Sean Fisher

Wed 16 November 2022 8:10, UK

Glenn Murray has questioned whether David Moyes had a say in the transfer business at West Ham over the summer, and claimed the Scotsman deserves more time.

The Hammers heavily invested in their first-team squad over the summer, with Lucas Paqueta, Gianluca Scamacca, Thilo Kehrer and more all arriving for big fees.

It hasn’t yet paid off for West Ham, who will spend Christmas sat in 16th in the Premier League. Question marks over Moyes’ position have been raised as a result, but ex-Premier League striker Murray has branded the rumours “ridiculous”.

Speaking to BBC 5 Live, Murray said: “The £150million he has said, has he spent that? Managers’ heads roll for signings that they didn’t make. There are sporting directors at clubs and managers are given players to coach.

“It has been so positive for West Ham ever since he went back there – at the first sign of disappointment, he just can’t be shown the exit door.

“It’s ridiculous. When I look at the top clubs, the continuity of [Manchester] City and Liverpool – that is why they are where they are.”

Improvements across the board

Murray is right to question the West Ham board – for too long they’ve avoided improving the footballing side of the club.

Mark Noble has now finally been appointed as a sporting director and hopefully that results in improved decisions in transfer markets and recruitment.

But while some criticism of the board is valid, they also did cough up a lot of money over the summer and secure some big and exciting names.

After the likes of Paqueta and Scamacca came in, it was all down to Moyes to implement them and get the best out of them – something he certainly hasn’t done.

His tactics have often been too rigid for new players to adapt to, and it’s come at the cost of Scamacca and Paqueta both taking a lot of time to get to grips with the system.

If Moyes is unable to adapt and evolve as big players come through the door, then the board will swiftly look elsewhere for a manger that can.