There is no denying that David Moyes is on borrowed time at West Ham United.
Sunday’s defeat to Crystal Palace followed by a loss to Blackburn in the Carabao Cup were just extra nails in West Ham’s coffin and many supporters have called for the Scot to be shown the door.
Many supporters, pundits and media personnel have their own ideas on who could potentially replace Moyes. Thomas Tuchel and Mauricio Pochettino have been cited as two big-name managers that should be included on the shortlist, and Sean Dyche’s name has also been mentioned. Dyche has further admitted that he wants to return to the sidelines soon.
Green Street Hammers writer James has assessed five managers who would be good replacements if David Moyes leaves. These five managers have taken different routes to becoming coaches, but they caught the attention of other clubs due to their successes.
MICHAEL BEALE
Background
Michael Beale is currently the manager of Queen’s Park Rangers, a role he has held since June 2022. Although he has been at the West London club for less than five months, he is already being linked with Premier League jobs.
A former Charlton Athletic academy player, Beale hung up his boots at the age of 21 and later opened a futsal club in South London. One year later, Chelsea offered him a part-time community role which focused on working with children. This ignited Beale’s passion for coaching and let to him becoming a full-time coach in 2003.
Beale wanted to grow and promote youngsters to Chelsea’s first team. He was fortunate to work for Chelsea under the guidance of world-class managers such as Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho. He left Chelsea in 2017 to work as a coach in Brazil for a short time and joined Liverpool later that year.
He formed a friendship with former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, who was coaching Liverpool’s U18 and U19 teams at the time, and the pair worked together at Rangers and Aston Villa. Beale was appointed QPR manager in 2022.
Management Style
Beale is an all-involved manager who has tweaked QPR’s tactics on and off the ball. His biggest focus is to promote players that can switch between roles without hesitation, allowing for stronger formations on and off the ball. It is mainly applied off the ball, as Beale likes his midfield to drop deeper in order to win the ball back.
Beale has put a main focus on strengthening the midfield. He admitted that he was excited to work with Chris Willock and Ilias Chair, and both players have become the core of the team’s transitional play.
MARCELO GALLARDO
Background
Argentine Marcelo Gallardo is considered one of River Plate’s greatest ever players and one of the club’s most successful managers. He became accustomed to winning trophies throughout his 18-year playing career, and his understanding of the game has allowed him to turn his boyhood club into one of South America’s fiercest opponents.
Gallardo was born and raised in Buenos Aires. He joined River Plate at the age of 12 and made his professional debut in 1993. He played as an attacking midfielder who combined skill, playmaking and strong passing. He spent six years at the club before he joined French side Monaco in 1999. Gallardo made a good first impression in Europe, winning French Division 1 Player of the Year in his debut season.
River re-signed Gallardo in 2004 and appointed him club captain. Although he had high hopes of being successful, off-field financial problems made him want to pursue other opportunities. He had brief spells at Paris Saint-Germain, DC United, River Plate for a third time, and finished his playing career at Nacional de Montevideo. Gallardo won eight league titles in three countries, including six Argentine Primera División titles.
After he retired in 2011, he was immediately appointed Nacional’s head coach. He won the Uruguayan Primera División in his first and only full season in charge. He was unveiled as the new head coach of River Plate in 2014, and despite struggling in the league for his first two seasons, he slowly stabilized the team. They won the 2015 Copa Libertadores and the Copa Argentina in the 2015/16 season, winning the latter again in 2016/17. He also won three Recopa Sudamericanas.
The club moulded into one of South America’s top teams; victory in the 2018 Copa Libertadores Final gave Gallardo the international recognition he deserved. Uruguayan newspaper El País named him the best coach in the Americas in 2019. The 2021 season saw La Banda win its first league title in seven years. He decided to stay for one more season and will leave in December.
Management Style
Gallardo’s teams tend to be tactically unpredictable. He often varies between 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations, mainly applying the 4-4-2 in his first season at River Plate. He asks that his winger and forwards go to wider places once River wins back possession of the ball, as he likes his side to play counter-attacking football. The extra space allows his wingers to break away, while his strikers are asked to run towards the box.
Gallardo wants all areas of the defence to be covered. He has adapted a system in which the defensive players protect the centre of the pitch, which can allow for better movement once the ball has been retrieved. Moreover, the team presses higher up the field when it is out of possession; this causes added pressure on the opposition and narrows any chances for them to move around.
GERARDO SEAONE
Background
Former Switzerland U21 international Gerardo Seaone has been out of work since he left Bayern Leverkusen last month. The 44-year-old made a strong impression in Germany, and it was no surprise that he turned around Leverkusen’s fortunes almost straight away.
Seaone was born and raised in Lucerne. He started and ended his playing career for his hometown team, and he also spent time playing in Spain. When he retired in 2010, he joined Luzern’s academy setup. He spent seven years as a coach for Luzern before he landed the most important job of his career – the manager of Young Boys.
Young Boys was a big step for Seaone, who took over from Adi Hütter. Considered a rising young manager in Swiss football, Seaone opted to keep Hütter’s backroom staff and to play the same style of football as his predecessor. The promises paid off, as Young Boys won a league title and qualified for the Champions League for the first time in its history. He won two more league titles in the following two seasons.
Seaone left Young Boys in the summer of 2021 to manage Bayern Leverkusen. Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga during his first season in charge. He signed Adam Hložek and Callum Hudson-Odoi before the start of the 2022/23 season. Although the new signings had promise, they did not hit the ground running. Results did not impress the fans, and Seaone was sacked after winning one of his last eight games. Xabi Alonso replaced him.
Management Style
When Seaone first arrived at Leverkusen, he was concerned at the lack of production on the pitch. The team’s stagnancy was the first problem he addressed, and he made major changes to individuals and the team dynamic.
Leverkusen started to play football that focused on moving the ball from all areas and applying pressure in attack. It paid off, with the team scoring 15 goals in the first five league games of the 2021/22 season. Striker Patrik Schick and midfielder Florian Wirtz formed the core of the team’s attack. Seaone also aimed to improve the youth system, as he has previously managed Luzern’s youth teams, and he has helped Leverkusen’s academy to redevelop.
ANDONI IRAOLA
Background
Andoni Iraloa is regarded as one of Athletic Bilbao’s greatest-ever defenders, and he spent 13 years at the club. He had hoped for the same sense of longevity as a coach, but managing proved to be a bumpy ride at first. Iraloa now manages Rayo Vallecano.
Iraloa grew up in Basque Country, where he played for Athletic Bilbao. Having initially joined the club as a teenager, he made his La Liga in 2003 and became the club’s starting right-back. Bilbao won three Copa del Reys during his long tenure, and the team was Europa League runners-up in 2012. He left Bilbao at the end of his contract in 2015, playing for New York City FC for one season.
His first managerial job was with Cypriot side AEK Larnaca in 2018. It was not as successful as he had anticipated, as he was sacked after seven months in charge. He was named the new manager of CD Mirandés in July 2019, signing a one-year contract. Under his guidance, Mirandés reached the semi-final of the Copa del Rey and beat many Spanish giants, including Villarreal and Sevilla.
Iraloa left Mirandés when his contract expired, but he wasn’t unemployed for too long. One month later, he joined Rayo Vallecano, with whom he won promotion to La Liga.
Management Style
One key component of Iraola’s managerial style is creating confidence through results. He wants his players to use winning runs as motivation, and this idea has proven to work. At the time of writing, Vallecano has recently beaten Real Madrid to extend its unbeaten run to five games.
Iraola demands that his players show full commitment on and off the field, as well as athleticism. The attacks are usually very organized and quick, while his defence is resolute. His central midfielders operate on a pivot-pressure transition, which allows extra defensive cover and ball movement in the middle. His wingers cut in on their stronger foot to create space and to cross the ball.
FRANCK HAISE
Background
Lens has taken Ligue 1 by storm this season. Les Sang et Or have lost one league game all season and are five points off table toppers PSG. The man responsible for the title-challenging form is manager Franck Haise, and his recipe for success lies deep within the team dynamics.
Haise was a holding midfielder in his playing days. After he retired, he had some coaching experience at lower-league teams in France before he joined Rennes in 2006. He managed Rennes’ academy for six years, leaving to manage Changé in 2012. His time in Mayenne was short-lived, however, as he left the club in early 2013.
He was appointed the coach of Lorient B in the summer of 2013 and later became the assistant manager to Sylvain Ripoli. He left Lorient for Lens B in 2017, and his success at developing the academy did not go unnoticed. When Philippe Montanier was sacked in February 2020, Haise was promoted to first-team manager.
Management Style
Haise likes his side to have good chemistry and has done this through signing compatriots. For example, Lens has three Polish players in the first team to help them to integrate into French football. There are also many Spanish and Portuguese speakers in the squad.
Although Haise has been known for deploying a back-three, he admits that it is not really his favourite system. He prefers to focus on playing two central midfielders, two wingers and an attacking midfielder. Lens plays with a narrow press and a deep attack, with room for the players to get the ball from either side of the field. Haise likes his defenders to be composed on and off the ball, and he does not ask his full-backs to attack too far ahead of the opposition’s territory.