IT’S an up and down world being a West Ham supporter, beating Spurs 2-1) away one day, then getting thrashed by Fulham (0-5) a couple of days later. All that, having started the week dropping two valuable points at home to Crystal Palace (1-1).
But overall it has been a promising start to the season for the Hammers.
West Ham sit just outside of the top six of the Premier League. They have progressed to the knock out stages of European competition for the third year running. In June, they won the Europa Conference League, the first trophy since 1980.
Why, many might ask, given how well things seem to be going, is there a constant griping group who want to see the back of manager David Moyes?
Moyes has a claim on results alone to be the most successful manager in the club’s history. He’s saved them from relegation twice — once after the club were put in jeopardy by Slave Bilic in 2018, and Manuel Pellegrini in 2019.
Indeed, the first time, having pulled off the escape act, Moyes was snubbed as the club’s owners went for Pellegrini over his claim for the permanent managerial role.
The club’s form this season has been even more remarkable, given that in effect they spent no money in the summer. The funds received from the sale of Declan Rice and Gianluca Scamacca funded the purchase of Mohammed Kudus, James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Yet, arguably the team is better than ever.
So why the criticism of Moyes?
It mainly comes down to style of play, which is not very exciting. It is quite prescriptive and predictable. Very direct. Hitting teams on the break, rather than dominating possession. An over-reliance on set piece goals and balls down the flanks to cross for big men in the middle. Also, there’s the inflexibility to change the system to suit certain players — a feeling of “it’s my way or the highway.”
But the approach works and Moyes’s result record, given the resources at his disposal, must make him in the top three of managers in the Premier League.
There is much talk about “the West Ham way,” which harks back to the days of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Martin Peters, Trevor Brooking, Alan Devonshire and more recently Paulo Di Canio.
Days when the football was all about attack. You would go to West Ham and always be entertained. The team might lose 4-3 and be fighting relegation more often than not, but it was entertaining.
I have a lot of time for that approach, after all football is entertainment, it’s not war and shouldn’t be all about corporate business.
The unpredictability, though, obviously still exists, given the Spurs and Fulham results.
But the achievements of the Moyes years have appealed to most fans. The purists would say Pellegrini and Bilic were the last two managers to play the West Ham way, and look how that ended.
Moyes probably won’t come back a third time to save the club, after a “big name” has brought them to the verge of relegation.
The whispers for the change of manager come mostly from social media-based football outlets. They struggle for content much of the time, so make a lot of this stuff up. Quoting “experts” and has-been players, with a gripe. Deliberately misinterpreting something said that is then taken out of context. The real concern is that some of these negative narratives seem to be getting into the mainstream.
Fortunately, it seems West Ham’s owners are taking little notice. They stood by Moyes when results got a little sticky last season, and have been rewarded for doing so.
Why now half way through, what looks another successful season, would they sack the manager or make decisions about renewal of his contract next summer? If say, West Ham won the Europa League, and qualified for the Champions League next season, the club would hardly have grounds to change the manager.
Then, what of Moyes himself, who does hold most of the cards. He has done a fantastic job at West Ham, with often limited resources. There must be any number of Premiership clubs who would employ him. The bigger danger, maybe, is that he walks to a more lucrative job, rather than gets the sack.
Something for the boo boys to remember. There is always the mantra about being careful what you wish for — Arsenal fans know a bit about that from the immediate post Arsene Wenger days.
Maybe West Ham fans cannot have it all. They have a successful club, on the verge of good things. The football may not be as exciting as it has been in the past, but it’s getting there.
Why not give David Moyes a bit of praise and support and enjoy the moment, rather than carping about what might or might not be, and looking back to an often mythical age?
