West Ham boss David Moyes tells star he is ‘affecting the team’ with frequent suspensions | Football | Sport
West Ham boss David Moyes has given midfielder Edson Alvarez a public dressing down over his yellow card haul. Alvarez has already missed three Premier League games through suspension this season and will be banned for West Ham’s visit to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League on Thursday.
Moyes has warned the Mexican that he is affecting his side’s performances by missing so many key matches. Alvarez has just returned from a two-match Premier League ban after picking up his 10th booking of the top-flight campaign in March.
In total, Alvarez – who was signed to replace Declan Rice last summer – has been shown a staggering 15 yellow cards across all competitions. Moyes says the Hammers star has been booked “too often” for his liking.
“I think the intensity and the speed is probably where he’s still getting used to the Premier League,” Moyes said. “For us, we’ve not got such a big squad where we can afford too many people to be out.
“We lost him earlier in the season through suspension, we’ve had him out now and we’ll lose him for the game in Leverkusen in midweek as well. It begins to have an effect on you that you’re losing him for so many games.
“He’s been booked too often. We need to try and find a way where he doesn’t put himself in that situation because it affects the team and it has done in recent weeks.”
Moyes insists he will not have a private chat with the 26-year-old as he expects him to have the experience to know that he cannot be booked so often.
The Scot continued: “We’ve missed his presence. He’s been a big influence on us since we signed him at the start of the season. He’s been hugely important to the team.
“I’ve not had a conversation with him because I’d expect him to be experienced enough to understand that you can’t go about getting yellow cards every week. He’s wise enough, he doesn’t need me to tell him.”
Alvarez has been a key player for West Ham when he has been on the pitch, playing in 25 Premier League matches this season. The defensive midfielder has also played six times during his side’s run to the Europa League quarter-final but will miss the first leg against Bundesliga leaders Bayer.
