Ray Winstone makes admission on David Moyes sack decision at West Ham United, shares ‘diabolical’ view
Hollywood actor and West Ham fan Ray Winstone admits he had lost faith in manager David Moyes following a poor start to the 2022/23 Premier League season, but now can’t see anyone replacing the Scot.
The Hammers lost their first three league matches without even scoring, while only taking four points in their first seven fixtures, with Moyes under pressure for most of the season.
However, the Irons performed excellently in Europe and saw a significant uptick in form in the Premier League, Moyes changed West Ham’s fortunes by winning the Europa Conference League and preserving their top-flight status.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Tuesday (4 July), Winstone said: “I kind of lost a bit of faith in him as well, but the way the season went in the Premiership it was diabolical really. We started off poorly and we couldn’t get that confidence back.
“But if you look back over the season, we were only getting beaten by the odd goal. I do feel we brought in too many new players at once instead of blending them in.
“To win a European cup at the end of it… it was fantastic!
“I can’t see anyone else doing the job now. Not for the moment anyway. I’ve actually met David and I like him as a man. I was so pleased for him when we had a great season.”
Shared mentality
Winstone’s feelings towards West Ham’s season are probably shared by every Iron.
Moyes was on the chopping block as recently as last month when The Guardian reported that the Scot could lose his job if West Ham failed to win the Europa Conference League final.
But now Moyes has etched himself, against much adversity and anger from the fanbase, into West Ham history with the European Cup success.
However, with a bigger transfer budget this window looking likely following the £105million sale of captain Declan Rice, Moyes could get some much-needed backing to improve his team and take West Ham back to a top-half finish next season.
As Winstone alluded to, Moyes has most often been criticised for his defensive and cautious approach to the game. While fans can live with it when the club is finishing in sixth and seventh place as they did in 2021 and 2022, they probably won’t when they’re flirting with relegation.
If the club fall back on old habits, like not scoring and conceding lots, then the trophy may quickly be pushed to the back of fans’ minds when they feel a replacement is needed, as is the nature of modern football.
The Cup win almost certainly saved Moyes’ job, but the 60-year-old’s career has been defined by peaks and troughs. If Moyes is currently at the peak of his West Ham career, a trough may follow.
But for now, Moyes is the man for Hammers fans.
In other West Ham news, Hammers midfielder emerges at Juventus’ potential Paul Pogba replacement.