It was June 7 last year, West Ham defeated Fiorentina 2-1 in the final of the Conference League and thus won the first trophy after 43 years. A continental trophy nonetheless. In those days, the coach of the Hammers, David Moyes, was a hero of the London club, and only eight months later he experienced the fans forcing him to resign. He didn’t listen to them, he will sit on the bench against Brentford (11.00 PM EAT) in the 26th round of the Premier League. And he will hope that the chosen ones will bring him victory and some peace of mind.Anxiety came from bad results. The Hammers have not triumphed once since the beginning of 2024. They drew and lost four times. In conclusion with the loss against Nottingham Forest (0-2) nine days ago, when the fans expressed their dissatisfaction.Moyes was affected by those shouts, he does not hide it, but he still does not intend to retire. He believes that he is still doing a good job and that West Ham could only be worse with a different manager.The fact is that the former Everton and Manchester United strategist came in the middle of the 2019/2020 season, when the Hammers were fighting for survival. Not only did he bring it, but in the following season the London club was seventh in the Premier League, while last year they won the Conference League. It brought Moyes two consecutive participations in European competitions.𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐭: “If I’m David Moyes I’m leaving!” 😤𝐅𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫: “From his perspective it’s like you’re not wanted there!” 😥𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐭: “What more can he do?” 🤷♀️Ben Foster and Darren Bent praise David Moyes but believe he should leave #WHUFC at the end of the season 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Tui4p3bBsF— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) February 23, 2024 Because of this, the fans thought that it was time for an additional step forward, to at least be in the competition for the fourth position and placement in the Champions League. West Ham managed to beat Arsenal (twice), Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham, but dropped points against weaker teams. In addition to all that, February saw the revenge of United at Old Trafford (3-0) and Arsenal at the Hammers’ London Stadium (6-0). After that, it’s no wonder that Moyes’ team completely sank.”Continuity and stability were lacking at West Ham before my arrival. Now this is a much more stable club, not jumping non-stop in the table. Three consecutive years in Europe is the best example. It’s bad if people forget so quickly that we won the European trophy,” said Moyes to Sky Sports, and then referred to the poor form:”It happens. We are not perfect this season. I wouldn’t say it’s normal for a club at this level, but this year we’ve had some top teams struggling. When I came, the fans were maybe not that powerful. Now more than 60,000 of them attend most games. When you’re not doing well, that’s when you need the support of the fans even more.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##West Ham are 10th in the table with 36 points, as many as eight less than sixth-placed Manchester United and the place that leads to Europe. Despite this, it is still possible to see the Hammers in the Champions League next season, should they win the Europa League. In the group stage, they took first place in the competition of TSC Bačka Topola, Olympiacos and Freiburg, so they won a direct place in the round of 16, where they will meet Freiburg again on March 7 and 14.The next rival of Moyes’ team, Brentford, is in an even more difficult position in the Premier League. They have suffered four defeats in the last five rounds and are only 15th in the table with 25 points, five more than Luton, who are in the relegation zone.In the first match of this season on November 4, Brentford defeated West Ham in front of their fans after a 3-2 comeback.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUEFridayChelsea – Tottenham POSTPONEDSaturdayAston Villa – Nott.Forest 4-2 (3-1)/Watkins 4, Luiz 29, 39, Bailey 61 – Diakhate 45+5, Gibbs-White 48/Man. Utd. – Fulham 1-2 (0-0)/Maguire 89 – Bassey 65, Iwobi 90+5/Crystal Palace – Burnley 3-0 (0-0)/Richards 68, Ayew 72, Mateta 77/Brighton – Everton 1-1 (0-0)/Dunk 90+5 – Brantwaithe 74/Bournemouth – Man.City 0-1 (0-1)/Foden 24/Arsenal – Newcastle 4-1 (2-0)/Botman 18 og, Havertz 24, Saka 65, Kiwior 69 – Willock 84/SundayWolverhampton – Sheffield Utd 1-0 (1-0)/Sarabia 30/Monday23:00: (2.55) West Ham (3.35) Brentford (2.75)***odds are subject to change***
