GOING SOUTH
At the end of last season, West Ham had a managerial conundrum, one that divided the board room and the fanbase. Should they punt David Moyes – a man who brought silverware back to the club for the first time in 43 years – out of a east London door marked ‘Sod Off’, or keep him, despite another underwhelming season where the Scot’s own brand of stodgy pragmatism hadn’t quite hit the ideals of the so-called Academy of Football. The Hammers chose the former, replacing Moyes with a Spaniard with ideas, and Moyes left as a well-liked, well-respected manager, who everyone can pretty much agree had both flaws and success. We’ll find out soon enough if West Ham’s decision to appoint Julen Lopetegui was a good one, or whether, in a few months from now, Moyes will appear as a guest on Monday Night Football, gleefully whistling Joni Mitchell’s Big Yellow Taxi down the barrel of a camera.
