David Moyes will be forever remembered for the job he did at West Ham but new comments from the Scot have disappointed some fans.
David Moyes came, saved then conquered with West Ham.
And after four-and-a-half memorable years the Scot departed in the summer to be replaced by Julen Lopetegui.
It all ended in a rather tetchy manner with Moyes banning technical director Tim Steidten from being around the first team due to West Ham’s very public search for a new boss.
But when all is said and done, Moyes and West Ham were great for one another.
He restored a tarnished reputation after spells with Man United, Real Sociedad and Sunderland.
And West Ham managed sixth, seventh and ninth-placed finishes, a record Premier League points tally and Europa League semi and quarter finals either side of finally ending a 43-year trophy drought on that fateful night in Prague.
Moyes conceded he tried but failed to implement a change in the style of play at West Ham.
Ultimately that was his undoing. The Scot was honest enough to admit it was time for someone else to try and combine style with substance.
‘I don’t even know what it is’
Moyes also admitted he had been a touch hurt that a section of fans turned on him at times after the job he’d done over two spells in east London.
Moyes ended his West Ham tenure in classy fashion by wishing his successor well and telling his players they must work hard for the new boss.
Hammers fans also showed their class by serenading Moyes as West Ham beat Luton 3-1 in his final game at the London Stadium.
So supporters are understandably disappointed today after new comments emerged from their former manager.
Moyes has betrayed fans by mocking the West Ham Way but he just needs to speak to Craig Bellamy.
Speaking to Simon Jordan on his podcast Up Front, Moyes says there was a group of West Ham fans who were underappreciating the job he was doing.
But he went on to mock the club’s roots by joining the likes of Sam Allardyce is saying the West Ham Way is a myth.
Moyes betrays fans by mocking the West Ham Way
Moyes says he spoke to Sir Alex Ferguson recently who told him he once had a conversation with West Ham’s legendary manager John Lyall and claims – rather questionably – that the great man told him he did not even know what the West Ham Way was.
“I’ve been the manager and I couldn’t tell you what the West Ham Way is!” Moyes said.
“I think even John Lyall and Sir Alex couldn’t work out what the West Ham Way is never mind all the other managers who have come between that…
“I think West Ham will be bobbing around the middle of the table and that’s where it is.”
Further into the interview Moyes defended his approach, deemed too risk averse by most fans.
“I want to play to win, I want to attack – by the way if I had my way I’d be a really, really hard pressing team,” Moyes adds.
“But maybe the question that should be asked back is ‘David didn’t you do a brilliant job with the players you’ve got to play the style of play to get the results and get so far in three European competitions?’
“I wouldn’t have had over 1,000 games if people didn’t think ‘Hey I’m having a bit of that, we want the winning, we want the consistency, we want the preparation, we want the professionalism from it’.
“But there’s a but now – people are saying we want this to look a bit more sexy than before…
“I really enjoyed my time at West Ham, it was the right time for me to leave…
“There was a group, who certainly I felt, were underappreciating what I was doing at West Ham.”
Such a shame to see Moyes jump on the bandwagon
It is such a shame to see Moyes jump on the bandwagon with the rest of the sneering pundits, rival fans and journalists who often belittle the club’s ideals and the ‘West Ham Way’.
The inference from those dismissing the West Ham Way as a fallacy is that it is Barcelona-esque tika taka football. And that while fans of clubs like Spurs, Brighton, Arsenal and even Bournemouth seem perfectly entitled to expect a certain type of football, West Ham’s are not.
But that only demonstrates a lack of knowledge about the club ethos which was cemented into West Ham’s history by the likes of Ron Greenwood and John Lyall.
One person who clearly gets it is our former firebrand forward Bellamy.
The ex Hammers striker, now Wales boss, once did a brilliant interview with The Central Club podcast.
Not only did the ex Liverpool and Celtic star insist West Ham fans were the best and most knowledgeable he ever played for.
But he clearly completely gets the “West Ham Way” where Moyes does not.
Ex boss just needs to speak to Bellamy of Best
“You know they get a bad rep the (West Ham) fans. But they were brilliant,” Bellamy told The Central Club podcast.
“They’re the most knowledgeable fans of all of them I ever played for, you couldn’t kid ’em.
“Do you know you see people go around kicking people and I’ve seen fans cheer like ‘Yea but he has a go’. He has a go at what?! He gives the ball away every time.
“There (West Ham) they won’t accept that. Because you’ve got to be a good player as well. ‘We expect you to have a go, we pay money for you to have a go, but what are you like on the ball and also what are you like when we’re not happy, do you still have the balls to go and get the ball?’
“And if you do then they’ll have you, they’re with you then. And I loved that about them, they weren’t kidded on because they’ve watched too many great players down the years, they’ve been brought up on Bobby Moore and all that type of stuff.
“It’s just a special club. So many players, like James Collins and all that, you don’t leave once you go there. You stay around there. Because it grips you, it’s that club it’s like once you’ve played for them you’re like ‘Oh I get it now, I get what this club is’.
“Even the humour of the fans, honestly. You see me smile as soon as I mention them. I just had so many happy memories there and even when I left I didn’t want to leave, honest truth you ask anyone there, I didn’t want to leave.”
Perhaps if listening to Bellamy doesn’t do the trick then Clyde Best can help Moyes out.
That, Mr Moyes, is the true West Ham Way.
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