West Ham United boss David Moyes has told Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison he must be “prepared to take the hits” if he continues to showboat during matches.
The Brazilian international, who joined Spurs for a club-record £60million fee in the summer, sparked controversy during Antonio Conte’s side’s 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest on Sunday, with the former Everton man ball juggling mid-game, leading to Brennan Johnson and Neco Williams bundling in on him withing seconds of him doing it, getting Johnson booked.
The incident has led to mass debate across the footballing world with Forest manager Steve Cooper describing it as disrespectful, which Spurs boss Conte disagreed with after the game at the City Ground.
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Asked for his thoughts on the mid-game showboating from the Brazilian, Hammers boss Moyes explained that it is not something he likes to see and that if he is to persist in doing it, he should be prepared for the consequences and rough challenges he may receive as a result of it.
“No, I don’t think there is,” said Moyes when asked about if there was room for it in the game.
“I think football in all countries there’s no room for ball juggling whether it is in this one or any other ones, or whether it be in non-league or the Premier League. If you are talented enough to do that, you need to be strong enough to take the hits.”
Moyes was also asked if West Ham’s upcoming opponents, Spurs, have the capabilities of putting together a charge to be in a title race this season, having started the campaign with 10 points from 12 in their opening four games of the season.
The Scottish boss feels that with the World Cup break seeing a six-week mid-season gap taking place between mid-November and Boxing Day, early season momentum is key and that catching out the bigger teams on an off day could really put any side in the mix, leading to more frustrations at West Ham’s disappointing start to the season.
“Title contenders is a big word for a lot of teams but I actually think this year could be a strange year in the Premier League with the World Cup,” added Moyes. “Someone can get off to a great start and it could change due to that, or players get injured and cannot recover.
“I really hoped we could have got off to a good start. If you can get in the mix early, November doesn’t look too far away, you might find yourselves in there with a chance.
“We have seen outstanding teams in Man City and Liverpool and you never know, if you catch one of those on an off day, maybe you can try to push yourself in there. Leicester did a good job of that.”
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