As David Moyes approaches his first game as West Ham boss, we take a look at why his appointment could spell trouble for the Hammers.
David Moyes has a reputation as a steady-hand-on-the-till kind of coach (even though he hasn’t had a positive experience of coaching in England since May 2012). A reliable grafter whose clubs will also graft and through that graft, they will survive.
But is that true? Can he really improve on a struggling side to make them stronger? Let’s have a look at the numbers to see what kind of effect David Moyes had on Sunderland when he was appointed in summer 2016.
Attack:
In 2015/16 under Sam Allardyce, Sunderland survived relegation by the skin of their teeth. They did so scoring 48 goals from 439 shots; that’s a conversion rate of 11% which is fairly decent. 28 of their 48 goals were assisted, and they managed to create 321 chances in total (37 of which were classified as “big” chances”). They were decent.
In 2016/17 under David Moyes, however, the potency dropped right out of Sunderland’s play. They scored just 29 goals from 387 chances, a pitiful 7% shot conversion. Only 12 of their goals were assisted, and that from 266 chances created, only 18 of which were big chances. The numbers were down across the board.
Defence:
But alright, surely defending is where Moyes really shines? Their inability to score is what relegated them, right? Not the defending which was solid and full of lovely graft? Well; in 2015/16 Sunderland attempted 767 tackles, winning 585 of them. They made 571 interceptions and conceded 335 attempts in the box.
Under Moyes, and West Ham fans you may want to look away now, Sunderland attempted just 631 tackles and won 468. They made 545 interceptions and conceded a somewhat terrifying 400 attempts in their box. For all the talk of graft, Moyes couldn’t even motivate his Sunderland side to tackle (and Lee Cattermole plays for them!); the Black Cats attempted 136 less than the previous season. 136! It ain’t pretty.
In Summation:
Looking at what Moyes did with Sunderland (and he did much the same to Premier League Champions Manchester United in 2013/14, with all the previously mentioned metrics decreasing bar exception of interceptions which did go up) and you wonder how on earth he’s going to motivate a listless and disorganised West Ham side into turning their fortunes around?
It doesn’t seem possible. Hell, if his quotes are anything to go by he’s barely interested in whether or not the Hammers stay up, speaking to the Guardian, he said : “If it works, great. If it doesn’t, then I’ll see the East End of London for seven months, then I’ll go elsewhere.”
It’s a sad state of affairs, but everything points to West Ham being doomed.
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