10 Comments

Thank you Mr Moyes

Thank you Mr Moyes

 

By Simon Leyland

After 1009 games in professional football management, David Moyes has finally lifted a major trophy…with West Ham.

From the moment Jarrod Bowen started his run late in the game in Prague, you could sense it..

An eye of the needle pass from Lucas Paqueta, a perfect finish from Bowen, the West Ham end erupting with joy and the Hammers’ technical area echoing the chaos. It was special.

That was it. That was the sucker punch. Fiorentina had done exceptionally well to quell the storm once inside the Eden Arena, pulling back level after West Ham took the lead from the penalty spot. But conceding on the cusp of injury time was just too much. This was West Ham’s moment…. Moyes’ moment.

If it wasn’t Moyes’ moment during those 90 or so minutes, it most certainly was when that full-time whistle blew, just as much as it was West Ham’s. The man from Glasgow had finally done it. He’d won his first major honour, 25 years into his managerial career.

He’s seen it all, has Our Supremo. A quiet yet commendable playing career finished in 1998, and saw Moyes roll straight into football management with Preston North End, the club at which he’d retired .

Soon after, we’d be talking about the Scot as one of the most promising up-and-coming managers in the game, for his efforts with Everton throughout the 2000s. A steely look, a no-nonsense approach and a desire to stamp his authority. Old school, this lad.

But no amount of success with the Toffees would’ve ever prepared him for the opportunity he’d be handed in 2013; being hand-picked by Sir Alex Ferguson to replace him at Manchester United. And you could tell, because he fell flat on his face.

Fifteen years or so of hard work from the dugout, entirely undone in about 10 months or so, Good going, Dave. Was fun while it lasted.

Except that wasn’t the full story. Moyes went from hot property to Mr. Misunderstood. A bit of an identity crisis followed in the form of a failed venture to Spain to manage Real Sociedad, but we won’t talk about that.

The reputation had been seemingly permanently damaged, with the Glaswegian only seemingly worthy of relegation-level jobs from here on in. After steering West Ham to safety in 2018 and leaving the club, you’d think his story in Stratford was complete. Nope. We now know that this was just the beginning.

A year later and Moyesy was back in the dance at the London Stadium., certainly not the most popular decision at the time, but the Irons knew he could do the job. Been through the ringer and back.

At no point, though, did the appointment ever look like one that would see West Ham embark on two European tours and finish the second one by winning their first major trophy in 43 years.

“You don’t get many moments like this!” proclaimed Moyes after the full-time whistle. Humble in victory. At least for now.

To be the man to guide West Ham to that first major honour in over 40 years is an achievement that will forever be remembered, and ensures he goes down in our history. And rightly so. He’s far from perfect, but he knows his stuff. Old school. A pragmatist. A dying breed.

Thank you David

 

10 comments on “Thank you Mr Moyes

  1. I am delighted for Moyes to get his deserving reward after all these years service to football. But his stubborn, defensive, mis management of the team nearly cost us our PL status and the same nearly cost us in the final. I hope he decides to walk away. If he stays I can see nothing changing. He will still play the same system and still play too defensively and he will again show complete bias to certain players. Well done Moyes personally and I hope you have the common sense to walk away now. He deserves no thanks for us winning our first trophy in 43 years but just a recognition he was the manager. If you think I am being harsh look at the stats from the game, from the season etc.. Just one example of how he nearly cost us the final and football people will understand, as an example Fiorentina pressed high, we suffered hugely to get our foot on the ball. The solution we needed a footballer like Lanzini in there with Rice that had the ability to beat that press. Moyes could not see it, kept Soucek in the role and we struggled big time for the entire game. There are more examples I can give from the game the other night but football people see them. So there should be no thanjs to Moyes, the truth was his approach again made it difficult for the players to perform at their best. He simply has to go..

  2. Personally, the most frightening thing is that we would allow him to spend the Declan money. I’m just praying he’ll decide to leave of his own accord. Hopefully Celtic will offer him a job; he may just be tempted.

  3. are you really a WEST HAM FAN/SUPPORTER
    you have not let this go until you get what you want for gods sake let it go.
    i support the team the fans and also the manager no matter what. sometimes we dont like what we see but look at other teams they are not so good also with so called the best of the best managers. sorry but you are far from being a fan/supporter of OUR club.
    this has gone on long enough using this site for your own personal use

  4. This is a forum for opinions, it is certainly not a forum for personal attacks on others, if you dont understand that you should certainly refrain from commenting on these forums.

  5. These players and manager have just won us a European cup giving us some of our finest moments and memories in our lifetimes as West Ham fans. I think the vast majority of fans will give them the credit they truly deserve.

  6. I agree with a lot of what you’ve written johnham1 …..but I strenuously disagree with the ‘He deserves no thanks for us winning our first trophy in 43 years’ line, when the opposite is true.
    When David Moyes does leave – whether it be now or at the end of his contract – I hope he takes Flynn Downes with him. Downes is a typical Moyes player who possesses everything that’s wrong with the Englidh game. He’s our worst signing since Jordan Hugill.

  7. The players were absolutely magnificent even while being held back by the tactics of Moyes. I love the club, I respect the owners alot more than most fans and I have absolutely nothing against Moyes but is he going to change, no. I am just stating what I think and I certainly dont have any issue if people have a different opinion. This is one of the brilliant offerings that this forum gives but it certainly is not here to be used for personal attacks..

  8. David Sullivan will already know when he will sell up. He will also know who he will sell his shares (and the shares of the Gold estate) to. I believe that day is much nearer than most of us imagine it will be. Having said that, David Moyes is as good a safekeeper of the clubs’ status as anyone around. The syncronicity of the club being sold very soon, along with Celtic wanting Moyes as their new manager could yet work in everyone’s best interests.

  9. The players were fantastic to a man and Moyes played exactly the right team. The team picked itself. It was especially important I felt to play the two check boys in what was and Is their home stadium. The decision to play Emerson with his experience of European finals was also the correct one and the decision to start Benrahma instead of Fornals also proved decisive. The rest of the team picked itself.

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