West Ham kick off their 2023/24 Premier League campaign at Bournemouth, and if things had been different they could’ve had a number of new signings in place and ready to attack the season.
However, the east Londoners, for whatever reason, dillied and dallied and are only now getting their act together in terms of brining new players in.
If they don’t hit the ground running in the first few games it could be another long season for the Hammers, and former English top-flight marksman, Stan Collymore, believes that David Sullivan missed a trick after the Europa Conference League win.
“David Moyes really should have gone after the elation of the Conference League win, but this is the same rationale as why clubs that go up from the Championship stick with the same players,” he said in his exclusive CaughtOffside column.
“It’s that kind of loyalty. After the celebration you don’t think in ruthless terms when you’re lifting a trophy, and everybody goes off for their summer holiday.
The perfect ending to their 2022/23 season should’ve been the springboard for West Ham to go out and buy well and strengthen the squad well ahead of the new campaign.
The perennial sleeping giant of London football, unfortunately, appeared to revert to type, and they’ve almost certainly given themselves a mountain to climb in the first few weeks of the season as the latecomers to the team attempt to gel.
“I think the reality is that their league position last season told you a lot about West Ham really, and that’s from the season before where they were seventh, and then last year where they were sort of scrapping relegation until fairly late… they’re a middle of the table team,” Collymore continued.
“I think that the problem is that David Sullivan has brought in the new technical director and they’ll see themselves as a big London club. Big stadium, won a European trophy, qualify for Europe. They need something that is hand in glove with that and I don’t think David Moyes is. From my perspective, I would be stunned if David Moyes isn’t one of the first casualties of the Premier League season, maybe in November or December.”
Though rumours of an issue between Moyes and new technical director, Tim Steidten, have not been confirmed, clearly all is not well behind the scenes at the London Stadium.
Whether it’s soon or later in the season, chests will be puffed out and only one side can win.
“I think that David Moyes will go – that is the power play now. David Moyes and his backroom staff versus the new technical director versus David Sullivan and in the end, David Moyes will lose his job,” Collymore concluded.
“The best case scenario for West Ham United last season would have been David Moyes lifting the trophy and going ‘I can’t do any better, now I’m leaving it to the next guy,’ but he’ll end up falling on his sword come the dark days of winter.”
If only he had gone by now.
Hopefully it will not take to many games before he has gone, his style of football is bordering on atrocious and mind numbingly boring.
How any team can expect to win games when averaging less than 30% possession for the season is beyond me