Just under three years ago in Prague, West Ham United reached a modern-day high. Jarrod Bowen’s late winner secured the Europa Conference League, and claret-and-blue supporters celebrated a rare continental triumph.
For David Moyes and his squad, it was a crowning moment of the Scotsman’s reign, which delivered three consecutive European campaigns.
Fast forward to this day, West Ham are fighting relegation, having burned through four managers in 18 months. They sit 18th, supporters are protesting, finances are haemorrhaging and the identity Moyes built has been swiftly dismantled.
The first wound opened the moment the club let Moyes leave without a coherent succession plan. He was never glamorous, but he understood the squad’s limitations and built something coherent out of very little.
A few years after Daniel Kretinsky bought his 27% stake, West Ham were firing on all cylinders; European trophy in the cabinet, top seven in the league, Declan Rice still in the building. It looked like a sound investment.
Since moving to the London Stadium, West Ham have spent around £1 billion on signings, a figure only the so-called Big Six have surpassed. Clearly, money is not an issue, but organisational instability has been.
Technical director Tim Steidten fell out with both Moyes and Lopetegui. Potter brought in his own recruitment chief, who left weeks after Potter was sacked. No manager can build something lasting when the boardroom changes the brief every eight months.
For West Ham, the lesson is brutal: in the Premier League, standing still is the first step towards decline. The club’s recent history is a warning about the dangers of short-term thinking and identity loss.
Whether they survive or fall, the real challenge is to rediscover a sense of purpose that once bound squad, manager and fans together.