Was it ingratitude? Or were the complaints reasonable? Whatever your take, it was intriguing to witness the splits in the West Ham family grow wider at Craven Cottage last Saturday – to see David Moyes reach deep into his well of managerial experience after a 5-1 defeat at home to Newcastle and find yet another way to survive by picking a team capable of securing an ugly win over Fulham, only to hear his own supporters respond by booing his substitutions and doubling down on their demands for the Scot to go.
It was one of those moments that summed up how much expectations between professionals and punters vary. For Moyes, who probably would have been sacked if he had lost, a low-risk formula was imperative. He made five changes, brought in players he could trust and made West Ham hard to beat. Pretty? No. Effective? Well, check the result: a clean sheet, a win secured by an early own goal from Harrison Reed and another step towards ensuring that West Ham will indeed prove too solid to go down.
Yet while Moyes chose to dwell on West Ham’s grit another narrative was playing out in the away end. Mutiny diluted the celebrations when someone unveiled a “Moyes Out” banner after the final whistle.
Here was a reminder that a change is necessary. Summer feels like the right time for an amicable split. Moyes has done an excellent job at West Ham, but supporters want entertainment. They can respect his team’s organisation and honesty, but they can also ask for more boldness. It is their biggest gripe with Moyes: that he errs on the side of caution too readily – a view that has been aired in the dressing room – and does not know how to make West Ham play a more expansive, unpredictable style.
There was further evidence when West Ham escaped Belgium with a 1-1 draw when they visited Gent for the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final on Thursday. Moyes was guilty of a lack of ambition, picking a five-man defence after resting some regulars, and did not pretend the performance was up to scratch. All the quick, imaginative passing football came from Gent. West Ham were cumbersome by comparison. They created little in open play – their goal, scored by Danny Ings on the stroke of half-time, came from a quick throw-in – and were hanging on once their opponents had pulled level early in the second half.
It was another witless performance. The season has been a slog and West Ham could yet go down. They host Arsenal on Sunday, still have to welcome Liverpool and Manchester United and have won only two away league games. Ultimately it feels as if West Ham’s calculation is that the division contains three worse teams. Yet doing just about enough to stay up is not satisfactory after a spend of £160m last summer.
During the Fulham game, Moyes was subjected to chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” after bringing on Flynn Downes for Ings after an hour. It was probably the right call. West Ham needed more bodies in midfield, Ings is not renowned for his hold-up play and Downes did well. The problem runs deeper than one debatable substitution, though. Dissatisfaction is not confined to the terraces. Doubts have also crept in upstairs and it is understood that West Ham’s agricultural performance at Fulham did not impress the board.
There is a desire to try something new. The hierarchy have given Moyes time, partly as recognition for his past achievements, but mostly because there have been few viable replacements. Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino were not interested when West Ham contacted them earlier this season. Furtive inquiries about Luis Enrique and Unai Emery went nowhere. It meant there was caution every time Moyes was said to be one game from the sack. The message from those close to the situation was constant: there are simply no suitable alternatives.
However, the mood shifted after the Newcastle game. There was no clarity over a potential replacement, but the suggestion was that defeat at Fulham would have made West Ham think hard. They would have checked on Brendan Rodgers, who may well have been tempted after his departure from Leicester. Still, though, there was no definitive shortlist. Graham Potter, for instance, wants to wait until the summer after his sacking by Chelsea. Feyenoord’s Arne Slot is not available yet. It could have forced West Ham into an interim appointment. There was talk around the training ground that Slaven Bilic, who left West Ham in November 2017, was being considered on a short-term basis.
Moyes, of course, would make the debate irrelevant. He has been the great survivor. There have been 12 sackings in the Premier League this season but Moyes has held firm. He has responded every time his job has come under threat. Before Fulham came vital wins over Everton in January and Nottingham Forest in February. Adversity has brought out the fighter in Moyes. His substitutions are predictable, opponents have worked out his counterattacking tactics and the players have their doubts. Yet Moyes has not lost the dressing room and there has been a togetherness to West Ham in the must-win games. The sense, ultimately, is that they will simply have too much talent and resilience to fall into the Championship.
Whether that alone will be enough to save Moyes remains to be seen. It feels unlikely, although there is a possibility the season could end on a high. They have a chance to put things right when Gent visit on Thursday and for Moyes, who has never won a trophy, leading West Ham to their first silverware since 1980 would be the crowning moment of his managerial career. Nobody will be holding up any “Moyes Out” banners if that happens.
