The David Moyes myth must end after his £235m spend as West Ham face a crossroads in a potentially disastrous season.
After two years of amazing progress, Moyes has been publicly – and justifiably – backed by majority owner David Sullivan via Hammers News.
Co-owner Sullivan spoke to Hammers News to give Moyes his full backing.
But that has not stopped claims from elsewhere that the boss is on a knife-edge after taking just one point from their last six Premier League games.
West Ham sit 17th, only outside the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference – and that Aston Villa equaliser against Wolves.
West Ham’s domestic record over the last year makes for dismal reading – just 13 wins in their last 45 Premier League games.
The fact West Ham have secured last 16 European football in consecutive seasons for the first time in the club’s history is obviously a huge feather in Moyes’ cap.
The European adventures have both exacerbated and masked West Ham’s poor league form.
Moyes has definitely earned the right to be given time to turn this season around at West Ham. That is indisputible.
But there has been a general consensus of opinion in the media that Moyes should be almost beyond reproach at West Ham and that he has worked miracles at the club.
Yes he has done a brilliant job, keeping the Hammers up again, guiding them to their best ever Premier League points total and then to that Europa League semi-final.
But a Moyes myth must end after his £235m spend as West Ham face a crossroads in this potentially disastrous season.
Some of those defending Moyes have painted a picture that he has somehow vastly over-performed as if operating on a shoestring budget.
Balance is needed and some in the media must do their research when analysing the situation.
Because not only did Moyes spend an unprecedented £170m in the summer – the fifth most in all of Europe – but he spent £65m the summer window before that too.
That is nearly a quarter of a billion pounds on 10 permanent signings.
After some superb recruitment initially on his return to the club, some of that money – as West Ham are finding out to their cost this season – has been spent very poorly indeed.
Moyes declared he wanted to build West Ham around young, hungry players. But after spending £235m on 10 signings West Ham now officially have the OLDEST squad in the entire Premier League.
Throw in the fact that Moyes also inherited a £100m player in Declan Rice and it is difficult to sympathise too much with a situation he has brought on himself.
Several players have left the club and this was always going to be something of a transitional period. But none of those players were key first team stars. Mark Noble’s influence in the dressing room is obviously sorely missed but we cannot pretend he was any longer a key first team player.
West Ham are standing at a seriously dangerous crossroads in their season.
Games against Wolves and Everton – two of the three teams below them in the table – loom on the horizon.
If Moyes cannot get results in what are already relegation six-pointers then there is no defence at all off the back of his huge spending.
Moyes’ £235m spend in two summer windows
Kurt Zouma – £29m
Nikola Vlasic – £26m
Alphonse Areola and Alex Kral loan fees – £1.5m
Areola – £10m
Nayef Aguerd – £30m
Flynn Downes – £12m
Thilo Kehrer – £10m
Maxwel Cornet – £17.5m
Emerson Palmieri – £13m
Gianluca Scamacca – £35m
Lucas Paqueta – £51m
Total: £235m