Only three Hammers managers in the club’s 129-year history have ever won a trophy: Ron Greenwood, John Lyall and Moyes. So when history judges his achievements at the London Stadium, Moyes will be remembered for that magic night in Prague at the Europa Conference League final last June, not five-goal defeats at Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
To deliver three consecutive European quarter-finals, leading to two semi-finals and a trophy, is a magnificent accomplishment. And finishing sixth and seventh in successive Premier League seasons – in a division of frightening spending power – is not bad, either.There has been some vicious criticism of the way West Ham have handled his exit, with “classless” being one of the favoured adjectives on social media. But Moyes knows how football works.
If Lopetegui is the man, I wish him well. But if swashbuckling football is what West Ham fans demand, I don’t remember Lopetegui being hugely celebrated for his style at Molineux. But Lopetegui will have to pull up some trees to match Moyes’ accomplishment of putting a trophy on the table. Or maybe Hammers fans will be content to play entertaining, progressive football and finish 14th? On BBC 606, West Ham always seemed to have the most split fan base – one defeat and it was Moyes out, reach a European semi-final and he was a legend.