From the moment David Moyes walked back into the London Stadium having been allowed to leave in 2018 he was a man on a mission!
Despite all the talk of contract extensions which haves been doing the rounds, that particular issues wasn’t on his mind. Instead there were other more pressing matters on the line.
The man had experienced a rough time since leaving Everton, bravely or stupidly taking on Manchester United from the most successful manager of this generation – that was never gonna work out!
Next came the odd decision to take on Real Sociedad – new country, new culture and again a brave shot in the dark – it was no surprise when that went wrong.
But his next disaster was self inflicted – Sunderland, under chairman Ellis Stafford who would barely spend a penny in the transfer market, was a big, big, mistake and Moyes took the rap for relegation – unfairly.
Onto the Irons and a successful relegation battle before a lengthy spell out of work and a return with a lot at stake – the biggest issue: his reputation.
Moysie was determined to ensure he wasn’t seen as the Yesterday’s Man many considered and as he started to rebuild his managerial reputation, his next priority was to shed a defensive image and provide something in tune with the the West Ham Way.
He’s doing that!
Tactically astute, we have seen him turn Arthur Masuaku into a serious player and Michail Antonio into one of the League’s best strikers.
He will be looking for a top ten finish at which stage he will have re-established himself as a quality manager worthy of that contract that one or two judges want to give him now.
That would be a daft move but I have no doubt that in reality discussions will start around Christmas and he will be installed for another two years reputation restored, and being seen again as a manager worthy of much respect from opposition teams.
He looks like the right bloke in the right place at the right time!
David moyes at utd reminds me of the time when Cloughy took over from Revie at Leeds.I have so much respect for David because of the way he was treated by the board & some of our fans,yet he has come back and improved some of the squad and has made some good buys.My only gripe was the signing of Hugill,but have forgiven him for that.
Perfect fit for us right now. Hammers always look better under an autocratic, demanding leader. Keep whipping them into shape Moysey! COYI
Agree totally with everything that you have written Hugh. I also feel that the poor marks on his CV which are often used to beat him, in my book they were almost impossible jobs for the same reasons that you noted.
Also, his conversion of Arnautovic should be added to that list alongside Cresswell’s re-emergence as part of a back three, to fantastic form.
Although two-year contracts are standard these days and I’m not suggesting this should change, but Moyes has all the signs of a manager who is capable of creating a legacy here for us……. Hopefully, our chairmen can see this and are able to back him on future crucial signings.
I have to admit I was a moyes doubter before mainly because of his time in Spain and at Sunderland but when you look into it any manager would have had their work cut out at those clubs. Very hard to manage in Spain with the culture and language barriers. Im surprised he took that in but I’m guessing he was looking to reinvent himselfs bit and keep working, keep learning. He should never have taken over the sinking ship that was Sunderland that was just a mistake. No one could have saved them. Moyes has turned me round and earnt my respect since then for a number of reasons. I think we now have at West Ham the moyes of old, the moyes that was so successful years ago at Everton on what was a a tight budget compared to most teams competing for the European spots each year. I like the way he sticks to his guns and keeps the same team when it’s performing so well. This is despite all the armchair managers telling him what to do, what players to change, what formation to play etc. I like the way he works so hard, continually seeking to improve the club. he has a reputation for it and it clearly has rubbed off on his players. I like the way gets the best out of the players at his disposal, again he has a reputation for it. Not just a reputation but a track record at previous clubs and at ours. As many others have mentioned we need only look at how he has improved players like arnoutavic, Antonio, Masuaku, Cresswell.
A friend and Magpie fan laughed when we brought in Pellegrini instead of keeping Moyes. Suggested we hadn’t been watching.
Now with Moyes’ second coming there are true believers. I hope he helps develop our academy players so they play first team ball.