Yet that overlooks a significant point.
Hammers fans pay to watch their team. While there is widespread appreciation for what Moyes has achieved, a growing number are fed up at the way he has gone about it.
In an era of high press, risk-taking, front-foot football, they view Moyes as a largely defensive coach.
This is unfair. There are times – the 5-0 win against Freiburg and second-leg salvage mission in the Europa League quarter-final against Bayer Leverkusen – when West Ham are a thrilling team to watch.
However, the sentiment after those games tends to be ‘why can’t we play like that every week’?
In addition, they see a development pathway strong enough to produce last season’s FA Youth Cup winners that hardly supplies any players for the first team.
With the exception of Rice, the only regular homegrown member of Moyes’ squad has been ex-England U21s defender Ben Johnson, who is expected to leave in the summer.
This was anticipated to be a breakthrough season for 19-year-old striker Divin Mubama. The local boy is yet to start a domestic game and has not come off the bench since the draw with Sheffield United at Bramall Lane in January.
Moyes is not averse to using young players. But he needs to be sure they are capable of performing at the high level required.
He was slated over the £18m departure of Grady Diangana in 2020. Current sporting director Mark Noble – captain at the time – was among those to voice his disapproval. Diangana has gone on to make over 130 appearances for West Brom, most of them in the Championship, a third of them as a substitute.
Supporters can have their opinions, Moyes believes he knows whether players are good enough or not – and acts accordingly.
He has tried to make West Ham less reliant on the counter-attack.
While he sidelined record signing Sebastian Haller when he returned for a second stint as manager in December 2019 – and a second demand to drag the club clear of relegation trouble – the £30.5m arrival of Italy forward Gianluca Scamacca on a five-year deal in 2022 was supposed to be part of a new era.
But after a decent start Scamacca went nine games up to the World Cup without a goal as West Ham slipped down the table. Apart from three substitute appearances, he didn’t play from January until the end of the season. The Hammers needed to scrap to survive and Moyes was forced to revert to type.
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