David Moyes prepares to take charge of West Ham against his old club Manchester United at the London Stadium on Saturday with the polarised attitudes around his stint as manager hardening in the wake of the EFL Cup hammering at Liverpool.
The Scot divides opinion in a rather strange way in east London.
After keeping the club up, then being brutally disposed of in favour of Manuel Pellegrini in 2018, Moyes returned ‘home’ in 2019, with the club 17th in the table, one point above the relegation zone, and kept the Hammers in the Premier League again.
On 30 December, he will celebrate four years in charge. His current contract expires at the end of the season.
During that time, he has registered successive top seven finishes for the first time in West Ham’s history. He secured European football for a third consecutive season, something that had never happened before either. In each campaign, including the current one, they finished top of their group and went straight through to the last-16.
In June, Moyes was in charge for one of the most famous nights in West Ham’s entire history when they beat Fiorentina to win the Europa Conference League in Prague, their first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup.
Yet even in the aftermath of that success, some West Ham fans said it would be a fitting end to Moyes’ time in charge.
There were more social media calls for him to go after Wednesday’s 5-1 defeat at Anfield. As one Moyes backer ironically put it, ‘I look forward to him being replaced so we can enjoy all those famous wins at Liverpool again like we are used to’. West Ham have won once there in 60 years.
Jurgen Klopp also defended Moyes, making the point in his programme notes ahead of the game.
“I don’t know why but it sometimes feels that David’s work is not always appreciated as much as it should be – but this is certainly not the case for me,” said the Liverpool boss.
“He is a manager who has great experience, knowledge and ability.”
