Football is an extremely fickle game. Down the stretch of last season, West Ham United was fighting to stay out of the drop zone. And with this struggle the seat of manager David Moyes was beginning to warm again. Then in June came the UEFA Europa Conference League title, the club’s first trophy of any sort in a very long time. Moyes was on solid footing to finish out his contract.
This season saw the Hammers start strong, and they weren’t just Europa League qualifying contenders, but actually Champions League qualification contenders. What a difference a year makes.
During the festive period that saw 2022 turn to 2023, the talk about Moyes’ future at the club was that he had none. As the holiday period of 2023, turning to 2024, approached, there was open talk about potential contract extension. What a difference a few weeks makes, as West Ham are winless (4D4L) in 2024 across all competitions. In their last three, all league fixture routs, they have been outscored 11-0 on aggregate.
Some fans are getting restless, with a group of supporters unfurling a “Moyes Out” banner at the most recent loss.
And now the sack watch (for the second time in East London) is on.
According to the Daily Mail, a short list of potential replacements has already been drawn up by the club, and “among the candidates believed to be interesting West Ham are Julen Lopetegui, Steve Cooper and Graham Potter.”
The decision to not extend David Moyes was very astute for WHUFC.
It will be interesting to see if Technical Director Tim Steidten does pull the plug on the Moyes regime, and if so, before the end of this term. Another manager reportedly in danger of potentially losing his gig is Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich. And sure enough, Tuchel is now being linked to the Irons.
Finally, here is a link to an interesting read on the situation.
Football 365 claims that there is a huge disparity between how David Moyes is evaluated as a manager by the media versus by the fans. It makes a lot of great points. They aren’t wrong.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.