Five: Reasons Why David Moyes Wasn’t Given A New Hammers Contract
Yesterday afternoon, West Ham United made a decision that surprised many in the world of football by announcing that they would be parting ways with manager David Moyes after his six-month contract at the club ran out, despite the manager guiding the Hammers comfortably to safety. But why wasn’t the Scot offered a new deal in East London? We give you five could-be reasons.
Style Of Play And Performances
One of the main set-backs of West Ham under Moyes, according to many, was his trademark style of play and type of performance, a defensive system that has been long associated with the former Manchester United and Everton boss.
While many of the performances that the Hammers put in under the gaffer were solid, compact and clean-sheet making, too often, these were mixed in with complete defensive meltdowns, resulting in heavy losses to the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City towards the end of the campaign.
Moyes was frequently criticised for setting up in a negative fashion for away matches and clashes with teams in the top-six, adopting and sticking with a five-at-the-back formation.
This sometimes yielded positive results against some of the bigger teams, examples being his first victory at London Stadium over Chelsea and draws with Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, however, was also taken advantage of by the likes of lowly Brighton & Hove Albion and Burnley.
When the Irons produced dominant performances, such as in home wins over Southampton and the Toffees, his final in charge, featuring a forward and attacking brand of football, absent and toothless showings never seemed to be too far around the corner, and this ultimately, helped to cost him his job.
Record
Supporters and pundits alike argued that statistically the decision to allow Moyes to walk away from Stratford, was a very harsh one indeed, given the club’s final 2017/2018 Premier League resting place of 13th.
Compare this to when he replaced Slaven Bilic in November 2017, and we see a significant improvement, not only in position but in results and harmony from top to bottom at the club, but then, how comes Moyes narrowly avoided having the worst managerial record in Hammers history?
With injury and squad depth considerations made, the Scot’s record over his six months in Claret & Blue was far from compelling and it is something that his successor must improve drastically if they are going to succeed at the helm of West Ham.
Out of his 26 PL matches in charge, Moyes won just eight, losing 10 and drawing a further eight, this places his win percentage at just under a third and loss percentage at just under a half, the third worst of his entire managerial career.
Had his team not defeated his ex-club the Blue Boys of Merseyside on the final day of the season in Stratford, Moyes would have left the East Londoners with the worst record of any manager in the club’s history, though it must be considered that he has enjoyed the shortest spell of any of their permanent gaffers.
Circumstances
It must be argued that another factor that has far from played into the hands of the former Celtic defender is the circumstances of his time in East London and this can be attributed to being a factor of his departure.
Presuming he wanted to keep his job at the club, Moyes was trying to claim a new contract at a time of great change in the team’s history, a time of severed ties between the Claret & Blue Army and the board, a time of great unrest.
It has been rumoured that the trio of David Sullivan, David Gold and Karen Brady opted not to renew his contract due to them wanting to please supporters with perhaps a younger and fresher face, already stating that they weren’t going to settle for anything less than a “high-calibre name.”
The circumstances, situations and pressure that Moyes and his players were forced to play under, such as when fan protests about the way their club is being run, marred and maybe even contributed to the before-mentioned home defeat to the Clarets, made the manager’s job and life very hard indeed.
At a different stage in the club’s existence, in not such a transitional period, Moyes may have been and maybe still is, just not by the powers that be, seen as the right man to take the Hammers forward, to stabilise and ensure they remain out of danger in future seasons.
Supporters
At the time of the appointment of the Scottish boss at the back end of 2017, a large graphic of the West Ham support wanted to see fan favourite Bilic stay and were not filled with optimism by him arriving.
Although he would eventually prove his doubters wrong by keeping the club afloat, towards the end of his half-year reign in the capital, those very fans who had doubted him at the beginning and then supported him as form and fortunes started to improve, turned on him.
4-1 losses to Liverpool relegation rivals Swansea City, the Gunners and the Citizens, in his final few months in charge, made Moyes a largely unpopular figure as the teams began to spiral back towards the drop zone.
However, as supporters voted heavily against him in fan polls, the experienced manager never had a bad word to say to the press about the West Ham faithful, praising the atmosphere they create at home and away matches, as well as the London stadium.
Ultimately, the general “Moyes Out” consensus of the supporters at the end of the campaign largely boiled down to myths surrounding “The West Ham Way,” and Moyes’ ideology not quite fitting that on the pitch, something that was largely fulfilled by the previous boss Bilic at the beginning of his reign, although selected fans must be given credit for the gracious and fond farewell they have given him, especially those more prevalent on social media.
Reputation
Our final potential reason for Moyes’ departure from London Stadium is something not just reflective of his six-month spell in Claret & Blue, but his whole career as a manager and that is his reputation.
Traditionally, the boss isn’t given very long to prove himself at new clubs, take Manchester United, for example, with whom he barely stayed a full season before being cast off, having taken on the enormity of succeeding legendary United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Historically, the gaffer has been viewed a very traditional and non-fashionable choice by clubs, someone who likes to do things his way and will not deviate from his usual systems unless forced to or it is entirely necessary, not seeing a need to adapt to the attacking style demanded by some West Hm fans during his brief stint.
Reasons for this could be the team’s relegation predicament, where points come before performances, although the all-controlling and no-nonsense reputation that Moyes has as a manager both on and off the field wasn’t popular with those above him, according to reports.
Moyes had suggested in numerous press conferences that in his post-season meetings with those that run the cub, he would tell them what he thinks of the situation and had he been appointed permanently, the way he would want to do things, referencing the fact that things needed to change and people don’t always like change. This attitude was rumoured to be disliked by members of the Board of Directors and that having a lead role in his dismissal, isn’t far from the realms of possibility.
So, now that we have given you five reasons why boss David Moyes was not offered a contract extension at West Ham United, do you agree with our points or want to have your say on the matter? Find us on Twitter @WestHamMatters_ to join the discussion.
