West Ham cannot gamble: Moyes merits a new contract

Clubrisk repeating mistakes ifuncertainty surrounding their best ever manager in the Premier League continues

- Jacob Steinberg

West Ham would need a very good W reason not to reward David Moyes's fine work with a new contract. If they waver they only need to think back to how the Scot's first spell at the London Stadium ended. Instead of embracing the stability offered by Moyes, West Ham went for the glamorous option. They appointed Manuel Pellegrini, gave the Chilean a huge budget and ended up sacking him after 18 months of inconsistency left the side in relegation trouble. The grass isn't always greener.

Moyes returned in Pellegrini's place, preserved West Ham's Premier League status and built a team with a hard-running identity. He finished sixth and seventh, bringing European football for the first time since 2006.

It has not always been plain sailing. West Ham's league form dipped in 2022, though allowances can be made for their run to the last four of the Europa League, and Moyes's position came under serious threat. He would have been fired if West Ham had lost to Fulham last April. Many fans had seen enough. Some have never taken to Moyes's pragmatic approach and jump at any chance to criticise him. Outsiders detect more than a whiff of ingratitude.

Moyes is the man who led West Ham to their first trophy in 43 years. He charged down the touchline in Prague when Jarrod Bowen scored the winner against Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final last June. Time to build the statue? Not quite. For much of last summer the talk was of tension between Moyes and West Ham's new head of recruitment, Tim Steidten.