West Ham face a big Eddie Howe dilemma before rushing to hand David Moyes a new deal amid Newcastle rumours.
Before the start of this season if football fans, pundits, journalists and observers were asked who was more likely to lose their job between David Moyes at West Ham and Eddie Howe at Newcastle United there would have been only one answer.
But as the Hammers start 2024 as Newcastle’s replacements in the top six following another defeat for the Magpies, it is quite the opposite.
Moyes’ contract at West Ham expires at the end of the season. And speculation has been rife over what will happen.
And it has varied from one extreme to the other.
A journalist claimed Moyes was telling friends that he will leave the Hammers at the end of the campaign. Then a win over Arsenal saw a sudden clamour for the Scot to be handed a new deal – with rumours his contract could now be extended until 2026.
Many West Ham fans are divided over the manager, some even conflicted within themselves. There is a faction who feel he has earned a new deal to continue what he has built in east London. Others want a more attack-minded, modern, progressive coach in charge with misgivings over Moyes’ style of play and approach.
A Telegraph journalist has spoken of his bemusement by the sudden obsession over Moyes’ contract. And he says those calling for the Scot to be handed a new deal off the back of the Arsenal win are ‘just as reductive’ as those calling for his head after a bad result.
That is a salient point and it begs a serious question for the Hammers hierarchy given developments at Newcastle.
West Ham face a big Howe dilemma before rushing to hand Moyes a new deal amid Newcastle rumours.
That’s our view on the situation right now as speculation swirls that Howe could be sacked by Newcastle – either mid-season or at the end of the campaign.
The Magpies have lost seven of their last eight games in all competitions, crashing out of Europe in the process.
Howe has admitted rumours he faces the sack are ‘fuelling’ his desire to do better and prove people wrong.
But with his position potentially under threat, should West Ham wait before extending Moyes’ contract?
Because Howe fits the criteria of the kind of attack-minded manager many West Ham supporters feel is needed to get more out of the team.
One of the biggest arguments against replacing Moyes at the end of the season is the lack of availability of quality replacements.
If Howe is relieved of his duties by Newcastle that would change the landscape.
So his situation should at least give West Ham food for thought when it comes to the big decision over Moyes’ contract.
If – via intermediaries as is the modern way – West Ham can get an indication from Howe’s camp that he might be interested in the Hammers job in the summer should he depart St James’ Park, then perhaps it would be the perfect time to part ways with Moyes and go in a different direction.
But the Scot is clearly doing everything in his power this term to show he’s the right man to take West Ham forward.
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