On the surface, West Ham are having a good season; they are progressing well in Europe and are sixth in the league.
But despite this, big doubts remain about David Moyes. Discount all the European wins – they should be bloody well won, they are like a League One team beating a fourth-placed team in terms of resources, and to make any excuse otherwise is dishonest. It is nothing, it is just put in the right context.
Their performances can be terrible. In the Liverpool game especially in the League Cup, a trophy they could have won. Terrible.
The fact is they had some excellent players. Some say that Moyes does not deserve the likes of Jarrod Bowen and that he is saving the team. And this team is often set up too defensively.
Moyes is criticised partly because he is so vilified by the media; ‘he doesn’t get the credit he deserves’ is a familiar call, especially from people who only give him credit.
Moyes himself, despite the excellence of his team, has something of an inferiority complex, because West Ham is a small club that is struggling. It is as if we were Hartlepool in the Conference and not a club that has spent millions on players.
As strange as this mind-wiping may seem, West Ham has been one of the biggest spenders over the last few years. They should do well. At the moment, they are at the level of one of Europe’s richest clubs, which has little chance or ambition of finishing higher than sixth. They are only in sixth place because they are suffering from the poor results of Chelsea and Manchester United.
And would anyone be surprised if Moyes’ tactics ultimately lead them to tenth place?
Sometimes it seems as if Moyes does not want to succeed because he sets too high expectations. The Hammers need and deserve a progressive manager, but that is not David Moyes.