It was in May 2021 and West Ham United had clinched a top-six finish when, in private, David Moyes admitted that qualifying for Europe was not enough in itself for him. He had wanted sixth spot to send West Ham into the Europa League, not the Conference League.
For much of an inspired run in the second continental competition, it seemed a route into the Champions League. Even after their ill-tempered exit to Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-finals, the Europa League beckoned again. A goal up at half-time on the final day at Brighton, they were headed for sixth spot. A second-half collapse demoted them to seventh. A year on, West Ham are debuting in the Conference League.
