David Moyes' Claret and Blue Army!

[Bend it like Repka]

Counter attacking setup is not negative.

For a large part of the season we were just not able to execute it properly.

[davids cross]

You can control games without the ball.

Possession doesn't mean you've got control.......it means you've got the ball.

Just saying.

[Romfordboy]

Can’t imagine the ESR rumour is true… does he offer anymore than fornals or benni?

[MB]

You can control games without the ball.

Possession doesn't mean you've got control.......it means you've got the ball.

Just saying.

Everton game was a good example of that. Gave them their half to play in and jumped on them as soon as they came into ours.

I just cannot have a season of sleepy starts again. Just tell them we are already a goal down Davey

[Cuenca 'ammer]

You can control games without the ball.

Possession doesn't mean you've got control.......it means you've got the ball.

Just saying.

but it DOES mean having players who can actually pass the ball to one another.

as much as I love Tommy, he proved to be unable to for a large part of the season.

Zouma couldn't pass the ball to anyone other than his mates in the back line. when he stay fit that is.

Cresswell imvho struggled with quality forward passes. Antonio couldn't find his rear end with both hands, and I DO understand that a CF doesn't always need to be in a higher percentile but I am pretty sure his pass completion was horrendous, but I may well be well off target there.

Fornals when he played couldn't string a couple of passes together either.

Coufal isn't exactly great either, nor is Johnson.

with Rice being offski, were going to need player who can retain the ball whether that be finding teammates in a good position or carrying the ball forward. I'm not sure of his progressive passing stats but I'd be fairly sure that they're pretty high

maybe end to the season Jack and Cal could do a summation.

[Sticky]

If you watch Paquetas season highlights you will see some scintillating football being pinged about....

More please.

[bubbles1966]

I've believed for a while that it might make sense to think of last summer as the first of two required to complete a rebuild.

The job's half done, some foundations are in place and we've learned which bits don't fit,but we're still looking at a partial refit instead of the finished article.

The remainder of the money needs to come through now.

In believing it was a transitional season, I'd say coming out the end with a trophy and in Europe is hitting the bullseye and arguably a case of intelligent prioritising and strategy.

[WCpete]

Fully agree bubbs. Takes several windows. We can't start changing things once the season has begun. We need to do our business now. It's crucial.

[Eggs'n'nuts]

Extend his contract and let him build his empire.

Taking into account the tail end of the season (against the red scum being a highlight), topped off with THE highlight of Wednesday, I couldn't agree more.

The thing that frustrated me during large parts of the season was the turgid, predictable football that was being played, but in hindsight, there was obvious factors that didn't help; players getting used to The Premier league/injuries......... I'll be totally honest, there was a point where I wouldn't have been sorry to see him go, but I'm more than happy to eat my words and say I'm glad we stuck with him.

[Sticky]

“Last night is gone and we’ll have to win the next one now!”

DM.

[Johnny Buscuits]

I think there needs to be some serious reflection on Moyes reign that has culminated in that glorious night in Prague.

There were very few complaints about style of play in the seasons we finished 6th and 7th. For a while there we were media darlings with many pundits applauding our gameplay and citing us as their second team.

Moyes missed a trick in the January window that we finished 7th. I wonder if even he might admit the same. We desperately needed reinforcements for the run in that season and he fluffed his lines in not acting.

I think Moyes is also guilty of overplaying some players and I absolutely feel as though that was the primary reason for the drop in form of Coufal, Soucek, Bowen, Fornals and one or two others this season.

Aside from exhaustion of some players I don’t actually ascribe any further blame to Moyes for the poor showing
In the league this season. In many ways it was predictable and inevitable - A second successive campaign in Europe played by players already tired from the previous term. Add to that the rigours of a World Cup and the arrival of 9 new players, many of whom hadn’t played premier league. Also put into the mix the changes to Moyes back room staff.

I don’t think it’s any coincidence that the 3 promoted teams all stayed up whilst a Leicester team knackered by World Cup and European excursions was relegated. It could have been a lot worse for us!!!!

I think history will ultimately evidence that the players we recruited last Summer were a step up in quality to what we had. I predict that next season we will truly see what we have purchased and the full emergence of Paqueta, Aguerd and if we keep him Scamacca.

What I think Moyes has actually done this past season is preside over a metamorphosis of West Ham. As painful as this season has been at times I think we come out the other end a stronger club. Sure, the Conference win has a lot to do with this but there is more to it than that. It would have been easy for Moyes to rinse and repeat what he had done in the previous two seasons, which would have likely garnered another top ten finish. However, he was brave and tried to evolve and grow both our style of play and the club itself. He has found it tough and has needed to take a step back. However, I am hopeful that with a few key signings he can next season continue this growth.

[prophet:marginal]

What, I think, I will take from this season is that, even with the muggy owners we have, Moyes and Rice never seemed to panic.

We had some shocking setbacks - against Brighton and Newcastle - after the WC, so it wasn't all plain sailing, but I think he used that break to properly study how to (try to) play our way out of danger.

Rice will have probably earned as much experience in fighting to keep us up, as he did in almost majestically leading us to 6th and then all the way to the semis after the catalyst of Lingard came and went.

Moyes just seems to also be another who might - as much as he in some ways is in the final laps of a long career - 'go again' and actually build a final legacy.

I really hope that Nolan and Mark Noble stay close.

The club might finally be seeing some continuity under Sullivan's tenure, even if he too, is running the last lap or two.

I am ordinarily a glass 45% full kind of follower, but I actually (want to) believe that, if we stick with Jane, we will be top half next season AND make a decent fist of at least one cup.

Lifting one at Wembley would be nice, for all concerned.

DMCABA!!

[Gsbgsb]

It is the old adage, offence wins matches defence wins trophies.

We essentially stopped the most potent attack in the competition and won (just) in the end. I know there is a dream among some that we can win all our games 4-3 but that simply is not going to happen.

We are never going to be an open, gung-ho side under Moyes. We will always be a team that looks to build its attack from the platform of a solid defence. I am sure he will look to bring in quality across the board so we can ideally better keep the ball and create chances but that should not be mistaken for dominating possession but more a case of making better use of the ball when you have it.

As for ESR this year has been blighted by injury (and that is a concern) but if he could rediscover the form of 2021/22 I expect few would complain about 10 goals and 2 assists in 33 appearances, genuinely can play anywhere behind the striker. At 22/23 a very decent replacement for Lanzini if he is leaving.

[Peaches]

I gave up and joined 5ge Moyes out brigade after the embarrassment against Spurs. Mea Culpa. I am very happy for Moyes. I hope he stays and gets to continue to build towards something even better

[westlondonhammer]

I've believed for a while that it might make sense to think of last summer as the first of two required to complete a rebuild.

The job's half done, some foundations are in place and we've learned which bits don't fit,but we're still looking at a partial refit instead of the finished article.

The remainder of the money needs to come through now.

In believing it was a transitional season, I'd say coming out the end with a trophy and in Europe is hitting the bullseye and arguably a case of intelligent prioritising and strategy.

Agreed... it may even take another summer beyond this to get to where we want as some signings will likely fail this summer

The big ones cant fail though... we need to get those 2 CMs spot on. Get them spot on and we can continue the progress we have seen across 3 season

[westham,eggyandchips]

He's certainly bought more time with a trophy win. I wouldn't want the bloke tin tacked after the proudest night our club has seen in generations.

Football is a fickle game though (Ask Ranieri), if league performances and results are pony, like they were from last August to the WC, and again after the WC then questions will be asked again. Thats the nature of the sport.

Talk of him building an empire will never happen, unless his outlook and approach to games changes.

[Monkeybubbles]

Bowen scuffed his shot a little, but not so much that the keeper could stop it. Had he underhit it a little more, or had the keeper been able to raise his leg an inch higher, no goal. And then who knows.

That seems to be all that's making the difference between Moyes being the greatest tactician since Hannibal, and the bluffer that spen a fortune to serve up a season of the worst football we've seen since Avram.

[simonirons]

What elements of the recruitment were wrong last summer in your opinion, given we’ve just had one of the best seasons in our history.

We did most of our business too late.

Scamacca was a waste of time, too early to call on Cornet.

What’s that 60m?

[SiO]

Of which we'll break even or better on Scamacca so it's not so much a waste of money as a wasted opportunity. As I said a few pages back or on another thread, the rest have been varying levels of success. In LP we have a gorgeous baller too

[Billydinho]

Ten more years, David Moyes…