Moyes, The Palace, And Resignation

The exit of David Moyes looks increasingly certain as the season enters its final weeks. The beginning of the end starts with West Ham’s cross town visit to take on struggling Crystal Palace

In the end the Europa League exit we were expecting came at the hands of Bayer Leverkusen at the London Stadium on Thursday night . There was no faulting the effort and commitment of the players or the intensity at which West Ham approached the game, but ultimately old legs and the lack of reinforcements to replace them turned the tide.

The Hammers had the German champions on the ropes for much of the opening hour. Alonso was forced into making three tactical substitutions before the second half was underway as his side looked decidedly rattled. And then at around 65 minutes, West Ham ran out of steam. Unused to playing a high press, the demands began to take its toll. With nothing of note on the bench, the game petered out as a contest and even the consolation of becoming the first side to beat Leverkusen this season was lost.

What might have been if West Ham had taken another of their early chances can only be speculated upon. It would have made matters interesting but added time would have been a huge challenge. And with a referee who was becoming increasingly erratic as the game progressed who knows how many players would have been left on the pitch.

If the manager took the same approach to games as a matter of routine, rather than saving it up for occasional must-win European ties, then the ranks of Moyes Out supporters would be nowhere near as numerous. It has been fascinating to watch the narrative switch in the last few days with the now almost universal acknowledgement that Moyes contract will not be renewed. It is now an open secret which I guess will be spun as a face-saving mutual agreement once the final whistle sounds on May 19. The manager packing his bags with the claim that he had rejected a new deal.

As I have said before, the history books will present Moyes time at West Ham in a positive light. Although it may not be remembered quite as fondly by a good many of those who were there and paying attention. I am not personally sold on the idea that he has done a superb job. There were, of course, highlights – exciting counter-attacking football in the 2020/21 season and the memorable night in Prague – but the multiple flaws cannot be ignored. The dour, safety-first nature of the football; the inferiority complex against top sides; the absence of tactical flexibility; poor in-game management and use of substitutions; the obsession with running with a tiny squad; players played out of position; and the lack of trust in youth. If and when he goes, he will leave the club with the smallest/ oldest squad in the Premier League, and the need for an urgent summer rebuild. And this despite record breaking investment in new players during four years in charge.

 With both manager and player recruitment on the cards, it will make for a double whammy of incoming speculation during the summer months. Clearly, the managerial situation needs to be resolved as the priority, if only to quell fears over some of the unimaginative names being thrown around. Not sure I would be excited by the appointment of Graham Potter but others – Thomas Tuchel, Arne Slot, Kieran McKenna – sound intriguing. The benchmark is not to hire someone who is better than we currently have, but to hire the best man for the job of bringing entertaining football to a second level Premier League club. Another name to throw in the ring is Sebastian Hoeneß who has done an outstanding job at Stuttgart in the shadow of Alonso.

If the pundits are right – unlikely I know – there will be a long line of suitors ready to employ the newly available David Moyes. We will wait to see how well that turns out.

Between now and then, West Ham have the contractual obligation to complete another five Premier League games, starting with today’s fixture against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Theoretically, there is still a target of European qualification for the Hammers, but it is looking to be an increasingly outside bet after last weekend’s loss at home to Fulham. The way I see it is a maximum three or four points from the remaining games with a 9th or 10th placed finish.

Palace pulled off a shock win at Liverpool on Sunday to record only their second win in ten games. It has been a less than spectacular start to his Crystal Palace career for manager Oliver Glasner, who holds a 100% record in games against David Moyes – from his tenure at Eintracht Frankfurt. Glasner has been hampered by injuries to key players and his side still need the comfort of a few more points to push away any thoughts of relegation. They will see today as one of the best opportunities in their run-in for the three points needed to ensure safety. Defensively they look suspect but carry a major attacking threat from the flanks through Eze and Olise. Wharton in the centre of midfield has also looked a genuine prospect.

West Ham have several injury concerns going into the game to add to the usual post-Thursday malaise. Among the doubtful are Alphonse Areola, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jarrod Bowen, Nayef Aguerd, and someone called Kalvin Phillips. There should, however, be recalls for Lucas Paqueta and Emerson after their midweek suspensions.  It could mean one last run-out for veteran Angelo Ogbonna who strangely always make the backline appear more secure. Otherwise, the lineup is unlikely to feature any surprises.

My head says defeat, my heart says a scrappy draw. That’s how low expectations are. COYI!

21 thoughts on “Moyes, The Palace, And Resignation”

  1. Thanks Geoff for a balanced view – makes a pleasant change from some of the vitriol spewed against Moyes while at the same time highlighting his shortcomings

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    1. Hi Zahama, I’m not a fan of David Moyes style of football but it would be foolish to have a personal hatred for him. I just don’t think he is what is needed to mpve West Ham forward in a way that is entertaining to watch

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  2. Excellent appraisal of the situation with Moyes I can’t believe the state of the squad after the money spent by Moyes. Sheffield Utd is his level in my opinion

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    1. Imagine starting next season with a younger, dynamic Manager, looking to play attacking, creative football, and a team with three new faces in key positions.What a dream!

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    2. Imagine starting next season with a younger, dynamic Manager, looking to play attacking, creative football, and a team with three new faces in key positions.What a dream!

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      1. It’s a hope to hold onto during the summer. The transger window should be revealing. I don’t see the way frward for a club like West Ham chasing players valued at £40 or £50 million. The list of expensive flops is disheartening. The policy as to be younger players who we might end up selling at a profit.

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  3. Hi Geoff, another excellent article giving a balanced view, which so many reports fail to do. I have been very down in the past few weeks but the Leverkusen game restored in 45 minutes my faith. Why can Moyes seemingly not understand that his largely negative tactics have been the reason for our seasons downfalls. I have read a few articles saying that Lorenzo was shocked by WH performance hence his three early substitutions. For Moyes to say “there is no need to discuss the future until May” is ridiculous. The club needs to know about any managerial change now and not our usual attitude of spending the first half of summer looking for a manager who then has to look at new signings. Most players want to know who their manager is going to be before committing to a new club. Joke of the year from Moyes that he “expects to win out last 5 games and be on the fringe of Europe”. WH management please be thinking like a big club and put our future first. Regards Michael Batchelor

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    1. Hi Michael, I’m fair;y certain the club know that Moyes will be leaving. And hopefully they are well down the road to finding a replacement. The unknown is that the summer is peak time for manager comings and goings and it could turn into a competitive market.

      It’s weird that every now and again the team show what they can do when the shackles are off. But then it is traight back to plan A of ten men behind the ball. Let’s see what today brings.

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  4. I don’t know a lot about Steidten, Geoff. Wasn’t he responsible for Alonso going to Leverkusen? And some of their team too? Hopefully he has a big say in the goings on in the summer.

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    1. Steidten was certainly involved with building the team at Leverkusen. I believe he was not the top guy in recruitment there, which is why he left, but made a major contribution to be Alonso’s appointment and some of the players that were brought in.

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  5. Many thanks for the usual excellent article Geoff. Just responding to Richard…There’s a good resume of Steidten’s previous roles on the website Squawka.

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    2. Thanks John – just read through it. Who would we want to oversee recruitment policy – Steidten or Moyes – after reading the article? Not a difficult one to answer!

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  6. The list of hugely overpaid, underachieving players under DM must be such a worry to the owners. TS, by contrast, is known in Germany as der Perlentaucher…’the pearl diver’…not without reason. I hope this guy will be entrusted with mapping out the next few years for the club, and that includes finding a new manager. Perhaps top players like Paqueta may even then want to stay, and the club will move on from being a combination of stepping stone and elephants’ graveyard.

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    1. Not the most imaginative or exciting appointment to my mind. Certainly the type of profile that Sullivan would go for but assume it would be a wider board decision these days. I wonder how well he would work with Steidten?

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      1. It seems Lopetegui and Amorim were ‘offered’ by the same ‘intermediaries’ and interviewed. But Steidten’s big pal is Tuchel…Lots of twists and turn yet, I think! (Silva, O’Neil, Slot, Will Still, Big Sam, Little Sam…)

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      2. It seems Lopetegui and Amorim were ‘offered’ by the same ‘intermediaries’ and interviewed. But Steidten’s big pal is Tuchel…Lots of twists and turn yet, I think! (Silva, O’Neil, Slot, Will Still, Big Sam, Little Sam…)

        Liked by 1 person

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