What the heck is going wrong at West Ham?

After successive European qualifying campaigns, the Hammers are in a relegation fight

Three years ago today, David Moyes began his second stint in charge of West Ham United. The Hammers were mired in a relegation fight under Manuel Pellegrini, and Moyes was able to quickly steer the ship forward and the Hammers secured Premier League survival two matchdays before the end of the Covid-interrupted 2019-2020 campaign.

The next two seasons West Ham qualified for European football, with quite possibly the best double-pivot in England (Declan Rice and Tomáš Souček) and an exciting attack led by Michael Antonio. Jared Bowen, Pablo Fornals and Saïd Benrahma, signed from Brentford, all hit new heights.

Last May, West Ham made the UEFA Europa League but as a result struggled across the finish line in the Premier League. Finishing seventh, the Hammers embarked on some aggressive spending this past summer, looking to potentially crack the top four, a target they had missed by just two points in the 2020-21 season - instead the side seems to be sinking badly into a relegation fight.

What has gone wrong?