Sigh no Moyes
HAMMERS BOSS ON A MISSION
THE SAYING goes that revenge is a dish best served cold.
But the one that David Moyes has in mind for Liverpool tonight has been so long in the making it will be absolutely freezing should he finally get the chance to deliver it.
If there’s one club Moyes would like to shove a custard pie in the face of, it’s the current English champions.
More than a decade has now passed since the Scot last beat them in the Premier League, when his Everton side won 2-0 at Goodison Park back in 2010.
Since then he’s tried 13 times with three different clubs, but each time he has not been in charge of the winning team.
The closest he came was almost 12 months ago when West Ham were 2-1 up at Anfield with just over 20 minutes to go but still managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. In 34 attempts, he has beaten his old rivals just five times.
But good things come to those who wait and he will never get a better chance to end this run than at the London Stadium today, when his Hammers host Jurgen Klopp’s stuttering champions.
Moyes, who never won at Anfield during his time in charge of the Toffees, must feel like he’s spent most of his managerial career looking up to the Reds.
He’s been doing it for most of this season, too, but times are changing fast and the improvement Moyes has instilled in his side in recent months has been nothing short of remarkable.
Back in September the Hammers looked like relegation fodder, Moyes had Covid-19 and one of his owners, David Sullivan, was moaning on about being depressed because of how tough life felt.
Unlike his multi-millionaire boss, Glaswegian Moyes is made of strong stuff.
He viewed the problems as a challenge and met them head on, taking control of recruitment and imposing himself behind the scenes on all aspects of the running of the club.
The results have been startling and Moyes looks poised to be rewarded with a new contract.
The Hammers were 17th in the table and one point above the drop zone when he returned for his second spell in charge just over 12 months ago.
They now find themselves in the European places, jostling for position among England’s elite. Moyes’ men have won their first six competitive games of a single calendar year for the first time in their history and just two points separate them and Klopp’s side heading into this clash.
There is an identity, purpose and enthusiasm about the Hammers that is taking them to places few supporters ever imagined – and the boss must take most of the credit.
Having been chewed up and spat out by Manchester United, Moyes is now doing with the Hammers what he did with the Toffees – getting those at his disposal to overachieve.
It once led the Toffees into the Champions League.
And while Moyes is keen to dampen expectations, he will have a burning desire to do the same with his current club.
If he can somehow achieve this then his rehabilitation will be complete.
And beating the Reds along the way would make it feel that little bit sweeter.