Stan Collymore wants Aston Villa’s next manager to copy West Ham
Aston Villa parted ways with Dean Smith on Sunday, and Stan Collymore wants his successor to copy West Ham.
The Hammers are third in the Premier League table after securing a 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday, and David Moyes is looking to guide his side to Champions League qualification this term after last season’s narrow miss.
Collymore wants his old side to emulate the Hammers boss by beefing up scrawny players and make similar recruitment like the London Stadium outfit.
He told The Mirror: “My big concern with Villa of late has been around them being a bit of a soft touch, physically not strong. They’re a nice, neat-and-tidy team to watch at their best, but if you compare them with West Ham, whose start-of-season aspirations are similar, the player profiles of the two sides are night and day.
“Villa have plenty of small players who are technically very good — Emi Buendia, John McGinn, Matty Cash and Matt Targett. They are all very good but don’t exude physical strength. The same goes for Anwar El Ghazi, Danny Ings and Leon Bailey.
“When you look at their opposite numbers down in the East End of London, though, you see technically good players who are also big, solid and strong, and look how that mix is working out for them this season. It’s not even about being giants, either, because alongside big men in Kurt Zouma and Declan Rice they have Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals.
“They aren’t big height-wise but they are beefed up, while Villa’s players look anything from scrawny to half-decent. They want to be where West Ham are yesterday, and that’s why they acted.”
The new standard?
The Irons have one of the best squads in the Premier League right now, and Moyes has surely gotten his recruitment right.
They have already dumped Manchester United and Manchester City out of the League Cup, and they took it a notch further by becoming the first team to hand Jurgen Klopp’s side a loss in 26 games.
A team like Villa will definitely be looking on with envy given that they were both fighting relegation together in 2019-20.
The Hammers have left them behind and are gradually becoming a force to be reckoned with at the top end of the table.
Moyes has turned his side into a machine, and he never gets enough praise for the incredible job he has done so far.
His squad are beginning to set a standard for a lot of teams in the Premier League, and a lot of clubs will be copying his model and hoping to replicate his side’s success.
In other West Ham news, journo has detailed what Moyes did to Soucek at full-time after own goal cost Hammers in 2-2 v Genk.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.