West Ham captain Mark Noble has defended David Moyes in his London Standard column.
The skipper says the Scotsman has bought a realistic approach of what is required for a relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League.
Nobes writes: “A word, too, for the manager. He’s been back now for a couple of months and they’ve been difficult with the fixtures he’s faced. What he has brought, though, is a knowledge and a realistic appraisal of what we need. He’s brought in Jarrod because he knows that you need your wingers and strikers to track back and launch into last-ditch tackles because we’re in a relegation battle. We all know that but when it doesn’t happen enough, they are normally the clubs in trouble. Has it happened at say, Wolves and Sheffield United? Yes, every week? Has it happened enough at our club? No.
The manager has laid it on the line. This is where we are and this is what we have to do to get out of this.”
Claret and Hugh say:
David Moyes was the first choice of manager for many supporters to replace Manuel Pellegrini but it was available and prepared to put his reputation on the line after being snubbed after his first time in charge of the Hammers. At the time of Moyes second coming many supporters were calling for Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe whose luck appears to be running out. Bournemouth and West Ham traded places last weekend with the Cherries in the relegation zone in 18th place while West Ham has jumped up to 16th place albeit on goal difference only. Nobes is right, the manager has laid it on the line and we should give him our full support no matter what misgivings we may have.
I’m not gonna lie. I was excited when MP came in but was slightly disappointed that it was at the expense of Moyes who I’ve always liked. I think he’s just what we need and I really like his outlook, philosophy and the things he says in comparison to MP. One particular quote from his presser was “I don’t think you can ever say we play one way; I don’t think that’s the case. I think the opposition dictate what you do as well. It would be completely naïve to think you can just go about it the same way [every week] but I also think you have to try get the best out of the players.” If only MP wasn’t so stubborn / arrogant to think otherwise we may not be in this position in the first place. Good on ya David. Keep on keeping on with another 3 points today. COYI!
I’ve always been a fan of sorts, I was disappointed when he got the arse after keeping us up last time (though I was equally excited at the prospect of Manuel).
I still believe Moyes will keep us up, I believe he will give us a solid base to build from and launch us into next season with hope.
The thing with Moyes is people can see what he achieved with Everton, a club that wasn’t awash with cash at the time he was there. Since then he’s been a victim of the impatience of owners and supporters at all the clubs he’s managed.
Instant success is as rare as rocking horse manure particularly in football. Many talk about the West Ham way and rightly so. The West Ham way used to include longevity for our manager supporting them through thick and thin. Hopefully Moyes can get us through this season and build from there; to be fair I’d stick with him whatever the outcome; he seems a decent principled individual who does things the right way.
I think that’s a very fair assessment. His final couple of games (once we were safe) at the end of his first spell with us were excellent. I just think the owners got a bit carried away with the ‘next level’ idea when they went for Pellegrini instead of seeing what a good job Moyes had done.