Kaveh Solhekol says two things David Moyes did sealed his fate with West Ham chief David Sullivan as he decided to let him go.
West Ham’s specific reasons for deciding to part ways with David Moyes are becoming clearer.
They say the truth will come out in the wash and it seems Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol is doing West Ham’s laundry.
Moyes has been on borrowed time for a while given fan unrest over his style of play and results in 2024.
West Ham have won just four of their 23 games this year so far.
The Hammers are 17th in the Premier League form table in that time.
A propensity to ship goals at an alarming rate – especially for a Moyes team – hasn’t helped either.
The straws which broke the camel’s back for Moyes at West Ham
West Ham have now conceded 70 goals this season, their most ever in a Prem campaign. It is also the most any Moyes team has even conceded in the top flight too.
So clearly the Scot has been fighting an uphill battle to have his contract renewed. Especially against the backdrop of being involved in a relegation battle for much of last season too.
In the end, though, it seems none of that proved terminal for Moyes in West Ham’s decision to let him go.
Instead Solhekol says two things Moyes did sealed his fate with West Ham chief David Sullivan.
Sky Sports’s chief reporter Solhekol counts Hammer co-owner Sullivan as a close contact.
In a report on the situation for Sky Sports, he says West Ham did conduct an in-depth analysis of results and performances which hurt Moyes’ cause.
Solhekol: Two things Moyes did sealed his fate with Sullivan
But Solhekol has revealed Moyes signed his own death warrant by:
- 1) Refusing to agree to several January signings lined up by Tim Steidten and instead insisting on signing Kalvin Phillips.
- 2) Banning Steidten from being around the West Ham first team.
“Technical director Tim Steidten’s ban from the dressing room and training ground did not help Moyes’ cause either,” Solhekol said.
“There was also a feeling the January transfer window was a missed opportunity with deals to be done, but the only deal Moyes wanted to proceed with was Kalvin Phillips’ loan from Manchester City.
“After the hundreds of millions spent on players throughout Moyes’ second spell in charge, West Ham felt no manager could have survived results over the past five months – unless you accept you are a bottom three side.”
Moyes had final say on all transfers as part of the terms of his existing contract, which pre-dated Steidten’s arrival last summer.
That mean he had power of veto on all deals.
Steidten relationship was never going to work
Last summer, there were reported Steidten could walk less than a month after his arrival due to issues with Moyes.
Hammers News exclusively brought word from the top source inside the club that the German technical director had been ‘finding the manager hard work’.
Although the duo found some middleground for arrivals such as Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez, it was a relationship that was never going to work long-term.
And Steidten stated just a couple of weeks ago that he is staying at West Ham and sees it as a five-year project.
So when Moyes elected to ban him, it makes sense that might prove to be the straw which broke the camel’s back for Sullivan.
You can hear more from Solhekol in the video below.