West Ham United: James Collins shares David Moyes sack verdict live on talkSPORT
James Collins believes West Ham are having a “magnificent” season despite questions being asked about the future of David Moyes.
After Ally McCoist admitted on talkSPORT on Friday (22 March, 08:46am) that he always gets accused of protecting the Hammers boss as he questioned what the fans expect, Collins said he feels the same way and that he’s a “big advocate” of the Scotsman.
He added that most of the Irons supporters would probably say they’d like to be in and around the position the club currently finds itself in, having made it through to the quarter-finals of the Europa League and sitting seventh in the Premier League.
“I get accused all the time of protecting my big mate David Moyes,” said McCoist. “But honest to god, I just think the boys are doing brilliantly well, first major trophy in so many years, they’re sitting seventh in the league this year. I really don’t genuinely know what’s expected.”
“I’m the same as an ex-player,” replied Collins. “For too long we’d have a good season and then the next season we’d be looking over our shoulder in a relegation battle or be down near the bottom of the table. What David Moyes has brought to our football club is stability, we’ve won a trophy and I think this season they’ve done really well.
“I think if you asked the majority of West Ham fans where would you like us to finish in the league, it would probably be around where we’re with the money we’ve spent and the teams above us, and we’re into the quarter-final of the Europa League. I think it’s been a magnificent season.
“I’m a big advocate of David Moyes. I’ve worked with him, I think he’s a great manager. He’s an old-school manager, where he is the manager of the football club, he’s involved in the training and the transfers. That might not be seen so much from managers nowadays, but me as a West Ham fan, I’m delighted with the season so far and still a lot to play for.”
David Moyes delivers when the pressure is on at West Ham
This is an extremely difficult matter as there is no doubt that the position West Ham currently find themselves in is excellent.
There is just frustration amongst some of the fanbase that the Hammers boss is sometimes too negative, even though he has some superb attacking players at his disposal.
An incident over the past week highlighted their frustrations as the Scotsman replaced forward Michail Antonio with defender Ben Johnson when his side were 1-0 up against Aston Villa on 17 March, with Villa then piling on the pressure and finding an equaliser as the game ended 1-1.
West Ham fans watching their team play at the London Stadium
People aren’t really grumbling about the league position, it’s just those negative decisions he makes – on the back of hitting five past Freiburg a few days earlier – that turn some fans against him.
It’s hard to call whether or not he will remain at the club beyond this season, but if he does end up leaving the London Stadium, then he deserves great credit for the job he’s done.
In other West Ham news, Jim White and Simon Jordan have been caught in an explosive row over a Hammers controversy.
