Premier League legend turned pundit Shay Given has delivered a brutal TV rant about David Sullivan that will put managers off West Ham.
To many observers – West Ham fans included – the situation unfolding around David Moyes could and should have been handled much better.
West Ham’s search for a replacement for Moyes has been making headlines for weeks now.
Fifteen managers have been linked, some have held talks with the owners and yet still there is no official word on what’s happening with the incumbent boss.
There have been four-and-a-half years of relative serenity and stability while Moyes steered the Hammers ship into calmer waters.
Protests against the owners feel like a distant memory.
But majority owner David Sullivan is under fire from the club’s fans again.
Many supporters are angry that he reportedly intends to appoint Julen Lopetegui.
Sullivan under fire from Hammers fans
Moyes has done well out of West Ham.
He was given the chance to restore a battered reputation at the London Stadium.
Moyes was backed financially to the tune of over £500m and on several occasions when results might have seen managers at other clubs sacked.
But there is a general feeling Sullivan and co should be handling the Moyes situation with more class given what the Scot has done for West Ham.
Supporters want clarity so they can give Moyes the send-off he deserves after doing an excellent job overall in the last four-and-a-half years.
And they are unhappy the manager has spent the last few months fielding endless questions about his future.
There is still hope Sullivan will change his mind and go for a more attractive option – such as Ruben Amorim – as Moyes’ successor.
But Shay Given’s brutal TV rant about Sullivan will put managers off West Ham.
Given’s rant about Sullivan will put managers off West Ham
Speaking on Match of the Day, Given was highly critical of how the Moyes situation has been dealt with.
And West Ham had better hope it doesn’t make prospective managers think twice about joining them.
“I don’t have a good feeling about it at all,” Given said.
“I really feel sorry for David Moyes in the sense that I feel that something more professional should have come from the very top.
“I know him and the sporting director maybe don’t see eye-to-eye but at the same time David Moyes brought the first trophy to West Ham in more than 40 years.
“So the least I think they can do as a football club is at least say we’ve spoken and David knows the situation. It’s like David is in one office and they’re interviewing another manager in the office next door.
“It feels a real mess and I think the career he’s had and the success he’s brought West Ham, he deserves more.”
Moyes announcement must be brought forward
Given makes some salient points.
But in many ways West Ham are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.
Had West Ham sat back and waited until the end of the season to start looking at potential replacements, they would have been accused of negligence.
Especially given the major rebuild required on the team.
By being proactive and speaking to managers and intermediaries, leaks are inevitable.
One thing most supporters seem to agree upon, though, is that a decision on Moyes needs to be brought forward, agreed upon and announced before the last home game of the season so he can get the ovation he has earned.