Why David Moyes will keep West Ham in the Premier League
Published:
West Ham United owners acted swiftly when bringing in Slaven Bilic’s replacement.
A little less than 24 hours after the Croatian had been sacked, David Moyes was announced as the new Hammers’ manager.
A difficult task now awaits the Scot. After a brief period of media duties after his sacking at Sunderland last term, Moyes is back in the hot-seat.
His last three stints at various clubs have all been deemed to be failures.
The question is: Can Moyes save West Ham from a disastrous relegation? The Ladbrokes News Team investigates.
Quality of squad
Unlike his previous squad at Sunderland, West Ham have a relatively decent pool of quality to dip into.
With Andy Carroll, Javier Hernandez, Michail Antonio, and Andre Ayew in attack, Moyes has plenty of options to choose from.
Midfield looks fairly sold with Mark Noble a good captain. Joe Hart, Winston Reid, and Jose Fonte are as decent as a Premier League defence gets at mid-level.
Essentially, Moyes has all the tools player-wise to make a good go of it.
Lack of context at previous clubs
David Moyes has been a managerial failure at his last three clubs.
At least that is how it’s portrayed. But not everything in football is so black and white. Context is key.
At Manchester United, he inherited a thankless task. A task even Jose Mourinho is still coming to terms with despite over £300m spent.
Moyes’ win record at Old Trafford still matches those of the best managers there.
He actually did okay at Real Sociedad. Not great, but okay.
Sunderland were a broken club long before the former Everton manager arrived. Years of mismanagement had crippled the Wearside giants.
Similarities between Everton and West Ham
Moyes’ most impressive stint came at Everton – a club fairly similar in stature to the Hammers.
Both are solid, mid-table outfits with relatively stable ownership. He will get a good stint at the London Stadium – it won’t be a case of ‘no wins in three – you’re sacked’.
He has got around two weeks to work with his new group of players before games against Watford, Leicester City, and Everton.
If Moyes can get at least five points from those fixtures, things may snowball a little in a positive way.
What he must not do is fall into the trap of negative soundbites and defeatism. West Ham will be the making or breaking of his career.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
