Faltering start puts Moyes under early-season pressure at West Ham

It will be of little consolation to David Moyes that his gloomy prediction has come true. “If we’re going to play like that we’re going to be challenging in a different part of the league,” Moyes said after a limp 3-1 defeat by Brighton on the final day of last season saw West Ham miss out on Europa League qualification. “I won’t have them if they are going to play like that.”

There was no holding back. Qualifying for the Europa Conference League felt like a meagre reward following a campaign of such great promise and Moyes was not blind to the warning signs. He could not afford to be sidetracked by West Ham finishing seventh and reaching the last four of the Europa League. The fact is that the team’s momentum in the league had slowed after Christmas, a lack of depth proving costly, and as Moyes opened up at the Amex Stadium he sounded like a man who knew that it was time to make some ruthless changes.

Worryingly, though, those home truths have not been followed by an improvement. West Ham sit 18th after taking four points from their first seven games of this season and are flirting with danger. The goals have dried up, a sturdy defence has become leaky, and although the notion that Moyes could be under threat may seem absurd he will be on shaky ground if results remain disappointing up to the World Cup. Such is the reality of modern football.

Moyes has done an outstanding job since returning to the London Stadium in December 2019, but West Ham were the third biggest spenders last summer. Expectations have grown. History suggests that David Gold and David Sullivan stick by their managers, but what about Daniel Kretinsky? The Czech billionaire became West Ham’s second largest shareholder last November and his arrival has