If West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan sacks David Moyes at the end of the season, it will be fascinating to see who he opts for to replace the Scot.
When David Sullivan eventually sacks David Moyes, it will represent West Ham with a real opportunity to kick on and reach the promised land.
Moyes, 60, will be out of contract at the London Stadium at the end of this season, and recent reports have claimed that he could be sacked before the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
West Ham have experienced a nightmare 2024 so far, with just four wins in our last 19 games in all competitions since the turn of the year.
It really feels like Moyes and his players have let a great opportunity pass us by. After our win against Arsenal on December 28th, we were sitting pretty in sixth spot in the Premier League table.
However, a disastrous January transfer window followed, and now we’re sitting in eighth spot in the table, with everyone around us having played less games.
Another top seven finish is looking incredibly unlikely for the Hammers right now, whilst it’s looking like we’ll get dumped out of the Europa League by Bayer Leverkusen tonight.
If that happens and we end up finishing in mid-table, Moyes will surely be moved on. He has definitely done a good job for us on the whole but overall, he’s not the man we need to take us on into an exciting new era.
David Moyes record since he returned to West Ham in 2019
So if the Scot is finally moved on, who could replace him?
8 out-of-work managers David Sullivan won’t be able to resist if he sacks David Moyes
Here’s a list of eight managers who I think will be firmly on Sullivan’s radar, whenever he decides to part ways with Moyes…
Julen Lopetegui
The 57-year-old is thought to be one of the leading candidates to replace Moyes at the London Stadium.
However, he’s probably one of the least exciting names linked with the job as far as the Hammers fans are concerned. The football that deployed during his time at Wolves was incredibly dull.
He is a proven tactician, but I don’t see any big differences between him and Moyes. The whole point in making a change will be to bring in someone who can take us to another level.
Lopetegui is definitely not that man as far as I’m concerned. However, the fact that he’s out of work undoubtedly means that he’ll be on Sullivan’s radar this summer.
Jose Mourinho
The 61-year-old Portuguese manager has won pretty much everything there is to win in the game, with 26 trophies to his name during his time in football management. He has won eight league titles and two Champions Leagues over the past 20 years.
West Ham have been heavily linked with a move to appoint the former Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Porto, Tottenham and Roma boss on multiple occasions – most recently just last week.
He hardly deploys the most attractive style of football, but he is still box office in every way – certainly when speaking during his press conferences!
One thing that Mourinho definitely would be able to do is attract world-class stars to the London Stadium, and I wouldn’t bet against him guiding us to a domestic trophy if he did take over from Moyes.
Jesse Marsch
Having the American take over from Moyes would be my worst nightmare! We all know what Sullivan is like when there’s a manager available for absolutely nothing though!
The 50-year-old failed miserably during his time in English football with Leeds. Without being harsh, he became somewhat of a joke figure amongst Premier League fans.
Marsch really shouldn’t be anywhere near the list of potential replacements for Moyes, but it wouldn’t surprise me one little bit if he was!
Graham Potter
The 48-year-old has been heavily linked with the West Ham manager’s job over the past year or so, after he was sacked as Chelsea boss.
Potter worked miracles at Brighton and in fairness to him, he did a decent job at Chelsea until Todd Boehly started spending money like it was going out of fashion on players the manager hadn’t even asked for. He certainly wasn’t given enough time for his footballing philosophy to manifest into results on the pitch.
Potter’s style of football is unique in every way and once it clicks, it can be captivating to watch. He likes his side to build up play from the back and insists on quick triangles and patterns of play in the middle of the park. It is a complicated system though, so we will have to give him time for his ideas to bed in, if he is indeed named as the new West Ham manager.
I feel like if the Hammers fans really want a change, then Potter would be perfect for us. Her has a proven track record of giving talented youngsters a chance to showcase their abilities and what’s more, improving them as players as well.
As mentioned earlier though, we probably wouldn’t see results for at least 12 months, so the fans would have to be incredibly patient with him.
Steve Cooper
Cooper – recently sacked from his role as Nottingham Forest manager – features highly on David Sullivan’s list of potential replacements for Moyes.
I’m sorry but I just don’t understand this one little bit. Make an upgrade on the Scot, sure. But Cooper, really? The fact that he is being linked with us is infuriating. I’m not belittling the job that Cooper did at the City Ground – he worked wonders in fairness to him.
However, he clearly has his limitations as a manager. The football that he deployed whilst in charge of the East Midlands outfit was an incredibly dull brand of turgid rubbish on the whole. He absolutely wouldn’t be an upgrade on Moyes.
Ruud van Nistelrooy
The former Manchester United striker has been out of work since the end of the 2022/23 season, after resigning from PSV Eindhoven due to a ‘lack of support’.
The football that Van Nistelrooy implemented whilst in charge of the Eredivisie side drew high acclaim. The 47-year-old liked his team to play a high tempo brand of exciting football, with his players on the front foot from the very first whistle.
His footballing philosophy could not be any more different from Moyes. That said, the Dutchman was never afraid to set his team up to play counter attacking football. The difference being that his team played incredibly quick and incisive football in transition.
He’d actually be an interesting option for us in my opinion.
Hansi Flick
The 59-year-old won two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League during his time in charge of Bayern Munich. Some may say that’s the least he should have won at Bayern, but you can only beat who’s in front of you, and their struggles this year prove that it’s not a given that they’ll win the league.
Flick was sacked as Germany manager back in September 2023, and the poor job that he did in charge of his country will not serve him well when he’s looking for a new job. However, his proven track record of getting his teams to play an attractive brand of football may well appeal to Sullivan, as well as the fact that he won’t cost a penny in fees of course!
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Whilst not the most tactically astute manager, Ole proved during his time with Manchester United that he’s more than capable of galvanising under-performing stars.
The Norwegian also has a proven track record of bringing talented young players through the ranks. That could be vital considering just how many elite teenagers we have at the club right now.
I wouldn’t be totally against the appointment of Solskjaer. The 51-year-old may not be at the top of every West Ham fan’s list to replace Moyes, but I think he’d do a good job for us as a stepping stone over the next two or three years.
Let’s have it right as well, he gets his teams playing pretty exciting football – just what we’re craving as a fanbase.
Who should replace Moyes
If it’s a choice of out-of-work managers – which it probably will be – I would only take four of those listed above.
Mourinho, Van Nistelrooy, Potter and Solskjaer are the only acceptable names to replace Moyes in my opinion. However, my dream appointment would be one of Arne Slot, Ruben Amorim or Sebastian Hoeness.
It will be very interesting to see who takes over at the London Stadium, if David Sullivan sacks David Moyes. I would put good money on one of those eight names listed above being the new Hammers boss though.
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