
With Ward-Prowse providing nine assists since his £30m move from Southampton in August, including one against Olympiacos in midweek, there is growing bafflement that he has not played for Gareth Southgate since June 2022.
Moyes sees their loss as West Ham’s gain. He said: “I’m really happy because he’s getting a little bit of rest this week. With the number of games we have played in this period between international breaks, we have played game after game.
“James helps a lot. I think Gareth Southgate will always think about him, but Gareth has so many quality players to choose from. James is sitting there waiting to see if he has any injury problems.’
David Moyes has admitted he is relieved by James Ward-Prowse’s surprising English criticism
Moyes praised the quality of Ward-Prowse’s deliveries and is keen for him to be rested this week
Moyes added: ‘Let’s be honest, he’s world class in his deliveries and if I were him I’d be disappointed that the other boys haven’t scored more with his deliveries.’
West Ham’s save to draw the match from 2-1 was a sign of Forest’s fortunes on the road since they were promoted in 2022.
Manager Steve Cooper was furious with their defence, especially when he conceded the equalizer at 2-2 within two minutes of taking the lead.
He said: ‘I think if we had drawn 2-2 I would have been disappointed.
‘I can’t look beyond the goals we’ve conceded. We gave them a goal at the start, worked our way back into it and it’s frustrating to concede a corner five seconds after kick-off and defend like we did.
‘The third goal comes from our throw-in, it’s another corner and we haven’t done our job. Whether the ball coming in is brilliant or mediocre, you can stick with your man.
“We know we are doing much better things away from home, but we just got a result a certain way, and to lose it this way was our own fault, I can’t look past that.”