The most balanced David Moyes read yet
As the row rumbles on as to whether he should stay or go at the end of the season the Sky pundit and former Liverpool star has spoken out and clearly sees both sides of the issue from the Hammers fans.
So much has been written on the subject but essentially Carragher believes Moyes and the Irons should become history although he makes it clear that the Scot gave us the best years of our life.
But he believes that Moyes has been our best manager of the Premier League years and that he has performed very well indeed over that time.
Having said that he points out there is a problem with the style of football and agrees with the Irons supporters that has to change probably under a new boss.
Carragher said on Sky Sports’ MNF: “For me David Moyes is a top Premier League manager. I think he’s proven that now at two football clubs. He’s taken Everton and West Ham – two clubs who feel that they maybe should be in a position where they’re challenging for Europe.
Everton at the time were fighting relegation, West Ham when he came in were fighting relegation. He’s now brought both of those clubs into Europe where (you ask) can they get much higher? Tough for them, whoever they bring in.
“That proves what David Moyes’ skill set is. He takes big football clubs who feel they should be higher in the table from the bottom half of the table into the European places. So I think that’s a great job he’s done.
“I think the style is a problem, I do. And I totally get where West Ham supporters are coming from. Because I feel now the style of football David Moyes plays at West Ham is almost moving out of football. We’ve seen better managers than David Moyes lose their jobs on their style. Managers who have won trophies (like) Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Rafa Benitez – they’re almost like the top managers of this style of play.
“The reason I accept and understand, and am totally with what the West Ham supporters’ frustration is, I think the football we’re watching now in the Premier League the only way a supporter accepts a team who sit back, play on the counter attack, wait for set pieces, is a team fighting relegation.
“West Ham are not a team right now who should be thinking about fighting relegation. You mentioned the actual spend as well (£250m net), this is a team with real attacking players. So I get the style concept…
“I want to start with the banner. I think that’s bang out of order the banner. This is a guy who has given you the best night you’ve ever had in your footballing life for 43 years and that European night, the trips that they’ve been on, they’re still in Europe by the way, they’re some of the greatest nights West Ham fans will have. And it’s not just about the football, it’s about going away with your mates, the trips, the memories, the things you got up to, brilliant nights.
“As I said that night they had, the best night since 1980, who knows how long it will be until they win another trophy. The banner, listen forget that, he deserves a lot more respect than that David Moyes. But for me I totally get where the fans are coming from. They want to go to the game and think ‘we’re going to be on the front foot, we’ve got (Lucas) Paqueta, we’ve got (Mohammed) Kudus, why are we sitting back, why are we accepting not even the biggest teams in the world coming to West Ham and dominating like Brighton or other teams that have come up at different times’.
“I actually think it’s better for all parties if they part ways. I’ve said David Moyes has done a brilliant job there. But at the end of the season for me I think if there’s unrest in the crowd and Moyes is not sure whether they’re with him, you don’t need to be getting to October next year and it becomes toxic at that place. He deserves better than that, he’s done a brilliant job at West Ham but the time has come for David Moyes to move on in the summer…
“There’s been obviously banners in the crowd, you think of the game at Forest, so I think he’d have been coming into the game with a little bit of trepidation about the feeling maybe in the stadium.
“To win, but win the way they did – score four goals, exciting, Bowen gets the hat-trick, great goal from Emerson – it was a big night for David Moyes. And listen we highlighted a lot the great job he’s done but we also understand the frustration of the supporters in terms of the style of play.
“So you play at home, you score four goals, win in that way – some great goals as well – I think it was a great night all round for West Ham but more importantly David Moyes because if he is to leave at the end of the season or stay who knows, you wouldn’t want to go out on a bad, negative run. Hopefully for him and West Ham this is the start of getting back into form. Where they are in the table is still a great position for West Ham…
“There’s no doubt that sometimes David Moyes will come out with a line (about being in a good position for West Ham) and when you look at history of West Ham’s time in the Premier League they are a team who at times can be dragged down to the bottom, at times can come close to Europe and more often than not are probably somewhere in between that. So I think what David Moyes is saying is that in the main, in the Premier League, if West Ham are in the top half of the table, it’s a decent season.
“But on the back of West Ham moving from Upton Park to the Olympic Stadium, 60,000 people, we talk about the money that’s been spent as well, the quality of player that they’ve got now – Paqueta is a player who Manchester City basically wanted to sign in the summer. So that’s where there might be a little bit of friction between supporters and what David Moyes is saying because as we said last week with Crystal Palace – every set of supporters always wants to feel like the club is looking to push on and move on.
“So West Ham (fans) don’t want to accept ‘we’re just a a top half club’. But they haven’t just been a top half club with David Moyes, they’ve been in Europe.”
A very reasoned view, and I agree that being a top half club is great, and the European success is something we haven’t had for decades. Surely we can all thank DM sincerely for that. I don’t think he will leave before summer deservedly, the board won’t sack him and he won’t walk. Having said that, I hope he leaves graciously in the summer, for the flip side of him is the awful Moyesball style, the flogging of a small first team and cold shoulder of others, the misuse of players out of position and starved jog a run in the team, and finally, the wilderness of no hope for our fabulous talent pool of youngsters. Like many, I love watching West Ham but not this soulless sponge game with no plans B and I tactical subbing. Everton mark 2 is not us. So thank you David, but please step aside.
About time a pundit did his research the way Carragher and everyone else did on Monday night. Not the usual Talksport nonsense asking do we expect to be top 4 every season and constantly talking us down. I could see the alarming stats they were rolling out at the pub before the game even though I couldn’t hear what they were saying. Glad to see an argument from both sides from a neutral pundit finally