If this is to be the end for David Moyes at West Ham United, and it now seems almost certain that it will be, the Scot deserves a far better send-off than his players are currently giving him. Moyes will forever be known as one of West Ham’s greatest managers but these last few weeks have been more befitting an unloved interim coach than a man of his stature.
This drubbing by Chelsea was embarrassing for West Ham’s players and, by natural extension, for Moyes too. Not for the first time in recent games, they lacked the basic ingredients required to compete in a Premier League match, and the reaction from their supporters was indicative of the wider mood: with half an hour to play, the away end was mostly empty.
London derbies have shone an unforgiving light on West Ham in the past month. At home to Fulham in April, they lost 2-0. Away to Crystal Palace a week later, they conceded five goals. Here, against a Chelsea team that was allowed to play football at walking pace, they conceded five again.
A run of one win in 10 matches is a statistical explanation for why Moyes, whose contract expires at the end of this season, is not expected to stay. This season is fizzling out and, in truth, is now threatening to become a little ugly.
At the full-time whistle, Moyes immediately hurried down the tunnel. Kevin Nolan, one of his assistant coaches, then seemed to briefly squabble with Kurt Zouma, the West Ham captain. Zouma also headed directly for the dressing room, rather than towards the remaining fans in the away end. It was not a good look.
Evidently, this is not a happy camp. Just last week, technical director Tim Steidten was told to stay away from first-team areas because it was decided it would be best to prevent him from crossing paths with Moyes. Steidten, you see, is currently working to find potential replacements for Moyes (Julen Lopetegui, formerly of Wolves, is regarded by some as the leading candidate).
A delicate and awkward time for all concerned, then, and it was hard to avoid the conclusion that the players know this is the end for Moyes. This was not evidence of a team fighting for the manager. The defensive organisation was non-existent, they were weak on set pieces and, by the end, most of them had simply stopped running.
“Players not in their positions, running out of position, opening up too easily,” said Moyes, who added that the loss of Declan Rice was the main reason for his side’s away defeats this season.
“We were lacking toughness, leadership. The manager will always take the responsibility because that’s what you do in this job. You have to prepare them and get them right. Somewhere along the line the players have to take responsibility for doing their jobs, being hard to play against, being aggressive and competitive.”
Moyes, as he said, is not blameless. He may have sent out a team to win a European trophy a year ago, but here he also sent out a team without any discernible plan of how to deal with Cole Palmer. Just as one is worthy of praise, the other will attract criticism.
Since a terrific victory at Arsenal in late December, West Ham have won just three of 17 league matches. Change of some sort is required, and a parting of the ways between Moyes and the club feels both natural and inevitable. The manner of that parting, though, is threatening to be far more gloomy than anyone would want or deserve.
