News that West Ham’s Tim Steidten and David Moyes are ‘voluntarily’ keeping their distance is a troubling sign for the club. It appears West Ham has backed itself into a corner due to a lack of foresight about the consequences of their actions.
Any semblance of foresight by the decision-makers would have suggested that Moyes and Steidten cannot coexist at West Ham next season. Simply put, if West Ham retains Moyes, then Steidten, having lost the manager’s trust, must depart. Conversely, if Steidten stays, then Moyes must leave because the club cannot operate with a director of football who is unable to interact with the first team.
If the club is leaning towards dismissing Moyes, it would be better to act now rather than at the season’s end. It’s more humane to relieve Moyes of his duties immediately rather than let him linger as a lame duck.
Moreover, the urgency of a significant summer rebuild makes it absurd that the director of football cannot move freely within the club’s facilities when he should be assessing the squad and planning for the future.
West Ham are exhibiting a troubling level of confused and contradictory thinking. With European football looking unlikely next season, there’s no justification for Moyes to remain in charge for the final three Premier League games.
West Ham seems to consistently mishandle situations when trying to act decently, often failing to discern right from wrong. Their attempts to keep one person content have resulted in both Moyes and Steidten being placed in an untenable situation.
It’s widely acknowledged, including by Moyes himself, that he is on his way out of West Ham. Keeping him on only makes The London Stadium and Rush Green awkward places to work for everyone for the remainder of the month. It’s time to let him go.
