West Ham United knows David Moyes and he knows them, but for the long-term, neither knows the other very well. What could we expect from Moyes in his return to East London?
To get to where we are going, we have to start at the beginning. The beginning in this instance is his previous venture at West Ham. After the Hammers board sacked Slaven during the 2017/18 season they brought in Moyes to finish it out. His stats, 9 wins, 10 draws, and 12 loses in all competitions.
There’s nothing great about those numbers but he was able to keep West Ham in the EPL and safe for another year. Many including myself thought that Moyes would be given an extension but alas, he wasn’t and Pellegrini got the job. Fast forward nearly 18 months and here we sit.
But what do we know about Moyes? What formations will he play? What kind of players will he attract? Will he be able to get us into the top 6 and into Europe? All these questions need answering because quite frankly, in the 6 months that he managed who could tell.
Unfortunately, to get any type of long-term look at David Moyes you would have to go all the way back to 2013 before he left Everton for Manchester United. Because since leaving the Toffies, he has only managed for a year at Man United, Real Sociedad, and Sunderland each.
What do we know?
For starters, we know that he will get the best out of the players and the players seemed to like him before. Before coming to West Ham previously, the likes of Marko Arnautovic and Arthur Masuaku were having terrible times. Moyes was about to get the best out of them and get them running on all cylinders.
In the official club article about his hiring, David Moyes said about the current team:
"“I’m feeling very proud that I’m back here at West Ham. But I think more importantly I’ll be looking to see what I can do and what I can make improvements to, how we can get some wins with the players and how we can get some quick wins on the field as well. I do believe that the squad of players I’ve got here is a better squad of players than when I took over before, so I am looking forward to working with them.”"
We know that what he did accomplish was nothing astonishing, but it did save the club from relegation and with the squad that was there than compared to now, its night and day different. He will get them ready and responding quickly.
Formations?
This question is a bit of a tricky one as he’s traditionally played 4 at the back but he has never been afraid to switch it up depending on players and opposition. Going back through all of the clubs he’s managed at and you will never see a consistent trend of formation choices.
Defensively speaking in the long-term his teams have been fairly sound. I wouldn’t expect miracles to happen overnight but looking back over a long period of time and especially at Everton, his goal differential was 105 after well over 500 matches and as a point of reference, they were averaging less than 2 goals a match.
Can he attract key personnel?
I’m almost positive that if you asked a handful of foreign players who they heard or more, David Moyes of Manuel Pellegrini, the answer would be more often than not, the old wizard. But don’t cut Moyes short just yet as he has brought in talent wherever he’s been.
At Everton, he brought in the likes of Arteta, John Stones, Timmy Howard, Phil Jagielka, and Marouane Fellaini. At Man United, he persuaded Fellaini and Juan Mata to join in his endeavor and who can forget when he signed Jordan Hugill at West Ham… (insert sarcasm if you must).
The point is, he can bring in key players and he has in the past but even going back to his comments about the club, he may not need to do much because the talent it there, just needs to be rebooted.
The Scots immediate focus will be on the short-term and getting the Hammers out of the relegation zone but as he looks to the future, expect him to lean on his past and do much of the same things here. Expect dedication, hard work, and grit that hasn’t been seen around East London for some time and until New Years Day, COME ON YOU IRONS!