David Moyes last game in management was a triumphant 3-1 thrashing of former side Everton. After rescuing West Ham from the depths of a relegation battle, the Hammers finished the season in a comfortable 13th place to mask over the myriad of cracks. At that point it seemed all but certain he would be given the job permanently, but the West Ham board decided they wanted a “high-calibre” figure to guide them forwards.
Just over two years later the Hammers find themselves in a similar position, with the same man drafted in to clean up another managers mess. But how has the West Ham team changes in Moyes two-year absence, and how might his first eleven shapes up against Bournemouth?
The entirety of the back five Moyes selected in his final game are still at the club. However, Pablo Zabaleta has not been utilised with any regularity this season, so the Scot will likely stick with Ryan Fredricks. He will have a brief period in training to assess both new centre back arrivals from last season, Issa Diop and Fabian Balbuena. The pair formed a formidable partnership at times throughout the previous campaign but have fallen out of favour this term.
In Midfield Declan Rice has been a mainstay alongside captain Mark Nobel, and it is likely the ex-Everton boss will utilise that pairing in some from. Cheikhou Kouyate has been moved on to Crystal Palace having previously been a stalwart of the Hammers midfield.
Meanwhile, he on his final fixture with an attacking midfield partnership of Joao Mario and Manuel Lanzini, though the former was only on loan and the Argentine is unavailable through injury. Instead, Moyes will have Brazilian ace Felipe Anderson to select from, while he has been inconsistent he is their most creative asset and few other West Ham players pose such a potent attacking threat on their day.
One of the most memorable parts of Moyes time at West Ham was moving Marko Arnautovic to a central striker role which worked to devastating effect. Sadly, he will be unable to rekindle his relationship with the Austrian after he forced through a move to China. Though it will be interesting to see if the West Ham boss can get the same reaction from Sebastien Haller. The French striker showed heaps of promise at the start of the season but has scored once in his last ten appearances.
Without doubt, Moyes returns to the London Stadium with a better side than previously, on paper at least. Getting the squad to realise their vast potential will be the key to making sure he sees out his 18-month deal and convinces the board he deserves an extension second time round.
